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Honda, Lexus, and GMC Earn Top Honors with Vincentric Best Certified Pre-Owned Value in America Awards


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BINGHAM FARMS, Michigan July 10th, 2013; The inaugural Vincentric Best CPO Value in America awards were announced earlier today, with Honda and Lexus earning awards for best value passenger car brand and luxury brand, respectively. GMC captured the best truck brand award, edging out sister brand Chevrolet. At the manufacturer level, General Motors and Toyota topped the list, with their brands earning a total of eight Vincentric CPO awards for each manufacturer.

The Vincentric Best CPO Value in America awards are vehicle specific honors that determine the best value certified pre-owned model in each segment. Using a statistical analysis, the company identified the Vincentric Best CPO Value in America winners by measuring which vehicles had lower than expected ownership costs given their market segment and price.

"The Vincentric Best CPO Value in America awards recognizes the efforts manufacturers have put into quality improvements. These improvements, supported by strong CPO warranties, provide value to buyers of certified pre-owned vehicles," stated David Wurster, President of Vincentric. "When a great vehicle is combined with a great CPO program, more and more consumers will consider a certified pre-owned vehicle. These results demonstrate that the increasing awareness and management of total cost of ownership by manufacturers is paying dividends in this expanding market," he added.

Vincentric measures cost-of-ownership using eight different cost factors: depreciation, fees & taxes, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, opportunity cost, and repairs. Each CPO vehicle was evaluated in all 50 states plus DC assuming each has been driven 15,000 miles per year, with the expectation that they will be driven an additional 15,000 miles per year over the coming five years.

What Exactly Is A CPO?

From Wikipedia

A certified pre-owned or CPO vehicle is a type of used car. Virtually always they are late-model, they differ from other used cars by having been inspected, refurbished, and certified by a manufacturer or other certifying authority.

They also typically include an extended warranty, special financing, and additional benefits. Luxury marques Lexus and Mercedes-Benz were among the first to create CPO programs in the 1990s. There are variations as to what is termed certified pre-owned, so the distinctions are important. Manufacturer (or "factory") CPO vehicles are only sold at authorized dealers specializing in that particular franchise.

Factory CPO cars are generally five years old or newer and have less than 80,000 miles. They often cost more than vehicles certified by independent authorities, and are higher priced than a non-certified used vehicle. Independent programs can represent good value and an alternative to an OEM program. Independents may hold a vehicle to a higher standard than an OEM, or may be less stringent in their inspections.

Independents include brands such as the National Vehicle Certification Program (or "NVCP"), Carmark, and others. Dealer-certified programs represent a third category, as they are often promoted as Certified Pre-Owned. These vehicles generally have not been inspected by anyone outside the dealership, but do typically carry a warranty or extended service contract to provide some protection to the consumer.

With any certified pre-owned program, who does the actual inspection and reconditioning repairs may be significant. Both OEM and dealer-certified program vehicles are typically inspected by employees of the selling dealer- not by the manufacturer as may be assumed. Independents may employ a disinterested third-party inspector to ensure objectivity, or may allow the dealer to inspect their own vehicles.

Because warranties, vehicle inspection points, and other program components will vary, prospective buyers would be wise to decide what defines CPO for themselves, by comparing the programs to determine what best represents their needs and expectations.

ABOUT VINCENTRIC

Vincentric provides data, knowledge, and insight to the automotive industry by identifying and applying the many aspects of automotive value. Vincentric data is used by organizations such as Yahoo! Autos, AOL, Cars.com, General Motors, Toyota, Kiplinger.com, Mercedes-Benz, Business Fleet Magazine, Volvo, NADA Guides, BMW and Fleet-Central.com as a means of providing automotive insight to their clientele. Vincentric, LLC is a privately held automotive data compilation and analysis firm headquartered in Bingham Farms, Michigan.

2013 VINCENTRIC BEST CPO VALUE IN AMERICA AWARDS

 

   2013 AWARD WINNERS

BRAND AWARDS and
PASSENGER CARS                  

                                                                

 

Passenger Car Brand

 

      Honda

 

Luxury Brand

 

       Lexus

 

Truck Brand

 

       GMC

   2013 AWARD WINNERS

Subcompact Hatchback

  Honda Insight
Subcompact Sedan    

 

Hyundai Accent

 

 

Compact Coupe

 

  Kia Forte Koup

 

Premium Compact Coupe 

 

    BMW 3-Series
Compact Hatchback  

 

Toyota Prius 
 

Compact Sedan    

 

Chevrolet Cruze

   

Premium Compact Sedan     

 

Lexus IS 250

   

Mid-Size Coupe   Honda Accord

 

Premium Mid-Size Coupe

 

    Infiniti G37
Mid-Size Sedan     Toyota Camry
Mid-Size Sedan, Hybrid   Licoln MKZ Hybrid

 

Premium Mid-Size Sedan

 

   

 

Buick Regal

 

Large Sedan  

 

Honda Accord Crosstour
 

Premium Large Sedan  

 

Buick LaCrosse

 

 

Convertible

 

 

 

Mini Cooper

 

Premium Convertible

 

 

Lexus IS 250
 

Sport

 

 

 

Mitsubishi Eclipse 

 

 

Wagon

 

     Volkswagen Jetta
Premium Wagon   Volvo V50

SPORT UTILITIES, CROSSOVERS and VANS      

 

 

 

 

Compact Crossover

 

 

 

Honda CR-V
 

Premium Compact Crossover 

   

 

Volvo XC60

 

Mid-Size Crossover

   

 

Toyota Venza

 

Premium Mid Size Crossover

 

 

Lexus RX 450h
 

Large Crossover    

 

Mazda CX-9
 

 Premium Large Crossover     

 

Lincoln MKT

 

Compact SUV  

 

Nissan Xterra

 

Mid-Size SUV    

 

Nissan Pathfinder

 

Premium Mid-Size SUV     

Land Rover LR4

Large SUV  

 

Nissan Armada

 

Premium Large SUV    

 

Infiniti QX56

 

 

Minivan

 

     Volkswagen Routan
Full Size Passenger Van  

 

Chevrolet Express G1500

 

PICKUP TRUCKS  
Compact Pickup      Toyota Tacoma
Full Size 1/2 Ton Pickup

 

GMC Sierra 1500/ Chevrolet Silverado 1500
 

Full Size 3/4 Ton Heavy Duty Pickup   Chevrolet Silverado 2500
Full Size 1 Ton Heavy Duty Pickup     

 

GMC Sierra 3500