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Buying a BMW Used Car on eBay?

eBay Motors is a popular site for purchasing new and used cars. As more people get comfortable with buying cars on eBay it may surprise you to find that not all used cars may be best purchased direct from a consumer or an on-line used car dealer. We all know the risks of purchasing a car direct from a consumer; its a gamble that you can trust a stranger that lives out of our area.

I've purchased over a dozen classic cars from eBay from the 1960's for restoration and most of the time been satisfied how a seller described the car. A few times I had to send a car back because the car was not in the condition that was stated in the auction. This is a waste of time but unavoidable to get your hands on some classic cars that are not available locally. Buying newer model used cars on online auction sites may not be a smart decision if you are not buying from an authorized dealer.

When picking up my new 2007 BMW X5 at Circle BMW, I learned about the unique BMW used car program (CPO Certified Pre-Owned) offered by Circle BMW. I learned about the CPO program as part of the orientation new car owners receive about the long term value of BMW cars. What I learned is that a used BMW car, when sold by an authorized dealer, can be enhanced with additional warranties that a consumer or generic used car dealer can not offer. This important fact adds value to buying locally from a dealer and would not be disclosed in a consumer direct car listing.

BMW dealers call their BMW used car program Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) and if a car qualifies from the CPO program, the dealer adds an additional 50,000 miles or two years to the base new car warranty; four years or 50,000 miles. This means the CPO car is covered for up to 100,000 miles. The CPO program, has an extensive certification checklist that every car pass in order to qualify. I was not aware that some manufactures offered enhanced used car services like the CPO program.

When shopping BMW used car prices on eBay, you should include the value of an extra 50,000 miles of warranty when you compare prices and shipping costs to the price of a car offered by a BMW used car dealer. I encourage you to check your local new car dealer (BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc.) before buying a newer used car on eBay from a consumer. BMW may not be the only one to offer extended warranties on used cars. For my dollar, it would make sense to purchase from an authorized BMW dealer if it meant I could drive the car to 100,000 miles worry free if the prices were comparable. Here is an article you can read on the BMW CPO program and another article on purchasing BMW used cars on eBay.

Brian Pasch - January 10, 2007

www.motors.ebay.com