Seriously, does CPO really buy me anything?

I'm looking at some 2 year olds with clean carfaxes from an outfit called Offleaseonly. Salesman at the local dealership cautioned me "you don't want to buy from them, they don't do anything to the cars other than wash them". My thought was on a two year old car how much really needs to be done? Manufacturers advertise their CPO programs with umpteen-point inspections, but how much does that really accomplish beyond what you can see through observation and checking some things out?

First, off-lease only buys cars mostly from auction sites. The cars they have most Nissan dealers would not certify. Look at the CarFax reports for Offleaseonly and you will find many with Previous Accident damage or structural damage. Of course not all fall into that category but buyer beware when dealing with Offleaseonly. They do have some good cars with good deals but you have to be careful.

Rarely will a Leaf purchased from Offleaseonly have 2 key fobs. A second key fob will cost you about $400 from a dealer. They don't do much of anything to cars that are on their lots.

Look at the Nissan CPO checklist. It's more that a car wash. Brake pads need to be more than 50% remaining, tires in good shape etc. then they wash the car.
http://cpo.nissanusa.com/download/?03-24-14_n_14cpo_inspection_checklist.pdf

I don't put a whole lot of stock in "CPO". The only thing of value to me, would be the warranty. IIRC, there wasn't a whole lot that gets you on a Leaf though. That's where I would concentrate on finding whether the value is there regarding warranty vs. other clean used cars. A Carfax and a careful eye/test drive tell you quite a bit, and with a newish (2-3 year old) lowish mileage (30-40k) modern car that is usually sufficient enough to save several hundred to thousand $ vs CPO.

We went and looked at this car
http://www.offleaseonly.com/used-car/nissan-leaf-s-hatchback-fwd-1n4az0cp5ec331753.htm
The exterior looks very clean, just a couple minor scratches and a scratched up wheel cover. The Carfax looks clean, and with an in service date of Jan 2107 we'd still have eight months of factory warranty. One peculiar thing, it has four completely mismatched tires. That's right no two tires are alike. How does that happen. And yes, you called it, this one only has one fob.

I'm not sure what to make of all these LEAFs at OLO. They have nearly 40 of them between West Palm and Miami. Many of them were two year leases in Georgia. As for these being the ones Nissan dealers didn't want, that's not saying much, I think the LEAF is just a nuisance to them. Frankly I wonder if OLO is having second thoughts about taking them on.

The Ecopia tires are a bit more fragile than other tires. Don't ask how I know this.

If the car was driven by a careless, joyriding individual who frequently hit curbs and potholes, it is easy to imagine tires getting replaced frequently.

Another theory is that the seller took off the four good tires that came with the car and put on four junky tires.

Bob

Bob said:

The Ecopia tires are a bit more fragile than other tires. Don't ask how I know this.

If the car was driven by a careless, joyriding individual who frequently hit curbs and potholes, it is easy to imagine tires getting replaced frequently.

Another theory is that the seller took off the four good tires that came with the car and put on four junky tires.

Bob

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All good theories. Maybe some auction seller had multiple cars and wanted to make matched sets on the others and made this car sacrificial.

Instead of a 2014 S try and find a 2015 S with the Quick Charge Package. The "B" mode really makes a big difference. Also you need the Quick Charge for the 6.6 charging. Good Luck

juicedcar said:

Instead of a 2014 S try and find a 2015 S with the Quick Charge Package. The "B" mode really makes a big difference. Also you need the Quick Charge for the 6.6 charging. Good Luck

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I'm not seeing any 2015s out there, and if we did find one I kind of expect it wouldn't be the value prop we are seeking. We are approaching this from the standpoint that this isn't the be-all-end-all, just an inexpensive stopgap until better options become available/pervasive, like gen 3 Leaf, Bolt Tesla 3 etc.

I have a friend right outside of Orlando that has a 2014 SV for sale. He has it on Craigslist. I sold it to him last year. Might be just the right thing to tide you over.

Does a CPO do anything to extend the capacity warranty on the traction battery?

JeffnReno said:

Does a CPO do anything to extend the capacity warranty on the traction battery?

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No. Here's what CPO means for LEAF:

-0% APR financing for 60 months through NMAC
-Limited warranty is extended to 7 years and 100,000 miles, but there is a $50 deductible. This does not include common issues like wheel bearings or end links, but it does include front drive housing components (click of death), all electric drivetrain components (dc/dc converter, charger, motor, reduction gear, etc...).
-Car is brought up to CPO standards with Nissan parts.
-Roadside assistance ($100 covered).
-Rental reimbursement ($35/day covered).
-Trip interruption coverage ($500 covered).
-Sirius is reactivated for 3 months.

kubel said:

JeffnReno said:

Does a CPO do anything to extend the capacity warranty on the traction battery?

Click to expand...

No. Here's what CPO means for LEAF:

-0% APR financing for 60 months through NMAC
-Limited warranty is extended to 7 years and 100,000 miles, but there is a $50 deductible. This does not include common issues like wheel bearings or end links, but it does include front drive housing components (click of death), all electric drivetrain components (dc/dc converter, charger, motor, reduction gear, etc...).
-Car is brought up to CPO standards with Nissan parts.
-Roadside assistance ($100 covered).
-Rental reimbursement ($35/day covered).
-Trip interruption coverage ($500 covered).
-Sirius is reactivated for 3 months.

Click to expand...

At least it's good for something. I'm sure if any of those things go before the time or mileage is up, it will save me some money there. Thanks for the reply.