In my continued quest for possible 2011 or'12 RL, I've stumbled across a CPO that the Carfax indicates was in a collision and suffered structural damage.
Nothing more specific but, I'm stunned such a car could be Acura CPO'd?
Having said that, I have a friend that works at a very high-end collision service that told me a few years back that they easily and HONESTLY straighten such problems. How good? He took the front of one car & the rear of the same model producing a car he gave to his daughter!

 

if it was fixed correctly, i wouldnt see why not.

plus, we all know CPO is a joke

 

Yes, I agree, CPO status depends on the dealer but, I find it difficult to understand how Acura would allow it's application unless corporate or another dealer did a rigorous inspection

 

^you just said it yourself.
it depends on the dealer.

as independent dealers might hold a higher standard(or less) than a regular used car.
plus, there isnt a standard on what is a CPO. all we know, is that the car goes through a certain checklist.

if it passes the check list, then it's considered a CPO.


a CPO car can still have faults, just like a used car. it's up to the buyer/consumer to KNOW what he or she is buying.

 

I always consider CPO as just an invented term/concept to give dealers an excuse to mark up a used car beyond regular street value. In order to truly have something to distinguish it from a regular used car besides the CPO term, the manufacturers and dealers got together to give you a little warranty and the option to buy more warranty on your own. Not at all worth it and like others have said, it's a joke.

 

I wouldn't say it's not at all worth it. It is essentially a factory extended warranty. If the cards fall right, you can end up with the same used car at the same price with a dealer owned extended warranty. Mine was CPO, and its price was no different than non-CPOs because they dropped the price after it sat on the lot for 30+ days.

 

Oh I agree with you... If you can get a CPO at the same price as a non-CPO, then it's definitely worth it! It's just that CPOs normally have around a $3K premium over non-CPOs and for that much change, I'd rather just bank the cash to cover any possible repairs that may come up.

 

Theoretically, Acura couldn't disallow a claim for warranty repairs on the basis of pre-existing collision damage if it's CPO by ANY Acura dealer.

 

I believe it can be done, technically. Whether a given customer has a really good chance of getting a perfectly straightened and problem-free car with that history is another question altogether.

I agree with the other posters here about CPO. It's a warranty that comes at a price, period. As for this car, there are too many other good alternatives available that don't come with a giant red flag. I wouldn't touch it unless its price was discounted too attractively to resist -- and the presence of the CPO designation tells me that's not happening here.

 

The certification process entails completing a 150 point checklist to be eligible for the extended warranty. The service dept does this. Ask for a copy of the checklist. If there was major bodywork done, the car will fail in the first 5 points. When I bought mine, I paid for the certification. As it turns out, because of bodywork (vin tags were painted over),the car never should have been certified and, they denied me rust thru protection. they wound up replacing 2 doors that were worked on, after I threatened to sue for fraud. At a minimum, ask how they intend to honor the warranty if you can see the car should have failed the inspection....

 

They can straighten a unibody frame without replacing body panels. It's pretty remarkable. I re-read the checklist upon seeing this thread, and it seems plausible to pass a correctly repaired vehicle.

 

Structural (frame) damage could occur from tapping the core support on the top of a stump at the overflow parking at the racetrack. You certainly wouldn't consider this a real accident, but it would still need some straightening (or replacement) at the body shop. This doesn't mean the car was in a serious accident.