Keep in mind folks, you can find a CPO car being sold by a private party! The car is Certified Pre-Owned - it is not a Certified Pre-OWNER! Just make sure you run the seller's VIN and verify if you go the private route and that it is still intact.
In addition, there are other options:
You may purchase a car with less than 100k miles, and take it to the BMW dealer and have it inspected to see how much it would cost to get an extended warranty. THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS A CPO CAR.
The only entity that can CPO a car is BMW - and this is done on only 2 occasions - when the car is new, and the 6 year /100k mile warranty is purchased (comes with other constraints to maintain it), and also when the dealer takes in a used car, and puts it through inspections and ensures maintenance is up to spec, then can Certify the Pre-Owned car for resale.
There are also aftermarket warranties, not by BMW, that have a long list of exclusions, but may offer you enough piece of mind for the price (typically about $1k to $2k less vs from BMW, and sometimes offered outside of typical year/mileage restrictions).
In addition, there are numerous other warranties, but there is also some confusion regarding the $0 maintenance - which is NOT part of CPO, although happens to be for the same term of the original warranty of 4 years/50k miles. This CAN INDEED be extended to 6 years/100k miles, but it is again separate of the original warranty or the CPO. It is referred to as the extended maintenance plan.
Also, with CPOed cars there is PRE-PAID maintenance. You pay a monthly fee, have a deductible, and it is similar to having the extended maint plan.
Off the top of my head, there are a lot of other separate plans: As previously mentioned, there are tire plans, but also there is dent/ding protection, paint protection, interior upholstery protection, LOJACK, roadside assistance, sat radio, etc. These are once again, ALL TOTALLY SEPARATE from warranty.
IMHO, I would simply purchase a CPO car, and pay a slight premium, but not more than 15% of the total vehicle cost versus a non-CPO.
I am also in Atlanta and if anyone needs advice or simple local help, lmk - I would be happy to lend a hand in any way I can.
GL!