Newbie, certified pre owned question

[Kpetrone]

hello all, new to the site here. Just purchased a 15 express ,3.6. Love the truck but the dealership has left me wanting to return it on principle. Long story short, purchased it as a certified preowned, but has issues. One of many being a dime size chip in the windshield. It was there when I looked at the truck and assured it would be taken care of. All said and done all they did was have it sealed. My question is, during the certification process, do they have “acceptable standards” they go by? As in wouldn’t this have to be replaced to be able to check off the “glass appearance” box? The headlights were full of water, luckily they replaced those. And a cel came on for a coolant valve as the salesman brought it back from putting 10$ worth of gas in it. Has a clunk in the front end at low speeds, over small bumps and uneven pavement that they couldn’t duplicate. All in all Arrigo dodge of margate Florida is not holding up to their reputation. Oh, and the tire was leaking air, went to pick it up , service writer forgot to put it on the repair order but assured me they filled the tire. Get in the truck to drive away after they had it for a week, and the tire light was on!

 

[katja]

I’ve had a few bad experiences buying vehicles and each time I ended up dealing with the sales manager and each time they hooked me up with whatever I had concerns about. A regular sales guy won’t give 2 ***** once they sell you the vehicle. They already have the sale under their belt. If it’s a good ran place, then the management will step in and take care of you. From what I know about the certified pre-owned is that they have inspected the vehicle and it is road worthy and meets the manufacturers specs, so no mods. I would give the sales manager a call and explain what your not happy with. If they try to **** you around- contact 1 of the government regulated places that look over car dealerships. In Canada each province (state) has its own division I don’t know what the states have.


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[Kpetrone]

I’ve had a few bad experiences buying vehicles and each time I ended up dealing with the sales manager and each time they hooked me up with whatever I had concerns about. A regular sales guy won’t give 2 ***** once they sell you the vehicle. They already have the sale under their belt. If it’s a good ran place, then the management will step in and take care of you. From what I know about the certified pre-owned is that they have inspected the vehicle and it is road worthy and meets the manufacturers specs, so no mods. I would give the sales manager a call and explain what your not happy with. If they try to **** you around- contact 1 of the government regulated places that look over car dealerships. In Canada each province (state) has its own division I don’t know what the states have.


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Thank you, I did put a call in to fca to see what their standards are for this, as far as what’s acceptable and what’s not. They couldn’t produce anything so I am going to be contacted at a later date. I just want my ducks in a row before I go back to them about it.

 

[huntergreen]

As I understand the CPO process, they go over a check list in order to the certification. They also attach an extended warranty. IMHO, you pay extra for the CPO , but who knows how diligent the person whom actually does the certifying is.

 

[Kpetrone]

As I understand the CPO process, they go over a check list in order to the certification. They also attach an extended warranty. IMHO, you pay extra for the CPO , but who knows how diligent the person whom actually does the certifying is.

Exactly, I feel as though the CPO was pencil whipped, as the headlights were full of water, and the dime sized chip in the shield, and the leaking tire lmao.

 

[oilslick]

I just purchased a CPO 17 Sport a few weeks ago. The day after I picked it up I noticed a few scratches a bit under the rear bumper that were turning rusty. I called my salesman and he scheduled an appointment with their body shop to get it fixed. I actually had it done yesterday . It came out great and i didnt have to pay anything either.

 

[averageguy]

Certified pre owned is just another feel good term they use to sell vehicles, like local trade in, one owner, etc. If oil was pouring out of it or the door was missing they might address it. Other wise, its on to the porter for a half a-- detail and on the lot it goes. Its up to the buyer to find the flaws and decided if its worth making them fix it and buy it or not. Never kid yourself, anyone trying to sell you something is not your friend and does not have your best interest at heart. They want as much of your money as they can get with the least amount of product,effort, work, or service.

 

[Random_Walk]

Certified pre owned is just another feel good term they use to sell vehicles, like local trade in, one owner, etc.

Yes and no, depending on the manufacturer. I say this because if a dealership was pencil-whipping CPOs? The manufacturer (who in some cases spent literal megabucks on actually advertising their CPO program) would jump on it the moment they noticed a pattern. Put this way: a dealership who got too many unresolved complaints could stand a good chance of losing brand bonuses and incentives, losing (or having suspended access to) factory and financing programs, and in worst-case scenarios, lose their franchise license(s) entirely.

But - it's a question of degree, not an absolute, and it depends on the brand.

In FCA's case, I found the docs.

FCA CPO program: http://www.certifiedpreowned.chrysler.com/

The actual checklist: https://www.cars.com/cldstatic/ads/cpo/inspection/chrysler-dodge-jeep-ram-inspection.pdf

(...and if you hate PDF files, here's the html version: http://www.certifiedpreowned.chrysler.com/125-pointinspection.html )https://www.cars.com/cldstatic/ads/cpo/inspection/chrysler-dodge-jeep-ram-inspection.pdf

 

[averageguy]

That checklist is very thorough. And if every certified preowned vehicle was checked based on every thing on that list that would be great. However, I doubt that it happens very often. Some used vehicles are flawless so when they don't check them thoroughly it doesn't matter. Some of the things that they miss the consumer is never going to notice. More of the things that go unnoticed will be found down the road and chalked up to age miles or crap happens. Or if anybody does notice I'm sure They will be happy to fix it like they're doing you a favor although they should've done it before you got it. Thus never involving the corporation. I'm pretty pessimistic when it comes to dealing with anybody that sells me anything. It's a pleasant surprise when and if they prove me wrong.

 

[Jrod]

Here's an unbiased look at CPO.

https://www.autotrader.com/car-shopping/cpo-program-review-chrysler-239248

 

[Jrod]

hello all, new to the site here. Just purchased a 15 express ,3.6. Love the truck but the dealership has left me wanting to return it on principle. Long story short, purchased it as a certified preowned, but has issues. One of many being a dime size chip in the windshield. It was there when I looked at the truck and assured it would be taken care of. All said and done all they did was have it sealed. My question is, during the certification process, do they have “acceptable standards” they go by? As in wouldn’t this have to be replaced to be able to check off the “glass appearance” box? The headlights were full of water, luckily they replaced those. And a cel came on for a coolant valve as the salesman brought it back from putting 10$ worth of gas in it. Has a clunk in the front end at low speeds, over small bumps and uneven pavement that they couldn’t duplicate. All in all Arrigo dodge of margate Florida is not holding up to their reputation. Oh, and the tire was leaking air, went to pick it up , service writer forgot to put it on the repair order but assured me they filled the tire. Get in the truck to drive away after they had it for a week, and the tire light was on!

I've had to replace a bunch of windows in my area.. Long story short, I learned window companies don't replace windows unless the chip is larger than a quarter or a crack longer than a dollar bill, otherwise they'll just seal it. So the dealership may also be using the same rule set? Congrats on new headlights. They should fix anything related to CEL. You could also have them examine all bushings and make sure everything is tight with your front end. If they don't find any issues you may have to pay a diagnostic fee. They should also address the tire as well. Now if I am not mistaken, CPO should work just like any bumper to bumper warranty for the time allotted. If so, that means you should be able to take it to any dodge dealer if you are not satisfied with yours.

 

[Kpetrone]

I’m actually not even impressed with fca’s response. I contacted them about the windshield, and they said as long as there are no visible cracks it is acceptable. I’m starting to believe CPO is just a sham as well. They were kind enough to patch the tire after telling me I could have picked a nail up anywhere. Let’s just say I won’t be returning to Arrigo any time soon. As far as the front end is concerned , they assured me there was no noise. I played him a video and all I got was “weird” and have to make another appointment.

 

[Jrod]

I’m actually not even impressed with fca’s response. I contacted them about the windshield, and they said as long as there are no visible cracks it is acceptable. I’m starting to believe CPO is just a sham as well. They were kind enough to patch the tire after telling me I could have picked a nail up anywhere. Let’s just say I won’t be returning to Arrigo any time soon. As far as the front end is concerned , they assured me there was no noise. I played him a video and all I got was “weird” and have to make another appointment.

You literally got your CPO to pay for itself between your new projector headlights, window repair, CEL issue, tire patch, and free front end diagnostic, and you can take it to another dodge dealer if you're still not satisfied. You won't see any of that when you buy as/is.

 

[Kpetrone]

You literally got your CPO to pay for itself between your new projector headlights, window repair, CEL issue, tire patch, and free front end diagnostic, and you can take it to another dodge dealer if you're still not satisfied. You won't see any of that when you buy as/is.

I guess I see it differently. Spent 20k on a cpo vehicle and I couldn’t even drive it off the lot without the cel coming on. So to me, the cpo was bs and pencil whipped and they are only fixing things because I am finding them. Just reinforces the whole CPO is bs for me, and has 0 added worth to the vehicle. All of this was covered under 30day/1000 mile/ dealer pocket. I absolutely plan on going to another dealer in the future due to the overbearing feeling of dishonesty. I mean they told me that the truck had to go to a master tech to change the headlamps as they had to remove the bumper cover to change them.... the fact that I have to “get my cpo to pay for itself” is a bit of concern to me.
Just out of curiosity are you Jarod from Arrigo margate!?

 

[Jrod]

I guess I see it differently. Spent 20k on a cpo vehicle and I couldn’t even drive it off the lot without the cel coming on. So to me, the cpo was bs and pencil whipped and they are only fixing things because I am finding them. Just reinforces the whole CPO is bs for me, and has 0 added worth to the vehicle. All of this was covered under 30day/1000 mile/ dealer pocket. I absolutely plan on going to another dealer in the future due to the overbearing feeling of dishonesty. I mean they told me that the truck had to go to a master tech to change the headlamps as they had to remove the bumper cover to change them.... the fact that I have to “get my cpo to pay for itself” is a bit of concern to me.
Just out of curiosity are you Jarod from Arrigo margate!?

Nope, although I was raised in Florida, Orlando to be more precise, the Air Force dropped me off in Virginia in 2002. I have lived here ever since. I only go back to visit lol.

I'd look at it with the glass half full. Firstly it's a used truck, so from that prospective you never know what you're getting. You're supposed to get that warm feeling when the word CPO is used, but you're finding issues with the truck. Although they were supposed to have accomplished all of the inspections you are finding problems on your own. That alone would give anyone buyers remorse. That's frustrating to say the least. I would be pissed too. Fortunately the truck was sold as CPO. After reading the CPO pdf from Chrysler, it's literally a bumper to bumper warranty until it runs out. Although the dealer has addressed the issues, that feeling of them likely having skipped parts of the inspection would be enough for me to go somewhere else. On the bright side, you are not leaving empty handed. The projectors alone with labor is not cheap. If I'm not mistaken the pair of lights are north of $1200 at the dealer.

Although I was still under factory warranty with my RAM and Challenger, the service department from the dealer I bought them from was a complete nightmare. Fortunately there's a new Dodge dealer near my work and they are awesome! I simply explained my experience and they've taken care of me ever since. Hopefully you can find what you are looking for, but at least your issues are being addressed in the meantime. Hopefully there are no more gremlins and you'll get to enjoy the hell out of that truck!

 

[PoMansRam]

I know in the case of our 2016 Nissan we bought used in 2017, the CPO ~120 point check list had to be checked off, initialed and signed by 3 different people. One being the general manager of the dealership (or who ever the head cheese was).

When I went to take delivery, it was missing a FOB, missing the spare tire and had various interior and exterior issues. ALL of which were checked off by THREE people as being OK and signed by the general manager.

I freaked out so bad that they extended my bumper/bumper warranty another 20K miles free of charge. I called them out on every single line item they signed off on as being OK, when it clearly wasn't. What a farce.

Like said above, CPO is purely a marketing tool. I didn't buy this vehicle because of the CPO thing. It just happened to be the particular vehicle we wanted in our price range.