Certified pre-owned cars

If you're buying German, probably get it, if Japanese don't bother.

I bought my wife a CPO Lexus Rx350, I never used the warranty once. Generally they're two years. My policy is not to buy a car that looks like it'll need a transmission or worse in two years. Also, if you read the fine print: the warranties are not exactly like new warranties. With the Lexus, if you bring the car in for an issue, they'll examine it and IF it's covered they'll fix it free but if not you're on the hook for the diagnostic fee - $200 or more.

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dad has been telling me for ages

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Let's just pause right there, though. My dad is old as hell and has some really dumb business habits that don't jibe with the modern world. Similarly, your dad is likely accustomed to 100,000 miles being a milestone that a car's utility is waning. That's not the case anymore. A new Kia will probably do 300,000 miles with some basic upkeep. Some Toyotas are only getting broken in at 100k.

I have shopped CPO with Ford, Mazda and Chrysler. Inventory is massive in the KC area. I'm not sure how you'd have problems finding them where you are.

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Should have prefaced my post by saying that I was unsure whether this was the case or if he actually knew what he was talking about.

For what it's worth, I'm looking at Subaru Foresters/Crosstreks in the 2013-2016 range and debating whether to go for used with low mileage or cough up the somewhat marginal extra amount to go with 2017/2018 new.

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He is correct. You can buy a CPO Ford (for example) with 5k miles on it and while the factory powertrain warranty runs out at 60k miles normally, the CPO version has a warranty until 100k miles.

So if you are willing to sacrifice 5-20k miles on a car, you get a better warranty and save a few grand on a practically new car.

If you are looking at used cars more in the 40k+ mile range, I wouldn't spend the extra $ for a CPO. Carmax has a good warranty on all their cars. I'd look more in that direction.

Mine was when purchased, BMW. Nothing out of the ordinary to date, routine maintenance.

Looked at another one last week...far too rich for my blood...bride was about to jerk another knot in me, lol.

Is my weakness, love to shop cars

CPO are nice, but sometimes you can do better with a third party warranty. Find out what the CPO costs and shop around to see if you can find a good quality company with a similar warranty for the vehicle you are looking for. Then compare the two and see which is cheaper.