Buying a C.P.O. 2002 GLE - any suggestions?

You mean USED, right?

WTF is it with the term "pre-owned"? That has got to be the second stupidist marketing trick I've heard - right behind the concept of Infinity or Lexus or Acura.

As far as market-ease is concerned, "pre-owned" is easy to translate. What I want to know is what "certified" means: do they certify it's good? with added warranty???? or are they just certifying that someone else previously owned it!

BuddyWh

Certified means

That the car has passed a very through inspection(over 100 different points) outlined by Nissan and the inspection is preformed by a Nissan Certified technician , not some oil change guy but a factory trained technician.

Nissan Certified used cars have a 100K( can't remember the time limit limitation) mile powertrain warranty that comes with the vehicle at no charge to the customer if the vehicle passes the inspection.

I as a Master Technician perform most of the Nissan Certified inspections at my dealership, most of the vehicles are lease turn in's with around 36K miles on them with a good service history to them, meaning the owners did their regular oil changes and scheduled maintence as outlined in the owners manual or service menu at the dealership.

IMHO, it is one of the best ways to get a good used Nissan vehicle with a better warranty on the powertrain that was originally sold when the vehicle was new

What regulates application and the use of "Certified"?? The term "Nissan Certified" almost certainly would have to meet certain Nissan corporate standards, but Certified alone.... well I dunno.

BuddyWh

To answer Mike's questions:

-Side air bags = yes (in the sides of the front seats I believe)

-Traction Control = yes, with automatic only. Cuts fuel to one or more cylinders, and may also upshift the transmission.

- Limited Slip Diff = Maybe (I think this is an option found only on the MANUAL trans models and believe it is pretty rare as well). I hardly notice not having it, but wish I did since a hard accel from stop results in lots of wheel hop, which equals lost acceleration.

- Other options: I think the only other options include the Bose stereo and / or the GPS system. You might need to check if the 'Meridian' option is standard in the GLE, I forget, but it included sunroof, heated seats and mirror, fog lights, as I recall. I thought it was standard.

I opted for no GPS as (a) it made the other controls cramped together and (b) a much better system can be had for less than half the $2000 they were asking (Garmin StreetPilot III or 2610).

Note that this isn't your '4-door sports car' anymore. The 5th gen Maximas do not have independent rear suspension, and I personally think the steering isn't as tight as it was on my 93SE. I like the gadgets and niceties of my 2002 GLE, but if I could have bought another 3rd gen brand new, I think I would have, probably a '94SE.

All of my previous comments aside, it is a great car, and an awful lot better than most sedans in its class and price range. I was probably meant to drive an Infinity though ;)

Pat

FabFourFan wrote:

maybe I did not make myself clear.

When I said certified I meant Nissan Certified.

For a vehicle to be considered a candidate for the Nissan Certified used car program, the vehicle has to fall within a certain criteria.

Considerations are, Model year and mileage and overall condition

If one of the variables is out of whack , say for instance the mileage is not within a specific range for the years in service the vehicle will not be a candidate for a Nissan Certified used car.

The inspection sheets that we technicians follow are generated directly by Nissan North America, if any items on the check list do not meet the standards set by NNA we as tech's are to address the problems to make the vehicle right.

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear... Nissan Certified might mean something.

You, and certainly used car sales, may may wish to imply Nissan Certified when you say certified, but a smart consumer should be aware and avoid the inference. Certified, all alone, is just a cheap marketing trick, IME. Whenever I see an unqualified use of such terms my rip off detector lights up.

For instance: the term "low-fat" means something and food labels displaying that term have to meet certain standards. But it used to be just a marketing tool until federal law and the FDA regulated it.

BuddyWh

Pat,

Thank you very much for clarifying these options for me!

Mike

We have a dealer around here (southern Maine) that calls them "pre-titled".

What a crock.

DaveN