If you’re going to get a certified pre owned car from one of the many Houston BMW dealerships, then you still need to do a lot of the same research that you would have done if you were going to buy a brand new car from the same Houston BMW dealerships. While you no longer have the option of choosing extra features and color, you still do have a lot of room to move around in.

• Prices.

Just like you would look up the quote from each of the Houston BMW dealerships for a new car, you need to check Blue Book or NADA to see what the used car value is for the vehicle that you want. It will depend on what the mileage and condition is on the car, so check the inventory at your local Houston BMW dealerships.

• Source.

Who is the certification coming from? If it’s from the Houston BMW dealerships, that’s all well and good, but you also should have one from the maker of the vehicle, since they have stricter requirements. If you have the certification from the manufacturer then you will be able to sell your car anywhere in the country.

• Check? Check.

If the car is certified, the Houston BMW dealerships will have a checklist with information on everything that was looked at. Make sure that everything that should have been checked was.

• Warranty.

If the Houston BMW dealerships offer a warranty on the car that has transferred from the last driver, then it should be detailed in your contract. If not, there will be problems.

• History.

Ask for a vehicle history. You can even get one on your own by using the vehicle identification number, but the Houston BMW dealerships should be able to give you all of the crash and repair and maintenance information for the car.

• Warranty redux.

If you get a warranty from the Houston BMW dealerships on your used car, then it probably will be a powertrain one, which is long lasting but limited in scope. If you want to expand the coverage of the warranty, look into buying a bumper to bumper warranty.

• Return.

Can you return the car if you don’t like it or something goes wrong? What’s the time limit that the Houston BMW dealerships give you? If you do so, will you get refunded for things such as the sales tax?

• Negotiate.

Just because you’re getting something for a lower price doesn’t mean that you can’t get the Houston BMW dealerships to take it down a notch or six lower. Use the same negotiation tactics that you would with any other kind of car.