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CARY, N.C. — CarMark Certified, the independent vehicle certification program that is equivalent to the average factory CPO program, became operational last week in 41 states and the District of Columbia, with applications in the remaining nine states under active review and approval expected soon.

In another major development, three major financial sources approved the CarMark Certified program for funding of retail sales.

CarMark Certified is a program offered to members of the Pre-Owned Automobile Dealers Alliance (POADA). Ron Smith, POADA founder, reported in early July that POADA membership has grown to more than 500 dealers throughout the United States. He said that number is expected to increase significantly as CarMark Certified begins to be utilized by dealers. There is a requirement for dealers to be POADA members in order to participate in CarMark Certified, although there are no POADA membership dues for qualified dealers.

Another milestone in the CarMark Certified program was reached when the new CPO program was approved for funding by three major national funding sources. Those three were GMAC (Ally Financial), Ford Motor Credit and CitiFinancial. Smith said other sources are expected to approve the program for funding in the near future.

"The interest in CarMark has been astonishing," Smith said. "Constant dealer inquiry to us about when the program would become available reinforced our belief that a strong, independent vehicle certification program was needed in the marketplace. While the program is open to all dealers who sell late-model, qualified vehicles, the strongest response has been from franchise dealers looking for a certified program that will complement their existing manufacturer CPO program. CarMark fills that need."

The program administrator, APCO/EasyCare of Atlanta, finalized operational details in mid-July and field agents began talking with dealers immediately thereafter.

There were no reports at press time as to how many CarMark dealers had signed up. Smith said he expects the number to increase quickly, however, as there are no fees or royalties for a dealer to either join POADA or to be involved with CarMark.

Bill Zadeits, POADA's managing director, said the purpose of POADA is to help dealers throughout the country "sell more and profit more" from their pre-owned inventory.

"CarMark Certified fits nicely within that concept in that dealers who now have a CPO program through their manufacturer can expand certified sales to other vehicles on their lot, while dealers who are not connected with a manufacturer can now offer certified vehicles for sale," Zadeits pointed out.

POADA, Zadeits said, was formed last year to assist all dealers and POADA leaders felt the best way to help dealers was not to charge a membership fee. POADA members are not only able to participate in the CarMark Certified program without a membership fee or a franchise fee but can also take advantage of offers from POADA Partners that will provide additional savings.

CarMark Certified, Smith said, has a lot of similarities to a manufacturer program, benefits that make the program very attractive to consumers. The in-service date limited powertrain warranty program is for 72 months/100,000 miles for vehicles that have some original manufacturer warranty remaining, are no more than four model years old with less than 60,000 odometer miles. There is also a powertrain warranty for vehicles outside these guidelines with less than 80,000 odometer miles. In addition to the limited warranty package, CarMark Certified provides consumers with a 116-point physical inspection, trip interruption benefit, rental car reimbursement, towing benefit and wheel and tire coverage.

Dave Colville, national director for OEM accounts at APCO/EasyCare, who is directing the implementation of CarMark nationally, said the new program is unique in its ability to provide a certified vehicle program across all vehicle brands.

"Of course the traditional manufacturer CPO program is available only on their brands, which is a fairly controlled universe," Colville said.

"CarMark's approach is to develop an equivalent (to a manufacturer's) certification program that encompasses the entire marketplace of pre-owned vehicles. And, the warranty package needed to be price competitive so that dealers can not only offer additional certified vehicles but also develop a new profit center. CarMark achieves those goals," he continued.

In addition to the profit center available to dealers from the implementation of CarMark Certified, dealers also have the option of up-selling customers to a more comprehensive vehicle service contract that coordinates with the CarMark program.

More CarMark Certified information may be obtained by calling the CarMark hotline at (800) 628-4635, visiting the CarMark website at www.carmarkcertified.com or the POADA website at www.poada.biz.