HondaTrue Certified Vehicles Continue to Lead the Industry

Getting the most from your vehicle can mean different things to different people: for some, it comes down to a powerful engine that provides an exhilarating driving experience, while for others, it can mean an SUV with a spacious interior that’s perfect for a growing family. One thing we can all agree on, however, is that we want a vehicle we can rely on for a long time—a vehicle that provides us with great peace of mind. With a pre-owned car, that peace of mind and confidence can be hard to find since you’re never sure what it went through with a previous owner. That’s where Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicles come into play.

With a CPO model, you get to enjoy the best of both worlds: the lower price of a used vehicle with the dependability and warranty protection of a new model. That being said, since these CPO programs are established by car manufacturers, not all brands are on the same level. Looking at a Certified Pre-Owned Honda compared to something like a CPO Chrysler, for example, quickly reveals some flaws in what Chrysler delivers. This isn’t entirely Chrysler’s fault, though, since Honda has one of the most elaborate and impressive CPO programs in the industry. Let’s take a look at both of those programs, and you’ll see what we mean.

The Chrysler CPO Program

To start things off, we will look at Chrysler’s CPO program because, honestly, it’s much simpler and less extensive than what Honda offers. As part of Stellantis, Chrysler has the same CPO program as their other brands, such as Jeep, Dodge, and Ram. That might be able to work in their favor if they leveraged all of that market presence to deliver an incredible program, but honestly, it’s a bit underwhelming.

For starters, before any used Chrysler can be offered as a CPO model, it has to pass a 125-point vehicle inspection to ensure it’s in good shape. As a part of this, the vehicle cannot be more than five model years old, and it can’t have more than 75,000 miles on it—anything older or with more use can’t be offered as a Chrysler CPO vehicle. Assuming a vehicle passes inspection and is sold as a CPO Chrysler, it’s covered by a factory-backed warranty: seven years or 100,000 miles for the powertrain. In addition, every CPO model has a three-month/3,000-mile Maximum Care Coverage Warranty covering most vehicle components.

Anyone buying a CPO Chrysler looking for more coverage beyond this point will have to go with an upgrade plan at an additional expense. And that’s pretty much it. Chrysler does offer roadside assistance on their CPO vehicles, but they don’t provide any complimentary oil changes, other services, or any additional special benefits. It’s a decent CPO program, but the incredibly short duration of the maximum care warranty is its biggest failing. This becomes even more glaring once we look at what Honda has to offer.

HondaTrue Certified and Used Programs

As we saw, Chrysler offers just one type of CPO program, and it’s only for those vehicles that meet the requirements of its singular inspection and service period. This is fine, but Honda has realized it’s a lacking approach to selling certified vehicles, which is why they have three levels of Certified Pre-Owned models available. By having three different levels to choose from, you have much greater variety in the types of used cars you can shop for and more freedom to find what you need and what fits your budget. There are some important differences between these three levels, however, so we’ll get into each one to show you what they offer.

HondaTrue Certified+

The most impressive level of Honda-certified models is HondaTrue Certified+, which surpasses even what many other brands offer as their only CPO model. For a vehicle to be offered as HondaTrue Certified+, it must be within the previous two model years and have fewer than 12,000 miles on it. If it meets these high standards, then it will have a seven-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty along with a five-year/86,000-mile non-powertrain warranty covering the rest of the vehicle. These models come with two complimentary oil changes within the first year, helping you keep one in the best shape possible.

HondaTrue Certified

For a vehicle from the previous five model years, with fewer than 80,000 miles on it, Honda offers the HondaTrue Certified level, which is similar to the previous one but not quite as restricted. A HondaTrue Certified vehicle has the same powertrain warranty, but its non-powertrain coverage depends on whether it’s still within its new vehicle's limited warranty period or not. If it is, the warranty is extended to four years/48,000 miles; if not, the HondaTrue Certified model gets a one-year/12,000-mile warranty. This is far better than the three months Chrysler offers, plus you get the two complimentary oil changes for these, too.

HondaTrue Used

Finally, we have HondaTrue Used vehicles, which can be from the last 10 model years, and there’s no mileage limit on them. Even though this covers a wide range of models, a HondaTrue Used car comes with 100 days/5,000 miles of warranty coverage on the full vehicle, including its powertrain. You get one complimentary oil change during your first year of ownership with a HondaTrue Used car, making it easier to keep your ride in great shape so you can depend on it for a long time to come.

Shared HondaTrue Benefits and Advantages

Although we saw some differences between these three programs, there are also a few things they all have in common. For one thing, all HondaTrue models, at any level, must pass an 182-point vehicle inspection to ensure they’re in great shape; compare this to Chrysler’s 125-point inspection, and it’s not even close. In addition, you get roadside assistance with every HondaTrue model, regardless of which level, along with a three-day exchange period if you purchase one of these vehicles and quickly realize you prefer a different model. That means you can shop confidently and drive away knowing you have the right car, truck, or SUV with everything you need.

Looking at these benefits, it’s pretty easy to see that Honda has a better CPO program than Chrysler in just about every way. You get a more thorough inspection with Honda, more options to choose from, and added benefits that Chrysler doesn’t offer, like complimentary oil changes and an exchange window. These can seem like small things, but the small things quickly add up and make a big difference when it comes to your overall shopping experience. These are a few of the many reasons that we’re so proud to be a Honda dealership and to be able to bring this type of experience to our customers.

Building a Better CPO Program

Honda clearly understands what drivers need in a CPO program: a great selection of vehicles, a thorough inspection to ensure quality models, and great warranty coverage to provide you with peace of mind once you drive away. By giving you multiple CPO programs to choose from, you gain access to a more diverse selection of vehicles while still enjoying the benefits of a certified buying experience.

Even leaving Chrysler alone, this is something you won’t find from a lot of other brands, and it showcases how well Honda goes further than others to provide for their drivers. All you have to do now is decide on which pre-owned Honda vehicle will work best for you and get a HondaTrue model with everything you’ve been looking for.