My wife and I found a nice used Volvo XC70 at King Nissan Volvo, and were shown the car by the salesman. Giving us a thorough tour of the vehicle, the salesman informed us that this was a "certified pre-owned" car. My wife asked what that meant, and I told her, in the salesman's presence, that this was a program through Volvo that meant the vehicle had undergone a detailed inspection and carried a warranty as a result. The salesman supported what I told my wife, emphasizing how desirable this "certification" was and how it represented a great value; he did not correct me.
Several months later, when I was speaking with the manager of the service department, I mentioned the status of the vehicle as being "certified, pre-owned" by Volvo. He informed me that this was NOT the case, that the car had never been put through the Volvo certification process for used cars, and that it carried no warranty whatsoever.
I went back to the sales department and asked the manager about this. He informed me that my car was, in fact, "certified" by the DEALERSHIP at the time it was taken in trade or bought at auction. When I suggested that the use of the phrase "certified pre-owned" was explicitly in reference to an official, Volvo-authorized program, he told me that the dealership did its own "certification" that had nothing to do with Volvo's "certification."
The dealer therefore, using the exact language that Volvo corporate uses, mislead the buyer into believing that the vehicle carried a higher value (by virtue of a corporate-backed inspection and warranty) than it did. The dealership's own "certification" turned out to be nothing more than an ordinary checklist such as completed by any auto dealer. Furthermore, the salesperson listened to me explaining the official Volvo program (including warranty) to my wife and agreed with my description of this corporate program.
The dealer was completely unwilling to discuss this issue. Rather than listening sympathetically or perhaps even apologizing for a "miscommunication, " the dealer's financial guy accused me of trying to "extort" money from them by "lying" about the circumstances of this transaction. Unfortunately, Volvo Cars of North America was unable to assist me, telling me that its dealers were independent businesses and that they had not authority over them.
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