What is a certified used car?

Updated Jul 19, 2022

Your ticket to tip-top pre-owned cars.

Shopping in the second-hand or used car market is challenging. You will have to deal with private sellers who sometimes won't tell you the previous damages of their units so you won’t be discouraged to get them. By doing so, the value or selling price of the used cars won’t depreciate.

CPO cars offer good car ownership quality

This is where certified pre-owned (CPO) cars come in handy. It is a type of used car where dealerships take care of a pre-owned unit by thoroughly inspecting and refurbishing it before selling it on the market. Sounds interesting enough? Read on to know more about CPO cars.

Certified Used Car: What is it?

CPO can be regarded as a safer option compared to buying used cars in the Philippines. Dealerships have to make sure that the cars they are selling are almost as good as new. With this, you don’t have to be worried about whether the unit that you considering buying had been in an accident or not.

Usually, dealerships bring in low-mileage cars, as well as those that are in good to excellent conditions. As such, most pre-owned units in a showroom are relatively new models. The units are most likely obtained from previous leased owners who are looking for a new car, rental companies, and company service cars.

CPO cars are the closest you can get to brand-new units

Multi-point inspections and strict inspections are conducted for CPO cars. If a part or component needs to be replaced, dealerships will do so to make the unit good as new. They also offer various after-sales services and programs such as warranty packages and preventive maintenance service (PMS) promos to make the car ownership experience even more convenient.

If CPO cars sound very promising, you might ask why are there still private sellers? The answer is simple – affordable used car prices. CPO cars almost always come with a higher price tag than those from private sellers. To know more about this type of used car, let’s see what are the pros and cons of each.

Certified Used Car: Pros and Cons

Pros

Quality Assured – thanks to the thorough inspection of dealerships, you can be assured that the cars are serviced to come out almost fresh from the factory. They also don’t refurbish old cars that usually put out issues in the long run.

Record – dealerships will provide a history of their CPO cars’ previous services and damages. You can check this before considering getting one to make sure that you won’t get a car that will break down after some years of owning it.     

Dealership Perks – as said earlier, dealerships will offer after-sales services and programs to your ownership more conveniently. This is a feat that private sellers cannot give you as they aren’t tied to any dealerships.

Cons

Price  – for obvious reasons, CPO cars are seen as the more expensive option than those from private sellers. You can think of it like PMS. Services in the dealerships of your chosen brand, also known as CASA, are pricier as compared to outside service shops with less expensive labor and parts.

Limited Options – you will have more options in the non-CPO market as various sellers offer different models and make. Plus, buying this type of used car in the Philippines comes with more versatility because you can choose a unit that will suit the year model, price range, and transmission that you want.

Certified Used Car: Should you consider it?

We think that both CPO and non-CPO cars have their advantages and disadvantages where it is unfair to say that one is better than the other. If you have the budget for a CPO car, you should consider it so you can make sure that your unit will get a convenient car ownership experience at it should last for a very long time.

Non-CPO cars might've gotten into major accidents prior to sales

But if you are looking for low-priced used cars in its market, then try to explore the listings from private sellers. Just remember to bring with you an expert and trusted mechanic if you are not familiar with automobiles. With this, you can outweigh the disadvantages of non-CPO cars.

Read more car buying tips at Philkotse.com.

Rex Sanchez

Author

Rex Sanchez grew up in Saudi Arabia where he saw and got into the automotive scene. He started his career for an aviation company in the said region, writing about turbines and rotors which are later distributed for educational purposes. And now, he joined Philkotse.com as a staff writer. Currently, he is the youngest on the team and is more than ready to grow in the field.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rexsanchez09

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