Used Car Advice - Multiple Owners

GCabot

I'm currently in the market for a used car, and found one that seems to meet my requirements in terms of options, mileage, etc. It’s a 2016 model with 33,000 miles and is certified pre-owned, which would give me warranty coverage through July 2021.

The only thing that gives me pause, however, is the ownership history. According to the Carfax, the first owner leased the car for less than two months and drove about 900 miles. Then, the second owner leased the car for 1 year and 10 months, before returning it to the dealer. The relevant history is below. I guess it’s possible based on the history that the second owner assumed the first owner’s lease and that the lease was only for two years, although I was under the impression that most leases were at least three years. Even though it is CPO, should I be concerned that the car has been returned from lease twice in such a short time? Thanks!

Owner 1 (Personal Lease, 7/6/16–8/26/16, 908 miles):
07/06/2016 – Vehicle purchase reported; Titled or registered as personal lease vehicle
07/08/2016 – Registration issued or renewed
07/22/2016 – Title issued or updated; First owner reported
07/27/2016 – Vehicle purchase reported
08/12/2016 – Registration issued or renewed; Loan or lien reported

Owner 2 (Lease, 8/26/16–7/17/18, 32,113 miles):
08/26/2016 – Title issued or updated; New owner reported; Loan or lien reported; Titled or registered as lease vehicle
05/01/2018 – Registration issued or renewed; Loan or lien reported; Titled or registered as lease vehicle
07/17/2018 – Lease vehicle returned to dealer
07/18/2018 – Vehicle offered for sale

tjc78

There are lots of two year leases.    I’d say thats a safe assumption that the lease was taken over. 

explorerx4

32K in 11 months? Are there service records?

qbrozen

explorerx4 said:

32K in 11 months? Are there service records?

Double check your math'in skills. ;b

qbrozen

GCabot said:

I'm currently in the market for a used car, and found one that seems to meet my requirements in terms of options, mileage, etc. It’s a 2016 model with 33,000 miles and is certified pre-owned, which would give me warranty coverage through July 2021. The only thing that gives me pause, however, is the ownership history. According to the Carfax, the first owner leased the car for less than two months and drove about 900 miles. Then, the second owner leased the car for 1 year and 10 months, before returning it to the dealer. The relevant history is below. I guess it’s possible based on the history that the second owner assumed the first owner’s lease and that the lease was only for two years, although I was under the impression that most leases were at least three years. Even though it is CPO, should I be concerned that the car has been returned from lease twice in such a short time? Thanks! Owner 1 (Personal Lease, 7/6/16–8/26/16, 908 miles): 07/06/2016 – Vehicle purchase reported; Titled or registered as personal lease vehicle 07/08/2016 – Registration issued or renewed 07/22/2016 – Title issued or updated; First owner reported 07/27/2016 – Vehicle purchase reported 08/12/2016 – Registration issued or renewed; Loan or lien reported Owner 2 (Lease, 8/26/16–7/17/18, 32,113 miles): 08/26/2016 – Title issued or updated; New owner reported; Loan or lien reported; Titled or registered as lease vehicle 05/01/2018 – Registration issued or renewed; Loan or lien reported; Titled or registered as lease vehicle 07/17/2018 – Lease vehicle returned to dealer 07/18/2018 – Vehicle offered for sale

I think your first assessment is likely correct. It seems the first leasor was not using it much so transferred to someone who obviously could use it up. 

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
Math skills are lacking today. Hopefully, not tomorrow too.

stickguy

1 month seems way too short a time to flip the lease. I wonder if it was just a paperwork thing? Maybe changing the name it was in, or having to redo it for some reason? Possible for some reason they had to redo the deal, or maybe they did a spot delivery and couldn't close the financing, but carfax does say title issued.

in any case, if the car is clean, being a CPO I would not worry about the first 900 miles at this point.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

1 month seems way too short a time to flip the lease. I wonder if it was just a paperwork thing? Maybe changing the name it was in, or having to redo it for some reason? Possible for some reason they had to redo the deal, or maybe they did a spot delivery and couldn't close the financing, but carfax does say title issued.

in any case, if the car is clean, being a CPO I would not worry about the first 900 miles at this point.

That's what I think... just a paperwork thing.

GCabot

Thanks for the advice - I've never leased a car before, so I'm not very familiar with what is common in them and what isn't. The car is being sold by the same dealer it was originally leased from, so I'll see if they can give me any further details.