Consumer Car Buying Advice Blog

According to a recent article that appeared in Automotive News the Kelley Blue Book web site will soon add values for certified used cars

Used cars

At Auto Credit Express we realize that a majority of our bad credit car loan buyers will choose a used car. There are a couple of common sense reasons for this. A new car loses between 15% and 30% of its value as soon as you drive it off the lot. In addition, used cars have become much more reliable. Advances in technology and quality control mean that even the average car can be expected to last at least 100,000 miles, with many vehicles capable of lasting many times longer than that.

As a result, we can see why so many bad credit auto loan shoppers decide that it is more cost effective to go with a 2 or 3 year old pre-owned car rather than a new one.

Certified used cars

Think of a certified used car, more commonly known as a CPO or certified pre-owned vehicle, as the closest thing you can get to a new car in a previously-titled vehicle.

CPO vehicles begin life as a trade-in or lease turn-in. Starting with certain baseline factors (year, mileage and general condition) that qualify them for the manufacturers CPO program, these vehicles then go through an inspection and certification process (that involves replacing worn and broken parts) in order to qualify for the manufacturers CPO program.

Because of the requirements involved for certification, these CPO vehicles are more expensive than their non-certified counterparts. The costs involved with an inspection, the required replacement of certain warn and defective parts as well as a fairly expensive service contract all add to the price of a CPO vehicle. How, then, can bad credit car loan customers legitimately compare the values of these CPO vehicles to their non-CPO counterparts?

Up until now, there wasn’t any way to do this. But beginning the second week of December, consumers will be able to do exactly that.

CPO values

According to an article that appeared today in Automotive News, values for CPO vehicles will be found on www.kbb.com beginning the second week of December along with Kelley’s other used vehicle prices.

According to the article, “The values also will appear, along with the asking price, with franchised dealers’ certified used vehicles listed for sale on Kelley’s online classified site, The Trusted Marketplace.”

“Consumers can start to understand, ‘I’m getting this warranty, I’m getting this inspection and peace of mind, and it’s going to cost me,’” Bell told Automotive News. “That might put it out of scope for some people or make it the exact right buy.”

According to Kelley’s own research, 41 percent of consumers shopping for a new car would also consider a used one – but only providing that it is one that has been certified by the manufacturer.

The article also goes on to state that Kelley will be defining its CPO value “as a suggested retail price that is representative of franchised dealers’ asking prices for a used vehicle covered by an automaker’s certified pre-owned program.”

The Bottom Line

There are a lot of choices in the marketplace if you’re a bad credit car loan shopper looking for a pre-owned car. Although you will have to decide for yourself if a CPO car is worth the difference in price, knowing that Kelley Blue Book is going to list the values for these vehicles will help greatly when comparing their actual value to the prices dealers are asking for them on their lots.

For more information on bad credit car loans and the bad credit auto loan buying process, visit our web site at www.autocreditexpress.com.

Tags: auto loan, automotive news, bad credit, bad credit auto loan, bad credit car loan, car loan, certified pre owned, certified used cars, cpo, kbb.com, kelley blue book

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