Take used non-cpo and make it a cpo?

[Daedalus34r]

Quick question, thanks in advance for your replies.

Im trying to find a used cpo 325/330 e46 in my area [manual trans] and its extremely difficult. Even if i remove my restrictions on color, I cant find one even with the options I want.

But when I open it up to non-cpo used cars as well, I have some possibilities.

SO... Can i purchased a used 3er from non-bmw dealer, and take it to a bmw dealer to acquire the CPO extended warranty? This would give me HUGE peace of mind. Is there any way in doing this?

Another odd question, how trustworthy are non bmw dealers selling 3ers. Should I still ask to take the car to get inspected, can I assume the dealer would have looked at it and fixed any major issues? If i do have to get it inspected, how do I ask for that? Whats the procedure in doing so and are dealers against this, will they give me a hard time?

The only place I can think of getting it inspected is by simply taking it to a bmw dealership ... I dont know of any indie bmw specialist shops [chicagoland]. What $$ are we looking at for a thorough inspection?

let me know if you need further clarification, thanks again.

[nfafan]

I don't think you can CPO just any used BMW. CPO requires a certain year and mileage cut-off to be a "true" CPO.

If it fits the years/miles reqt, and it is NOT a CPO, then you may be able to talk them into taking about $1500.00 of your ducats and "CPO" it.

Or, ask if they may be able to sell the BMW-sponsered extended warranty instead, if they can't CPO it.

[jvit27]

Dealerships are allotted a certain number of CPO's a year and only certain cars are eligible. You cannot have a car certified on your own, it has to be owned/sold by the dealership - they will not grant a CPO to a car that did not belong to them. THEIR COST is over $1000 at the very least to certify a car. There are many checks the car must pass to even be eligible.

You need to look on bmwusa.com. They list all the CPO cars on there with their location.

[Gopher2k]

Wish it were that easy, but unless you're an extremely smooth talker and/or have a friend behind the scenes I doubt you'll get an exception made.

That said, its my understanding you can't even get an extended warranty through BMW if you are not the original owner. I'd purchased my car as a non-cpo in hopes of just spending the extra $ for the BMW warranty (other 3rd party warranties seems to be total BS), but am disappointed to find out I'm not eligble, despite having a relatively low millage 2003 that has been dealer serviced its whole life.

[Daedalus34r]

Thanks for the response guys,

gopher: what you did is exactly what I'm thinking of doing. the car is on 04 or 05 with about 40k on the clock. I wouldn't mind forking $$ for the inspection & warranty, but it seems like BMW doesnt want it. And yes, all other 3rd party warranties seem like a complete joke.

who would I make the inquiry too, a sales associate @ a bmw dealer or the service department? If a salesman can make some $$ off of this i dont see why he wouldn't be interested in selling a warranty ... but of course the ultimate decision is determined upon bmwusa's policies.

[Gopher2k]

I've been busy studying for the bar all summer, so I haven't investigated this myself, but one idea I had is tracking down the original owner and asking them to purchase the warranty for you... I don't know what grounds they'd have to turn them down, nor why they would want to.

[jvit27]

That said, its my understanding you can't even get an extended warranty through BMW if you are not the original owner.

True.

A dealership will 99.9% (with a +/- .01 margin for error) say no to granting you a CPO. They charge a premium for their CPO'd cars and will likely laugh at the idea of giving up a CPO allocation for a car they did not make money on.

To be CPO'd, the car must not have any major paint/bodywork, ample brake pads, tires with X amount of tread left, the list goes on.. The dealership has to pay to replace any of the items that do not meen the minimum requirements just so the car will pass CPO standards.

You should read the fine print on what a CPO actually covers. Many things are voided after the original factory 4yr/50k mile warranty that people ASSUME are covered by the CPO. Sometimes it can save you money, other times its a complete joke...

[Daedalus34r]

I have read of stories where the CPO didnt live up to its claim and left BMW owners in a jam. I'm thinking its almost worth it to simply by a non-cpo car thats been inspected and is in good condition ... and simply save $$ each month into a repair fund incase something needs to be worked on. I'll try for an 05 that would at least have 2yrs left on the warranty, thats good enough for me. I dont drive very many miles so time would expire before mileage.

[Gopher2k]

That sounds like a good idea. You can get more car for your dollar buying a non-cpo, and as long as you're responsible and set aside funds for upkeep you should be happy that way. Especially if you don't plan on putting very many miles on it.

[BMneWbie]

I hope this is the proper place to ask this question, but, I have a CPO'd 325 that is vibrating unusually rough at stop. If I take the car to the dealer to have it checked out and they don't find anything wrong with it, am I responsible for the labor costs or does the warranty cover that? Thanks in advance.

[robmpulse]

It's very easy to get a CPO vehicle.

Go to BMW dealership, buy CPO vehicle.

It is rare, but some dealers will CPO a vehicle for you that you provide. It's more than $1,500 stated above, though I am not sure the cost.

That said, would really suck to find a dealer willing to do this, buy a car, take it to them and it not pass.

Just buy a CPO car from them. The difference you are going to pay is going to be no different than just buying the CPO to begin with. If the car you are buying is that much cheaper that it would be a lot cheaper to get it from somewhere else and take it to them, chances are it will not pass CPO.

[Filip75]

Wow, what a come back - Back from the Dead...

I'll still chime in though: get a CPo car from the dealer and don't worry about it.