Honda to CPO Used Cars a Decade Old

If you’re shopping for a second-hand Honda or Acura older than even that forgotten bottle of ranch in the back of your fridge, we’ve some good news. Those brands are allegedly expanding their HondaTrue certified pre-owned program to vehicles stretching back 10 years from its original in-service date.

Despite this announcement’s proximity to April Fool’s Day, there’s more than enough information released by Honda and Acura to warrant a second look at the program details. HondaTrue Used will be the third tier of the brand’s CPO program, with HondaTrue Certified and Certified+ covering vehicles of other ages and conditions. HondaTrue Used is said to provide vehicles up to 10 years old with both powertrain and non-powertrain coverage of 100 days or 5,000 miles after the time of purchase. Also part of the deal is three months’ worth of SiriusXM satellite radio and roadside assistance for the 100-day timeframe. The company will throw in a free oil change as well.

“HondaTrue Used is a critical new gateway to the Honda brand, especially for young and first-time buyers,” said Dan Rodriguez, Manager of Auto Remarketing at American Honda. “Customers can now shop for a high-quality certified used Honda on our website and buy with confidence from the most knowledgeable and experienced source – a Honda dealer.” If the customer hates their new-to-them car, there is a 3-day/300-mile exchange policy which is surely rife with conditions (one of which is clearly stated to be that the exchange has to be on another CPO vehicle).

The only reason we bring up April Fool’s is this announcement’s closeness to April 1st and the fact there is apparently no mileage limit on vehicles to which the HondaTrue Used program can be applied. This means that, technically, a 2012 Acura TSX Sport Wagon with 500k on the clock would qualify so long as it passed the rigors of a 112-point inspection. Still, your author has found collateral on the HondaTrue Used program dated all the way back to December and it’s unlikely Honda would go through the trouble of creating that document just for a laugh.

With used car prices in the stratosphere, this could be a good play for the company to drag in new buyers – particularly ones shopping at a lower price point than found on other CPO products.

[Image: Honda]