Certified Sales Top 190,000 Units For The Month Of March

Steven Lang
by Steven Lang

Certified pre-owned vehicles are rapidly becoming the favored new car alternative in the marketplace.

Sales for March 2013 are up over 21% from March 2012 to 190,065 units. Sales for the quarter were nearly a half million units to 497,647. Up nearly 10% from a year ago.

The following brands reached new CPO highs for this month

  • Ford
  • Lincoln
  • Chevy
  • Cadillac
  • Buick
  • GMC
  • Mazda
  • Volkswagen
  • Kia
  • Mini
  • Subaru

As a used car guy, albeit in the lower end of the market, I consider this great news. How about you? Would you be willing to recommend a CPO vehicle over a new car? If so, which CPO program and vehicle would be an easy recommendation?

Steven Lang
Steven Lang

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  • APaGttH APaGttH on Apr 18, 2013

    When you look at a CPO checklist, and then look at the "by the book time" dealers are told it should take, you don't need to be an expert to figure out that a NASCAR pit crew couldn't crank through list X in time Y with Roger Penske himself moving them along with a cattle prod. CPO is just a scam for many (not all dealers, many) and the ones who cut corners and just go, "ehhh good enough," hurt the ones who want to do right. So they cut corners to compete, and CPO becomes - meaningless. If you're looking at a CPO car it's simple. Check the fluids. If they aren't new - run - run for your life because they didn't go "by the book," on setting it up. Another one is if the cabin air filter is easy to get to, give that a check (or the engine air filter if it is just a couple of clips away). Dirty? Run for your life. When "certified" means you self-certify, it usually is meaningless.

  • Mandalorian Mandalorian on Apr 18, 2013

    It seems like CPO are just more costly used cars. In today's market used car prices are pretty high. With vehicles like the 20k Dodge Grand Caravan, it makes more sense to buy new.

  • Nicholas Weaver Nicholas Weaver on Apr 19, 2013

    A few years ago, CPO was a great deal: I bought my 2006 S2000 as a CPO in 2008 with 30K on the odometer, and the CPO warranty additions (+paying for a Honda extended warranty) got me 70K miles of warranty coverage for an OTD cost of less than 2/3rds of what new would have cost. And I was even able to get it in the color I wanted. Now? It depends on the car. IN the past couple of years, new cars have depreciated SO much less that the CPO savings are often very little. The wave we are seeing now is a bunch of lease returns, as 2-3 years ago the makers started hyping these lease deals. Since CPO cares make more money than not, its no wonder CPO sales are up: there are simply a lot more CPO cars out there that HAVE to be sold.

  • Stevelovescars Stevelovescars on Apr 19, 2013

    It depends on the car and the price, like others have said. A few years ago, my father wanted a new Buick Lucerne. I suggested he look at a CPO. He is not a car enthusiast and as such would never contemplate looking at a private party sale (which I prefer). He bought a 21k mile car with the slightly extended GM CPO warranty for $18.5. The or original MSRP was near $36k a mind the car literally looked and drove like new. At the time, I couldn't even find independent dealer or FSBO listings that beat the price... And for my dad it gave him the warranty an easy transaction he wanted. It worked well for him. I figure if the price of the car is equivalent to a similar condition used example elsewhere plus the value of an extended service agreement, then ok... Problem is that some dealers ask a LOT more than that. As a car guy, I have a sick love of the hunt for the right car. I know what to look for and prefer to talk to the previous owner. I see little value to buying a used car from a dealer, ever, except perhaps for easier financing (definitely one big benefit of CPO... My dad even got 0% financing IIRC).

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