BMW Certified, or Lower mileage?

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My nephew is dead set on a BMW 228i,a 2014. There are two that are identical, with the interior color, exterior color, and options he wants. Both look to be in Pristine condition. The two choices are:

1. BMW Certified with 32k.

2. Non-certified from a used dealer that specializes in buying low mileage vehicles off lease. This one only has 11k on it.

I believe option 2, is 2-3 thousand bucks less, though money isn't an issue. I was thinking I'd want the one with lower miles, he seems to want the Certified one for piece of mind.

Opinions?
 
BMW Certified for sure.

Leased cars are always suspect; leased luxury/sports cars even more so. Also, modern BMWs are not great to work on.

You want that peace of mind.
 
Hmmm, IDK if mileage matters with these 2 cars. It's a tough choice though, I'd agree with your nephew in wanting to get the "Certified" BMW as statistically, they can be very, very expensive to repair and repairing them is a given especially after their initial warranty runs out.

My SIL/BIL have 3 BMW's(X5, Z4, 325 Xdrive) and they're always in for repairs.
 
The non-CPO car should still have the balance of the normal 4yr/50k warranty.

The other car will have its warranty extended by 1-2yrs, depending on which CPO program it's covered by.

A CPO car will have had to undergo an inspection to qualify; check to see what's inspected. Even then, it's only as good as the dealer tech who performed it.

Read the fine print, and decide whether the difference between the new car warranty and CPO warranty terms is worth the cost. Apparently, they are not 1:1 identical.

If it's a matter of maintenance program, I think those packages can be purchased separately.

When the program first started, it was mainly a way to get an factory/dealer-backed extended warranty, with a PPI thrown in. Depending on one's point of view, being locked into dealer service wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Things have gotten more complicated since then.

Personally, I'd take the car with lower mileage, have an independent PPI done, and either invest the $2-3 grand or put it toward an extended warranty of my choice. Anything that crops up within the balance of the new car warranty would still be on BMW's dime.

Ultimately, it's the condition of the car that should be the biggest factor. CPO programs mitigate risk; they don't eliminate it.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
But do a PPO on both vehicles and see which one comes up with a cleaner bill.

Oops... i meant PPI.
 
Can't you get an aftermarket extended warranty on the low-mileage one for less than $3k? If so you'd have the protection of an extended warranty plus low mileage for the same price of the CPO.
 
Can $3k buy an aftermarket warranty that's as good as BMW CPO? I'd be surprised. Seems like a good idea on paper, but the devil is in the details -- deductibles, parts replaced with same-mileage used ones, etc.
 
Given the age and mileage, can he buy an extended warranty for the second one? Various dealers sell them competitively online. Bmw warranty only. Id want to set the terms of sale on the ability to get it.
 
Another thing you can do is have a helpful BMW service advisor look up the warranty repair history of both cars. All they'll need is the last 7 of the VIN.

The newer car could be a lemon with a laundry list of repairs, while the older one may be a solid car.
 
Oooooorrr... the one with the laundry list of repairs was owned by someone with extensive automotive knowledge who insisted on a perfect driving experience, and the one with no warranty repairs was owned by a rube who only knows how to put gas in and mash the throttle.
 
THis is why you dont buy BMWs
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Personally all other things being equal I would go with the one with lower miles and have it gone through by an independent specialist before buying it. BMW or MB, etc certified doesn't mean much, trust me on that I have seen too much in dealerships, its just a meaningless buzzword meant to give buyers more confidence and jack the price, nothing more.
Second string mechanics do these inspections for a flat rate, the faster its out of there the more money they make. I saw one guy at a local BMW dealer do a walk around with a flashlight, started drinking his coffee and checking boxes off.

A few years ago I went through a "certified" MB C300 4MATIC, the person that inspected it didn't test drive much further than the parking lot, it had transmission issues, bad sway bar links and a few other obvious things all the way down to raggedy wiper blades (i guess they didn't even bother to turn them on).
In theory having a qualified mechanic familiar with the car go through it thoroughly and inspect it is a great thing and definitely adds some value but it reality its not happening.

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