Certified Pre-Owned Trucks

Buying a certified pre-owned truck as opposed to a new one is becoming an increasingly popular practice.  A certified pre-owned truck gives the owner the pleasure of owning a late-model car without paying the high purchase-price.  With certified pre-owned, you get low mileage and excellent condition, because the manufacturer must put the truck through a very rigorous inspection before certifying it pre-owned and backing it with a warranty.  More than a third of late-model trucks bought last year were certified pre-owned.  These trucks tend to come from auction lots, rental fleets, and leases that have ended.

When you buy certified pre-owned, you don’t have to shoulder the depreciation that occurs when you drive that brand-new car off the lot.  Because it has been used for a short time, the depreciation has already occurred and you can translate that into savings on your certified pre-owned truck.

Certified pre-owned trucks may also come with additional perks such as free roadside assistance, free use of a loaner car while waiting for service to be completed, shuttle pick-up and drop-off,  and – last but certainly not least – low financing on loans.  Other perks may include reimbursements for lodging and rental car in the event of a breakdown.  However, these are usually awarded only when the certified pre-owned truck owner is at least 100 miles from home.  Some of the more upscale-model trucks may come with sophisticated in-vehicle communication and anti-theft systems like  OnStar.

Beware of other “certified” truck programs.  Some dealers may brag that the used cars they sell are “third party certified,” but this is not at all the same as cars that are certified pre-owned by the manufacturer.  Some of these inferior programs necessitate paying for any needed repairs and then having to wait for a reimbursement check.  Some even may carry a deductible anywhere from $50 to $400 or more, which must be met before any reimbursements kick in.  Others may offer the option of buying a longer warranty, but this seems to defeat the purpose of purchasing a certified car.  

Ideally, you want the purchase price to cover you for any mishaps that may occur along the way, without struggling with the decision of how much coverage to buy.  The manufacturer of a certified pre-owned car has backed it with an appropriate warranty, hoping of course that the next time you need a car you may buy a new one from that manufacturer.  So the maker of the truck definitely has a stake in how satisfied you are, when you buy certified pre-owned.  This gives many owners of certified pre-owned cars the peace of mind and freedom they seek.