S500Sport

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know what the difference is between CPO and regular pre-owned vehicles? I'm looking at some local used C450's all are from dealerships. Is there a difference between a CPO vehicle or a preowned vehicle if both are sold from a Mercedes Benz dealership? Is it risky to buy a regular "pre-owned" vehicle from an MB dealership?

Thank you.

Mike5215

Yes. Pre owned simply means used. Zero protection whether purchased at an MB dealer or a Buy Here Pay Here. CPO cars have an extended warranty from Mercedes corporate.

S500Sport

Why wouldn't they make it a CPO if the car was a loaner and maintained by MB?

Theres a '16 450 with 8k selling for 53K with all options non CPO. Former loaner.

Would you go against getting a pre-owned?

Jay_Chicago

I asked the same question to my MB dealer. They answered (vaguely) that some cars just cannot be certified by MB. It doesn't mean the car sucks, it just didn't 'qualify' for being a CPO vehicle...the dealer could not specify what the criteria are used to qualify a car.

In my opinion, a CPO is like any insurance....you don't want to use it but it always give you a peace of mind by knowing it is there for you just in case you need.

S500Sport

But if you lease a pre-owned.. don't you get an extended warranty or something?

Str8Down

Non-CPO doesn't mean its bad. It still has the normal factory warranty, just not an extended warranty.

Mike5215

Mercedes corporate charges the dealer $2500 to certify a car. In exchange, MB corporate requires the dealer to put the car in condition. That can mean new tires, or brakes, or a bunch of cosmetic stuff that financially are unlikely to bear fruit in terms of a higher selling price vs non CPO.

However, if you like a car that's not CPO you can ask the dealer how much additional it would cost to certify it. CPO adds 12 months of warranty and starts when the original warranty ends.

You can extend that an additional year for $2200 or two for $4500. Depends on how long you plan on keeping the car. Unused CPO is refunded to you if you sell the car before the coverage ends, or you can transfer it if you sell the car privately to another individual.

As far as extended warranties go, CPO is as good as it gets. I've owned three CPO S Class and each of them had covered repairs that well exceeded the cost of the coverage.

hans007

i'd guess since the c450 has only been out a year, that a lot of dealers don't want to pay the money to CPO it given it still has quite a bit of warranty time left, not that they are broken or something.

Mplayers2006

I thought loaner vehicles were usually c300 pretty much based out, not c450 fullly loaded.
Seems like a bad investment for the dealership to loan those out.
Mike, when your S class was in for repairs, did they ever loan you a Fancier benz?

Mike5215

Nope. Typically W204 C or GLK.

LOGOSDJ

There are some instances in which a car cannot be Certified Pre-Owned, or instances in which it doesn't make sense for a dealer to CPO a car. A few examples:

- Accident/damage reported on CarFax (dirty CarFax)
- Car has over 75k miles
- True mileage unknown
- Smokers/Pet owners car with a permanent stench
- Repair work/refurbishment needed would cost too much for it to make sense

In order for a vehicle to be Certified Pre-Owned, it must meet certain standards and has to go through a pretty rigorous testing process. Essentially, the vehicle must be mechanically perfect (to pass tests and meet required standards) and as close to cosmetically perfect as possible (to make it an appealing and worthwhile sale/purchase for dealers and buyers). Therefore, when certifying a vehicle, the dealer must complete (and pay for) any necessary repair/reburbishment work depending on the condition of the vehicle and how long it had been used -- new tires, brake pads, dent repair, paint repair, windshield replaced, etc.

Once a vehicle has been Certified Pre-Owned, it can only be purchased and not leased. In the case of a 1-year-old model like the C450, I imagine some dealers would put lump their C450 demos or leftovers in the CVP ex-loaner problem, with means they could still be purchased or leased and come with extra discount incentives -- which means they'd have more opportunities to sell them.

As far as ex-loaners or ex-demos with some mileage on them, I'd say it's better to lease those cars. If you're looking to buy and keep a car for several years and don't want to pay the new car premium, it's smart to go for something CPO. Aside from the additional warranty coverage, you'd also be getting a car with has been refurbished, tested, certified in quality by MB (improves resale value), and has a documented history.

Mike5215

^True. Not every used MB would meet the standards for certification to begin with, although most late model loaners would. At this point a 2015 would not be able to be leased regardless of having never been titled or having low miles simply because it's not a current model year car. There's some wiggle room early in the current model year (16's in this instance) but that window closes when 17s start shipping.

But just because a dealer hasn't certified a car doesn't mean he can't or won't. Just ask. It'll add at least $2k to the asking price but if you want the thing under warranty for as long as it's being financed it's the way to go. (If he can't certify the car I wouldn't touch it CPO or not. Something in the history precluded it and whatever it was wasn't good.)

S500Sport

So, CPO precludes leasing?

Case in point: http://www.mypreownedmercedes.com/us...wf6eb0gu124690

Says former loaner. Pretty loaded, I'd say.

Mike5215

Right. You can only lease a new, previously un titled car. If you're buying used though, CPO is the way to go.

Amin Skaf

Sorry to re-hash an old thread, and the question is a little off topic. However, there is a used car dealer near by selling a 2016 E400 coupe for $43k. It has 3k miles, clean car fax, and 3 months of ownership. Then there is a local MB dealer selling a 2015 E400 coupe for about $1,00 more, 9,600 miles and 14 months of ownership but it is a CPO. So in this case, CPO vs Non CPO given the warranty length will be roughly the same. I'd add that my bank would likely look at the 2016 non-cpo as a new car being that it's under 5k mileage, qualifying me for slightly better financing rates. Let me know your thoughts. Thank you again!

Mike5215

How long would you keep the car?

Mplayers2006

Well the CPO car will get an extra year or 100,000 warranty.
there seems to be a clear winner, but are both cars spec the same ?

It always baffled me to see a non MB dealer selling a like new car. Who owned this vehicle for 3 months and why did you own it for such a short time.

Mike5215

The key is to have the car under factory warranty for the duration of your ownership. Since CPO mileage is unlimited now and the warranty is governed entirely by time, you'd want to factor in any remaining original warranty, plus the year of CPO, and then decide if it's necessary to add one year ($2500) or two years ($4400) of extra CPO. This can be added at the time of purchase and financed in, or added any time before the initial CPO 12 month period expires.

Trancebolt

I got my w212 bluetec cpo. ( car was made summer of '11, and turned in after 2.5 years . they extended it, and had 10k allowance yearly. one owner of course )

The car had 1.2 years of its factory warranty left, and they give you a year warranty free for it as a special when i got mine in 2014 (+2 payments made for you). I got an extra year $1150 at my dealer ( shouldve got more), and got the car with 27k Miles. I think 35 or 40 is the max and they cant cpo after that.

Because my car came with some miles, and i drive alot, i have had alot of things fixed under the cpo warranty. I am skeptical of very low mileage cars for great prices because ive heard stories of miles being rolled back, especially with pre-owned. So i carefully picked mine. I have a friend of my dads who bought one brand new, and it had the same major problem mine had: the oil cooler seals leaking. 4k repair job easily.

She drove her car a little too soft and maybe because i beat on mine more; hers happened at 60k. year 5; no warranty.... Mine happened at 45k.... And mine was fixed under cpo warranty a little after yr 5. Flex disc repaired year 5 as well. Everything except wear and tear items (brakes shocks etc ) and consumables are covered by cpo/xtended warranty.

So catching a good cpo and driving the hell out of it, gives you the opportunity for that extra cushion. every car ive driven from every brand has things break - right - after the factory warranty expires.

CPO is the easiest way to get a cheap very long warranty duration.

if you buy the car preowned with only the factory warranty remaining you will be sorry.

SRNH

Not sure if this helps but attached was the initial CPO Inspection Results I received when looking at the '14 CPO ML350BT. When I purchased the vehicle I received an "official Version" fully signed and certifying the condition of the CPO at time of sale. Perhaps, MB Dealers aren't willing to put their signature to a non CPO vehicle's condition.

Mike5215

Dealers have to buy the certification from MB, around $2,000, as well as the cost of bringing the car itself up to CPO standards. All of this is to protect MB from the dealer sticking them with a turd they have to warranty. That's why there are standards a car must meet before it's even eligible for certification.

If it were up to the dealer they'd slap CPO stickers on every Benz they could get their hands on, since it brings a higher price and moves the car off the lot faster, and not only are they not the ones footing the warranty claims, they're actually going to profit from those claims.

Certification isn't to protect consumers. It's to protect MB from their franchisees.