Aston Martin certified pre-owned warranty

Aston Martin’s certified pre-owned program explained

If you’re new to certified pre-owned (CPO) programs, here’s how they typically work.

CPO gives car buyers a third choice between “new” and “used” (some call them “like new”). To qualify as CPO, a used vehicle must be under a certain age and mileage, pass a rigorous dealership inspection and include some sort of CPO extended warranty.

Every automaker has its own CPO standards, and Aston Martin is no exception. For starters, Aston has an official name for its CPO program: Timeless Certified Pre-Owned. In order to qualify as a Timeless CPO, a pre-owned Aston must first be under 10 years old and be up-to-date on its service records.

Next, it must pass an extremely rigorous Multi-Point Timeless Inspection at a licensed Aston Martin dealership, during which any parts that don't correspond with the mileage and age of the vehicle will be repaired or replaced.

In other words, CPO Astons aren’t just inspected – they’re fully refurbished. “We probably spend an average of $15,000 certifying each vehicle,” our local Aston Martin dealer told us.

Certified Aston Martins also include a one-year/unlimited-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, one additional year of 24/7 roadside assistance, a 12-month subscription to Aston Martin Magazine and an MOT Test Cover (more on that later).

Needless to say, CPO Astons cost thousands more than their pre-owned equivalents. But before we discuss the cost and whether it’s worth it, let’s break down each piece of the CPO package, starting with the warranty.

» LEARN: What does a car warranty cover?

How good is Aston Martin’s CPO warranty?

For context, all brand-new Aston Martin vehicles come with the following factory warranty:

• Three years/unlimited miles of bumper-to-bumper coverage 

As you may recall, bumper-to-bumper warranties cover roughly 95% of the 5,000 plus parts on the average vehicle – everything but routine maintenance, wear-and-tear parts (e.g., brake rotors, wiper blades) and cosmetics.

Factory warranties also follow the vehicle, not the owner, so if you purchase a used Aston under three years old, you’ll inherit some of the original factory warranty.

Now, when you purchase a CPO Aston Martin, Aston provides a one-year/unlimited-mile extension of your factory warranty. If the factory warranty has already expired on the vehicle, you’ll get one year starting from the date of purchase.

So if you purchase a one-year-old CPO Aston, you’ll get a vehicle that’s vastly cheaper than a new one, has passed inspection and includes three full years of warranty protection – just like a brand-new one.

But should you buy a CPO Aston in the first place? How does Aston’s CPO warranty compare with its rivals?

How does Aston Martin’s CPO warranty compare?

For Aston Martin to include a three-year factory warranty and a one-year CPO warranty is about average. Lamborghini and McLaren offer something similar, albeit with caps at 12,000 miles. Bentley’s CPO warranty is identical to Aston’s.

Looking at more mass-market luxury brands, Porsche, Lexus and Genesis have Aston Martin beat for total warranty coverage. All three brands offer six years of combined factory-plus-CPO coverage, providing far more insurance and peace of mind if you plan to own your next luxury performance vehicle for the long term.

Audi and Mercedes-Benz offer four-year factory warranties plus one additional year with CPO, but neither brand’s CPO warranty provides true bumper-to-bumper coverage (only coverage for a few hundred parts).

All things considered, Aston Martin’s combined factory and CPO coverage is merely adequate. You can always purchase more coverage (and we’ll discuss your options below), but if maximum warranty protection out of the gate is high on your priority list, you may want to look at Lexus, Porsche, Genesis or even Ferrari (which offers five years of coverage plus seven years of free maintenance).

» MORE: Best CPO warranties

CPO Aston Martin benefits

As hinted above, all CPO Aston Martins come with the following benefits:

• 24/7 roadside assistance, including towing, flat tire help, lockout assistance and more.
• Three-month/3,000-mile service – any routine maintenance visits due within the next three months or 3,000 miles will already be completed by the time you purchase your CPO Aston.
• An MOT test cover, which helps to cover the cost of modifications or repairs needed if your CPO Aston fails an MOT test.
• A 12-month subscription to Aston Martin magazine which discusses all things business, design, art and of course, Aston Martin.
• A 15% discount on Aston Martin genuine accessories which could easily save you hundreds on pricey Aston goodies, ranging from a $127,000 garage pack to a $65 valve cap.

An MOT test cover and a discount on accessories are both unique CPO perks that we haven’t seen before. At the same time, Aston is missing a few key benefits that many of its rivals offer – things like guaranteed loaner vehicles (Lexus), valet service that picks up your vehicle for service appointments (Rolls-Royce, Genesis) and some form of rental car assistance while your vehicle is in the shop (too many brands to list).

So while we applaud Aston for thinking outside the box, we have to ding the niche automaker for coming up short on more practical perks that we might actually need during warranty repair work.

Is a CPO Aston Martin worth it?

In general, it’s more likely to be worth paying extra for CPO if:

• The vehicle you’re considering has an average or below-average reputation for reliability.
• The difference in cost between CPO and pre-owned isn’t much higher than average (6%).
• The CPO warranty and benefits easily justify the cost of buying CPO.

In the above sections, we established that Aston Martin’s CPO warranty and benefits are adequate at best. But how reliable are Astons these days, and how much are dealers charging for CPO?

How reliable are Aston Martins?

Aston Martin only sells about 7,000 vehicles per year, compared with Mercedes’ 2.5 million. As a result, you won’t see Aston appearing on any major reliability rankings from Consumer Reports or J.D. Power.

Scattered reports from various owners and experts indicate a mixed experience.

Experts have found Aston Martins to depreciate more rapidly than its competitors, while owners are keen to refute and find their vehicles trustworthy and reliable.

The general consensus among owners seems to be that if you take care of your Aston, it’ll take care of you. Such a notion would stress the importance of buying CPO versus used, since the latter vehicle may have been used and abused by its prior owner.

But before we jump the gun, let’s see how much Aston dealers are asking for CPO these days.

» MORE: Aston Martin maintenance: cost, plans and service schedule

How much does a certified pre-owned Aston Martin cost?

To find out, ConsumerAffairs visited Edmunds and CarGurus, online vehicle marketplaces, to compare the average cost of a CPO Aston to its pre-owned equivalent with similar age and miles. To create the closest comparison possible, we filtered out any vehicles priced over $400,000 (e.g., AMRs and special editions) and any used Aston Martins with accidents or major issues reported.

With these filters in place, we found 193 pre-owned models nationwide with an average asking price of around $171,000 and 45 CPO models with an average price of $189,952. That’s an average difference of $18,952 or roughly an 11% surcharge over the regular pre-owned price.

$18,952 is a lot of money for a one-year warranty and a magazine subscription, but if you’re shopping for a six-figure dream car, you might find that it’s worth paying that price for the quality assurance alone.

“We spend an average of $15,000 refurbishing each Aston Martin before it can be fully certified,” one dealer told us.

Plus, it’s worth considering that your average pre-owned Aston may have been driven harder than a pre-owned Lexus. The only way to know for sure whether a pre-owned Aston is hiding any expensive faults or issues is to schedule a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) and have an ASE-certified mechanic take a look at it before you buy it.

But the cost of a PPI can be much higher on an exotic vehicle ($700) than a regular one ($200), since the technician may need specialized tools and training to properly assess it.

“We’re happy to do your PPI for you,” the service manager at our local Aston Martin dealer told us. “We charge $700, and that’s just to tell you what’s wrong with it. If you buy Timeless CPO, we fix what’s wrong with it.”

The service manager told us that he doesn’t discourage any of his clients from going the non-CPO route, but he did have a suggestion for separating the wheat from the chaff.

“Tell anyone trying to sell you a pre-owned Aston that you’d like to take it in for a PPI. If they make up some excuse for why you can’t, they’re probably hiding something. Run for the hills.”

Before we wrap up, let’s discuss your warranty options beyond CPO.

Do you need an extended warranty for your Aston Martin?

Another hidden perk of buying a CPO Aston is that your vehicle will qualify for an official Aston Martin Extended Warranty, should you want it. You can purchase 12 or 24 months of coverage at a time, there’s no deductible and prices start at around $5,500 per year, depending on the model.

You can purchase additional warranty coverage as long as your Aston is still under its factory or CPO warranty, so you have some time to decide.

Like many exotic car owners, you may trade your vehicle in for something new and different. But if you choose to keep your Aston past year four (when your combined factory-plus-CPO warranty ends), investing in an official extended warranty might be a wise idea for three reasons.

For starters, most extended car warranty companies will not cover exotic or high-end vehicles like Aston Martins, so your choices for extended warranty protection may be limited to begin with.

In addition, once your Aston falls out of warranty, it must be recertified before it can qualify for an Aston warranty again. The cost of the inspection alone is $700, and that doesn’t include the parts and labor that may be required to bring your Aston up to CPO standards again.

Lastly, if you’ve bonded with your Aston Martin during the first year of ownership, a few thousand bucks for peace of mind might well be worth it going into years two, three and beyond.

» FIND WARRANTY COMPANIES: Best Extended Car Warranty Companies