Mitsubishi certified pre-owned warranty

Mitsubishi’s certified pre-owned program explained

Every major automaker has its own CPO program with its own standards, and Mitsubishi is no exception. In order to qualify as certified pre-owned, a used Mitsubishi must be under five years old, have fewer than 60,000 miles and pass a 123-point inspection. (The inspection is performed by a dealer but designed by Mitsubishi.)

In terms of warranty and benefits, all CPO Mitsubishis come with a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty — just like when they were new. They don’t come with any additional benefits — like roadside assistance, towing or trip interruption coverage — but you do get all three for the remainder of your five-year/60,000-mile factory bumper-to-bumper warranty.

If you’re confused, don’t worry. Mitsubishi’s CPO program is a little more confusing than most, so we’ll break it down, piece by piece — starting with the warranty.

Alternatively, if you’re new to the concept of certified pre-owned vehicles, here are the basics. CPO vehicles are used cars that are below a certain age/mileage, have passed dealer inspection and come with a longer warranty. They’re a popular choice among used car buyers because they offer slightly better quality assurance than regular used cars while being nowhere near as expensive as buying brand new.

» LEARN: What does a car warranty cover?

How good is Mitsubishi’s CPO warranty?

For context, all new Mitsubishi vehicles come with the following from the factory:

• Five years/60,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper coverage
• 10 years/100,000 miles of powertrain coverage

Unlike most automakers, Mitsubishi does not transfer that factory powertrain warranty to subsequent owners. That means if you buy a used Mitsubishi, you’ll only get whatever remains of the five-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty.

If you buy a CPO Mitsubishi, however, Mitsubishi reinstates the original 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. So, if you buy a CPO 2022 Outlander with 20,000 miles on it, you’ll still have three years/40,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper coverage and eight years/80,000 miles of powertrain coverage left.

In essence, buying CPO gets you an extra five years/40,000 miles of powertrain-only coverage. How does that stack up to competing CPO programs from other automakers?

How does Mitsubishi’s CPO warranty compare?

On paper, Mitsubishi’s CPO warranty doesn’t look so great. All of its competitors include some bumper-to-bumper coverage with their CPO vehicles, but Mitsubishi does not.

However, Mitsubishi has an amazing factory warranty to begin with. (In fact, it’s tied for first place on our ranking of the best new car warranties.) That means you might still be better off buying a CPO Mitsubishi even if it doesn’t technically add on as much warranty coverage.

Think of it this way: If you buy a two-year-old CPO Mitsubishi, you’ll still have three years of its original factory bumper-to-bumper warranty left. In contrast, if you buy a two-year-old CPO Toyota RAV4, you’ll have one year of factory warranty left and one additional year of CPO warranty. That’s less overall coverage, even though you’re getting “more” added.

The point is: Mitsubishi’s five-year factory — all by itself — is longer than many competitors' factory and CPO warranties combined. So, even though buying CPO doesn’t get you any additional bumper-to-bumper coverage, you probably have plenty to begin with.

» MORE: Best CPO warranties

CPO Mitsubishi benefits

All new and used Mitsubishis come with the following benefits, which last for the duration of the five-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty:

• 24/7 roadside assistance, including battery jump starts, flat tire changes, gas deliveries and vehicle lockout assistance
• Towing to the nearest Mitsubishi dealer
• Trip interruption coverage, which helps to cover the cost of meals and lodging if your Mitsubishi breaks down over 150 miles from home (up to $175 per day for up to three days)
• Concierge services via phone, which can help you arrange roadside assistance, make or change reservations, and even inform family members or colleagues of your delay

When you purchase a CPO Mitsubishi, the only benefit that continues past mile year five or your 60,000th mile is towing. Even then, you only get free towing “if the condition was due to a covered powertrain concern,” per Mitsubishi.

In other words, if you tow your Mitsubishi to the nearest dealer and the issue isn’t covered by your 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, you won’t get reimbursed for the tow. (Technically speaking, your CPO benefits only include towing for powertrain issues. Your factory benefits include way more.)

So, if buying CPO adds relatively little in terms of warranty coverage or other benefits, is it worth it?

Is a CPO Mitsubishi worth it?

Just to ensure we were reading the materials properly, we called a Mitsubishi dealer in Chattanooga and asked him to explain — in his own words — the advantage of buying used vs. CPO.

“Both used and CPO Mitsubishis come with whatever remains of the factory warranty and benefits. The only added benefit you get buying CPO versus used is that CPO vehicles have been inspected and get that 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty back. But you don’t get the whole 10/100 — just whatever’s left, measured from mile zero.”

If all you get for buying CPO is an inspection and four extra years of powertrain warranty, is it really worth paying extra for?

Well, even though the powertrain warranty only covers about 50 parts, it could very well be worth it if those parts are known to fail. Plus, if dealers are barely charging extra for CPO status to begin with, that would make it more appealing.

So, let’s have a look at Mitsubishi’s reliability record and just how much dealers are charging for CPO versus used these days.

How reliable are Mitsubishis?

J.D. Power didn’t rank Mitsubishi in its 2024 Vehicle Dependability Study, but in 2023, the outlet ranked the Japanese brand sixth out of 32 automakers overall.

Consumer Reports also lacked sufficient data to place Mitsubishi in its most recent ranking, but it did give the Outlander and Outlander PHEV a predicted reliability score of 5 out of 5. The Mirage, Eclipse Cross and Outlander Sport all scored a 3 out of 5, which still isn’t bad.

Reliable, cheap-to-fix vehicles don’t benefit from warranty coverage as much as unreliable vehicles that cost a lot more to get back on the road.

For its part, RepairPal — which ranks cars based on the cost and frequency of their repairs — gave Mitsubishi a 4 out of 5, ranking it sixth out of 31 automakers overall. It also reported that, on average, Mitsubishis cost around 22% less than the average car to repair and maintain.

This all points to a simple conclusion: Mitsubishis are pretty reliable, so extra warranty protection beyond the five-year/60,000-mile factory warranty probably isn’t all that essential unless you want absolute peace of mind.

Still, an extra four years of powertrain warranty protection couldn’t hurt if the price is right. So, what are dealers charging these days for CPO Mitsubishi models?

» MORE: Mitsubishi maintenance: cost, plans and service schedule

How much does a certified pre-owned Mitsubishi cost?

To find out, we compared the average cost of a CPO Mitsubishi to the average cost of a non-certified equivalent on Edmunds.com.

As it turns out, the average asking price for CPO Mitsubishi within 500 miles of New York City was $25,827. For a lightly used, non-certified equivalent, the price fell to $22,226. That’s an average price difference of $3,601 — or an over 16% upcharge for CPO status.

(It’s worth noting that there wasn’t much selection to begin with, either. Out of 1,845 used Mitsubishis listed for sale on the East Coast, just 66 of them were marked CPO. That could mean CPO Mitsubishis tend to sell out rather quickly — or that the dealers aren’t interested in certifying them in the first place.)

To recap, dealers are asking about $3,600 more for CPO versus used Mitsubishis, and all you’re really getting is an inspection and four extra years of powertrain coverage.

Even if you want absolute peace of mind with your Mitsubishi purchase, you’re probably better off:

1. Looking at used Mitsubishis
2. Paying $200 for a pre-purchase inspection
3. Buying your own separate extended warranty if you truly want one

So before we wrap up, let’s briefly touch on your other options.

CPO vs. extended warranties for Mitsubishis

In our full breakdown of Mitsubishi extended warranties, we determined that you probably don’t need an extended warranty for a Mitsubishi, given how reliable they are and how long the factory warranty lasts. (We also did a breakdown specific to the Outlander, where we reached a similar conclusion.)

That said, you certainly have options if you plan to own your Mitsubishi well beyond the factory warranty period — and you don’t mind paying for added peace of mind.

The Mitsubishi dealers we spoke with quoted us an average $3,000 for three extra years of bumper-to-bumper coverage (for a total of eight years), which lines up perfectly with the average cost of an extended warranty. You may also want to collect quotes from some of our favorite extended warranty companies to see if one of them can offer similar coverage for less.