BMW CPO What does it really mean?

I was trying to help my mother in law interpret what is covered and not covered by CPO. I was pretty confused after reviewing the PDF file online and called the toll free number as well. The sense I got is that the dealer, although sometimes they'll get a diagnostic code which is covered by CPO, has all of the disgressionary power to say something was "influenced by external forces" or that it's "wear and tear" and refuse to cover. I was a bit embarrassed and frustrated that my mother in law's 525i, which was touted as this great CPO car with such a great coverage has been denied three times now for various reasons. In addition, the car had a bunch of issues when we inspected it pre-purchase which we had to point out.Later on (when it had a flat), the rim was pretty much "welded" to the axle because it was never taken off and inspected...I thought CPO inspection looks at brake pads, not sure how one would do that without taking off the rim. All in all, I will never purchase CPO. Seems like a nice way for the dealer to pad their profit margin and never pay for anything.

CPO stands for Certified Pre-Owned

The way it's SUPPOSED to work is that it's a used car, usually a lease return or a sales demo.

Supposedly, BMW does a 150 point mechanical inspection on the vehicle, repairing, replacing, or reconditioning worn parts, depending on the car's mileage. In effect, the idea is to "reset" the car's condition to "like new." The remainder of the car's warranty is then replaced with a CPO warranty to 6 years or 100,000 miles. Generally, CPO cars aren't supposed to be more than 3 years old.

The plus side here is that you're supposed to be getting an almost new car with a factory CPO warranty for as much as 20 to 30 percent off the list price of a new car. The downside is that the CPO warranty doesn't cover certain items, such as normal wear and tear items like the tires, brakes, and especially if its a manual equipped car, the clutch. Replacing the clutch tends to be expensive from the parts and labor standpoint of the CPO dealer. If it's still working within spec, they'll leave it alone. If it's marginal, they might still skip replacing the clutch hoping the buyer doesn't notice.

The downside? CPO or not, it's still a used car, and if you're not personally familiar with the person who owned it or their driving habits, it's POSSIBLE to buy a abused vehicle that was run hard and put away wet. However, such horror stories do tend to be few and far between.

If you think of a CPO as a used car that has a 6 year/100,000 mile warranty put on it to help get it off the dealer's lot, you're not far from the mark.

Here is a link to further explain BMW's CPO warranty.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/CPO/Default.aspx

http://autos.msn.com/home/cpoWarrantyDetails.aspx?mk=BMW

Here in the Southeast (and it may extend to the point that they're willing to ship them) many CPO cars come from expiring short term leases offered to BMW employees, including many who work at the Greer/Spartanburg plant. It's a very nice job perk. If they qualify, they get very attractive rates on the car of their choice (and price range), one per employee, drive it for a year, and turn it back in. Mileage restrictions apply, but these cars become CPOs, and are presumably inspected. You'd hope that a BMW employee would be a careful custodian with the car you'd purchase, but by the time you're behind the wheel of your new CPO, they're in another of these leased opportunities. If you're like me, I always take good care of my rental cars, but some of the ones I've gotten recently would indicate that all people don't always. CPOs have to be checked over carefully before you buy because caveat emptor still applies....just read the fine print.