This post may contain affiliate links.

Since my post last month sharing about our latest car buying experience and how we saved going with a certified pre-owned vehicle, I’ve gotten a lot of questions. SO I thought it was time for round two on this post, but a little more expanded and more details strictly on certified pre-owned vehicles. I’ll share as much as I know, though I am not an expert, then I’ll give you details and info I’ve learned from Autotrader, because they’re where it’s at and totally knowledgable on this topic!

If you aren’t familiar with certified pre-owned vehicles (AKA: CPO) it’s basically a “used” (though I hate that word) vehicle that is in great condition and meets the requirements of an extensive checklist in order to qualify as a “certified pre-owned” vehicle. They come with a warranty, but are a fraction of the cost that a typical new vehicle would cost. We purchased a certified pre-owned vehicle for Marcus’ truck this past summer and so far it’s been amazing and the entire process was great. It was also really helpful because we used Autotrader to find and make the process seamless.

In my opinion, it’s a lot easier to go into a car dealership with a plan of action in hand. So Marcus and I researched, found a truck we liked on Autotrader, saw that it was checked under “CPO” and went to the dealership to look at it. It was so nice to literally go in with a plan of action, my little printed off page from Autotrader (because I get nerdy y’all) and just feel prepared and that we knew what we were interested in, could spend and wanted to see/look at. Otherwise I feel like car buying can be totally daunting and a little scary walking into a dealership with excellent sales people who are going to get you trying, looking and buying things you didn’t plan for. Autotrader literally takes the work out of it for you, like I can’t tell you enough!

So anyways, that’s a quick overview of what a certified pre-owned vehicle is, there’s a lot more info you can find on their website though too. What I thought I’d highlight in this post is more so, what car do you get, how do you find a CPO car, etc. I got a lot of messages asking this and well, again not a car expert, just sharing my experience, but boom – in flies Autotrader again to save the day.

They put together a list of the 10 BEST “CPO” vehicles. You can read it, here. They break it down for you, explain why CPO is where it’s at and then list the 10 best cars in this category, along with the years and models of each. I’m actually nerdy, excited about this, especially as we start looking into new cars as our family is growing. They show you the price breakdown too, which I love seeing – you can see the same warranties you’d get with the new car, with the CPO and how much the price has been reduced because it’s “used”, but also still backed by a warranty 😉 HOLLA.

The biggest thing I’ve learned from car buying is DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Find tools and resources that make things clear and understandable. Second, go in with a budget and don’t be persuaded to go over that, you had the budget set in stone for a reason. Remember, it’s still the beginning of the year, keep those goals in check, reevaluate, recommit + realign. You can shop with your goals in mind, especially using all the tools and information over on Autotrader.

You got this, keep them goals + happy shopping y’all 😉

---