Is it worth paying $$ for Certified Pre Owned?

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by JONOV

Have they? I always thought they were just robbing Peter to keep the payment number really low. Didn't know about wear and tear being more strict these days. It seems its always been a risk.

My father and sister (and BIL) all lease cars. Anything more than 10,000 miles a year gets expensive. Recently, when they returned leased cars, they get all sorts of charges for purported defects, even "dirty carpets" or "clean windshield inside" some of the charges are just fraudulent but some are defend-able.

Last time we turned a car in, we took dozens of pictures including close ups of almost everything. Came back with a $300 charge for scratch repair on the right rear fender. Examining the close ups there was in fact a tiny hairline scratch about an inch long. Not a scratch to the primer, just a scratch in the clear coat. Something no one would ever fix, not even on a new car. It was not visible except with a macro close up picture. Still there was in fact a scratch in the clear coat. We did not believe the repair was actually done and asked to see the car. They said it had already been sold.

We could have fought it. May or may not win that one. It would take months or even years to resolve and meanwhile they would ding Dad's credit score by reporting an unpaid debt. Then his next lease would cost him $500 extra.


Earlier leases, none of them ever had any charges for damage repair. Now, they have charges every single time. Usually in the rang of $300 to $1500. No matter what, they know they will be charged in that range, so they just factor that into the cost of leasing. I suppose if they got charged more than that it might be worth fighting, but the dealers/finance companies probably know that. Charge everyone an extra $300 - $1500 at the end of their lease and you will make some extra money, even if you do have to do a few of the repairs once in a while. It is more an added lease fee than it is a real expectation the car be returned in new condition.

[ddm2k]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

My father and sister (and BIL) all lease cars. Anything more than 10,000 miles a year gets expensive. Recently, when they returned leased cars, they get all sorts of charges for purported defects, even "dirty carpets" or "clean windshield inside" some of the charges are just fraudulent but some are defend-able.

Last time we turned a car in, we took dozens of pictures including close ups of almost everything. Came back with a $300 charge for scratch repair on the right rear fender. Examining the close ups there was in fact a tiny hairline scratch about an inch long. Not a scratch to the primer, just a scratch in the clear coat. Something no one would ever fix, not even on a new car. It was not visible except with a macro close up picture. Still there was in fact a scratch in the clear coat. We did not believe the repair was actually done and asked to see the car. They said it had already been sold.

We could have fought it. May or may not win that one. It would take months or even years to resolve and meanwhile they would ding Dad's credit score by reporting an unpaid debt. Then his next lease would cost him $500 extra.


Earlier leases, none of them ever had any charges for damage repair. Now, they have charges every single time. Usually in the rang of $300 to $1500. No matter what, they know they will be charged in that range, so they just factor that into the cost of leasing. I suppose if they got charged more than that it might be worth fighting, but the dealers/finance companies probably know that. Charge everyone an extra $300 - $1500 at the end of their lease and you will make some extra money, even if you do have to do a few of the repairs once in a while. It is more an added lease fee than it is a real expectation the car be returned in new condition.

Sad, if the dealers had to account for this money and show that it actually got spent on repairs, they'd be in hot water!