BMW’s are expensive vehicles, this is no secret. Often too expensive, if you as me. However, their costs are justified by provided great driving experiences…mostly. But not everyone can afford a new BMW, due to their high sticker prices. So often times, customers look to BMW’s Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) section of the lot. These CPO BMWs allow customers to get into a slightly used BMW for considerably less money than a new one and it still comes with a warranty. So might a CPO BMW be for you? Well, let’s take a look at how it works.
When people buy BMWs, they’re almost always leased. This means that said lessees will be returning their BMW after only a couple of years and getting into a new car, for the most part. These returned cars, being that they have few miles on them and immaculate service records thanks to their being leased, qualify to be resold as CPO cars.
For a vehicle to qualify for the CPO program, it needs to have less than 60,000 miles, no older than four years and must be heavily inspected by a certified BMW dealer. If all of those requirements are met, the car is then resold as a CPO BMW with an additional warranty, on top of the original BMW new-car warranty.
Now, there are two levels, so to speak, of BMW’s CPO cars. There’s the standard CPO BMW, which has to meet those aforementioned requirements and gets a two-year, or up to 50,000 mile, additional warranty. If you’re okay with a slightly older car that has almost 60,000 miles on it, these are for you. They usually come heavily discounted and are still new enough to offer most of BMW’s latest technology and performance. Plus, you let someone else take the depreciation hit for you.
The next level of BMW’s CPO Program is called Certified Pre-Owned Elite. To meet Elite level qualification, BMWs must have less than 15,000 miles and BMW adds a one-year/25,000 mile warranty on top of the original warranty. This is basically like buying a brand new BMW, only one that has already hurt someone else with depreciation and costs you less than a new one. These “Elite” cars are a bit more money than the standard BMW CPO, being that they’re newer with fewer miles, but closer to being a brand-new car.
The only real important factor buyers must look out for on a CPO BMW is the tires. Typically, modern BMWs come with run-flats, the much-maligned rock hard tire that allows for 50 miles of driving after a puncture. While these tires can be incredibly practical, they’re uncomfortable, noisy and expensive. Plus, they aren’t covered by BMW’s maintenance plan, so the CPO car you’re buying wouldn’t have had its tires replaced and they demand checking. If they’re bad, they’re expensive to replace and not many shops carry them. If you purchase them at the dealer, you might have to give up your first born or a kidney, so it’s no advised.
Overall, the BMW Certified Pre-Owned program can be incredibly useful and get customers into newer BMWs at a much lower cost than a new one. Personally, I’m a big fan of the CPO program, because you let someone else take the depreciation hit, which usually doesn’t even effect them because it was likely leased, and you get into a very new car for much less than brand-new. If that seems like something you’d be interested in, take a quick browse on BMW’s CPO section of the website.
[Source: USANews]
