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What Makes a Car a Certified Car?
Buying a certified car is a nice way to get a car that is relatively new, and in excellent condition. These cars are some of the top used cars on the market. In order to get certification, there are some things that a car must have and do.
Manufacturer Certification
The first step to becoming certified is to have the original manufacturer back the warranty. You can’t buy a Mercedes pre-owned car from a Lexus dealership. It must all be done by the same brand of dealership that the car was made from (i.e., an Audi must be sold at an Audi dealership). The dealer must have the car checked out before the inspection process and fix anything that they see as a potential problem. Then the car can be taken for inspection, where it will go through some tests.
Certified Car Inspection
This is the key part of the certification process. Every car company is different in their inspection of a vehicle that can potentially become a certified pre-owned car. Most companies employ a series of more than 100 tests. Some cars must go through 300 point inspections. When you hear the word “point,” that refers to the amount of tests it must pass. Some of these tests are basic, such as having the manual. Other key qualities are the amount of miles. Most cars have less than 100,000 miles, but some brands require cars to be in the 50,000 miles or lower range. Most programs require vehicles that are less than five years old. Most car company websites will have their entire list of inspection points that can be downloaded for your research.
Dealer Certification
The dealer must also certify the car. This is done in the form of a warranty. The warranty that will be given will add onto the original manufacturer’s warranty. These warranties are often just as good as the original warranty in terms of coverage. In some cases, there are even extras that weren’t originally included. One example of this is roadside assistance. Most certified pre-owned warranties include free roadside assistance in the case of an accident or a flat tire. Some of these programs even say that you don’t need to be driving your certified pre-owned car to use the roadside assistance, and you never know when that may come in handy.
Why Buy Certified
The whole process of making a car certified is to help a buyer be at ease when buying a used car. Many people are often skeptical of used cars because they are fearful that the car will break down, or that there is an underlying problem. The certified pre-owned process creates peace of mind by having the car go through this rigorous testing. It’s a program that does cost a bit more than buying a regular used car, but certified pre-owned purchases are up in the past few years due to the extensive process that they must endure.
