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Should You Purchase A Honda Car Dealers Certified Used Vehicle?There are many positives to purchasing a certified used Honda from the many Honda car dealers and there are also some negatives. I have compiled a list of the major pros and cons of purchasing Certified Used Honda's with a true insider viewpoint so you can make an informed purchase decision. I will also have the list broken down for both Canada and the United States since both countries follow differing guidelines for Honda's certified used vehicle program. PROS -Inspection process for mechanical and appearance: 150 point inspection for the U.S. and a 100 point inspection for Canada. The reason these differ is the depth of warranty. -Honda factory trained technicians: All work that will be completed on your purchase will be done by a mechanic that has specialized expertise with Honda's. -Accident/History reports: The most in-depth reports available are included free of charge. CARFAX for the United States and CarProof for Canada. -Up to Date Maintenance: Your purchase will be brought up to its next major service level by a Honda technician. -Financing: Honda financial services may provide better interest rates then offered at your lending institution. -Warranty: Extended warranty packages come free of charge on Honda Certified Used Vehicles. Honda Canada extends the factory power train warranty to 6 years or 120000 kms and the warranty is extended to 7 years or 100000 miles for the power train and an extra 1 year 12000 miles for non-power train in the United States. $0 deductible for both -Service records: Scheduled maintenance records are available if the previous owner did servicing at a Honda dealership. -Exchange policy: Honda car dealers in Canada will exchange a vehicle free of charge if it does not meet your needs within 7 days or 1000 kms. If the new price is lower you will be refunded or you will pay any additional cost. CONS -Sticker price: The original asking price may be lower at a small independent dealer. -Negotiating: The amount a dealer discounts may be less substantial then an independent due to cost incurred from the certified program. -OEM: You cannot save more money by using aftermarket or used parts if your purchase is part of the program. -Eligibility: Not all Honda's qualify for the certified program. Honda does not allow older vehicles (less then 6 years) or higher mileage ( less than 120000kms for Canada and 80000 miles for the United States)
Honda car dealers and independents both buy at wholesale prices. Click here and find out what they paid for the Honda you are looking at and if you have a trade in what you can expect as a value.
Some of the most valuable tasks to complete before visiting a salesperson are first to use a loan calculator (loan amount needs to have taxes included) to find out what the difference in total cost after interest will be, what does the CARFAX or CarProof say (you'll need the VIN # and the cost is approx $20 to $50), does the dealer have service records, what work is going to be completed on the vehicle, what is the cost of the extended warranty. If all of this criteria checks out for you, then taking the vehicle to your own mechanic to have it checked out is also a good idea and it lets you know if anything is trying to be hidden from you. Aside from the extra running around and work it takes to purchase a non-program vehicle, you may be able to save yourself some money and will be able to control how little you want done to the car to save that money. Definitions Certified: a minimum government safety requirement Honda certified program: Meets or exceeds factory specifications and is only available at eligible Honda car dealers VIN #: Vehicle Identification Number is a series of numbers and letters that specifies where the vehicle was built what the make and model are. Each sequence is unique to each vehicle and is located on the bottom left corner of the windshield.
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