Ford Blue Advantage Program Adds Money-Back Guarantee
Photo: Ford
There’s a lot of craziness going ’round in the used-car market at the moment, but Ford is looking to add a bit of certainty for customers. Last week, the automaker announced that its Ford Blue Advantage program, which certifies pre-owned vehicles from all makes, will offer a money-back guarantee.
Guarantee good for two weeks or 1,000 miles
Starting in February, Ford Blue Advantage vehicles will include a 14-day/1,000-mile money-back guarantee. Andrew Ashman, Ford’s used vehicles manager, told Automotive News that the move was made as a result of a recommendation from the automaker’s dealer council.
“This gave the customer peace of mind that they made the right decision,” Ashman said. “It’s kind of like if you buy a sweater and don’t like it, you can take it back.”
Which is very true. Sweaters are one of the many products consumers can purchase and return if they’re just not feeling it. This typically hasn’t been the case for pre-owned vehicles, but Ford hopes that offering a money-back guarantee will give it an edge over General Motors’ new used-vehicle platform, CarBravo, as well as third-party sites like Carvana.
Ford Blue Advantage proving advantageous for Ford
Ford Blue Advantage is already a success a few short months on from its March 2021 launch. According to the automaker, traffic to the program website is up 500 percent over the website for Ford’s previous certified pre-owned program. Ford also saw a 26 percent uptick in CPO sales last year.
The 14-day/1,000-mile offer will be good for vehicles at both the Gold and Blue certification levels. Gold Certified vehicles must be six years or newer, have fewer than 80,000 miles, and pass a 172-point inspection. Blue Certified vehicles can be up to 10 years old and have 120,000 miles on the odometer. Both levels include limited warranty coverage. What’s more, a vehicle does not need to be a Ford or Lincoln to be certified.
By offering a wide range of certified vehicles from different brands and a money-back guarantee, Ford Blue Advantage looks to provide shoppers something of a constant in a volatile time.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.