Certified Used Cars - The Wave of the Future

Edmunds.com

Certified Used Cars - The Wave of the Future

Many smart car buyers have realized that Certified Used Cars present an attractive alternative to buying a higher priced new car.

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ae1606

Warning to BMW buyers: BMW has thrown in the towel on their vehicles as credible long-term products. Go to this link from their website http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/CPO/Warranty.aspx , look about half way down to "See what is not covered for CPO vehicles retailed on or after 1/1/2014". The "not covered" list includes things like door locks, sunroof, electronics, bushings, struts, tie-rods, headlights, door handles, water leaks (not a joke), mounts (as in transmission and engine mounts, not a joke), light bulbs, interior dashboards (not a joke) and on and on. If your dash-board goes dark and it's not covered, what's the point behind "CPO" again? Seems kind of important. What's worse, BMW used to sell policies for $1,500-$3,000 allowing you to upgrade their CPO "warranty" effectively to bumper-to-bumper coverage. They no longer do this. Some dealers try and get around it by working with third party insurers but the prices are staggering and that's because these are PRECISELY the things that often fail on BMWs inside 60k-70k miles. I've owned 5 BMWs, have LOVED driving them, love the cars but have had chronic quality problems with all but one of them. Wonderful cars to drive but the changes to the CPO warranty and the lack of supplemental policies seems to be a clear flag that declining BMW quality makes these vehicles more toys for enjoyment rather than also being reliable vehicles for transportation.

carperso

There is a 2014 kia optima with less than 10k miles at a local audi dealership. It is used however not certified. I asked the sales guy why it wasnt certified, and he told me that the car can only be certified by a kia dealership. The group that owns the audi dealership also owns a kia dealership across the road. The car is listed under blue book value. I was wondering why they couldnt transfer it to the kia dealership and certify it and sell it for more. I checked out the car and didnt find anything too wrong with. But then i am not a pro at these things. Also the car used to be owned by the sales manager at the groups VW dealership who traded that in for a new audi. Carfax seems clean. Is the sales guy telling the truth that they cannot transfer the car back to the kia and certify it?

razorsblade

" Is the sales guy telling the truth that they cannot transfer the car back to the kia and certify it?"

Yes and no. If they were willing to sell the vehicle from the one store to the other, than yes they can bring the vehicle through the Kia Certified program. Most likely they have the low price because the store did not have to bring it through the process and pay the additional money it costs for the certification warrany and inspection process. With 10k miles, I wouldn't worry about spending the extra effort going through all that.

isellhondas

razorsblade said:

" Is the sales guy telling the truth that they cannot transfer the car back to the kia and certify it?"

Yes and no. If they were willing to sell the vehicle from the one store to the other, than yes they can bring the vehicle through the Kia Certified program. Most likely they have the low price because the store did not have to bring it through the process and pay the additional money it costs for the certification warrany and inspection process. With 10k miles, I wouldn't worry about spending the extra effort going through all that.

Exactly! That car doesen't need to be "certified". Nor do most used cars in my opinion.