What Does Certified Pre-Owned Really Mean?

What’s the major attractive benefit to car buyers who are considering Certified Pre-Owned vehicles as a purchase? Answer: They’ve been through an exhaustive multi-faceted inspection and had any found issues already addressed. What’s whole point of the process?  The thorough inspections and ultimate CPO designation states that although the vehicle is no longer new, it’s still in premium working order…thereby justifying its premium pricing  compared to similar non-CPO vehicles.

Before any part of the inspection process even begins…it’s important to identify the vehicle as legal and legit…by making sure the VIN (vehicle identification number) matches what’s on file at the DMV…verifying a clean title. Carfax, AutoCheck, or some other vehicle history report is usually included for the buyer as a prerequisite.

What actually gets inspected?

  • Maximum mileage and age criteria…determined by each automaker individually. These thresholds reassure  buyers by creating high uniformity among the CPO vehicles being offered for sale.
  • Aftermarket add-ons – carmakers criteria range from zero tolerance for evidence of past aftermarket modifications…to allowing only those that “don’t compromise safety, emissions, or operation of the vehicle.”
  • Safety, emissions, and operation are all delved into deeply in every automaker’s CPO inspection. Major areas that get a close look are the braking system, transmission components and operation, and most everything inside the engine compartment. Fluid levels are checked. Individual components are inspected.
  • Cosmetic checks – items like front & rear bumpers and fascias, emblems & nameplates, moldings & appliqués, door handles, running boards & side steps etc.
  • Vehicle Interiors – safety equipment such as seatbelts and airbags as well as basic functions on the dash such as the stereo and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems. There’s also some fairly extensive cleaning that typically takes place, … Several automakers include cleaning the ashtray and cigarette lighters on their checklists… concerned with smell and makes sure that vehicles are “free of odor, including heavy fragrance.”
  • Hybrids typically have additional checkpoints such as the condition of the battery and a check of more specialized parts such as electric motors and the anti-theft vehicle-immobilizer system.

So…How do you know that the vehicle was actually put through this multipoint scrutiny the carmakers are promising? CPO inspection checklists end with a series of signatures of those responsible for the inspection process, as well as that of the customer buying the car. So, if you are ready to purchase a CPO car or truck and you aren’t offered an inspection checklist to sign, something is amiss.

Generally, the vehicles’ inspections are a fairly extensive list of checks that should give consumers added reassurance that a CPO vehicle is a better bet than its traditional used car scenario. Need more encouragement that CPO is the way to go? Here’s 5 good reasons CPO might be your strategy.

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