Used fleet cars on Autoquake.com

What should you know about ex-fleet and ex-lease cars?

Most of the cars in Autoquake.com's stock are ex-fleet cars. That means they were originally owned or leased by a company for use by its employees. They're also known as ex-company cars or, if the business rented rather than bought the cars alright, ex-lease cars. Some may have belonged to charitable organisations, like Motability.

There are good reasons to choose ex-company cars over other used vehicles. A business has a duty of care towards its employees, which means making sure the cars they use are safe and properly maintained. That's no guarantee that every ex-lease car will have a full service history, but most of those on Autoquake's books do.

A good company car can be an important way of rewarding employees or attracting new ones, so most ex-company cars are well equipped. You won't find many without air conditioning and alloy wheels, for example. Ex-motability cars are generally an exception to this rule. What's more, because businesses have to be careful over how much they spend on fuelling and maintaining their cars, the models they choose tend to be economical and have sensible running costs. You won't find many gas-guzzlers on company fleets, but you're much more likely to find compact executive cars or estate cars. The most reliable cars tend to be fleet managers' preferred cars.

Some buyers are put off by the high mileages which many company cars rack up. Don't be. The chances are a high-mileage car will have spent most of its life on motorways and A-roads, driven in top gear with steady engine revs. Which do you think causes the most wear and tear, an hour at 70mph or an hour of stop-start driving, constantly changing gear, using the brakes or slipping the clutch? Exactly. It's a mistake to assume that a high-mileage car has led a hard life.

Since 2007, employees have been banned from smoking in their company cars, so if the smell of cigarette smoke is a big turn off, it's another thing you won't have to worry about when buying an ex-fleet car.

Are there any disadvantages to buying an ex-fleet car? Well, you could argue that a private owner is more likely than a company car driver to clean and polish their pride and joy every Sunday afternoon. On the other hand, how many businesses would be happy for an employee to arrive at an important meeting in a filthy car?

Not all company cars will have been serviced at franchised dealers, but that doesn't mean the cars haven't been serviced properly. If a service has been missed, we make this clear in the vehicle's online description so you know exactly what you are buying.

All in all, the benefits of buying an ex-company car clearly outweigh the disadvantages.