With the price of a new car getting higher and higher each year,
many buyers choose to buy used cars instead. The price of a new
car can easily equal a year's pay for many people, so buying a
used car makes sense. But there are risks associated with buying
a pre-owned vehicle. What if is defective? What if it is a lemon
law buyback? Once should always be a bit suspicious of a used
vehicle. After all, if it is a great buy, then why did the
original owner choose to part with it?
To resolve some
of these issues, as well as to compete with volume dealers of
used cars such as Carmax, the major auto manufacturers have
introduced the concept of a "certified used car." These cars are
inspected for problems, repaired if necessary, and offered for
sale with a warranty that is better than the one typically
offered with sales of used cars. In exchange for this added
peace of mind, the buyer pays a higher price than he or she
otherwise might.
This program is good for dealers, who
find the cars easier to sell, and for the manufacturers, who get
a fee from the dealers in exchange for certifying the vehicles.
The problem for the consumer is that there are cars being sold
as certified used cars that may not really be certified. Worse,
some of these cars have problems that are so severe that they
possibly shouldn't be sold at all.
Some states have
rigid laws that prevent cars with certain types of damage, such
as from fire, flood, or a severe accident, from being sold
within that state under any circumstances. And yet there are
reports of such vehicles having been transported to neighboring
states, where their titles can be "laundered." Some of these
cars have then been sold as certified used cars.
There
are several lawsuits pending in California over the sale of such
cars, and the problem will continue to exist as long as there is
no national standard regarding the sale of used cars. Does this
mean that buyers should steer clear of certified used cars? Of
course not. What it does mean is that buyers should exercise
caution when they shop for a used vehicle, whether it is
certified or not. And that is just plain common sense.
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