CPO Certification Fee? Is this normal?

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1

Hi Guys,

I am looking to purchase a used 4Runner. I liked a couple on a local dealers lot. These were rentals. I had a few questions. Thanks in advance for any input:

  1. The dealer wants almost 1k for Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) certification. Is this normal? They are tacking this on to the advertised price and calling it the selling price. They then tack on rest of the dealer fees and dealer installed options (entune, etc.). Should I pay for the CPO? The sales person tells me its normal and everyone pays for it. I want to call that BS, but I did not and wanted to do some homework. I got mixed responses online and it seems like its mostly dealer/market dependent. If there is consumer appetite for it, they will try and push this on to the customer.

  2. Any issues with buying a car that was part of a rental fleet?

  3. I liked another one that was not with the Toyota dealer. They cant offer the CPO warranty, etc. But the sales rep said they offer their own powertrain warranty thats comparable to what you get from Toyota. He danced around some of my follow-up questions. This car is comparable to the one I saw at the toyota dealer and looks to be in much better shape. With these cars running forever and ever, should I be worried about not having the Toyota coverage? What other questions should I ask them about the warranty they offer?

These are 2019 models, with around 29k miles.

Also, what I have found is similar 4Runners in a 100 miles radius are all priced higher than the ones at my local dealer, even after adding the 1k in CPO fees! Part of why I think they are not willing to work on the price at all. Apparently there is a huge demand for these and they are flying off the lots quickly. I am just not taking their word for it on this… I have kept an eye on the inventory the last month or so.

2

Are we talking a dealer demo vehicle or a car from Enterprise/Hertz/etc?

It is very typical for a CPO vehicle to carry a higher price than a non-CPO used one. Going through the CPO process takes labor hours, and is why you get benefits over a non-CPO. I certainly wouldn’t be interested in paying for dealer installed options though.

3

Shouldn’t be paying a “fee” for certification. I’m not too familiar with Toyota but I’m 99% sure cert cost is less than $700, and most manufacturers don’t allow dealers to pass this cost to customers.

OP, PM me the VIN and I’ll tell you if you’re getting a good deal or not.

4

I’ve never seen a dealer offer to take something out of their used inventory that isn’t a CPO and CPO it for free. Have you?

5

It should be included in the price if it is advertised as a CPO.

(I was referring to car #1 in this scenario, from my understanding it is advertised as a CPO but the dealer is forcing a fee to sell as a CPO)

6

Gotcha. In that case, I definitely agree. I read it as the OP was opting to have the vehicle CPOd when it otherwise wasn’t.

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7

It was part of a rental fleet… enterprise/hertz, etc.

8

It is not advertised as a CPO. But, the dealer also didnt make it seem like not getting it CPO’d was an option. I can ask.

I guess, with these lasting as long as they do without major issues, i would be ok without it being CPO.

9

I don’t know that there’s a discount large enough to get me interested in purchasing an ex-rental car.

10

I’d avoid prior rentals. Terrible idea.

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11

Walk away and never look back

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