Certified pre-owned cars

[migirl]

Has anyone bought a used car through a dealership's certified pre-owned program?

My car might be on its last legs (it has 130k miles on it, I have to take it to the shop next week to find what the latest problem is) so we may be shopping for another car. I'm open to buying a used car, is it worth it to buy certified pre-owned? Are there other ways of finding/buying used cars for people who don't know what they're doing? Neither of us knows much about cars, so I'm a bit leery of trying to find a decent used car on our own.

[planet]

Jane,

We subscribed to carfax when we were looking for a car. It lets you look up the vin # of used cars and tells you the car's known history, accidents, owners. It was very helpful. It applies to dealership owned cars too. We didn't trust a dealership to tell us everything.

DH's best friend in Cleveland is a branch manager for Enterprise car sales (they sell off the rental fleets). They're very picky about the cars they will sell under their name - they've got to be in v. good condition. The ones that aren't in such good shape get sent off to the other dealerships to be sold. You get the maintenance records and history, and remaining warranty, and can buy an extended warranty if you want. We've bought several cars from them and have been very happy. .

My parents have purchased pre-owned certified cars for years and we've never had issues. Then they bought cars for my brother and I in high school/college from Hertz car sales (the cars are rented for a year, then turned over to sell.) We've never had issues with these cars as well. But again, it still matters what name you buy. All our cars are Japanese - a Lexas, an Infiniti, a Toyota, and a Nissan.

[Stella]

My mom bought a used Mercedes on eBay. It's an awesome car and it's been very reliable!

Also recommend the Enterprise idea. Or just a Honda. My Accord is 11 years old with almost 200K mi and it is still cruising.

[MissCrabette]

Or just a Honda. My Accord is 11 years old with almost 200K mi and it is still cruising.

My vote is also for Honda. The thing with Hondas, though, is that they are very good at maintaining their value so you won't get great deals on used Hondas. I looked into getting a certified Accord myself and the price was so close to that of the new Accords that I ended up buying new. I don't feel bad about it because we'll keep this car for quite some time.

I'd also recommend Carmax. My parents got very good deals on two cars from them. The buying process is very simple and they sell cars in great condition. Those that do not pass their stricter inspection requirements are sold as ValuMax cars.

Lastly, I'll second the Carfax recommendation. If you do end up buying a car from a private party, be it from ebay or from an ad, make sure you check the VIN number on the Carfax website. Not every seller is a reputable one. And the car advertised as nearly new, driven only by grandma could end up being a flooded car or something equally scary.

[Vishenka69]

We know a lot of ppl who've bought used cars through various sources. From my experience, Japanese cars are a better option and even more important is the source. If you can get a recommended dealer, it's much safer. We bought our Corolla slightly used and couldn't be happier with it.

If you get a "certified, used car" from a dealer, typically it means that it has been through a more detailed inspection and will come with a warranty of greater amount, than "as-is" or even 12mths/12000 miles.
Any dealership can claim their used cars are "Certified", what they usually means is that they employ a mechanic/s that have done brand testing so that they can do that manufactures inspection and stamp the car certified....having passed a 110-point inspection or what have you.
Usually the high-end models, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, etc. require the dealer mechanics to maintain a certain standard (a continuing education type training, yearly) and they also require even great scrutiny of the used car.

The best bet when buying used is still to get with your favorite local mechanic, have them view the car bumper to bumper and top to bottom. There may be a small fee involved, but they can save you lots in the long run.

Hope that it is helpful...or better yet, that you got a new car that you love!

A bit of entertainment for those of you with a warped sense of humor. NOT SAFE FOR KIDS.... http://www.illwillpress.com/vault.html click on the one that says "cell phones and car ads" thought it was appropriate with the title of the post