seller claims vehicles are certified pre-owned

[cobrapete302]

The seller chooses the certified pre-owned classification for some vehicles, but that's not the intention of the category. "Certified Pre-Owned" means it's manufacturer certified by Ford, Mercedes, Toyota, etc.

seller may be intentionally misleading buyers by using this term.

It only provides a 3000-mile warranty through the dealer. If I buy a certified pre-owned vehicle from Ford, it has a 60,000 mile bumper-to bumper warranty and 100,000 powertrain warranty. Ford's new factory warranty is 30,000 mile bumper-to-bumper and 60,000 mile powertrain warranties. I hope eBay takes note of this misrepresentation.

[legitimate_bidder]

I wonder when American brand dealers even got in on the CPO thing? I know the CPO stuff atarted with either Honda or Toyota. I'm pretty sure it was honda though. I believe they had a more scrupulous plan, where the CPO cars actually came with a manufacturer warranty. If I remember correctly, it took a while before CPO spread to American brands....but then I don't think it was the same as what Honda did, like you say, Rip, it was just more of a dealer gimmick, with maybe a dealer-specific or aftermarket warranty thrown in (Probably the worthless 50/50 variety, where the customer pays for 50% of any repairs...which of course means he pays 100%, because he pays the retail cost of the repairs, and marked-up parts, etc.)

And then they wonder why people hate car dealers, and especially American ones.....

[tony1963]

Not all car dealers are hated, but people hate retail stores of any kind if they have had an unpleasant experience.  The issue becomes supply and demand.  People gravitate toward preowned or "used" since the value is higher.

I've had vehicles that were perfectly good cars after we spent some money and our cost on those cars was quite low.  It shows that a person who wants to conserve their resources shops for used.  That's where I've done well over the last 20 years.

Our number one product line has been Volvo, but lately, I'm selling a lot of Mercedes.  Either way, great cars.

[legitimate_bidder]

Yeah Tony, but you have to admit, probably the majority of dealerships out there use sleazy high-pressure sales tactics and lie pathologically to everyone's face; play games (especially if the customer is having them finance it)- and the really sad thing is, they give us honest guys a bad name.

I've never bought a car from a dealership in my life (Why would I?), but I have gone to dealers with friends. It was fun... I'd trip the salesmen up in their words and point-out the contradictions and lies they'd spew.....

[autopartspuller]

In my line I tend to befriend local car dealers.  Specially the small ones.  I am always looking for a good line for a vette to part out.  Dealer's are sometimes a good hookup for a car that really isn't lot worthy but, they took it as a trade in or know of someone who wants to sell.  

Just like a mechanic or any other type of service position... your rep can make or break you.  Being sleezy, most times, will just loose you money.  But, they aren't experts.  They haven't owned that car it's whole life.  9 out of 10 times the person who sold it to them didnt tell them about the last time they took the car over 100, changed the oil or the homespun fixes.  You have to always do your due dilegence when buying a used car, no matter who you buy from.  

Most dealers are just trying to make a buck and I respect that.   They have to make money to keep the lights on.

[jr-41ford]

I've used the same salesman (a close friend) for a number of years, as I buy new vehicles every 2 to 3 years. The dealership he works for has just about every make of vehicle in a 50 mile radius. He also works in the fleet sales, where there is no pressure to make a sale and is the company's community representative for different local events, charities, etc. Two months ago, bought a 2017 Chevy Silverado 2500 with the Duramaxx and Allison transmission for towing our 5th wheel. In the fall, we will be trading in our 2015 Chevy Equinox for another small SUV.

I've been around some real car salesmen that are something else. My favorite was the salesman that came up and ask how he could help me, told him to speak to the wife, she's buying. He continued dealing with me, wife made a few comments to him and left. He looked like he lost his favorite stuff animal, he did lose an easy sale.

[cobrapete302]

My mistake.
12,000 Comprehensive Warranty.
7-years/100,000 Powertrain Warranty

The seller in question provides a blanket "certified" 3000 mile warranty. It's baloney. They shouldn't be allowed to classify their vehicles as certified.

The point is, the term certified should ONLY apply to manufacturer-certified vehicles.

[legitimate_bidder]

>>"The point is, the term certified should ONLY apply to manufacturer-certified vehicles."<<

Even that, what the heck does it mean and what good is it? You buy a car that is "manufacturer certified"- unless it's got a real warranty to back up that certification, all it means is "We pick the cleanest cars, and nothing is glaringly wrong with them at the moment, so we charge you top dollar- but if the tranny falls out next month, you're on your own".

When it comes down to it, regardless of the verbiage, if you're paying extra, all that matters is the warranty. Call it whatever you want, or just be honest and say "These are the ones that are good enough that we offer a full comprehensive warranty on them". Anything else is really just clever lingo designerd to make the purchaser think he is getting something extra when he isn't.

Like I say, I certify that all of my used cars are pre-owned! 😉 And they come with a driveway-over guarantee: Once you leave the driveway, the guarantee is over! 😄

[ripsmc]

And what exactly IS   "manufacturer-certified vehicles"?

Do some people actually think that (GM for example...)  sends a rep out from corporate HQs to go over that just returned or purchased used Chevy with a fine tooth comb?

The car dealerships are a separate corporate entity from the people who actually manufacture the cars so any inspection is done by the "dealer's guy". So where does "manufacturer certified" come in....

Even if they did (and which they don't..) it's been my experience that most decent mechanics know far more than the reps from the manufacturers.

[autopartspuller]

Not all salesmen are good ones. 

As a woman in my business, I run into all kinds of people who are full of stereo types.  

When I purchased my current shop, it was had been a running mechanics shop since 1958 in a small rural area that used to be a main route to OBX (outer banks, nc).   I no longer run it as a mechanic shop, but I do sell parts out of here and always have my garage doors open when I am tearing down a car.  You have to imagine that I got of people that that would stop in thinking we are still a mechanics shop (still do but not as often).  I could tell you some hilarious stories about men's reactions when I popped out from under the lift... lol  

Not to mention that I frequently go places with that **bleep** old engine grease that wont seem to budge on my face, hands... or clothes. Salesmen will brush me off for better prey frequently... only to see me get into my beautiful vette or me spend my money with someone who took the time to actually care for my needs... Then again, I can haggle with the best of 'em.. maybe they dont want the hassle.. lol

[legitimate_bidder]

Rip, I think it's like another brilliant poster said in reference to the outlandish claims made in the CL scam ads...."they do it to weed-out the smart people". Maybe that's the way it is with "CPO/Manufacturer Certified" too- they figure if ya fall for the silly verbiage, you'll likely be an easy mark for them to sell you a 1 or 2 year old car for essentially the same price as a new 'un.

Brought to you by the same people who think you'll believe that Smucker's preserves are really made by an old man in some little farm house.

It's Edward Bernays rum amok!

(In case you're not familiar:....)

[ripsmc]

I agree about CPO pricing. By the time a car becomes a CPO odds are the new models are arriving and the CPO is at least 2-3 model years old.

For the small price difference just buy a brand new unit.

Another issue that often happens with lease cars and so on is that the person leasing the car has no intention of spending one dime  out of pocket on it in regard to maintance.; and that includes oil changes.

Ignored oil changes lead to oil sludging and usually a certain amount of oil consumption. By the time the CPO warranty is up it's discovered that the engine is dying a premature death.

I've seen more than a few very low miles (20-40k miles) engines that were worn out due to nothing more than lack of oil changes. Some of them were wiped beyond the point of repair.

In one particular case this car bought new had a wiped engine at 25k miles. Not one oil change during the entire time.

When I removed the oil pan the oil was nothing but cold tar. Turned upside down for an hour, not one bit of oil would ooze out of the pan. And the crankshaft was purple from oil starved heat.

[legitimate_bidder]

I avoid low-mileage cars like the plague, Rip! (You've probably seen my posts on here about my friend's mother who paid TWO TIMES the going price for an ultra low mileage bubble Caprice back in the 90's, from it's original elderly owner, because it had ridiculously low miles on it... I warned her...she didn't listen. Car was the biggest pile-O-feces....)

I dunno- I see everyone around me ponying-up big bucks for late-model vehicles with warranties and certification" and all that....and they all end up spending thousands in repairs over a short period. I'll stick with my 15-20 year-old high-mile vehicles. All the bugs have been worked out, and someone before me took good care of 'em tov get 'em to that point. I never seem to have a problem with 'em.

[autopartspuller]

Cars are meant to be driven.  It blows my mind how many people dont realise that the longer you let a car sit, the more problems you are likely to have with it.  

To top that off, most people dont properly prepare their car for long term storage either.  Gotta love opening the gas cap and getting that bad gas varnish smell.

[ripsmc]

Back in the late 80s a dealer I worked for bought about 35-40 Monte Carlos that were all fleet cars. They had been used by sales staff and so for short hop stuff. They were bought sight unseen, where is as is.

Every single one of them smoked upon startup and they all had no more than 35k miles on them.

They became projects for the mechanics during a slow spell. Run out back, grab a Monte, pull it into the shop and yank the valve covers. Most of the valve train could not be seen due to sludge and all of the oil drain holes were plugged up with sludge. That in turn filled the valve covers with oil when the engine was running.

We would clean the valve train area out as best as possible and send them back out. I strongly imagine there were oil consumption issues along with low oil pressure issues as the oil pan and pickup screen was also likely slugged up.

Sympathy for the people who bought those "super clean low miles creampuffs".....

[legitimate_bidder]

@autopartspuller

@ripsmc

Yep. Most reliable vehicle I ever owned was my 98 full-size Ford van- bought when it was 3 years old, with 240K miles on her. Kept it for 15 years. Had to put a fuel pump and a heater core in it. Still ran like a top when I sold her last year! People who actually use...know how to keep 'em in good shape, and by the time we get 'em, many of the problematic original components are replaced or repaired, and their replacements last longer than the 80-100K original ones.

Now back to mowing....