What is a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle?

If you want the peace of mind of a new car but prefer the savings and value of a used car, a certified pre-owned vehicle may be the best choice for you. These vehicles are inspected by the manufacturer and low in miles, but they’ve already experienced their initial depreciation hit, so they’re a significant value.

If you’re wondering “what is a certified pre-owned vehicle?” read more about the benefits of choosing pre-owned and decide if it’s the right choice for your needs.

What is a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle?

In the early 1990s, car manufacturers began certified pre-owned programs to handle low-mileage trade-ins and lease returns. These vehicles are in excellent condition, so these programs allowed manufacturers to capitalize on reselling the car and provide buyers with detailed inspections, warranties, additional perks, and confidence.

What Makes a Used Car Certified Pre-Owned?

Certified pre-owned vehicles are late-model cars with low mileage and no significant damage. They undergo a multi-point inspection from factory-trained technicians, and if any problems arise, they must be repaired or reconditioned to like-new condition in order to pass the inspection.

These vehicles also come with extended warranties backed by the manufacturer, along with extras like free maintenance, roadside assistance, and other benefits. Low financing rates or specials are often offered on certified pre-owned vehicles as well.

Ford Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle Program

Ford Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles must be no more than six years old, and can’t have more than 80,000 actual miles on the odometer. Each vehicle includes:

  • 172-Point Inspection
  • Vehicle History Report
  • 7-year/100,000-Mile Limited Powertrain Warranty Coverage
  • 12-Month/12,000-Mile Comprehensive Warranty from time of purchase
  • $100 deductible
  • 24-hour Roadside Assistance
  • Travel expense reimbursement of up to $500 per day for up to three days related to vehicle breakdown
  • Rental car reimbursement of up to $30 per day for up to five days if the vehicle requires overnight mechanical repairs
  • Destination expense assistance of up to $75 to cover the emergency cost of a taxi, shuttle or rental car to get you to your destination
  • Lockout assistance of up to $50 to unlock vehicle doors
  • Fuel delivery if the vehicle runs out of fuel – up to 2 gallons at no charge

Dealer-Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles

Though the majority of certified pre-owned vehicles are guaranteed by the original manufacturer, making them just as good as new, dealers sometimes offer their own certification programs. There’s no guarantee with a dealer-certified pre-owned program, however, so you could be paying more for a meaningless certification that doesn’t offer any protection or peace of mind from the manufacturer. These programs don’t include warranties either, in most cases. That’s why we make it a goal to certify as many of our pre-owned Ford vehicles as possible.

Which is Better: Used or Certified Pre-Owned?

Certified pre-owned vehicles can cost a bit more than a conventional used vehicle, but it’s a small price to pay for confidence. The inspection, warranty, low mileage, and other perks ensure that the vehicle is safe and in good condition, not to mention the benefit of saving on repair or maintenance costs initially.

Like conventional used cars, however, certified pre-owned vehicles don’t have any guarantees as to what happens after the warranty expires. Certified pre-owned vehicles are always low-mileage newer cars as well, so you won’t find an older high-mileage car in this program.

Visit Our Dealership

Now that you know just what a certified pre-owned vehicle is, it’s time to go shopping. At Friendly Ford, we have a huge selection of certified pre-owned Ford models for you to choose from, as well as many other dealer services to help you with every stage of the process. Drivers in Geneva, Canandaigua, and Rochester can contact our team online or stop by our dealership today to see what we can do for you!