[Prissy]

Hi, do you guys know how BMW CPO an used vehicle? Do they fix every single problem it had from its previous owner? For example:
1) What if the car has been in an accident and had its panel repainted at a dependent paint shop but the paint didn't match OR the thickness or the paint is not even, will BMW repaint it before they make it into a CPO?

2) Do they fix weird noises? (windows, seats, breaks)

Thanks.

[reaper335]

no they will most likely wait till you bring it in for the issue.. if the paint doesn't match they might repaint but doubt they'd even go by thickness

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by Prissy

Hi, do you guys know how BMW CPO an used vehicle? Do they fix every single problem it had from its previous owner? For example:
1) What if the car has been in an accident and had its panel repainted at a dependent paint shop but the paint didn't match OR the thickness or the paint is not even, will BMW repaint it before they make it into a CPO?

2) Do they fix weird noises? (windows, seats, breaks)

Thanks.

It seems like both your points would be addressed by carefully inspecting the car prior to purchase and test driving it under a variety of road conditions.

While I suspect that CPO prepping varies, the '07 E91 I bought last year had perfect paint and bodywork, new tires, perfect carpets and a flawless leather interior except for two minor trim blemishes - both of which were actually pointed out by the salesman during my pre-purchase inspection. And while the dealer's asking price took this into account, I was still able to negotiate a satisfactory deal.

While two problems developed few thousand miles later (a mirror afflicted with CRS and an intermittently malfunctioning IBS unit), my servicing dealer handled both under the remaining OEM warranty.

Tom

[JuppiOne]

technically, if anything is not within BMW CPO spec, the dealership cannot CPO the car, so if the paint color isn't matched, I am pretty sure it won't be within spec, the dealership should not CPO the car, but in reality, I am not sure how true is that, I suppose some dealers are better than the other.

[Prissy]

Originally Posted by reaper335

no they will most likely wait till you bring it in for the issue.. if the paint doesn't match they might repaint but doubt they'd even go by thickness

Originally Posted by Tom K.

It seems like both your points would be addressed by carefully inspecting the car prior to purchase and test driving it under a variety of road conditions.

While I suspect that CPO prepping varies, the '07 E91 I bought last year had perfect paint and bodywork, new tires, perfect carpets and a flawless leather interior except for two minor trim blemishes - both of which were actually pointed out by the salesman during my pre-purchase inspection. And while the dealer's asking price took this into account, I was still able to negotiate a satisfactory deal.

While two problems developed few thousand miles later (a mirror afflicted with CRS and an intermittently malfunctioning IBS unit), my servicing dealer handled both under the remaining OEM warranty.

Tom

Originally Posted by patrickch

technically, if anything is not within BMW CPO spec, the dealership cannot CPO the car, so if the paint color isn't matched, I am pretty sure it won't be within spec, the dealership should not CPO the car, but in reality, I am not sure how true is that, I suppose some dealers are better than the other.

thanks guys!

[wins76]

I'm sorry to say this: They will not fix item # 2 on the list if the car mileage of the car is greater than 50k even its CPO. They only cover those items in the first 4 years or 50k miles.

[AddictedToBavarian]

This is what they do. Download the PDF.

http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/conte...fication2.aspx

[username604]

Anything that needs fixing can be fixed by you... unless its CPO and out of the standard warranty, then i think "weird noises" aren't covered.

[Prissy]

Originally Posted by 328xi0wner

This is what they do. Download the PDF.

http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/conte...fication2.aspx

Perfect

[dmorga1]

Originally Posted by Prissy

Perfect

Yes, but don't believe everything BMW tells you. That's the prescriptive checklist. BMW dealerships are franchises that need to make money. While I haven't heard of any really egregious CPO cars being sold, what kind of car they're willing to CPO really depends on the desperation/inclination of the used car manager and buyer.

Because dealerships generally operate on a cost center model, their used car and new car operations are different cost and profit centers. Therefore, *usually*, the used car manager can't just roll a car over to service and ask them to work on it for free. From an accounting perspective, that's crazy, because the dealership does need to account for the cost of servicing the car prior to purchase. So, generally, they charge it like retail cost and take it out of the car. Thus, there's a huge incentive for a used car manager to leave things alone and to check those boxes on the checklist as quickly as he or she can. I'm not talking about outright fraud, but if something is borderline, there's tremendous pressure to get that car out on the line without the service cost center chewing up $1000 in the car's bottom line.

The reputation of the dealer is paramount here. Dealerships try to stay away from buying painted cars, and unless a dealer's buyer is a rank amateur, it usually will. However, sometimes they make mistakes, and if they think it's a salable mistake, they'll do it. The most common example being minor repaired accident damage that wasn't so obvious to the buyer. When it comes to paint, it's caveat emptor--I wouldn't expect any dealership to take action because you don't like the paint thickness post-sale. Virtually anything is negotiable before the sale, but paintwork would chew up so much profit they would likely try to put you in a different car and sell the car with slightly off paint to somebody a bit less discerning.

If you go CPO, you still need to do your due diligence on the dealership and the individual car. That's the best advice you can follow, I think.