Cost to Certify a Used Car

Does anyone know how much dealers pay a manufacturer in order to list a used car as a CPO?

 

That part I don't know. However, when someone buys a CPO vehicle, it's more/less buying a "service contract," which is a major F no from me.

Note: I used to work on the car finance side of my Bank employer. It's well known that it's more/less a service contract.

 

Indeed. However, it's also a signal. Or rather, not slapping the label on an eligible car, particularly one with only 2 months of warranty left, seems like a signal.

Dealer is telling me that it costs $2500 which does not pass the credulity test, especially since these cars carry a ~$900 premium when certified, and no dealer would spend $2500 to raise the price $900. They also claim they subjected it to the same CPO check list, they just didn't pay the fee.

They say they are willing to share these records with me, but they have thus far not been forthcoming. So I am trying to verify their number which has proven difficult to do.

And I have just gotten curious about the whole phenomena of CPO which, as you say, is really just a clever new name for an extended warranty, and a bit of rent seeking by the manufacturers.

 

Of course we know that the dealers won't give you the full history on anything. When the CPO concept came out years back, it was just another way to make more money on an used car by rebanding the Service Contact to a CPO.

If the dealer you are working with aren't being forthcoming, I would just move on.

 

I worked in car sales for about a year, couldn't stand it, and left. That was a long time ago, but I doubt that business changed much.

CPO = you get fucked. They charge almost new car money on something that lost half it's value the moment it was driven off the lot the first time. Sure, you get a warranty, it's been through an inspection, blah blah blah, but it's something they use as hype to increase the perceived value of the vehicle. Every dealership inspects used vehicles before they sell them, CPO or not. The only difference here is that the OEM will let them put a Certified PreOwned tag on it when they follow specific guidelines. I doubt the dealer has to pay anything to do this.

 

I think this is the direction it is heading.

On another note - does anyone know where to find data related to car repair prevalence? There are tons of people who will tell you that a Toyota is more reliable than an Audi, but raw data on what % of cars need repair in a given year and the cost of those repairs is elusive.

 

Certified Pre Owned warranty costs typically vary by manufacturer and by model and you must also factor in the dealer’s internal costs to recondition the vehicle to meet the manufacturer’s CPO standards. There are indeed costs and CPO coverage can't be viewed cynically as an 'extended warranty' because the vehicle was serviced and repaired prior to the purchase. The dealer can show you the internal RO to substantiate the cost of the repairs and services that were preformed to bring the car up to the CPO standard. Is CPO coverage worth it? It depends on the coverage, condition, and reliability of the vehicle. I also recommended weighing the alternative of purchasing an extended warranty contract because they generally offer better coverage than most CPO programs-- again this decision needs to be based upon the condition and reliability of the vehicle, your personal financials to cover major repairs, estimated annual mileage, and how long you intended to own the vehicle. Dealers typically send lease return vehicles to regional dealer auctions when the vehicle does not meet the CPO criteria, the reconditioning costs are too high, the vehicle is undesirable, or has a poor residual. So you should read between the lines to understand the dealers motives for selling the car as-is.

 

Basically it depends on the vehicle if your car is approx 20000$ they will charge between 400$ to 600$ but if you get more expensive car or SUV trucks so they will charge more i haven't experience yet but my Cousin bought a ford truck for towing roadside assistance nyc, he paid approx 800$.

 

Consumer Reports used to collect this data, but I haven't bought a car in years, so I'm not sure if they are still a go to for that info.

 

I’ve read that some dealers “certify” their cars themselves, which is not the same as being Certified Preowned by the OEM.

For repairs, I stick to www.carcomplaints.com. Best resource I’ve found, and can view a range of years for particular models to see trends in repairs.