Steve is mostly correct.
A certified pre-owned (CPO) car is valuable because it is a FACTORY certified vehicle. This means that it's not just an aftermarket warranty that goes on the car, but it is a warranty that is backed by the manufacturer.
In addition, the certification is branded to the title of the car. With most aftermarket warranties, the warranty is pro-rated if you ever sell the car. This means that whatever portion of the warranty that you didn't use, you get back, and the person that gets the car next has to put their own warranty on it. With a CPO car, you can offer the vehicle for re-sale as a CPO car so that the warranty carries over to the next owner which promotes higher resale value.
Also, like Steve said, you usually get perks like 24 hour roadside assistance or free towing, and some manufacturers even offer $0 deductables on warranty work.
Finally, (and this might be the best reason to buy CPO), every CPO car has been brought back to new car spec. The 150 point inspection can be glossed over etc. but the manufacturer will not certify a car that does not meet their expectations. For example, (because they don't want to back a lemon with a 6yr/100,000 full coverage warranty) some manufacturers will require a car to have a clean carfax report, others will require that new tires will be put on the vehicle before it can be certified. On top of that, because dealers know this, they will only select the best used vehicles for the CPO process. Even if the dealer tries to skate by a little bit on the inspection process, the fact that the car was accepted by the manufacturer to be certified lets you know that you're buying a car that was in great shape even before they started the CPO process.
Good luck with your search!
FtB
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