Car Dealer

Are Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles Worth Buying?

You desire a new vehicle but want to avoid the first year’s sharp depreciation hit. You also don’t want to risk buying a used vehicle because chances are, you may end up with a clunker. Fortunately, it’s possible to get the best of both worlds.

Certified pre-owned vehicles are used cars that are sold at dealerships with limited miles and age after thorough reconditioning and inspection. These cars have already taken a huge percentage of depreciation that a lot of vehicles have in their first year of use; therefore, they are less expensive compared to purchasing a new car.

To be precise, certified pre-owned cars, also referred as certified used cars, or CPO, are vehicles that are part of manufacturer-sponsored programs, and not just vehicles that come slapped with a “Certified” sticker across the windshield without authentic certification.

A CPO car from United Nissan or Tustin Nissan, both dealerships owned by Don Forman, comes with many added advantages to increase buyer peace of mind and assurance.

Warranty

The biggest advantage of choosing a certified used vehicle over a standard used vehicle is the warranty coverage. It’s definitely true that some used vehicles might have some factory warranty left, and that tells you, your car is already covered by the warranty even if something breaks. But certified pre-owned cars come with extended warranties. This gives you a longer-term warranty for your car.

Free Maintenance

As part of the process of certification, CPO programs offer free maintenance for a certain period or mileage limit. This benefit covers tire rotations and oil change as per the automaker’s recommended intervals. The dealership may also include free car inspections in the package.

Top Quality Cars

Certified used cars have better quality than run-of-the-mill used vehicles. Dealers issue CPO warranties only after the completion of a comprehensive inspection. This is done to ensure the vehicle does not have any serious problems or defects. If the vehicle had serious issues, the manufacturer would not want the dealer giving a warranty since the automaker would probably end up making losses on the transaction.

Similarly, the majority of automakers require that certified used cars are free from major accidents. A lot of car brands also demand that their certified pre-owned cars have fairly new brakes and tires to ensure the buyer doesn’t go back to the dealer just after purchase with possibly expensive issues.

Multi-Point Reconditioning and Inspection Process

The number of items examined by a dealer and if necessary, replaced or reconditioned to meet the CPO program standards will vary from one manufacturer to another. Generally, a CPO car will undergo between 100-200 individual item checks before it’s approved as a certified pre-owned vehicle.

Low-Interest Financing

It’s true that certified used cars are pricier than similar non-certified models. However, CPO cars can qualify for lower interest rates, typically equivalent to the loans extended to new cars. For buyers financing their certified pre-owned cars, lower interest rates lower their monthly payments.

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