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Car Blog - The Bell Curve

by James Bell

James Bell: Publisher of IntelliChoice

James Bell, Publisher
of IntelliChoice

Putting My $$ Where My Mouth Is

This entry of "The Bell Curve" has a very personal angle to it. Last night I decided to put IntelliChoice's advice into action.

The Bell family has been toying with the idea of replacing one of our vehicles, as it is about to crest that magic 100k mile mark and has started to give those typical scary signals. Slipping gear changes...slipping fuel economy...and strange sounds from under the hood. And since I am the official "car expert" in our house, the weight of making a good choice fell on my shoulders.

When IntelliChoice identified the Volvo and Volkswagen Certified Pre-Owned programs as our 2008 award winners back in November I took special notice, as both companies offer vehicles that would fulfill our family's requirements. After careful consideration, we decided to look at the Volvo XC90, as this is a brand of vehicle that my wife has always admired...and of course has that solid reputation for safety.

Volvo Grille

We spent a few hours searching local inventory on sites like Automotive.com, and zeroed in on three vehicles at two different dealers. We then used the site you are at right now to check the expected cost of ownership for the XC90, fair pricing, recall history, and the trim level that best met our needs.

Then it was off to the dealers to drive the three vehicles in question. In all three cases, the general fit and finish of the used cars was to a very high standard, and the fact that Volvo has an exceptional CPO inspection policy made us feel very comfortable that there would be no issues down the road. And their great extended CPO warranty took care of any lingering concerns!

The salesman whom we spoke to at one dealership was very respectful of our desire to only shop for a Certified Used vehicle, while the other told us a few untruths about CPO in an effort to get us to look at another vehicle that did not meet our needs. Needless to say, since the buyer is always the one in control during the purchase process, we made a quick trip back to the first dealership and found a 2005 XC90 that was perfect in every way. Now it is in our driveway, and the only thing that is difficult to explain to our neighbors is how a "used" car could look and drive like a brand-new one!

In these tighter economic times, a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle should be part of your search. My experience showed me that there may be no better way to, as we like to say around the halls of IntelliChoice, "Chose your car wisely!"

Posted on 2008-04-28 | Permalink | |

Car Blog - The Bell Curve Archives

Click on the title of any of the archived car blogs below to read about James' insight into the auto industry.