what is CPO REALLY all about??
 

So I'm confused about something.

I'm shopping for a 2005 6er convertible, and I can definitely get a better price if i buy a non CPO'd one from a non-BMW dealer or private party (obviously).

but i don't understand what CPO'ing gets me. my current m3 that i've just lemon'd was CPO'd, but i think all it got me was an extnesion to 100,000 miles/10 yrs. but, if the car has low miles, then it's already got full coverage up to 50,000/5 yrs... and i can always add maintenance/service/warranty to 10 yrs/100,000 miles just before that inintial coverage ends, right? isn't this exactly what CPO'd already includes?

so what kind of safety does CPO'ing really give??

put another way: is it ok for me to buy a non-CPO'd 2005 645 with something around 30K miles?

thanks!

CPO is the same as the warranty you can extend to 6yr/100k (not the maintenance/service),

EDIT: BUT you can't extend it since you're not the original owner. If you want warranty past the factory duration, you need to have it be a CPO. Unfortunately, there aren't any other good alternatives in Cali.

yeah, that's what i thought. therefore, all things being equal, there should be no problem buying a non-CPO'd car from a 3dparty dealer or private party.

agreed?

Sorry, my ninja edit wasn't quick enough. Re-read it.

Well, it's a gamble. You have to consider whether you're more comfortable with a warranty, be it as it is from CPO, or going without it. Like Vin stated though, there aren't any good third party warranty companies in California otherwise I'd recommend going that route.

Some would tell you to go find the cleanest example you can, have it thoroughly PPI'd by a trusted BMW mechanic, dealer or independent, at your own expense, buy it, and use the savings versus a CPO'd example as a sort of insurance policy against any future repairs. Not a bad approach. :dunno:

You have to decide whether the cost savings are worth it to you to accept the risk of not having a warranty. I'm pretty conservative when it comes to risk but then again, I just wrote a check for earthquake insurance and I'm going to add some new toys to my personal articles policy. ;)

so. so if it's not CPO'd, then that's it: i only have until 50K miles/5 yrs and that's IT. PERIOD. i see :(

One other item of caution: I have heard that people have gotten bitten by an issue concerning the date the vehicle was put into service. I guess the clock on the warranty starts at that point as opposed to some other date. I can't remember the specifics but you might want to look into it since a pre-owned car from a non-BMW dealer might not have good records.

Disclaimer: My memory is going and I might be totally off on this.

ok thanks for the heads up. but man the price difference btween CPO'd and non-CPO'd is HUGE. like .... $10,000+ :(

As it should be. If a CPO'd car had the transmission go out it would cost you $50.00 to fix, where as a non-CPO would be around $4,000-$5,000.

It's 4years/50k...NOT 5years. So an '05 (with 30k) would only have anywhere from a few months to a year+ left on the original warranty, depending on when the car was first sold and how much you drive.