SHOPSMART AUTOS – CUSTOMER INFORMATION – OCTOBER 4, 2021
WHY BUYING AN EV CPO MAKES SENCEBuying a used car
can feel like a game of roulette. There are winning bets out there—the low-mileage, late-model sports cars and single-owner mint-condition classics—but there are plenty of losing squares, too, and the financial stakes are high. Choosing a
certified pre-owned (CPO) car
is one way to mitigate the risk of buying a used vehicle. The CPO system can also be a good way to buy used electric vehicles. Automaker-sponsored, dealership-administered CPO programs offer extended warranties for the electric powertrain components, which could provide some peace of mind for owners who are spending big money on an unfamiliar technology. Everything we say here about EVs applies to hybrids as well. When an electric vehicle enters a CPO program it will have to pass the same multi-point inspection that dealerships use for conventional cars, with items added to the list to account for the electric powertrain components. Any necessary repairs will be made before the car is sold, so you can be sure there won’t be faulty radio controls or broken seat adjusters, let alone a duff electric motor under the hood. Every CPO program is different, so don’t expect the same coverage from Toyota that you would get from Volkswagen. But in general, CPO warranties tend to echo automakers’ new-car warranties. Most companies that build and sell electrified vehicles have a separate warranty to cover the battery and electric motor. The industry has mostly coalesced around an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty for new vehicles with EV powertrains, though of course there are overachievers: Hyundai offers a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty for its new hybrids and EVs. Make sure you read the fine print before you settle on a CPO car. Some CPO programs simply extend the new car warranty and start counting from the date of the car’s original purchase by the first owner. If that’s the case, it’s worth looking for a newer car with lower miles to make the most of the warranty. Other manufacturers offer a new warranty that starts from the date of your CPO purchase. Those warranties typically cover one year/12,000 miles or two years/24,000 miles. In those cases, it’s not as important to consider the car’s overall mileage or its date of original purchase. EVs and hybrids have been around for a while (the Toyota Prius made its US debut in 2001), but they’re still not truly mainstream, so it’s natural that buyers who are shopping for their first battery-powered car would be nervous about the potential for big, expensive repairs. But the batteries used in electrified vehicles have proved extremely durable. Nissan said in 2018 that Leaf batteries would last an estimated 10-12 years longer than the cars they power, and
Tesla says
it is working on a battery that will last a million miles. When’s the last time you saw a passenger car with that many miles on the clock? There’s no way to guarantee that your used EV will never need a big repair. But you can feel confident about the lifespan of a late-model EV, especially if you buy it through a CPO program.
Tags: 2019 Subaru Forester Touring, 2020 BMW iX3, 2020 Chevrolet Suburban, 2020 dodge charger, 2020 EQC, 2020 Ford Super Duty, 2020 Honda Pilot, 2020 Kia Optima, 2020 Mercedes Benz, 2020 Nissan Versa, 2020 Subaru WRX STI, Audi SUV, BMW, Brandon K. Hardison, Chevrolet Car, Chevrolet Sonic, Dodge charger, electric vehicles, honda, Honda Pilot, Hyundai SUV, Mercedes Benz, Nissan Rogue, SUV, upcoming car, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Tiguan SEL Premium R-Line, Volvo Car
Trackback from your site.
