When thinking about purchasing a Mercedes-Benz, you might have seen two terms: certified pre-owned, or pre-owned. What’s the difference? After all, their names are basically the same. One is available from a dealership and the other is not. From the consumer’s point of view, what does certified even mean? The purpose of this blog post is to show the benefits of CPO from Leith, Inc. Authorized Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service.
Our vehicles are legit
A quick Google search of the vehicle you’re considering will reveal the issues that previous owners have encountered over the years. A CPO vehicle undergoes a 164-point inspection designed to ferret out and address any possible issues before sale. This is quite different from a private seller who has a financial disincentive to seek out costly repair work for a vehicle they no longer plan to own. After all, why pour money into a car you’re about to sell?
Our CPO vehicles go through this process because, unlike a private seller, we’re not going anywhere. Having your vehicle in tip-top shape works to our advantage, and is a good segue into our next point:
Armor-plated warranty
First off, Mercedes-Benz’s four-year/50,000 mile warranty for new vehicles automatically applies to a CPO vehicle within that range. Say you bought a 2012 E-Class wagon with 38,000 miles. You are now entitled to the full benefits of warranty that you would have received had you bought the vehicle brand new. Logically speaking, we have a financial incentive to get your vehicle in the best shape possible before we sell it because then you won’t have to use this warranty.
But say the vehicle you want is outside of the four-year/50k warranty. Are you out of luck? Of course not! Certified pre-owned vehicles come with an extended warranty for one or two years, depending on your choice, with an exhaustive list of covered systems. Better still, this warranty has no limit on miles, so if you want to rack up 100,000 miles in six months alone, be our guest: we have you covered.
But what if your fancy CPO vehicle breaks down in the middle of Montana?
You’re in the middle of Montana, but not the good part of Montana, the tiny little tucked away portion of Montana that the travel brochures sweep under the rug. And of course that’s where your Mercedes-Benz decides to take a nap involving the check engine light and several ominous-sounding noises. What then?
Our Trip Interruption program will reimburse you up to $300 per day for three days while your vehicle gets diagnosed. In addition, reimbursement is available for lodging, meals and substitute transportation while you wait. You are also entitled to 24-hour Roadside Assistance and no-cost emergency services such as tire change, empty fuel refill and jump-starting. This is our way of making sure that you’re taken care of no matter where you are.
Bottom-line: It’s better to be protected
We hope that this short post has clarified the differences between certified pre-owned and pre-owned vehicles. Certification is both the initial ready status and also a symbolic certificate that you implicitly carry in your new vehicle. It entitles you to rights and privileges that regular pre-owned vehicles don’t possess, and goes a long way toward making your life more enjoyable.