Buying a CPO used car

[garyt]

When buying a Certified Pre Owned car from a dealer what % do you expect to be able to negotiate off the sticker price?
Any tactics that have worked for you?
Thanks

 

[Montecfo]

When buying a Certified Pre Owned car from a dealer what % do you expect to be able to negotiate off the sticker price?
Any tactics that have worked for you?
Thanks

How much they will come off depends on how they price it. I think you want to do your homework and understand what the car is worth using KBB and especially Edmunds. You can share that info strategically if you are not getting your price.

I try to offer somewhat under the fair price and see how much they move. Then be firm about being willing to pay the fair price if they counter high. It takes patience. If you lock onto one car it might be hard to get your price.

Good luck.

 

[REWahoo]

Since you are talking about a used vehicle I think there are too many variables for any rule of thumb discount expectation. The last two cars I purchased were both one year old CPO vehicles and the amount of price flexibility between the two varied significantly.

I negotiated about 10% off the asking price on a 2014 CPO Toyota. I say "about" since a trade-in was involved which muddied up the numbers.

Compare that to the 2015 CPO Buick I purchased where the dealer absolutely refused to budge on the price (although I did get him to come down $10 so I could truthfully say I didn't pay asking price ). In this case the car had been on the lot for several months and the dealer had lowered the asking price twice, so that it was 10% to 15% under what others dealers were asking for similar vehicles.

 

[USGrant1962]

I bought a CPO Audi A4 a couple of months ago. I'd done some web research and their offering price was very reasonable. It was below the KBB fair purchase price and competitive with other similar vehicles in the region. The dealer wouldn't budge on the price. Then they came back and said we save you $750 by not submitting the CPO to Audi.

CPO is two parts. First they inspect and make sure it meets the standards (including minor repairs/maintenance). Then they register it with the manufacturer which usually gets you a warranty extension. Since the Audi warranty extension was only one year, and I won't go near the mileage limits, $750 off seemed like a good deal. So I took it - I now have a CPO quality car without the extra year of warranty.

 

[aja8888]

Ask to see the CPO checklist for the car they are advertising and the work order(s) for the work done on the car to bring it up to CPO quality. If they can't (or refuse to) produce that documentation, you may be in for some surprises if you purchase the car.

 

[OldShooter]

Nothing special about negotiating here except to realize that the "Certified" means that the dealer has paid a fee to the manufacturer, a fee that you will end up paying in the price of the car. So expect a CPO car to cost more than a plain vanilla version.

Negotiating is negotiating. Read a few books. My favorite is "absent authority" negotiation. (example: https://www.negotiations.com/articles/authority-limits/) Done well, you end up sitting beside your adversary, working with him/her to craft a deal that the absent authority will accept. In 15 years of running my company, no one negotiating with us ever saw both me and my partner in the same room. One was always absent and he was the bad guy.

This worked quite well for a 75YO lady friend buying a Toyota and repeatedly saying "Frank won't let me spend that much." and variations. I was really proud of her; the final one was "Frank told me to never pay documentation fees." The joke was that, while Frank did actually exist, he was so Alzeimer-y that he didn't even remember Margaret's name. Never negotiate with all decision makers present. Make up an absent authority if necessary.

 

[njhowie]

Ask to see the CPO checklist for the car they are advertising and the work order(s) for the work done on the car to bring it up to CPO quality. If they can't (or refuse to) produce that documentation, you may be in for some surprises if you purchase the car.

They will generally provide the Carfax which includes anything major. If you're browsing the dealer inventory online, some will provide the Carfax link right in the listing.

As far as surprises, considering that the CPO vehicle is going to come with some warranty minimally providing a few years, any surprises are covered.

We've only purchased CPO for the past 20 years and have been extremely satisfied. The first one we bought, the transmission needed to be replaced a couple months after purchase. No problem, no hassles, dealer took care of it.

The last one we bought about 18 months ago. Browsed through all the local dealer inventory online, found one dealer which had a few we liked. Went in and test drove a couple, signed contract and was on the way home about an hour later.

 

[Aerides]

I bought a CPO Audi A4 a couple of months ago. I'd done some web research and their offering price was very reasonable. It was below the KBB fair purchase price and competitive with other similar vehicles in the region. The dealer wouldn't budge on the price. Then they came back and said we save you $750 by not submitting the CPO to Audi.

I got an Audi Q3 CPO, also no budging, and also started from a very good price. I mean they might have taken a few dollars off, but not much, and I got the "manager out the door final price" treatment.

They even started calling me a few months later wondering if I wanted to trade it in - I think they make decent money on good CPOs, and have enough demand that they don't have to mark them down very much.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We have had excellent luck with these cars. I first compare the price to BB. The last one they really wanted to get rid of it and were asking less than BB so we just bought it. It was a odd color between gold and brown is the only way to describe it. I think this was why it wasn’t selling. If I don’t like the price I negotiate.

 

[Out of Steam]

My favorite is "absent authority" negotiation. (example: https://www.negotiations.com/articles/authority-limits/) Done well, you end up sitting beside your adversary, working with him/her to craft a deal that the absent authority will accept. In 15 years of running my company, no one negotiating with us ever saw both me and my partner in the same room. One was always absent and he was the bad guy.

This worked quite well for a 75YO lady friend buying a Toyota and repeatedly saying "Frank won't let me spend that much." and variations. I was really proud of her; the final one was "Frank told me to never pay documentation fees." The joke was that, while Frank did actually exist, he was so Alzeimer-y that he didn't even remember Margaret's name. Never negotiate with all decision makers present. Make up an absent authority if necessary.

While I've never heard the term "absent authority" before, it's exactly how a car salesperson uses their manager or finance person.

 

[OldShooter]

While I've never heard the term "absent authority" before, it's exactly how a car salesperson uses their manager or finance person.

Yes. Everyone knows it as victim. But as you think about it, you realize that you can be very effective using it as perpetrator.

I bought an airplane one time for our flying club. The guy was asking $135K and I was pretty sure I could talk him to $125K. But I asked the board for approval at $110K. My pitch to the seller was: "John, I am not saying that your airplane is not worth $125K. It's really nice, nicer than the other one we are looking at for $95K. Personally I'd like to see us buy it. But the board has decided that they will only spend $110K as a hard limit. It's not at all a reflection on you or on your airplane." He took the deal.

 

[GreenEggs]

Seems Audi sells quite a few CPOs to us here. I bought an A6 last year. The unlimited mileage warranty was appealing, but I don't know if I'll pass the normal warranty within the timeframe.

 

[Bamaman]

How much they will come off depends on how they price it. I think you want to do your homework and understand what the car is worth using KBB and especially Edmunds. You can share that info strategically if you are not getting your price.

I try to offer somewhat under the fair price and see how much they move. Then be firm about being willing to pay the fair price if they counter high. It takes patience. If you lock onto one car it might be hard to get your price.

If you get down to it, a CPO used car is just one that comes with a very expensive Extended Service Plan purchased through the manufacturer. It's not one that comes with full maintenance, etc.

My Toyota came with a 100,000 mile factory warranty, and I am certainly fine with that--and not paying another $1500 or $2000 for a CPO ESP that's really not needed.

 

[Winemaker]

We just purchased a low mileage 2014 Mercedes 450GL, and paid $1500 to have it certified, they replaced several items that were worn and replaced a second key. That paid for itself already; after 30 days, we purchased another 2 year warranty extension for $3000. A replacement turbocharger would cost much more than that.

 

[Bamaman]

Bear in mind that Extended Service Plans are not warranties technically. If you're going to buy one, make sure it's from a company that is fully backed by an insurance company in case the company defaults or goes bankrupt. Not every ESP company is financially viable.
Preferably one administered by an auto manufacturer is safer and more attuned to your needs.

 

[CoolRich59]

Ask to see the CPO checklist for the car they are advertising and the work order(s) for the work done on the car to bring it up to CPO quality. If they can't (or refuse to) produce that documentation, you may be in for some surprises if you purchase the car.

This 100%.

I won't bore you with the details, but I got burned on a CPO'd Audi that I later learned had been in a serious accident. Too many people (including me) see "CPO" and take it for granted that the vehicle is in great condition.

A CPO'd car is still a used car. Insist on seeing the documentation to back up the CPO designation, and still have it checked out by a good mechanic.

 

[Jerry1]

Bear in mind that Extended Service Plans are not warranties technically. If you're going to buy one, make sure it's from a company that is fully backed by an insurance company in case the company defaults or goes bankrupt. Not every ESP company is financially viable.
Preferably one administered by an auto manufacturer is safer and more attuned to your needs.

And don't assume that because you buy it at the dealer that it is sold by the manufacturer. Dealers sell 3rd party plans all the time. They may be good 3rd party plans, but do know what you’re buying.