BMW CPO Program will now be voided if CPO is purchased from a non-BMW dealer

[Day Laborer]

http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/bmw-wi.../+tommcparland

Certified pre-owned is a great way to get the "ultimate driving machine" of your dreams without dropping a ton of cash, but a new program has just eliminated that extra warranty coverage if the vehicle was not purchased from a BMW store.

Wait..what?

According to BMW, any Certified Pre-Owned car that was certified after January 1st 2014 is not eligible for a warranty transfer if the car was sold through a non-BMW dealership. Here are two scenarios:

John buys a CPO 2010 328 in February of 2014 (the vehicle was certified in February). John drives it for a few months, and is enticed by lightly used M3 at CarMax. He trades his 328 for the M3. CarMax puts the 328 for sale and advertises it as a CPO BMW because according to the time and mileage there is still warranty coverage left. Except it is not a BMW CPO car anymore, because despite what the CarFax says, the car is being sold through a non-BMW dealer.

Mary buys a CPO 2009 X3 in January of 2014 (the vehicle was certified in January). Mary drives it for a year or so and decides she doesn't need an SUV and wants a 2-series. She goes to her local BMW dealer and trades her X3 in for a nice M235, because Mary is awesome. The BMW dealer advertises her X3 as a BMW CPO vehicle, and because it is being sold through a BMW dealer it retains the CPO coverage.

What about private sale?

Now if John advertised his CPO 328 on Craigslist and you, a private buyer, purchased it the CPO warranty could be transferred to you as long as you pay the $200 transfer fee and the vehicle still qualified for coverage given condition and mileage.

What if the vehicle was "certified" prior to Jan 1st. 2014?

According to BMW, all cars certified before that date would still be eligible for CPO warranty transfer regardless of how the vehicle was acquired. For example, if Mary's X3 was certified in December of 2013, she could have given it to any dealer and they could still sell a CPO x3 with whatever remaining coverage the vehicle still had.

This only applies to the extended CPO coverage right?

Correct...any BMW sold that still has the balance of the factory (original) warranty remains with the car and is not impacted by the transaction. However, as we discussed in the previous CPO article, most dealerships will charge a premium for a car with CPO coverage. Any CPO BMW sold at a non-BMW store (that was certified after 1/1/14) is now just a "used" BMW.


What Is A "Certified" Pre-Owned Car?
Buying any car, new or used, is a risk. Machines are not perfect, things break/malfunction and…
Read more
How does this affect the no-cost maintenance?

All new BMWs come with a no-cost maintenance plan for the first 4 years or 50k miles (whichever comes first). Currently, all vehicles for sale that have a no-cost maintenance plan can be transferred to another owner regardless of a dealership or private sale. However, beginning with 2015 BMW models the no-cost maintenance will not be transferable. BMW will make an exception for vehicles given to family members via a "household transfer."

TL DR- If you want a CPO BMW, you must buy it from a BMW dealer.

[fuddman]

It's been my understanding for many years that the CPO can only be transferred by a private seller and not by a dealer other than a BMW dealer. So, I don't see anything new in what you've written.
I may be missing something here but it wouldn't be the first time.

[Day Laborer]

Originally Posted by fuddman

It's been my understanding for many years that the CPO can only be transferred by a private seller and not by a dealer other than a BMW dealer. So, I don't see anything new in what you've written.
I may be missing something here but it wouldn't be the first time.

I didn't know that. I was under the impression that a CPO BMW can be resold through a non-BMW dealer.

[m3buckeye]

Originally Posted by fuddman

It's been my understanding for many years that the CPO can only be transferred by a private seller and not by a dealer other than a BMW dealer. So, I don't see anything new in what you've written.
I may be missing something here but it wouldn't be the first time.

Well, as OP said this was from Jalopnik:

http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/bmw-wi.../+tommcparland


either Jalopnik is wrong, or you are wrong b/c it states that any car CPO'd after 1/2014 falls under this "new" policy. certainly sounds like a change to me.

[ChallengeM]

I don't see how a private sale vs used car lot resale will effect a vehicle's warranty. The person purchasing a CPO'd vehicle from BMW is paying for the warranty -it is built in the price -, why is BMW not honoring it when the car gets resold to the next owner through a non-BMW dealer? What exactly is that used lot doing to void the warranty by putting this car in their inventory?
They just want to gain an unfair advantage IMO and justify their ridiculous markups...

[WWM3]

Originally Posted by fuddman

It's been my understanding for many years that the CPO can only be transferred by a private seller and not by a dealer other than a BMW dealer. So, I don't see anything new in what you've written.
I may be missing something here but it wouldn't be the first time.

Wrong. The above post is accurate. Investigated this myself before I bought my CPO M3 a number of months ago.

[JoePcone]

Good for BMW, bad for consumers. I agree, if BMW is paid for the CPO, they should honor the CPO regardless of where it is purchased from as they already made money on it. Kind of a shady move but I am sure it'll benefit BMW financially in the end. They can ask more for their used cars and sell more of them. Then again, if Mercedes, for example, doesn't adopt this policy it would probably push people toward the Benz brand on CPO used cars. Risky and interesting move. More people will sell their CPO cars privately, or BMW will pay them more for their CPO trade-ins. Effectively shutting down other dealers from selling what may be perceived as quality used bmw's. It essentially makes the CPO more valuable in the end.

[Yvette]

another bmw marketing

[topracer]

Can someone transfered a pre 2014 BMW CPO after 1/1/2014 confirm this?

Originally Posted by Day Laborer

[url]http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/bmw-What about private sale?

Now if John advertised his CPO 328 on Craigslist and you, a private buyer, purchased it the CPO warranty could be transferred to you as long as you pay the $200 transfer fee and the vehicle still qualified for coverage given condition and mileage.

What if the vehicle was "certified" prior to Jan 1st. 2014?

According to BMW, all cars certified before that date would still be eligible for CPO warranty transfer regardless of how the vehicle was acquired. For example, if Mary's X3 was certified in December of 2013, she could have given it to any dealer and they could still sell a CPO x3 with whatever remaining coverage the vehicle still had.

[MasterP]

Yes. If the car was certified before 2014, the CPO warranty is locked to the VIN and the warranty stays effective until it expires.

If you need help, let me know and I can check the VIN for you.

[PDACPA]

Reviving an old thread with a question.

I am looking at a pre 2014 CPO car. Car was CPO'd by a dealer and the local BMW took it on trade and has it for sale. The CPO has another year and a half on it left.

The sales guy is trying to tell me that his dealership had to pay an additional $750 to "hyper certify" or re-certify the already CPO'd car.

Has anyone heard of this? My understanding was that once the car received its CPO, that was it.

Yes the first time the car was traded the BMW dealer who took the 1 owner car in (with the existing 4yr 50k warranty) had to pay to Certify it, but once certified, the BMW dealers do not keep re certifying.

Am I correct? Sales guy is blowing smoke up my butt?