Ciocca Ford of Red Lion: The Ford Blue Advantage

What’s a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle?

Image by Robin Mathlener is licensed with Unsplash License

Pre-owned certification is only awarded to used vehicles after a thorough inspection by brand-certified technicians who guarantee that they're in excellent condition. Although these cars may come from multiple sources, most are leased vehicles returned to the original dealerships after their expiration of the lease periods. Respectable manufacturers like Ford have strict standards for the cars they certify as pre-owned and include common criteria requiring that a vehicle is completely accident-free with no obvious signs of wear and tear.

What’s the Ford Blue Advantage?

The Ford Blue Advantage refers to a set of two certifications awarded to pre-owned Ford vehicles sold at participating Ford dealers. Cars with this designation have passed extensive multi-point inspections performed by certified Ford-trained professionals. This means that, although they're not new, you can be sure that they're in excellent shape and will likely run smoothly for years to come. There are two different Ford Blue Advantage certification levels based on your chosen pre-owned vehicle's age and mileage.

Gold Certification

The Ford Blue Advantage Gold certification is available for vehicles up to 6 years old with less than 80,000 miles. Its most important benefits include the following:

• A 172-point inspection: Becoming a Ford Blue Advantage Gold Certified vehicle requires a thorough inspection of virtually anything that may not be in excellent condition. Ford's factory-trained mechanics analyze every aspect of the vehicle and replace any substandard component with an original Ford replacement part.

• Warranty: Any Gold Certified pre-owned Ford comes with an impressive set of warranties. Besides a comprehensive limited warranty of 12 months or 12,000 miles and a seven-year or 100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, Ford also includes a money-back guarantee for the first 12 days or 1,000 miles to ease your mind regarding your new purchase.

• Roadside assistance: Although your vehicle may work well and run as it should, a variety of things can happen that necessitate roadside assistance. The Gold certification offers 24-hour roadside assistance for the full duration of the limited powertrain warranty, which also includes travel expense reimbursement and a replacement rental vehicle for up to five days if your car requires more complex repairs.

• History report: If the 172-point inspection and impressive warranty aren't enough to convince you that your Ford Blue Advantage Gold Certified vehicle is in tip-top shape, you can also study its history. The Ford Blue Advantage has strict standards regarding the selected vehicles' histories.

Blue Certification

The Ford Blue Advantage is available for vehicles up to 10 years old with less than 120,000 miles. Its advantages are similar to the Gold certification and include the following:

• A 139-point inspection: Any vehicle eligible for Ford Blue Advantage Blue certification needs to pass a 139-point inspection. Factory-trained mechanics inspect every part of the vehicle and either recondition used parts or replace them with original Ford parts.

• Warranty: The comprehensive limited warranty for a Blue Certified Ford vehicle is 90 days or 4,000 miles, depending on which comes first. There's also a 14-day or 1000-mile money-back guarantee that you can use in case you don't think you've made the right choice.

• Roadside assistance: As with Gold Certified Ford vehicles, the Blue certification also includes 24-hour roadside assistance. Travel expense reimbursement, destination expense assistance, and rental car reimbursement for up to five days are also included.

• History report: Although Blue Certified vehicles are usually a little older than Gold Certified cars, they still come with a full vehicle history report.

The Advantages of Buying a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle

Besides the specific advantages of the Gold and Blue certification offered by the Ford Blue Advantage program, there are many additional perks:

• You can get great value for money: Perhaps the most important benefit of buying a certified pre-owned vehicle is that you know exactly what you are paying for. Since new cars tend to depreciate by up to 20% per year and used vehicles may cost a fortune to repair after a short time, buying certified pre-owned ones is the sensible choice.

• You can get a good price: Since car dealerships that sell certified pre-owned vehicles compete with other used cars on the market, they try their best to lower their prices to as close to market levels as possible. This can significantly benefit the buyer, as they get a great car at a reasonable price without having to haggle with its seller.

• You can get great financing deals: Even though certified pre-owned vehicles are usually slightly more expensive than regular used cars, you get the benefit of better financing conditions. Certified pre-owned cars are likely to qualify for lower finance rates, close to those offered for new vehicles.

• You can get new-generation vehicles: Since most pre-owned certified vehicles come from leasing deals, they're likely to be a few years old at most. This means that you'll get a new-generation model with modern looks, infotainment features, and driving aids for much less than its new counterpart.

• You can change your mind: Unlike buying a new car or a regular pre-owned vehicle, a pre-certified program like Ford Blue Advantage gives you the option to change your mind. If you decide a vehicle is not right for you after driving it for a while, you can return it within two weeks to get your money back.

Using certified pre-owned programs like the Ford Blue Advantage is an excellent way to buy a great car while also saving some money. Visit us at Apple Ford of Red Lion and check out our used vehicle inventory.