---
title: "Audi Certified Pre-Owned: What the Warranty Covers and When It Starts"
description: "Audi's CPO warranty is 1 year or 20,000 miles, but it starts when the 4-year/50,000-mile warranty ends and no longer transfers. Audi's own terms, read in full."
url: "https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/audi-certified-pre-owned/"
type: "article"
published: "2026-09-30"
modified: "2026-09-30"
site: "Baron Auto"
disclaimer: "This site is under new ownership and is not affiliated with Baron Auto Emporium dealership."
---

# Audi Certified Pre-Owned: What the Warranty Covers and When It Starts

> Audi's CPO warranty is 1 year or 20,000 miles, but it starts when the 4-year/50,000-mile warranty ends and no longer transfers. Audi's own terms, read in full.

*Used Car Buying · 23 min read · 5,160 words*

## The short version

- Audi Certified pre-owned is one program sold only by Audi dealers. Audi says a car must be 5 years old or newer with no more than 60,000 miles, and that technicians inspect more than 125 components. We found no second tier on any Audi page we read.
- The certified warranty is 1 year or 20,000 miles, whichever comes first. If the car still has some of its 4-year/50,000-mile new-car warranty, the certified year starts only when that warranty expires. If none is left, it starts the day you buy.
- So a young car’s certified coverage ends no later than 5 years from its original in-service date, and no later than 70,000 miles if the new-car warranty ran out by mileage (our arithmetic). Buying at 1 year old does not add years on top of that.
- For certified sales on or after 1 August 2023, the warranty is non-transferable. Only the original certified buyer can use it, so it adds nothing to the car’s resale.
- Audi’s booklet says the high-voltage battery and battery module are not covered by the certified warranty. On a 2021 or newer e-tron, the separate 8-year/100,000-mile battery warranty is what protects them.
- Audi voids the warranty for good if an insurer reports the car as salvaged, flood-damaged or rebuilt, or if it is used for ride-share or delivery work. Audi also says owners must show maintenance records when they claim.

An Audi certified pre-owned car is a used Audi that an Audi dealer has inspected and sold with Audi of America’s Certified pre-owned Limited Warranty. Audi says the car must be 5 years old or newer with no more than 60,000 miles. The warranty lasts 1 year or 20,000 miles, whichever comes first, but it doesn’t always start on the day you buy. While any of the 4-year/50,000-mile new-car warranty is left, the certified year waits for it to expire. This page is built from Audi’s own documents, read on 30 September 2026: the program page and its disclaimer layers, the Certified pre-owned Warranty Book, the transfer form, and Audi’s warranty, roadside, Audi Care and EV pages.

**Figure: Buying younger doesn't make Audi's certified warranty last longer**

The certified year waits for the 4-year, 50,000-mile new-car warranty to expire, so every car certified with new-car warranty left stops by 5 years from in-service.

From audiusa.com's Certified pre-owned page and warranty layer and the Certified pre-owned Warranty Book, read 30 September 2026. Upper limits by time; mileage (50,000 new-car, 20,000 certified) can end coverage sooner. Our arithmetic, not Audi figures.

## One program, one warranty, sold only at Audi dealers

Audi calls the program “Audi Certified pre-owned”, with a lower-case “p” on most of its pages, and the warrantor is Audi of America, Inc. The coverage is the Audi Certified pre-owned Limited Warranty. We use “the certified warranty” for it below, and “the new-car warranty” for the Audi New Vehicle Limited Warranty it follows.

On the Audi pages and documents we read on 30 September 2026, there is one certified program and one warranty. No page names a second tier, a “plus” level or a separate electric-car tier. The program page says certified Audis “are exclusive to Audi dealers across the United States”. A used-car lot or a private seller can sell you a used Audi, and it may still carry some factory warranty, but it can’t sell you a newly certified one.

The warranty booklet names three things Audi says it covers in any certified purchase: a vehicle history report, an inspection and certification process, and the warranty itself, for cars purchased on or after 1 August 2023. That date matters. Audi changed the transfer rule on the same day, as covered [further down](#transfer), and a car certified before then may carry paperwork with different terms.

## Which Audis qualify: age, miles and history

Audi’s FAQ answers “What makes an Audi Certified pre-owned?” with three lines:

- Models 5 years or newer
- No more than 60,000 miles
- Vehicle History Report shows vehicle meets Audi Certified pre-owned guidelines (passes comprehensive inspection)

Two things are missing from that list. Audi doesn’t define “5 years or newer” as five years from the original in-service date or five model years back, and it prints no minimum mileage. It also doesn’t say what in a history report fails a car. The booklet only says the report is run to exclude cars that don’t meet the standard.

The booklet does say what ends the warranty on a car that is already certified. Among the conditions that void every warranty on the car, one is an insurer reporting it as “dismantled, fire/flood damage, junk, rebuilt, reconstructed, salvaged, or declared a loss”. Our explainer on [what a salvage title means](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/what-is-a-salvage-title/) shows how those brands appear on a report.

The 60,000-mile limit sits above the 50,000-mile limit of the new-car warranty. A certified Audi with between 50,000 and 60,000 miles has already used up its new-car warranty by mileage. That 10,000-mile band (our arithmetic) is where the certified year starts on the day you buy, which is the branch explained [below](#when-it-starts).

## The inspection: more than 125 components, no published checklist

The program page says “Audi-trained technicians inspect more than 125 components within each Audi Certified pre-owned vehicle” and that Audi backs cars with the certified warranty “only after” that inspection. The figure is a floor (“more than”), not an exact point count.

Audi publishes no inspection checklist. We looked on the program page, its linked layers, the warranty booklet and the transfer form, and none links or reproduces one. The only other description is the booklet’s line that the process examines the interior, the exterior, the engine compartment and the underside of the car, and includes a road test.

That leaves a buyer with no published pass marks. There is no minimum tread depth, brake pad thickness or battery voltage you can hold the dealer to. Ask for the completed inspection report on the specific car and the repair orders for anything replaced during reconditioning. A dealer that has done the work will have both. If you want a second opinion, an independent [pre-purchase inspection](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/used-car-pre-purchase-inspection/) is the way to check the condition claims yourself, and a certified car is not exempt from one.

## When the warranty starts, and why that decides its value

This is the part most buyers miss. Audi’s program page FAQ puts it in one sentence: the certified warranty “continues after the Audi New Vehicle Limited Warranty ends (if applicable) for 1 year or 20,000 miles (whichever occurs first)”. The disclaimer layer linked from that answer, and the booklet, spell out both branches.

1. **New-car warranty still running when you buy.** The new-car warranty keeps covering the car until it expires, “either four years from the original in-service date or at 50,000 miles, whichever occurs first”. Only then does the certified warranty begin, for one year or 20,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
2. **No new-car warranty left when you buy.** The certified warranty “is effective at time of purchase” and runs for one year or 20,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

The booklet adds a sentence that is easy to skim past. The certified warranty “is not an extension of the original 4-year/50,000-mile Audi New Vehicle Limited Warranty” and “the coverage it provides is different”. It is a separate warranty with its own list of covered parts, set out [below](#what-it-covers).

Read together, the two branches set hard end points. Each one is the latest possible date or mileage, and plenty of cars will stop sooner.

- **If the new-car warranty is still running** and ends by time at 4 years, the certified year ends no later than 5 years from the original in-service date (our arithmetic). It may end sooner if the car covers 20,000 miles in that year.
- **If the new-car warranty ends by mileage** at 50,000 miles, the certified warranty runs until 70,000 miles or one year after that point, whichever comes first (our arithmetic).
- **If there is no new-car warranty left**, the certified year runs from your purchase date. A car certified at the 60,000-mile limit is covered until 80,000 miles or one year after purchase, whichever comes first (our arithmetic).

So buying a younger certified Audi doesn’t push the end of Audi’s warranty later. The table works that through by age.

**The most Audi warranty time a certified car can have, by its age when you buy it. Our arithmetic from Audi’s printed terms (new-car warranty 4 years/50,000 miles; certified warranty 1 year/20,000 miles; corrosion perforation 12 years, regardless of mileage). Upper limits by time only: mileage can end each warranty sooner.**

| Age at purchase | New-car warranty left, at most | Certified year starts | Certified year ends no later than | Audi warranty ahead of you, at most | Corrosion warranty left |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 year | 3 years | When the new-car warranty expires | 5 years from in-service | 4 years | 11 years |
| 2 years | 2 years | When the new-car warranty expires | 5 years from in-service | 3 years | 10 years |
| 3 years | 1 year | When the new-car warranty expires | 5 years from in-service | 2 years | 9 years |
| 4 years | None | At purchase | 5 years from in-service | 1 year | 8 years |
| 5 years | None | At purchase | 6 years from in-service | 1 year | 7 years |

Two things follow for pricing. First, on a 1-year-old certified Audi, the next 3 years at most are new-car warranty the car already had. The certified premium buys the inspection, the extras and the one year at the end, not the three years before it. Second, the certified year does its most work on the oldest and highest-mileage cars Audi will certify. Those are the ones with no new-car warranty left, where the year starts the day you drive away.

The booklet’s owner page has spaces for the “New Vehicle In-Service Date” and the “CPO Vehicle Delivery Date”. Make sure both are filled in: one sets when the new-car warranty ends, the other when the certified year starts if none is left.

## What the certified warranty covers

Audi describes the coverage as authorized repairs “to correct a manufacturer’s defect in materials or workmanship (i.e. a mechanical defect)”. Repairs are free of charge. The booklet prints no deductible. It then lists covered parts under 16 headings, with the note that “this list is not inclusive” and that your Audi service representative can confirm specific items.

**The 16 coverage headings in Audi’s Certified pre-owned Warranty Book, with examples of parts Audi lists under each, read 30 September 2026. Audi says the list is not inclusive.**

| Heading | Examples Audi lists |
| --- | --- |
| Engine | Block, pistons, connecting rods, crankshaft, oil pump, camshaft, cylinder heads, ECM and wiring; timing chain or belts “if maintenance interval is followed” |
| Cooling system | Radiator, radiator fan, coolant pump and impeller, thermostat |
| Fuel system | Fuel tank, fuel pump, fuel lines, intake manifold, mass airflow sensor |
| TDI vehicles | Fuel injection systems, reductive agent components |
| Plug-in hybrid vehicles | Hybrid system components |
| e-tron vehicles | High voltage system components (but see the battery note [below](#e-tron)) |
| Automatic transmission | Transmission control module, internal clutches, ATF pump, valve body, torque converter |
| Manual transmission | Gearshift lever and cable, internal shift forks, synchronizers, gear sets |
| Final drive | Prop shafts (not CV joints or boots), differential case, all-wheel drive internals, Haldex components |
| Suspension | Control arms, wheel bearing housing, steering knuckle, coil springs, stabilizer bar and links |
| Brakes | ABS pump and control unit, master cylinder, hydraulic lines, calipers (not for seizing from corrosion) |
| Steering | Steering column, steering gear, power steering pump |
| Climate controls | Heater core, fresh air blower, a/c compressor and clutch, a/c condenser |
| MMI components | Multimedia Operating Unit, Multimedia Display Unit |
| Radio and navigation | Navigation and sound system components |
| Electrical | Starter, alternator, ignition coils, window regulators and motors, sunroof motor, airbags and airbag sensors, seat motors |

Audi’s list reaches well past the engine and gearbox, into suspension arms, brake hydraulics, climate control, infotainment and body electrics. Two qualifiers inside it are worth reading closely. The timing chain or belts are covered only if the maintenance interval was followed. Brake calipers are covered, but not for seizing caused by corrosion.

Where you get the work done matters too. Audi says the car must go to an authorized Audi dealer “upon discovery of a defect”. In Canada, an Audi dealer should repair it free of charge with proof of U.S. residence. Emergency repairs at a non-Audi shop are reimbursed only if it was “impossible or unreasonable” to reach an Audi dealer, and only up to what an Audi dealer would have charged.

If a claim is refused, the booklet says Audi takes part in BBB AUTO LINE, a mediation and arbitration program, which you must use before some legal remedies.

**Figure: Annotated photograph**

Two numbered callouts over the photograph mark the engine and the rest of the engine bay, with how Audi's certified warranty is timed.

The same engine, three clocks. Audi's certified warranty is 1 year or 20,000 miles, and it continues after the 4-year, 50,000-mile new-car warranty ends, if any of it is left when you buy (callout 1). So for a car bought with new-car warranty remaining, the certified year can end no later than 5 years from the original in-service date (callout 2, our arithmetic).

## Electric and plug-in hybrid Audis: the battery is not in the certified warranty

The coverage list includes “e-tron vehicles – high voltage system components” and “Plug-in hybrid vehicles – hybrid system components”. Directly after that, the booklet adds a note:

> “The high voltage battery and battery module are not covered by Audi’s Certified pre-owned Limited Warranty.”

It goes on to say these two parts “might be covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty if that warranty still applies” and tells owners to check with their dealer. A separate exclusion says the certified warranty doesn’t cover plug-in hybrid or e-tron high-voltage parts that wear out through “normal wear or deterioration, driving habits or driving conditions”.

For an electric Audi, the most expensive part is therefore not in the certified warranty at all. What protects it is Audi’s separate battery warranty. Audi’s EV FAQ gives an 8-year/100,000-mile (whichever occurs first) high-voltage battery limited warranty on 2021 and newer e-tron vehicles. The same note says battery capacity “decreases with time and use” and that warranty coverage “may not return battery capacity to an ‘as new’ condition with 100% net capacity”.

On a certified e-tron at the limits of eligibility, that battery warranty still has time on it. A car 5 years old has at most 3 years left, and one at 60,000 miles has at most 40,000 miles left, whichever runs out first (our arithmetic). A younger car has more.

The booklet also lists an exclusion for damage from “improper charging” of the high-voltage system on e-tron models. On the older A3 e-tron plug-in, it excludes damage from parking the car for more than 24 hours when the outside temperature is above 118 °F (48 °C). Before buying a used electric Audi, ask the dealer what battery health check was done and what it showed. Audi’s certified documents don’t describe a battery health report, so don’t assume one comes with the car.

## What the certified warranty doesn’t cover, and what voids it

The booklet’s “What is Not Covered?” section runs to several headings. The ones a buyer is most likely to meet:

- **Anything the new-car warranty still covers.** While the new-car warranty is in force, it handles the claim.
- **Tires.** These may carry a separate warranty from the tire maker.
- **Maintenance and adjustments.** Scheduled services, filters, oil and fluids (unless part of a covered repair), wheel alignment, tire balancing, and brake and clutch adjustments.
- **Wear items.** Audi names 12: clutch linings, brake pads, brake linings, brake rotors, wiper blades, incandescent bulbs, fuses, worn seat covers, other trim and appearance items, the battery, exhaust systems, and accessory belts and hoses.
- **Network shutdowns.** Failures of connected services such as Audi Connect caused by the retirement of 2G, 3G, 4G or LTE networks.
- **Modifications and non-genuine parts.** Tuning or performance devices, remote starters, aftermarket audio, and damage from non-genuine or used parts.
- **The environment.** Road salt, bird droppings, acid rain, tree sap, floodwater and weather.

Two lines in this section put the burden on the owner. The first is on wear: “Your Audi technician is authorized to decide if a component is worn as opposed to having a factory defect.” The second is on records: “The owner must present copies of all maintenance performed on the vehicle at the time of service to avoid repairs from being denied.” Keep every service invoice from the day you buy the car.

Then there are six conditions under which Audi says “all warranties are voided and will not be reinstated”:

1. The VIN has been altered or removed.
2. The odometer has been altered or the actual mileage can’t be determined.
3. An insurer reports the car as dismantled, fire or flood damaged, junk, rebuilt, reconstructed, salvaged, or declared a loss.
4. The car has been used in racing, competitive events or livery cab service.
5. The car has been stolen or exported from the United States.
6. The car was used for prohibited commercial purposes.

The last one is broader than it sounds. Audi’s list of prohibited commercial purposes includes ride hail and ride share (it names Uber, Lyft and Sidecar), pickup and delivery service, company pool use, and a car “registered to a business where it can be used by multiple drivers”. If you plan to drive for a ride-share or delivery app, a certified Audi’s warranty is not built for that use.

**Get the dates and the inspection report before you sign.** Ask the dealer to fill in the new-vehicle in-service date and the certified delivery date in the warranty booklet, and to write the certified warranty’s start and end on the paperwork. Ask for the completed inspection report and the reconditioning repair orders too. Audi publishes no checklist, so that report is the only proof of what was checked. If the car was bought on or after 1 August 2023 by someone else and certified then, remember its warranty can’t pass to you.

## What else comes with the car: roadside, loaner, maintenance, corrosion

Audi’s booklet says certified cars also come with the balance of any Audi Care prepaid maintenance, the balance of the 12-year corrosion perforation warranty, a complimentary service loaner, 24-hour customer service support, and roadside assistance. Each has its own fine print.

### Roadside assistance: Audi prints two start points

Audi’s roadside page describes the benefit two ways. Its opening paragraph says roadside is provided “for 4 years to owners of new Audi vehicles and for 1 year to owners of CPO Audi vehicles, starting from date of purchase”. Its eligibility list says “CPO coverage begins upon the expiration of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty (NVLW)” and, in the next sentence, that certified roadside “is for 1 year from reported CPO sale date with unlimited mileage”.

Those can’t all be true of a young car. For a certified Audi bought with new-car warranty left, the new-car roadside (4 years, per Audi’s warranty page) still runs anyway. The question is whether the certified year of roadside overlaps it from the sale date or follows it. Audi’s pages don’t settle it, so ask the dealer for the roadside end date on this VIN. The booklet adds that the membership kit arrives “about four weeks” after purchase.

The services are jump-starts, extrication, towing to the nearest Audi dealer, flat tire help, fuel delivery, lock-out service and trip interruption, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Coverage is tied to the car, not the owner. Audi adds that a third party provides it and it “may require additional payment for services rendered”; parts and labor are not included.

Trip interruption is described in detail on the roadside page’s core-models section. It applies when the car breaks down more than 100 miles from home and can’t be made safe to drive the same day. It pays up to $1,000 per incident, with daily caps of $200 each for lodging, meals and alternate transport. At all three daily caps, the $1,000 limit runs out during the second day, since the caps add up to $600 a day (our arithmetic). You must call for an authorization number within 24 hours of the breakdown and send receipts within 30 days. One condition matters for certified owners. That section says the repair must be “covered under your Audi New Vehicle Limited Warranty” and doesn’t mention the certified warranty. The booklet does list trip interruption among the certified roadside services. If you are past the new-car warranty, confirm with Audi before you rely on it.

### Service loaner

The booklet lists a complimentary service loaner, with a footnote: “Only at participating dealers.” Ask the selling dealer, and any dealer you plan to service at, whether they take part.

### Audi Care maintenance

Prepaid maintenance is not part of the certified warranty. If the car already has some, the booklet says the certified car “may benefit from the remainder”, and that Audi Care coverage “stays with the VIN and can be utilized by subsequent owners”. One exception: in California, Audi Care plans are refundable. If a previous owner claimed a refund, the coverage is removed from the car and you would have to buy a new plan.

Audi’s Audi Care page now describes three plans. Audi Signature Care is included on 2026 and newer models and covers scheduled maintenance for the first 3 years or 30,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Audi Care is an optional prepaid plan for 2025 and older models, covering scheduled services from 10,000 to 40,000 miles. The page doesn’t say whether Signature Care follows the car to a second owner, so ask for a printout of any maintenance left on the VIN.

### Corrosion perforation

The booklet includes “the balance of the vehicle’s 12-year Limited Warranty against Corrosion Perforation, regardless of mileage”. This is the longest Audi term that comes with a certified car. At the 5-year age limit it still has 7 years to run (our arithmetic).

### Finance offers

Audi’s program page also posts certified financing offers, split by model-year band and subject to credit approval. Both offers on the page when we read it carried an end date of 30 September 2026. They change often, so check the current offer and its end date, and compare it with a quote from your own bank or credit union.

## Selling it later: the warranty no longer transfers

This is the change most older articles haven’t caught up with. Audi’s transfer layer and the booklet’s first footnote say the same thing:

> “For CPO sales dated on or after August 1, 2023, the CPO limited warranty is non-transferable, and can only be utilized by the original CPO purchaser.”

For cars first sold as certified before 1 August 2023, Audi’s transfer application (updated June 2025) sets the rules:

- The certified warranty must still be in effect at the time of transfer.
- The car must not have been totaled, stolen, exported from the US, imported from another country, or given a branded title.
- The transfer is only from private owner to private owner, and must be requested by the original certified buyer. Dealers can’t take part.
- The form and proof of sale and mileage (a bill of sale or state title application) must reach Audi within 30 days of the sale.
- The warranty can be transferred only once. The new owner signs to say they can’t pass it on again.

The form prints no fee. Audi reserves the right to refuse a transfer for fraud, abuse, missing documents or failure to meet the guidelines.

For a buyer today, this cuts two ways. If you buy a newly certified Audi, you can’t sell the remaining certified coverage along with it, so don’t count it in the resale value. If you are buying a used Audi privately from someone who bought it certified, ask for the date of their certified purchase. Before 1 August 2023 and still inside the certified term, the coverage may transfer to you once, if they file within 30 days. On or after that date, it ends with them. Any new-car warranty time left still follows the car either way.

## How to check a car is really Audi Certified

None of the Audi documents we read describes a public VIN lookup for certified status. The practical checks are paperwork:

- **The warranty booklet, filled in.** Purchaser name, VIN, model, the new-vehicle in-service date and the certified delivery date.
- **The completed inspection report and repair orders** for anything the dealer replaced while reconditioning the car.
- **The vehicle history report** Audi says was run. Look for insurer brands, odometer problems and commercial use.
- **A remaining-coverage check with Audi.** The transfer form tells owners they may contact Audi of America to ask about the remaining balance of the certified warranty, and the booklet gives a customer service number. Ask Audi, not the seller, what coverage it shows for the VIN.
- **Open recalls.** The booklet points owners to the Recall / Service Campaign Lookup on audiusa.com. Run it on the VIN before you buy.

A “certified” car at a non-Audi dealer is not Audi certified, whatever inspection that dealer ran.

## Certified, non-certified used, or new

Audi’s documents print no prices for certified cars, so the comparison below is about what you get, not what it costs. Price the actual cars side by side.

**What each route to an Audi carries, from Audi’s documents read 30 September 2026. Coverage ends at whichever limit comes first.**

| Item | Audi Certified pre-owned | Non-certified used Audi | New Audi |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| New-car warranty (4 years/50,000 miles) | Whatever is left on the car | Whatever is left on the car | All of it |
| Certified warranty (1 year/20,000 miles) | Yes, after the new-car warranty or from purchase | No | No |
| Inspection | Audi says more than 125 components; no published checklist | Only what you arrange | Not applicable |
| Corrosion perforation (12 years) | The balance | Whatever is left on the car | All of it |
| High-voltage battery (8 years/100,000 miles, 2021 and newer e-tron) | The balance; not part of the certified warranty | Whatever is left on the car | All of it |
| Roadside assistance | 1 year for certified cars (start point stated two ways) | Whatever new-car roadside is left | 4 years |
| Can the Audi warranty pass to the next owner? | Certified warranty: not for sales on or after 1 August 2023 | Not covered in Audi’s certified documents | Not covered in Audi’s certified documents |

Audi’s certified documents don’t spell out how these warranties apply to a car sold without certification. Confirm the balance on any VIN with an Audi dealer.

The certified warranty is most valuable on the cars that have lost everything else: those past 4 years or 50,000 miles. On those, the certified year starts on the day you buy and is the only Audi mechanical warranty the car has. For a sense of what a service contract costs as an alternative, see our guides to [extended warranty cost](https://baronauto1.com/financing/extended-car-warranty-cost/) and [whether an extended warranty is worth it](https://baronauto1.com/financing/is-an-extended-warranty-worth-it/). Audi’s certified documents don’t describe an Audi service contract for certified cars, so any quote you get will come from the dealer or a third party. For how certification compares across carmakers, see our [certified pre-owned guide](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/certified-pre-owned/).

- **Confirm it is Audi Certified.** Buy from an Audi dealer and get the Audi Certified pre-owned warranty booklet with your details and the VIN filled in.
- **Get both dates written down.** The new-vehicle in-service date and the certified delivery date, plus the warranty’s start and end on the buyer’s order.
- **Work out which branch you are in.** Under 4 years and 50,000 miles, the certified year starts later. Past either limit, it starts the day you buy.
- **Ask for the inspection report.** Audi publishes no checklist, so the completed report and repair orders are your evidence of what was checked.
- **On an e-tron, check the battery warranty separately.** The certified warranty excludes the high-voltage battery and module. Confirm the 8-year/100,000-mile balance for the VIN.
- **Ask for the roadside end date.** Audi’s roadside page gives two start points for certified cars.
- **Ask about loaners and maintenance.** Loaners are at participating dealers only; ask for a printout of any Audi Care left on the VIN.
- **Keep every service record.** Audi says owners must present maintenance records when claiming, or repairs may be denied.
- **Don’t count the warranty in resale.** Certified sales on or after 1 August 2023 can’t pass the certified warranty on.

## Common questions

### Is Audi certified pre-owned worth it?

It depends on how old the car is. On a car past 4 years or 50,000 miles, the certified year starts at purchase and is the only Audi mechanical warranty left, so it does real work. On a 1- or 2-year-old car, the new-car warranty that any buyer gets covers you first, and the certified year only begins when that ends, no later than 5 years from in-service. Weigh that, plus the inspection and extras, against the price gap to a comparable non-certified car.

### What does the Audi CPO warranty cover?

Repairs to correct manufacturer defects in materials or workmanship, free of charge, under 16 headings. These run from the engine, transmission and final drive to suspension, brakes, steering, climate control, MMI and body electrics. It doesn’t cover tires, maintenance, wear items such as brake pads, rotors, the battery, exhaust systems, belts and hoses, or the high-voltage battery and battery module on e-tron and plug-in hybrid models.

### How long is the Audi certified pre-owned warranty?

1 year or 20,000 miles, whichever comes first. If the car still has new-car warranty when you buy it, the certified year starts when the 4-year/50,000-mile new-car warranty expires. If not, it starts on the day you buy. So it ends no later than 5 years from the original in-service date on a car with new-car warranty left (our arithmetic).

### What are the requirements for Audi certified pre-owned?

Audi says the car must be 5 years old or newer, with no more than 60,000 miles, and have a vehicle history report that meets its guidelines. It must also pass an inspection that Audi says covers more than 125 components. Only Audi dealers can sell a certified Audi.

### Is the Audi CPO warranty transferable?

Not for certified sales dated on or after 1 August 2023: only the original certified buyer can use it. For certified sales before that date, it can be transferred once, from one private owner to another, within 30 days of the sale, if it is still in effect and the car has no branded title.

### Does Audi CPO cover the e-tron battery?

No. Audi’s booklet says the high-voltage battery and battery module are not covered by the certified warranty. On 2021 and newer e-tron vehicles, Audi’s separate 8-year/100,000-mile high-voltage battery warranty covers them until time or mileage runs out, whichever comes first.

## Sources and further reading

- [FTC: a businessperson’s guide to federal warranty law](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/businesspersons-guide-federal-warranty-law)
- [15 U.S.C. § 2301 (Magnuson-Moss definitions)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/2301)
- [FTC: auto service contracts and warranties](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/auto-warranties-and-auto-service-contracts)

Recall, complaint and safety-rating figures on this page were retrieved from the federal databases above on August 19, 2026. Federal data changes — re-check any VIN before you rely on it.

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Canonical source: https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/audi-certified-pre-owned/