On the face of it, the CPO option sounds like a win/win situation for

buyer and seller. And buying a CPO certainly has its advantages. Every

educated buyer knows that, while there are some exceptions to the rule,

most new cars lose a great deal of their value over the first few years of

ownership. But with a CPO car, which can be anywhere from two years old to

eight years old in certain cases, the first owner of the vehicle takes the

depreciation hit. And looking at CPO options expands your car-buying

horizons. Because the car has lowered in value, you can afford more luxury

for less money.

“CPOs provide a new category of entry-level vehicle, especially for the

luxury auto makers,” explains Tom Kontos, Adesa Corp vice president for

industry relations. Car buyers with budgets that would limit them to a BMW

3 series in the new-car world, can entertain the possibilities of a two-

year old 5 Series of a four-year old 7 Series in the CPO realm.
Of course, that would be true with traditional used cars as well. The

biggest selling points for consumers who actually purchased a CPO car was

the manufacturer’s warranty, followed closely by the manufacturer’s

inspection process, according to CNW Marketing/Research.


Both vary a great deal according to manufacturer programs. Each

manufacturer places its own age and mileage limits on the cars they will

certify. But the savvy CPO shopper should note that luxury car

manufacturers are known to be choosier in deciding which cars make the

certification cut.

“The high-end certified used cars tend to be really, really good. The

luxury manufacturers have very strict rules about what gets certified,”

says Art Spinella, industry expert with CNW Marketing Research.

“Companies like Toyota and Chevy and other more mainstream manufacturers

also have rules for certification, but they’re not as stringent so it’s

a little more of a gamble.”


After a vehicle is selected for potential certification, there’s the

inspection process. Car makers are big on touting how many points they

check off before a car is certified, but is a 142-point checklist somehow

better than a 141-point checklist? Probably not. They all tend to cover

the same major areas, with some variation in the details or what signifies

a check point.

Warranties also can come in many forms, from the remainder of the new-car

limited warranty to a specific additional one- or two-year CPO limited

warranty. Total coverage can range anywhere from 30-days to several years,

depending on the manufacturer. Certain car makers, such as Acura and

Volkswagen, have an exchange or return policy consumers can fall back on

for even more piece of mind.

Today’s CPOs come with other new-car-like benefits as well, such as

interiors and exteriors detailed to look like new, free initial oil

changes and 24-hour roadside assistance. While most additional CPO perks

are intended to make them appear as attractive as new cars, some pluses

are CPO-specific.


Source: http://search.msn.com
Posted by Stephanie Overby

####