Compare Extended Car Warranties

Extended Auto Warranty Company Reviews

#1 Endurance

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Our top pick for the best extended car warranty is Endurance, which offers vehicle owners four levels of coverage, contracts, and average vehicle restrictions. This is a popular option among individuals as this company administers their contracts directly.

Quoting Process

When it comes down to extended warranties, this company does not use a third party to administer the contract. Endurance is among the few providers to administer their own contracts. This means that if you ever run into a problem, need a repair done, or require roadside assistance, you deal directly with Endurance and not some unfamiliar company.

A direct provider is often deemed more trustworthy, making the more expensive plans worth the cost. Their quoting process is remarkable, and this company can quote vehicles via email within only a few minutes. They will normally follow up with a phone call from a sales representative in case you need any additional information to make your decision.

Coverage Options

This company offers four coverages:

• The Supreme
• The Secure
• The Select Premier
• The Superior

Each one offers something distinct to individuals. For example, The Secure plan is the most affordable while The Supreme is the most comprehensive. A downfall includes that depending on the plan, the extended warranty cost can be more expensive than those of other services.

It’s also important to know that Endurance is not available to the residents of Washington or California due to local regulations. However, if you move to any of these states after you purchased a warranty in a state that they service, the warranty will still be valid and intact when you move outside its serviced areas.

Contract

Endurance contracts aren’t overly long, but the text is very small, and the formatting can be difficult to follow. All this is to say that you do want to read the small print. Their reimbursement policies give a maximum daily reimbursement of $30/day for a rental car for a total of five days.

Endurance contracts are not as readable as most, and their auto warranty costs are not the most affordable either. However, their quoting process is fast, and there is no pressure to purchase their product. It’s an overall great option, and if you are unhappy with the service received, Endurance offers a 30-day refund period during which you can cancel the contract and get a full refund on the paid amount.

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I bought another car, I looked into warranty providers and Endurance provided more timeline than the rest of the warranty people did. 

William of Ft. Lauderdale, FL

#2 CARCHEX

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This company is a great option if you’re looking for affordable pricing with lengthy coverage. As one of the most recognizable names for reputable extended car warranty companies, they are a large name in the industry. Part of this is because they offer 18 plans of coverage! Simply put, you can most certainly find something that works for your vehicle.

Quoting Process

The quoting process is not very fast compared to companies like Endurance. However, CARCHEX is still good overall. They take a bit longer to get back to you, but their auto warranty costs are very affordable.

This company is among the most affordable on the market with an average cost of about $0.02 per mile. One thing that we noticed is that they call you often after sending the quote. While a follow-up call is expected, CARCHEX called a bit more than needed.

Coverage Options

You’ll find that CARCHEX has 5 levels of coverage with 18 available contracts. They have policy plans that offer coverage for most vehicles with less than 250,000 miles. They are one of the best extended car warranty brokers currently on the market.

Contract

One of the biggest disadvantages of CARCHEX is their long and difficult to read contracts. They have 18 contracts, and all these vary in length. The readability of these contracts could be improved. Reading through a vehicle contract before signing is very important, and CARCHEX makes this process more time consuming than it should be.

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My alternator went out on my 2011 Nissan Maxima. Carchex set up a claim within minutes and it was covered under warranty. They saved me a lot of money!

Jackie Williams, Charlotte, NC

#3 Autopom

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We were blown away after reviewing Autopom as an extended car warranty provider. They have affordable pricing with plans that fit most vehicles – even high mileage ones. A downfall is their down payment. It is a bit higher than other services. However, this shouldn’t discourage you from seeking their services.

Quoting Process

The prices quoted were among the most affordable on the market. A sales representative will want to speak with you before providing a quote, which they will email to you. Their staff is not pushy and are there to respond to questions you may have regarding their services.

Coverage Options

Autopom has a total of 21 vehicle contracts with 4 coverage options that fit almost any vehicle. Their plans are not available in all states. However, they are still a top seller of contracts on the market. Even if you have an old or used car, they have a 225,000 mileage restriction and an age limit of 20 years., which is great if you are seeking the best used car warranty.

Contract

We were impressed by the readability of Autopom’s contracts. They are an average length and do not overwhelm readers with too much information. They are easy to follow with good formatting. Reimbursement policies are mostly average with some slightly under the average. A great option, this company will give you peace of mind.

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Autopom are extremely responsive and go above the call of duty to resolve issues with the service contract providers.

Jeff White

#4 CarShield

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The restrictions with this company are very few, and they have 31 vehicle service contracts available. Most of these are great fits for the majority of cars regardless of age and mileage. As you’ll see with this review, while there are great parts to this coverage, there are also some elements that we found a bit frustrating.

Quoting Process

Our first impression of this company was the quote process, and we were not impressed. It takes an extremely long time to get a response on a quote (up to a week and a half). If you arrange a time for them to call you, they’ll be able to get one to you as opposed to email.

Their customer service is fairly poor as they fail to get back to individuals in a timely manner. The quoting process is definitely CarShield’s biggest weakness.

Coverage Options

You are very likely to find a plan to protect your vehicle with this company. They have many coverage options with very few restrictions. Even if you’re vehicle has a lot of miles, your chances of finding a plan are much higher than other companies. Their average cost per mile is average ($0.04), and with their 31 vehicle service plans, they give consumers some great options when looking for a contract that fits both budget and coverage needs.

Contract

Their contracts really impressed us. They are easy to read with an average length of about 14 pages. While this may seem a bit extensive, their font size is not tiny like other companies, making CarShield’s contracts more accessible. They are also the only company to provide plans to motorcyclists, and they also have translated contracts in Spanish.

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Car Shield was very helpful, I greatly appreciate their professionalism and empathy to my financial hardship. Thank you!

Brittany M., Long Island, NY

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Our Review Process for the Best Extended Warranty for Cars

We used a system to evaluate each one of these providers. We took into consideration the quoting process, coverage options, and contract to see how they differed as warranty companies.

As you shop for the best car warranty companies, it may help you to understand our review process. We aimed for an unbiased review based on these 3 parts.

This process differs depending on the history of your vehicle. For example, plans for a minivan with 60,000 miles will differ significantly than plans for a sedan with 150,000 miles. Every extended warranty is customized depending on the make, model, year, mileage of your vehicle. Quoting processes should be quick, easy, and of course, free!

Not all warranty providers will approve your car for coverage especially if it is an older model with a lot of miles. However, some companies will offer service contracts that cover vehicles with higher mileage. Don’t be discouraged if you have an old car; you can still take advantage of a vehicle protection plan.

We have found that the contracts offered by warranty companies differ greatly. Some are short with no more than 600 words per page while others are very excessive with an average of 1,200 words per page. It was found that contracts with clarity that were easy to follow were the best ones as opposed to those with a lack of formatting that made them difficult to follow.

Whenever a contract is placed in front of you, it’s important to read it thoroughly from top to bottom. They will tell you what they cover or don’t cover as well as what you are responsible for. Before you sign, you need to understand what you’re agreeing to.

Here are a few things to carefully consider when reviewing service agreements:

Will you be using your vehicle for commercial purposes? Some contracts will not approve repairs if you’re using your car for taxi services such as Uber or Lyft.

Sometimes a part will break due to heat, salt, moisture, or other elements they’re exposed to. These are sometimes included in the exclusionary section within a contract. Be sure to check for coverage of mechanical breakdowns caused by common elements.

There are minor components like nuts, fasteners, or bolts that can cause components in your auto to wear out faster than usual or breakdown. Repairs can be denied if the cause of failure is due to a bad bolt, nut, or fastener.

Failure to observe early warning signs can result in denied repairs. There is a significant loophole in this clause because it can be argued that every mechanical failure is a result of some early warning signs. When reviewing your contract agreement, look for this clause.