Dealer offering CPO or Lifetime Powertrain Warranty - what to pick?

New to these forums. Wife and I are looking to buy a CPO from a local Subaru dealership. Their ad says we can pick between Subaru Certified or a Lifetime Powertrain Warranty. What should we choose?

 

It seems the former still offers a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty along a bunch of other items including:

 

* Inspection (IMO, the car is already inspected in order to get certified)

* 24/7 roadside assistance (we have AAA but this is a decent perk)

* $500 Owner Loyalty Coupon (not sure what it provides?)

* Carfax report (is this more detailed than the report available on the dealer's listing?)

* 3 month trial to SiriusXM (no use for it)

* 1 free year of STARLINK (nice $150 perk)

 

Thanks in advance!

What are your plans for the vehicle? What is your history with vehicles? If you are a buy and drive till it dies type then go for the lifetime powertrain. If you swap vehicles like some people swap underwear....go CPO and reap the benefits in a timely manner. Notice I said some people.....

 

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New to these forums. Wife and I are looking to buy a CPO from a local Subaru dealership. Their ad says we can pick between Subaru Certified or a Lifetime Powertrain Warranty. What should we choose?

 

 

 

It seems the former still offers a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty along a bunch of other items including:

 

 

 

* Inspection (IMO, the car is already inspected in order to get certified)

 

* 24/7 roadside assistance (we have AAA but this is a decent perk)

 

* $500 Owner Loyalty Coupon (not sure what it provides?)

 

* Carfax report (is this more detailed than the report available on the dealer's listing?)

 

* 3 month trial to SiriusXM (no use for it)

 

* 1 free year of STARLINK (nice $150 perk)

 

 

 

Thanks in advance!

Suggest the Lifetime Drive Train if your going to keep it more than 150k miles..

 

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What are your plans for the vehicle? What is your history with vehicles? If you are a buy and drive till it dies type then go for the lifetime powertrain. If you swap vehicles like some people swap underwear....go CPO and reap the benefits in a timely manner. Notice I said some people.....

 

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Suggest the Lifetime Drive Train if your going to keep it more than 150k miles..

 

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My wife and I are definitely ones who keep cars for many years. Her current car is a base 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS sitting at 160k miles that we've had since 2013 (7 years). It just died'ish (likely alternator) and instead of dropping $500-$700, we figure its time to get her a newer, safer upgrade in a '19 Legacy Limited.

 

Question: Is the Lifetime Powertrain Warranty a Subaru-wide offering, or is it a dealer-specific thing (where only they'll service it)? The former is preferable of course and we'll absolutely ask for the Terms & Conditions as we get to that point of the sale.

warranty lingo is often a marketing ploy, but you should get whatever they are offering in writing to make an informed decision.

The dealer I bought my new 5th Gen from offered lifetime tires and 150k powertrain warranty, but you had to do ALL the recommended maintenance and checks at their dealership in order to qualify. Some of the maintenance was above what Subaru recommended. You were going to be paying for it one way or another.

Make sure that the "lifetime" warranty does not require you to get every service at every recommended interval at the dealer. If you go that route, not only will you be liable to be beaten like a mule every time you show up for service, but also you will pay ridiculous prices for service you could get elsewhere for much less money

You were going to be paying for it one way or another.

 

That's the truth right there.

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch

I'd also make sure to read fine print on what "lifetime" means. It doesn't mean your lifetime... Often it can mean something like "expected lifetime under normal conditions" which can be any number they specify in the fine print.

I got my 2016 CPO in 2018 and it came with a $500 coupon for a new subaru purchased before 2022 I'm guessing that's what it is. Although they didn't advertise it and I doubt its actually worth anything given almost all dealers offer $500 loyalty for sticking with the same brand. (and they also often offer "rival acquisition" money that can be $500 or more for switching from a close rivals car, say an accord for a legacy)

 

If the dealer already posted carfax report then that's it there's only 1 kind of carfax report. Although if the car was serviced at the dealership sometimes they can give you a tiny bit more info.

 

Also with mileage and year warranties make sure it ask if the date starts when you buy it, or when it was originally sold. 100k from when you buy it is very different from 100k total.

 

At the end of the day though, I'd never buy a car because of a warranty it's a nice emergency bonus, but it's not really worth much financially in reality if the car is in good shape to start with. Another good thing with subarus is you also get the remaining original warranty that's much more inclusive than powertrain if it still has left of the 3 year/36,000 mile.

 

Another option if the CPO/lifetime is costing the dealership money (sometimes they have to pay extra to certify it cpo). You can try negotiating to buy it not cpo and just save money upfront.

Since it's a MY19 (assuming it is less than 36k miles), the factory bumper to bumper warranty should apply. I'd check with SOA if that warranty transfers to you when you purchase the car and if the dealer needs to do any paperwork to have that transfer to you. Those terms and conditions keep changing from year to year, so I'd confirm that.

 

Like others have said, it's a marketing thing. Nothing really is lifetime; and you'll often find things like wear and tear exemptions in the fine print. That will be a harder battle to win and prove that it was a failure due to a defect vs just wear after 150k

 

Unless the CPO has something of value to you, I'd negotiate a discount without the CPO or lifetime and pick up a Subaru Gold Plus warranty for the years/mileage that make sense for your driving habits. In my opinion that is more peace of mind for the buck.

Unless the CPO has something of value to you, I'd negotiate a discount without the CPO or lifetime and pick up a Subaru Gold Plus warranty for the years/mileage that make sense for your driving habits.

If a car is still within the original 3 yr/36,000 mile warranty period, that would be the best strategy. Of course, that's just my opinion.