This is a pre-owned BMW

Bailey J. Riegelhaupt bought a "certified pre-owned BMW" from a Natick dealership in 2004 because she wanted to make sure her used vehicle was in tip-top condition.

But five days after driving the vehicle home, Riegelhaupt said, the car was out of alignment, a concern she had raised before the purchase. She also said a chip of paint had fallen off the fender. A couple days later, she said, the air conditioning wasn't working properly and the brakes were squeaking.

As she was working with Foreign Motors West of Natick to rectify those problems, the transmission failed. Her titanium silver 2000 BMW 323i, supposedly the focus of a 75-point, presale safety inspection, was stuck at her house in Randolph, unable to move. It has been sitting there ever since.

"I feel completely deceived about the condition of this car," Riegelhaupt wrote in an e-mail to the dealership on May 9, 2004. "I took your word that this car got a thorough inspection before you put it on the lot and, more importantly, before you sold it to me."

Officials at the dealership could not be reached for comment. But David Stein , the dealership's attorney, said, "I don't want to get into it with you on a discussion of certified vehicles."

Certified used cars are supposed to give drivers peace of mind. They generally are lower-mileage cars that are two or three years old. They are run through a rigorous reconditioning process and sold with extended warranties.

"They've tried to take used cars and turn it into a new car-buying experience," said Philip Reed , consumer advice editor at auto website Edmunds.com. "In general, it's been very good. If everything's done that they promise to do, it's as good as it gets."

Industry analysts say the premium drivers pay for certification can range from $300 to $2,500, depending on the type of car and warranty. Approximately 1.6 million certified "pre-owned" vehicles were sold last year, almost four times as many as in 2000, according to Consumer Reports.

Rob Gentile , director of auto pricing services for Consumer Reports, said the biggest problem with certified used cars is the lack of any industry standard for what certified means. Nearly every car maker runs a certification program, and many dealerships and used car lots sell certified cars as well. Terms vary from program to program.

Art Kinsman , a spokesman for the American Automobile Association of Southern New England, recommended that anyone buying a certified used vehicle ask detailed questions about the certification process and the accompanying warranty and then take the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be checked.

"Certification can be a good thing, but I wouldn't automatically assume it is," Kinsman said. "Just because it says 'certified,' don't assume you're getting four new tires and all new fluids. You need to ask what certified means."

The car Riegelhaupt purchased was certified by Foreign Motors West, not BMW. It's unclear why the dealership certified the vehicle itself -- Foreign Motors West does sell BMW-certified cars -- but BMW spokeswoman Martha McKinley said nothing prohibits its dealerships from running their own certification programs.

Used cars certified by BMW must be at least six months old or have 6,000 miles on the odometer but no more than 60,000 miles. They are inspected by BMW factory-trained technicians and come with a BMW warranty for two years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. The warranty is in addition to the time or mileage remaining on the original four-year, 50,000-mile new vehicle warranty. There is a $50 fee for each repair visit at a BMW dealership.

BMW says "only the best" vehicles qualify for the company's certified program. "If something is not right, it is fixed. If it cannot be fixed, the car cannot become a certified pre-owned BMW," the company's website says. "In short, we're picky."

The car Foreign Motors West sold to Riegelhaupt had 58,000 miles on it. Riegelhaupt said the dealership told her it had undergone a 75-point safety inspection. It cost $19,726, including fees and taxes, plus another $1,462 for a 36-month or 36,000-mile warranty from General Electric. The warranty had a $100 deductible per repair visit.

As she drove the car home on April 23, 2004, Riegelhaupt said, she was thrilled. But five days later things started to go wrong, culminating in the transmission failure on May 8.

Riegelhaupt was so furious that she demanded her money back, but the dealership insisted on fixing whatever was wrong, in compliance with the warranty it had sold with the car.

Riegelhaupt refused to relinquish the car without getting her money back. "I kept thinking, 'What's going to go wrong with this car next?' " she said in an interview last week.

She sued Foreign Motors West, claiming breach of contract. She had no claim to a refund under the state's used vehicle warranty law because the vehicle hadn't been repaired three times for the same defect or out of service for 11 business days. In her suit, she asked for $23,000 in actual damages and additional money for attorney's fees, costs, and violations of the state's Consumer Protection Act.

Riegelhaupt took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, who verified the transmission was shot. He also discovered a rusty dust cover on a shock.

While the case dragged on, first in Norfolk Superior Court and later in Quincy District Court, Riegelhaupt continued to drive her 1996 Maxima but kept making loan and insurance payments on the BMW sitting next to her house.

As part of the discovery process, Riegelhaupt said, she obtained a Carfax vehicle history report that indicated the car had been in an accident in May 2002.

Riegelhaupt, who owns The Bridal Secret in Quincy, started posting complaints about Foreign Motors West on a website called Dealerrater.com, giving the dealership the lowest possible scores.

Chip Grueter , who owns the Waltham website, said Foreign Motors West responded by posing as consumers and posting three superlative reviews about the dealership on Dealerrater.

Grueter said he took the "fraudulent reviews" down and posted a warning about the dealership on the website for nine months.

Stein , the dealership's attorney, said he was not aware of any postings on Dealerrater.

Two months ago, Riegelhaupt won a partial victory in court. A jury awarded her a total of $24,000 in damages, but the judge rejected her claim under the Consumer Protection Act and did not award any attorney's fees or additional compensation.

The case remains contentious. The car still sits at Riegelhaupt's house, waiting to be picked up by the dealership, and her attorney collected the judgment by sending a constable to the dealership.

Riegelhaupt is still angry and feels the certification process in her case was a sham. "They lied to me, and they deceived me," she said.

Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com.