School me on Certified Pre-Owned (CPO)

dogememe

dogememe

Joined
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My thoughts came up after reading a recent post where someone had a CPO car under warranty with a failure that may or may not be a wear item.

Is CPO just a more expensive used car or is it a great deal compared to buying new?

Reason I ask is I'm still considering a CPO Explorer I found at a nearby Ford dealer that seems like a good deal. I've never bought anything with a warranty before, always well used. My Escape did come from this same dealer many years ago and it's been a fantastic car. But that was at 60K miles, as-is, no warranty. Other than that I've always bought older very well used vehicles.

Ford's CPO drivetrain warranty is 100K/7Y vs new cars only get 60K/5Y. But, if it would come to a warranty claim under CPO, are you at a disadvantage when compared to being the first owner of a new car? Is it likely they will try to wiggle out of it? Or will they treat you just the same as if you bought the car new?

Does anyone have any positive or negative experiences with their CPO vehicle of any brand, of course if you have experience with the Blue Oval CPO program I'd love to hear it. This is what Ford says about their "Gold Certified" CPO program:

GOLD CERTIFIED VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS​

  • Ford models up to 6 years old with less than 80,000 miles
  • Passed a thorough 172-point inspection
  • 12-Month/12,000-Mile (whichever comes first) Comprehensive Limited Warranty1
  • 7-Year/100,000-Mile (whichever comes first) Powertrain Limited Warranty1
  • 14-Day/1,000-Mile (whichever comes first) Money Back Guarantee2
  • 24/7 Roadside Assistance3
  • 22,000 FordPassTM Rewards Points4 to use toward your first two maintenance visits
 
Well I have never done CPO but have bought 3 cars new and it seems like there always trying to dodge warranty repairs there also - usually "its supposed to sound like that" or, we can't do anything until it leaves you stranded on the side of the road type stuff.

Warranty not worth paper its written on. Maybe if you have a catastrophic failure OK, but not much else.

Having said that, if you like the car, why not buy it?
 
SC Maintenance said:
Well I have never done CPO but have bought 3 cars new and it seems like there always trying to dodge warranty repairs there also - usually "its supposed to sound like that" or, we can't do anything until it leaves you stranded on the side of the road type stuff.

Warranty not worth paper its written on. Maybe if you have a catastrophic failure OK, but not much else.

Having said that, if you like the car, why not buy it?
Click to expand...
Well, honestly, I'm going to be keeping my old vehicle as a secondary cvehicle to whatever I do buy, so I am weighing the pros and cons of something nice and almost-new with a warranty vs something cheaper and older where I myself am the warranty, as I have always done before. Hence why I'm trying to learn more about the warranties and their value.
 
dogememe said:
Well, honestly, I'm going to be keeping my old vehicle as a secondary cvehicle to whatever I do buy, so I am weighing the pros and cons of something nice and almost-new with a warranty vs something cheaper and older where I myself am the warranty, as I have always done before. Hence why I'm trying to learn more about the warranties and their value.
Click to expand...
Warranties are big money for the dealer and the manufacturer. That's why they push extended warranties so hard when new. Same with CPO - its just a bundled up extended warranty. Actuarily its never a good deal. Sure some people make out really well, but overall its a ton of profit margin for those selling them. If that's the answer your looking for.

Having said that, if you buy the car you like, you will take better care of it, you will keep it longer, and you will save more money over the long term. If its new or CPO or well used, just buy the best car you can find that you really like.
 
I've seen enough evidence to know CPO can mean a whole lot of different things depending on the dealer. I've seen CPO cars with significant issues that could only be missed if the dealer wasn't doing ANY of the CPO checklist.
 
CPO is basically an extended factory warranty from the automaker rather than a third party. Obviously this warranty takes over after the factory warranty has expired.

It is a good deal on some makes like BMW.

Terms will vary of course.
 
SC Maintenance said:
Well I have never done CPO but have bought 3 cars new and it seems like there always trying to dodge warranty repairs there also - usually "its supposed to sound like that" or, we can't do anything until it leaves you stranded on the side of the road type stuff.

Warranty not worth paper its written on. Maybe if you have a catastrophic failure OK, but not much else.

Having said that, if you like the car, why not buy it?
Click to expand...
Dare I say, my CPO VW. I got 84 months and have been to East Coast VW for dumb stuff (weatherstripping and "I think I smell coolant") Always a good experience. I even got a tire pressure monitoring system software flash. Mine was a lease return that had been in a collision but still got the CPO sticker.
 
I bought a used Tundra that was CPO . The transmission went out . The dealer gave me an estimate for repairs that was pretty scary . I had forgot about the CPO thing and saw it in the paperwork I was holding . I mentioned it to the service guy and showed him the paperwork . He said , " Ok , we'll take care of it ." (y)
 
During the height of covid I bought (and got a great deal on a super low mileage 2017 Chevy Traverse) right from the original dealer who sold the vehicle. It was a pleasant surprise for me. Dont know how Ford works though.

But anyway, I cant remember the specifics, starting the day I picked it up GM certified meant I start out with a 12 month 12k factory warranty and 100k powertrain (or 6 years) that was really cool. It also covered a couple oil changes.
It's a bit of a relief buying a used vehicle, yet getting a 12 month12/k bumper to bumper warranty on it. Plus 100k power train, how much more could you ask and the car really has to be good from the start to qualify.
From experience not related to GM, yes, it cost the dealer some money to have a car carry a factory certification.I can expect one pays for for certified but all that stuff is subjective to what else is on the market. For us at the time, all the other vehicles were the same price and more. This one was perfect and had the factory two package which was a must have. I can tell it was not used for towing, the receiver didnt have a mark on it.
I would do a search for Ford Certified and see what you come up with, I came up with this for GM.

https://www.gmcertified.com/certified-vs-used

Hmmmm ... unless I am reading this wrong (I'm rushing)
Ford doesnt seem as complete, not even seeing a warranty other than you can return the car in 14 days.
 
alarmguy said:
During the height of covid I bought (and got a great deal on a super low mileage 2017 Chevy Traverse) right from the original dealer who sold the vehicle. It was a pleasant surprise for me. Dont know how Ford works though.

But anyway, I cant remember the specifics, starting the day I picked it up GM certified meant I start out with a 12 month 12k factory warranty and 100k powertrain (or 6 years) that was really cool. It also covered a couple oil changes.
It's a bit of a relief buying a used vehicle, yet getting a 12 month12/k bumper to bumper warranty on it. Plus 100k power train, how much more could you ask and the car really has to be good from the start to qualify.
From experience not related to GM, yes, it cost the dealer some money to have a car carry a factory certification.I can expect one pays for for certified but all that stuff is subjective to what else is on the market. For us at the time, all the other vehicles were the same price and more. This one was perfect and had the factory two package which was a must have. I can tell it was not used for towing, the receiver didnt have a mark on it.
I would do a search for Ford Certified and see what you come up with, I came up with this for GM.

https://www.gmcertified.com/certified-vs-used

Hmmmm ... unless I am reading this wrong (I'm rushing)
Ford doesnt seem as complete, not even seeing a warranty other than you can return the car in 14 days.
Click to expand...

I was reading from here regarding the 100K/7Y Powertrain warranty: https://www.marincountyford.com/ford-certified/
 
Audi CPO is pretty good, considering all the tech that's in their cars and SUVs . Start out with a 4-yr/50k B^B, and then at the end of the B^B warranty, the CPO is then in-effect for 2-yr/50k miles, which every occurs 1st. Applicable to:

• Models 5 years or newer
• No more than 60,000 miles
• Vehicle History Report shows vehicle meets Audi Certified pre-owned guidelines (passes comprehensive inspection)

Iirc, the value of the Audi CPO warranty is $1,600, but don't quote me.
 
As other have said a CPO is usually through the Manufacturer. So you get the balance of the original plus the extended. BUT with some of the things I have seen lately I would double then triple check and then get it in writing that this is NOT a third party contract. Those are not worth the paper they are written on but if the Factory is doing CPO they will not even offer it on a vehicle with issues.
 
Had a 2012 CPO Chevy Cruze a few years back. GM gave you a 1 year/12K bumper to bumper (unless the car was still within it's 3/36 BTB, in which case the warranty was extended to 4 years/48K) They put a 6 year 100K powertrain warranty on it as well. The car we bought only had 31K on it. However, it constantly lived at the dealer with one minor unrelated issue after another. Finally got tired of dealing with it and traded it away. However I never had one issue with GM warranty on its many issues. Not familiar with Ford's CPO, but if I liked the car I wouldn't worry about a factory supported warranty.
 
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