Certified Used Vehicles Offered to Support Prices as Glut of Cars Come Off Leases

Automakers, looking at a backlog of late-model, low-mileage cars coming off of leases, have stepped up use of certified used-car programs, according to USA Today.

The programs, which vary from company to company, typically offer two- to three-year-old cars that dealers have inspected and repaired and manufacturers have agreed to back with a warranty and other appealing add-ons, such as cheap financing and roadside assistance.

Automakers are facing a so-called lease bubble, which threatened to drag down the resale value of the used cars, in turn threatening the pricing of new cars.

For customers, certified used cars are the closest thing to worry-free used-car buying, and that concept lets buyers move up to

bigger and nicer cars without paying new-car prices, according to USA Today.