Thumbs Up: Think Preowned

With cars coming off leases indroves, carmakers have comeup with the certified-used-car concept,which puts the car through amultipoint inspection and restores itto near-mint condition. Add a manufacturer'swarranty to whatever maybe left on the new-car coverage, andthe result is a car that commands ahigher price and is easier to sell. It hasworked—sales of certified vehiclesalmost doubled between 2001 and2002, although they still account foronly about 3% of used car sales. Somecertification programs are better thanothers, according to a recent Smart-Money article (www.smartmoney.com/autos), which ranks programs basedon criteria like the thoroughness ofinspections and the extent of warrantycoverage. The top certification programsamong luxury brands areJaguar and Volvo; nonluxury leadersare Mercury and Ford.