Polestar certified pre-owned warranty

Polestar’s certified pre-owned program, explained

If you’re new to certified pre-owned (CPO) programs in general, here’s the gist.

CPO vehicles give car buyers a third choice after “new” and “used.” In order to qualify as CPO, a pre-owned vehicle typically must be below a certain age and mileage and pass a rigorous inspection at the dealership. CPO vehicles almost always include a longer warranty and extra benefits like roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement and trip interruption insurance (more on that in a bit).

Virtually all automakers have their own CPO program, and despite being the new kid on the block, Polestar is no exception.

To start, Polestar has no age or mileage limitations on its CPO vehicles yet. This is likely because Polestar is so new as a brand (the Polestar 2 launched in 2021), that virtually all of its vehicles still have low mileage in 2024.

Next, a pre-owned Polestar must pass a 100 plus point quality inspection by a trained Polestar technician. We actually found the official Polestar CPO inspection checklist online, and you can have a look yourself.

Finally, all CPO Polestars come with a two-year/unlimited-mile bumper-to-bumper CPO warranty, which attaches to the end of whatever factory warranty remains. Since the warranty is typically the most valuable part of any CPO buying experience, let’s break it down and see how it compares to Polestar’s rivals in the EV space.

» LEARN: What does a car warranty cover?

How good is Polestar’s CPO warranty?

For context, all new Polestars come with the following factory warranty:

• Four-year/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty that covers virtually everything on the car including the drive unit (EV motor). Exceptions include routine maintenance, wear-and-tear parts (e.g., brake rotors, wiper blades) and damage
• Eight-year/100,000-mile EV battery warranty that covers the battery itself and a handful of battery-related components

Keep in mind that, like most factory warranties, the Polestar manufacturer’s warranty follows the vehicle — not the owner — so if you buy a one-year-old Polestar 2 with 10,000 miles on it, you’ll inherit three years/40,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper coverage and seven years/90,000 miles of EV battery coverage.

Now, when you purchase a CPO Polestar, you’ll get the following warranty with it:

• Two-year/unlimited-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, which starts on the date of purchase or the date your factory warranty expires, whichever comes first

There’s no extension of the EV battery warranty, but that’s par for the course among CPO warranties for EVs.

Speaking of industry standards, how does Polestar’s CPO warranty stack up to its contemporaries?

How does Polestar’s CPO warranty compare?

By adding two years to a robust four-year factory warranty, Polestar’s CPO warranty ranks among the very best in the business, EV or otherwise.

The only other luxury automakers that offer up to six total years of coverage from new are Lexus, Genesis and Porsche. Lucid and Rivian have yet to announce an official CPO program (as of May 2024), and virtually everyone else offers just one additional year of coverage.

Tesla comes in at just one year/10,000 miles, and Mercedes’ one-year CPO warranty doesn’t even provide bumper-to-bumper coverage.

So, purely in terms of coverage, Polestar’s CPO warranty is superb.

» MORE: Best CPO warranties

CPO Polestar benefits

While Polestar’s CPO warranty definitely stands out, its benefits do not.

That’s because, according to multiple Polestar dealers we spoke with, the brand’s CPO vehicles don’t actually come with any additional benefits.

“You basically get whatever’s left of the factory benefits, and that’s it,” according to a Polestar dealer.

Granted, Polestars do come with some pretty solid benefits from the factory, including:

• Three years of Polestar Assistance that offers 24/7 roadside assistance, including vehicle recovery, alternative transportation and even an overnight hotel stay if you need it
• Three years/30,00 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, including software updates, wiper blades, cleaning and more; Polestar will also retrieve and deliver your vehicle based on your needs and schedule

But again, you’ll get both of these benefits whether you buy new, pre-owned or CPO, so it’s not a win specific to CPO vehicles.

Now, with all that being said, is buying a CPO Polestar still worth it?

Is a CPO Polestar worth it?

Yes, a CPO Polestar is worth it. In a general sense, it’s more likely to be worth paying extra for CPO versus pre-owned when:

• The vehicle you’re considering has a history of average or below-average reliability.
• The cost to buy CPO versus pre-owned isn’t much more than the industry average (6%).
• The CPO warranty and benefits justify the added cost.

We’ve already established that CPO Polestars come with a strong enough warranty to justify the lack of any benefits. But just how reliable are Polestar vehicles, and how much are dealers charging for CPO these days?

How reliable are Polestars?

J.D. Power gave the Polestar 2 a predicted reliability rating of 58% in 2022 and 64% in 2023 and 2024. For context, its stablemate Volvo S60 scored a 74%, and the highest-ranking luxury sports sedan, the Lexus IS, scored a 90%.

Consumer Reports, which draws data from owner-submitted surveys, gave the 2022 Polestar 2 a horrific predicted reliability score of just 5%, the lowest we’ve ever seen. Though the outlet admitted that its dataset was limited, it still provided the ominous overall judgment that “we expect the 2024 Polestar 2 to be much less reliable than other new cars.”

To be fair, plenty of Polestar owners on Reddit and other forums have reported flawless ownership experiences. Even still, it’s safe to say that the brand’s reputation for reliability so far is mixed at best, so buying a car that’s been inspected and includes a longer warranty might be a good idea.

But how much will you have to pay for the privilege?

How much does a certified pre-owned Polestar cost?

To find out, ConsumerAffairs visited CarGurus and Edmunds to compare the cost of a CPO Polestar 2 with its regular, pre-owned equivalent.

In total, we found 166 used Polestars nationwide with an average asking price of around $34,179, and 22 CPO models priced almost exactly the same at around $35,000 even.

On paper, that’s absolutely worth it. For less than $1,000 on average, you’re getting a car that’s been inspected, cleaned and includes a two-year/unlimited-mile warranty extension. The only trick will be to find one since again, we only found 22 CPO models for sale nationwide.

That all being said, before you rush out and buy a CPO Polestar 2, there are two things you may want to keep in mind:

• The EV tax credit: According to fueleconomy.gov, the 2020/2021 Polestar 1 and 2021/2022 Polestar 2 still qualify for the pre-owned EV tax credit, which offers up to 30% off (max. $4,000).

  The trick will be to find a CPO Polestar 2 under the $25,000 limit, but we found several under $30,000 that you could probably negotiate down (see Step #8 of our used car buying guide).

• Polestar lease deals: Likely due to a 40% slump in Q1 2024 sales, Polestar has some compelling lease deals at the time of this writing in May.

  “Right now we’re doing a nationwide deal where you can lease a Polestar for $299 per month, $3,000 down,” a rep at a major Polestar dealer told us. “If you have a Costco membership, it’s just $1,000 down.”

Regardless of whether you go new, used or CPO, one last thing to consider before buying a Polestar is the dealer network. There are just 29 Polestar dealers in the U.S. right now.

But provided you’re OK with a limited dealer network, CPO Polestars do have a lot to offer. There’s no denying that an electric Swedish sports sedan for under $25,000 that includes a 6-year warranty provides a lot of bang (or buzz) for your buck.

Before we wrap up, let’s briefly discuss your options for an extended warranty.

Do you need an extended warranty for your Polestar?

Given the concerning reports about Polestar’s long-term reliability, it might be worth investigating your options for extended warranty protection once your factory- or CPO-backed warranty nears expiration.

While the extended warranty companies can typically offer better deals than the factory extended warranty, they tend to have limited to zero coverage options for small-volume or electric vehicles. Since Polestar is both, it was no surprise that neither olive nor Endurance could provide us with a quote on coverage for a 2023 Polestar 2.

As a result, your options may be limited to the official Polestar warranty, but details are scant. We do know that there will be a $100 deductible on all covered repairs and that the plan offers true bumper-to-bumper protection beyond your factory or CPO warranty.

But for now, getting two extra years from CPO seems like your best option for maximizing coverage on your Polestar, especially given the marginal increase in price over pre-owned.

» FIND WARRANTY COMPANIES: Best Extended Car Warranty Companies