Consumer Car Buying Advice Blog

Consumers in the market for a bad credit car loan got some good news this week when Chrysler announced that it was re launching its Certified Pre Owned program with more dealers as well as more vehicles and models in inventory

Affordable and reliable used cars

At Auto Credit Express we know that with the cost of new vehicles rising every year, most credit-challenged customers that fill out our bad credit car loan application and get approved at one of the dealers in our nationwide network will decide that it makes more sense to go with a 2 or 3-year-old pre-owned car. With the quality and durability of vehicles at an all-time high, this decision makes sense. Now they’re faced with another decision: should they buy a regular used car or a certified used car?

News from Chrysler

Yesterday, Chrysler Group LLC announced that it was re-launching its Certified Pre-owned Vehicle (CPOV) program with a number of improvements designed to give buyers even more peace of mind.

Certified pre-owned vehicles

If you’ve read any of the previous blog articles on Auto Credit Express, you know how we feel about certified used cars – generally known in the industry as certified pre-owned or CPO vehicles. The fact is, we believe that, for the most part, certified used cars are a good choice for credit challenged consumers.

Most certified used car programs work this way: if a vehicle meets certain age, mileage and inspection requirements, dealers can use a trade-in vehicle or purchase back a lease turn-in and sell either one with an extended service contract that is very similar to the warranties found on new vehicles – except that the number of miles and years can be extended past the original warranty date to cover additional months and miles the amount of which depends on the manufacturer and the program involved.

Because of the built-in, manufacturer-backed warranty coverage and other perks (such as roadside assistance), the dealer can (and usually has to because of the additional cost involved) sell these CPO vehicles at a premium over non-certified used cars – something that bad credit buyers should keep in mind when considering the affordability factor of these vehicles.

In the case of Chrysler’s re-launched program, this means that every certified Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram (Dodge truck) comes with a Chrysler Certified 3-month/3,000-mile (whichever comes first) bumper-to-bumper warranty as well as a fully transferable 80,000-mile/six-year Powertrain limited warranty with 24-hour/365-day “sign and go” roadside assistance.

Additional perks

Other perks of the program include a free Carfax vehicle history report on your vehicle, a 3-month free trial subscription to Sirius Satellite Radio and a “full range of service contracts, including lifetime warranty upgrades.”

A reminder

Remember that the program we’re discussing here is part of the manufacturer’s (in this case, Chrysler’s) certification programs. Just because a Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep dealer advertises a car as certified does not necessarily mean that it is certified by the manufacturer. Any dealer can “certify” a car, since the word, itself, really has no meaning. So make sure that the “certified” car you are buying is certified by Chrysler. If not, you may be required to pay for any repairs up front and submit the receipts to the warranty company for reimbursement – a process that is much less desirable.

Choosing the right vehicle

One other thing that we’re more than a little bit nit-picky with around here is keeping your bad credit auto loan payment affordable and, fortunately, many Chrysler vehicles fall into this category – especially since more than a few Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models have a higher depreciation rate than other vehicles in their categories.

Although the Chrysler 300 and Town and Country as well as the Dodge Challenger, Charger and Grand Caravan are beyond the budgets of most bad credit buyers, the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Sebring sedan as well as the Dodge Avenger and Caliber are all vehicles that may very well work.

In order to qualify, all vehicles must be less than six years old and have 65,000 miles or less. In addition, each goes through a 125-point inspection and reconditioning process using MOPAR parts exclusively.

As we see it

Keep in mind that certified pre-owned vehicles are usually more expensive than their non-certified counterparts. The costs of an inspection, the required replacement of warn and defective parts as well as a fairly expensive service contract all add to the price of a CPO vehicle. Before buying one, it makes sense to do some research and compare the selling prices of both certified pre-owned vehicles and their non-CPO counterparts (with a comparable warranty). Ultimately, you will have to decide for yourself if a CPO car is worth the difference in price.

At Auto Credit Express we have helped literally thousands of people with bad, blemished, bruised and tarnished credit obtain a second chance auto loan through one of our dealers and reestablish their credit at the same time. Our nationwide network of affiliate dealers specializes in bad credit car loans. When you decide to buy a car, our online bad credit car loan application can be filled out in the comfort and security of your own home.

For more information, visit www.autocreditexpress.com to see what we can do for you.

Tags: auto credit loan, Bad Credit, bad credit car dealers, better business bureau, car loan quote, cobuyer, cps, credit monitoring, credit report disputes, credit score, easy credit auto loans, free car loan quote, illinois cpa society, interest rate, mastercard, santander, suzuki, vehicle title, visa

This entry was posted and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.