ARTICLES & GUIDES
What “Certified Pre-Owned” Really Means and Why It Matters After Rodriguez v. FCA
If you have spent any time shopping for a used car at a dealership, you have seen the term “Certified Pre-Owned” or “CPO” everywhere. Dealerships use it because it sounds safer more reliable and more thoroughly inspected. But in California especially after the Rodriguez v. FCA decision whether a vehicle is legally considered Certified Pre-Owned actually matters and not everything marketed as CPO qualifies.
For legal purposes a vehicle is only considered Certified Pre-Owned when the dealership completes the manufacturer’s official CPO inspection and reconditioning process and the manufacturer then issues its additional CPO warranty coverage. The key is that the dealership must follow the manufacturer’s published inspection guidelines and satisfy those specific standards. Once that happens the manufacturer provides the CPO warranty and that warranty is what gives the vehicle its legal status as a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle.
When “Certified Pre-Owned” Doesn’t Mean Certified Under California Lemon Law
The complication for consumers is that many dealerships and even some manufacturers offer products that use the term “CPO” without being true CPO vehicles in the legal sense. Subaru is a well known example. Some Subaru dealerships sell extended service contracts labeled as CPO yet these contracts are simply protection plans administered by the dealer or a third party. They do not trigger the manufacturer’s Certified Pre-Owned warranty and therefore do not make the vehicle a CPO vehicle under California law. They may offer coverage but they do not provide the legal rights that come with a genuine manufacturer backed CPO warranty.
This difference became critical after the Rodriguez decision. Under Rodriguez a true Certified Pre-Owned vehicle one that went through the manufacturer’s CPO inspection process at the dealership and received the manufacturer’s CPO warranty is treated the same as a new vehicle for purposes of the Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act. That means stronger warranty protections and full lemon law rights. A vehicle that only has a dealer issued or third party extended service contract even if the dealer calls it CPO does not receive those protections. It is legally just a used vehicle.
The key is that the dealership must follow the manufacturer’s published inspection guidelines and satisfy those specific standards. Once that happens the manufacturer provides the CPO warranty and that warranty is what gives the vehicle its legal status as a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle.
How to Confirm a True CPO Warranty Under California Certified Pre-Owned Law
Consumers should not assume that any use of the term “CPO” in advertising or paperwork means the vehicle qualifies as Certified Pre-Owned under California law. Before buying ask for the manufacturer’s official CPO warranty booklet and confirmation that the vehicle passed the manufacturer’s inspection program according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. If the dealership cannot provide these documents the vehicle is not legally CPO.
Evaluating If Your CPO Vehicle Qualifies Under California Law
If you purchased a vehicle that was marketed as certified and you are dealing with repeated problems or warranty issues we can review your documents and determine whether your vehicle qualifies as a true Certified Pre-Owned vehicle under California law after Rodriguez.
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ARTICLES & GUIDES
Corporations Want to Make It Harder for California Consumers to Get an Attorney
Through ballot initiatives, automakers and other big businesses are trying to make it harder for consumers in California to get an attorney. Consumer protection laws like the lemon law allow consumers to recover attorney fees on top of their damages so that consumers can enforce their rights in court.
Without fee-shifting provisions, consumers would have to pay their attorneys out of pocket or out of the recovery, making it difficult for many consumers to enforce their rights. The ballot proposals would change the law by capping consumer attorney fees and preventing consumers from having their attorneys paid based on the time actually spent on a case. Instead, consumer attorney compensation would be arbitrarily limited regardless of the time spent on the case.
“Knowing that consumers’ attorney fees are capped and that their attorneys will have to do a lot of work for little return, corporations would undermine the fee-shifting provisions in consumer protection laws.”
The proposed caps are so drastic that it might no longer be possible for consumers to have an experienced attorney represent them. With corporations not limited in how much they could spend fighting a consumer’s claims, they could easily drag cases out for years and run up attorney fees. Knowing that consumers’ attorney fees are capped and that their attorneys will have to do a lot of work for little return, corporations would undermine the fee-shifting provisions in consumer protection laws.
As a result, these initiatives will limit consumers’ recoveries, bargaining power, and access to the courts. Therefore, consumers are urged not to sign the petitions that would put these initiatives on the ballot. Instead, consumers should contact their state representatives and ask them to fight these proposals that limit consumer rights. You can find the contact information for your state representative at https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/.
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Corporations Want to Make It Harder for California Consumers to Get an Attorney
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