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Does "GM CERTIFIED" really mean anything?

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Old 02-06-2005, 08:02 PM
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AlanN
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Default Does "GM CERTIFIED" really mean anything?

Was wondering. I see alot of Vettes for sale at dealers and they are not listed as "GM CERTIFIED". In fact I was considering 2 diff cars at diff dealers; Pohanka Chev in Va, and Criswell in MD. Got some real negative feedback on Criswell so decided to stick with Pohanka. The Criswell car is "certified" but, the Pohanka car is not. Would the fact the the Pohanka car is not "certified" be a negative? It only has 2590 miles on it and has had one owner and absolutly no work done on it. (thanks spong vette for the info). I am due to purchase it within the week and am getting cold feet. HELP
Old 02-06-2005, 08:36 PM
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99C5Vert
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GM CERTIFIED means they'll charge you more for the same car IMO.
If you're buying used, get it checked independently.
Old 02-06-2005, 08:58 PM
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With the GM certification you'll have peace of mind if a problem occurs it will be corrected as if you were thr first owner under warranty. Dealer does have to pay GM a small amount for cert,but it alleviates any hassle getting dealer to pick up repair cost. Dealer submits waranty claim and Gm pays it.
You can request the other dealer to get the Vette certified, they may or may not pass the cost on to you. Certification is usually done when the time and/or mileage limits on the original warranty are close to experation.
Old 02-06-2005, 09:07 PM
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AlanN
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So it looks like I would want a Certified car. The one that is certified has only 9K on it and warranty should be good as first purchase of car was 05/22/04. I'm going
Old 02-06-2005, 09:52 PM
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Originally Posted by 99C5Vert
GM CERTIFIED means they'll charge you more for the same car IMO.
If you're buying used, get it checked independently.
Old 02-06-2005, 10:06 PM
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drosenth
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On my vette GM CERTIFIED meant the warranty was extended 3 months/3,000 miles (39M/39K). Also peace of mind.
Old 02-06-2005, 10:36 PM
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gm certified means what he said.warranty is extended a bit.it is not free,although they may give you that impression.whatever the cost was,it was figured into the asking price of the used vette.you can still get gmpp on either vette you choose.because a 2500 mile vette is not certified may simply be due to gm guidelines for certification.i.e.certain age/mileage perameters.when i was selling vw's,they're certified cost the dealer about 400 bucks or so.and it was alot longer that three months.but my point is that the cost was/is incorporated into the selling price. happy hunting for your new vette!
Old 02-06-2005, 10:40 PM
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Honestly, I'm taking delivery tomorrow (Monday) from a dealer of a GM certified 2000 coupe and the certification doesn't seem to mean much. They give you a 3mos/3K Bumper to Bumper warranty and that's it. As for the certification, they were going to sell it to me with 75% worn out GY EMT's that they said met NYS inspection requirements, a driver seat track that was worn allowing the seat to wobble, and a disclaimer that "well, it's a used car". Ultimately I got them to fix the seat track and paid an additional grand for the 4 new EMT's. I couldn't get them to say what the warranty 'really' meant to me as a purchaser, so I ended up purchasing a 36mos/24K 0 ded GMPP warranty just to be safe. I even called Chevy HQ and they basically said, "well it means it went through a 110 point inspection" but not much more. I think for the most part it's a BS marketing tool that allows them to charge more. If they really were serious about their certification, GM would provide a huge (100,000??) mile warranty like BMW when they certify their used cars, THEN I would believe it means something. I only hope that if something is really wrong with mine after I pick it up, I can shove the GM certification up GM HQ's you know what and force them to make good on it. But I don't know, it seems more to me that GM wants to draw you in with the certification label but then they're REAL quiet about it in the dealership. Let me know if I'm wrong, I hope I am because I paid top dollar for my coupe mostly BECAUSE I was sucked in by the certification idea. Now I fell in love with the car and would probably buy it if the engine and tranny fell out!

READ THIS! NEW!!
I went to take delivery of my 2000 GM Certified coupe and the glass top was ruined with a large 2" wide stripe of some sort. The sort that the dealer said they would not even consider repairing, reconditioning or replacing. So much for the statement in GM's own website that GM Certified means that everything down to the cup holders is inspected and reconditioned or it isn't certified PERIOD! I guess they forgot to mention the glass top or the worn out tires. Not to mention the filthy condition they tried to deliver it to me in (covered with a shiny coat of instant spray-on wax). The whole GM certified thing is a bunch of bunk. The only real value is that with it you can buy a GMPP on a car that's out of warranty and without it you'd have to buy an after-market warranty .. other than that NOTHING! I think the way to go is a car nearing the end of the GM factory warranty but still within it and then contacting Ken or Dennis Fitchner for a GMPP at the best price available (no I have no relationship whatsoever to them but I did talk with Dennis and he seemed to be absolutely up and up).

Last edited by iteachflyin; 02-07-2005 at 10:32 PM.
Old 02-06-2005, 10:51 PM
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Originally Posted by iteachflyin
Honestly, I'm taking delivery tomorrow (Monday) from a dealer of a GM certified 2000 coupe and the certification doesn't seem to mean much. They give you a 3mos/3K Bumper to Bumper warranty and that's it. As for the certification, they were going to sell it to me with 75% worn out GY EMT's that they said met NYS inspection requirements, a driver seat track that was worn allowing the seat to wobble, and a disclaimer that "well, it's a used car". Ultimately I got them to fix the seat track and paid an additional grand for the 4 new EMT's. I couldn't get them to say what the warranty 'really' meant to me as a purchaser, so I ended up purchasing a 36mos/24K 0 ded GMPP warranty just to be safe. I even called Chevy HQ and they basically said, "well it means it went through a 110 point inspection" but not much more. I think for the most part it's a BS marketing tool that allows them to charge more. If they really were serious about their certification, GM would provide a huge (100,000??) mile warranty like BMW when they certify their used cars, THEN I would believe it means something. I only hope that if something is really wrong with mine after I pick it up, I can shove the GM certification up GM HQ's you know what and force them to make good on it. But I don't know, it seems more to me that GM wants to draw you in with the certification label but then they're REAL quiet about it in the dealership. Let me know if I'm wrong, I hope I am because I paid top dollar for my coupe mostly BECAUSE I was sucked in by the certification idea. Now I fell in love with the car and would probably buy it if the engine and tranny fell out!
Congrats, Just buy the GMPP and enjoy your car!!!
Old 02-06-2005, 11:35 PM
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The GM Certified warranty only gives you a short period of coverage time - and that can be a good thing. However, if your car qualifies, you may want to look into the cost of an aftermarket warranty. It would be for a much longer time and give you even more peace of mind.
Old 02-07-2005, 08:12 AM
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I think it means, we now want more money for it.
Old 02-07-2005, 08:49 AM
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There is also a 3 day 150 mile return policy, for any reason. Most places won't tell you this.
Old 02-07-2005, 09:12 AM
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Originally Posted by AlanN
Was wondering. I see alot of Vettes for sale at dealers and they are not listed as "GM CERTIFIED". In fact I was considering 2 diff cars at diff dealers; Pohanka Chev in Va, and Criswell in MD. Got some real negative feedback on Criswell so decided to stick with Pohanka. The Criswell car is "certified" but, the Pohanka car is not. Would the fact the the Pohanka car is not "certified" be a negative? It only has 2590 miles on it and has had one owner and absolutly no work done on it. (thanks spong vette for the info). I am due to purchase it within the week and am getting cold feet. HELP
Check out Ourisman Rockmont Chevrolet in Rockville.
I've always found the the Maryland pre-owned cars were MUCH cleaner and mechanically sound than cars from dealers in Northern Virginia.
Check with a salesman named Sonny, he gave my brother a great deal on a ZO6. Good Luck
Old 02-07-2005, 12:22 PM
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IM QUIKR
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"GM CERTIFIED" = the dealer has their best and brightest walk around the car looking closely at the interior, exterior, under the hood and step back and declare that is indeed a car built by GM and "now we can charge more money to the sucker that can't tell the difference between an abused car and a babied car." Give me a break! It's a sales pitch.

Just buy it without the "GM CERTIFICATION" and purchase a warrantydirect warranty with zero deduct. and sleep easy.

Best advice, is never take it back to GM for repairs. It's amzing how they can screw up a $50,000 car in such a short time.
Old 02-07-2005, 01:16 PM
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GM Certification means the dealer kicked the tires, vaccumed it and checked under it for leaks.
Used to be OK Quality Checked or some such nonsense.
Good thump, no cigarette ashes, and no leaks noted, they Certified it meaning that they will get more money for it.
Get a good used car warranty and drive off into the sunset away from the Chevy dealer.
To a dealer a Vette is usually "just another car". Nothing special when it is in for service other than the Vette Surcharge/Tax that goes along with the breed.
Still don't understand why a super dooper custom engineered Korean Yogo (Kia) can have a 100K 10 year warranty and a Corvette does not.
Old 02-07-2005, 01:28 PM
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Originally Posted by 99C5Vert
GM CERTIFIED means they'll charge you more for the same car IMO.
If you're buying used, get it checked independently.
Old 02-07-2005, 01:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Fandust
There is also a 3 day 150 mile return policy, for any reason. Most places won't tell you this.

Not true in every State

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Old 02-07-2005, 01:44 PM
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not08crmanymore
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Default cert.

it's an extended warranty!no more, no less.
Old 02-07-2005, 01:58 PM
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Default GM Certified

It was revealed to me by a Sales Manager at a dealer who I met socially that the whole Certification deal works this way. A dealer will take any car they want to, clean it up a litltle and buy a warranty. All the Certification means is that the dealer has already purchased the warranty and that's why the price for "Certified" cars is more.
Old 02-07-2005, 07:33 PM
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GM certified means you feel better thinking you have a car that is covered. But the truth is, it dont mean anything. They come up with excuses not to do the repairs. Ask the chevrolet dealer in East Meadow Long Island when I bought my car back for some stuff such as a door lock not operating and other stuff. Took them to court and I won.$$$$


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