We recently brought you this article offering four good reasons to have a careful dig around in and beneath the trunk or cargo area of the used car or SUV you’re considering, in order to track down signs of trouble.
Based on years of used car research, I figured these were the four best reasons to inspect this area carefully before purchase. Shortly after that article published, Ron Bullock got in touch with an additional tip to make it five in total. With his permission, I’m sharing that fifth tip with readers in hopes it’ll help them avoid buying a second-hand car or SUV that served as an airport rental or hotel shuttle in its previous life.
That fifth tip, according to Ron? Check the carpet for tufts and signs of abrasion and wear, and have a bit of a snoop through the GPS.
“When my partner Monique and I were checking over the gleaming pearl-white, seven-month-old, 16,500-km 2018 Nissan Maxima on the Reagan Nissan used car lot, Monique noticed (but I dismissed) the tufts of carpet fibre sticking up in the air,” Bullock explains.
“When I did ask about the car’s history, I was told by the salesman he was unsure because it had just been purchased at auction. I liked the car so I let it go. Silly me.
“Shortly after purchase, I decided to clear the car’s GPS locations to start afresh, and there it was: the reason why the trunk carpeting was so worn out. Programmed destinations were almost exclusively Halifax, Moncton and P.E.I., airports, and a zillion airport and city hotels.”
“All of a sudden all became clear: the car was an airport rental car, and the carpet wear was a zillion suitcases.”
Trunk carpeting wear aside, cars formerly used as taxis, rentals, and shuttles are best avoided by many shoppers, since they come with a higher likelihood of trouble caused by long periods of idling, frequent passenger entry and exit (which can wear out interior finishes and seating more quickly), and frequent use in stop-and-go driving that’s harder on many components.
Not to unleash any radical new concepts here or anything, but rental cars also have a higher likelihood of being treated poorly by renters.
“At 75,000 km the car has been a good, dependable performer,” says Bullock. “But deep down, I know it would be best to not keep it too long.”
To sum up: a quick check for excessive trunk carpeting damage and a flick through the GPS history can reveal dark secrets about a vehicle’s past, helping used-car shoppers to steer clear of potential trouble.
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