Alexandra Carver is a writer for USA TODAY Homefront, specializing in automotive warranties, insurance and shipping. She’s produced content for over a dozen car dealerships across the U.S. and has contributed to auto guides across sites such as MarketWatch and Automoblog. Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Alex studied professional writing and rhetoric at Queens University of Charlotte. When she isn’t immersed in researching and writing, you’ll find her planning a trip abroad, spending time with her dog or playing video games on vintage gaming consoles.
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Unexpected repairs and expenses are part of owning a car, especially as it ages. While your vehicle’s factory warranty can provide mechanical coverage for several years, it won’t last forever. An extended warranty can extend that coverage, so you can avoid paying outright for costly car repairs. We recommend Endurance as the best extended car warranty for those looking for great coverage and maintenance benefits.
Dozens of warranty providers are out there, but not all of them are reputable. We’ve researched and ranked the best extended car warranty providers in the industry to help you make an informed decision that suits you best. In addition to Endurance, we will chat about a few other options that are worth considering for your specific use case.
Endurance offers coverage for up to 8 years or 200,000 miles, but it only offers long-term plans.
Before deciding on an extended car warranty, understanding the benefits, average costs and limitations can help you make a decision that’s right for you.
We’ve reviewed and rated 43 providers using our rating methodology, ranking them based on scores in categories including market standing, coverage, cost, trustworthiness and customer experience. See the table below for the five providers we consider to be the best extended auto warranty companies today.
All of our top-ranking extended warranty providers scored highly for a reason. Below, we go into detail on what we like and what we don’t with each company, as well as provide an in-depth analysis on the best coverage options, costs and customer reviews.
Endurance provides some of the most comprehensive coverage options of any extended warranty company, though it doesn’t cover as many miles or years as some of its competitors.
What we like
Endurance offers six plans ranging from powertrain to bumper-to-bumper protection, whereas other providers usually offer three or four. Endurance’s Advantage plans combine mechanical breakdown coverage with maintenance benefits, which means services such as oil changes, tire rotations and brake pad replacements are covered under your warranty. Only one other provider — Omega Auto Care — offers these benefits.
Endurance is also a direct warranty provider, meaning it both sells and administers its vehicle service contracts. You won’t deal with a third-party company when filing a claim with Endurance — you’ll work with the company from start to finish.
What we don’t like
Endurance currently lacks a rating from Better Business Bureau (BBB) due to an established pattern of complaints. This includes claims denied for preexisting conditions, difficulty canceling contracts and long delays in authorization for repairs. Unfortunately, as of December 2023, BBB had made a note that these complaints haven’t changed.
Endurance’s six levels of coverage provide you with an impressive range of vehicle service contracts to choose from, making it easy to find something that fits your needs.
Each plan’s benefits include 24/7 roadside assistance, towing, rental car reimbursement, trip interruption coverage and lockout services. You’ll also get one free year of Endurance Elite benefits, which include premium perks such as key fob replacements, collision discounts, tire repairs and replacement, and total loss protection.
We gathered quotes from Endurance using a 2020 Hyundai Elantra with 30,000 miles and a 2018 Toyota RAV4 with 50,000 miles to show how plan costs vary between vehicles.
For our 2020 Hyundai Elantra, the Supreme plan cost $90.11 per month. This amounts to $2,703.30 in total with a 30-month payment plan. Our 2018 Toyota RAV4 was quoted $94.04 per month for the same plan, which totaled $2,821.20 with a 30-month payment plan.
Both vehicles were given quotes for plans lasting 2.5 years/40,000 miles with a $100 deductible, which is a short-term length for the price. For example, the quotes we gathered from Autopom were similar in total price for 5 years/100,000 miles of coverage.
Endurance has more than 3,400 reviews on BBB and more than 8,500 reviews on Trustpilot. It holds 3.6 out of 5 stars with BBB and 3.7 out of 5 stars with Trustpilot, as well as 4.2 out of 5 stars on Google Reviews.
Trustpilot has issued a warning indicating that Endurance is displaying Trustpilot content incorrectly, which may mean the warranty provider is misrepresenting its rating, reviews or Trustpilot’s name or logo.
Endurance warranty reviews are a mixed bag. Many customers on Trustpilot, like Louise, praise Endurance’s helpful customer service representatives. Most negative reviews center around denied claims and difficulty canceling contracts. However, these reviews are common in the extended warranty industry.
Autopom receives positive customer reviews and covers cars up to 20 years old, though it only offers three coverage plans, including an exclusionary, midlevel and powertrain option.
We appreciate how Autopom has garnered high praise from customers and the industry alike. It holds an A+ rating with BBB and has primarily positive customer reviews on BBB, Trustpilot and Google Reviews. Happy customers frequently speak of how Autopom goes above and beyond to keep them satisfied.
We also like how Autopom offers mechanical breakdown insurance in California, a state that has strict regulations on extended coverage. Many companies choose not to do business in the state for this reason.
We wish Autopom offered more than three coverage levels to choose from. Other providers in our review, such as Endurance, Carchex and CarShield, have five or six plans in their lineups. Also, some Autopom contracts are only available in certain states.
Autopom provides three levels of coverage backed by administrators since it’s a broker. You’ll need to contact Autopom for exact coverage details, as they vary by plan and administrator.
Autopom plans come with a 30- or 60-day money-back guarantee, rental vehicle assistance, 24-hour roadside assistance, tire protection and trip interruption reimbursement.
We used a 2020 Hyundai Elantra with 30,000 miles and a 2014 Nissan Altima with 90,000 miles when getting quotes with Autopom. Exclusionary coverage for the Elantra was $111.89 per month for 24 months, amounting to $2,826.80 in total. The same amount of coverage for the Altima was $107.59 per month for 24 months, totaling $2,718.
Both quotes were for 5 years/100,000 miles of Exclusionary coverage and came with $100 deductibles.
Autopom also has an unlimited, month-to-month plan option. For our Altima, this costs $81.99 per month for Powertrain Plus coverage with a $100 deductible. Out of all the unlimited plans we gathered quotes for, Autopom gave us the best price for a mid-level plan.
Autopom doesn’t have thousands of reviews like other large providers. Still, what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. It currently holds 4.7 stars with BBB, 4.0 stars with Trustpilot and 4.6 stars on Google Reviews.
Many of Autopom’s customer reviews mention the president and CEO, Michael Jones, by name, as is the case with Sandra R.’s review. He also responds to negative reviews in great detail, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to customer satisfaction.
Carchex is an extended auto warranty broker that offers five distinct policies with high mileage limits, though its plans’ deductibles may leave you paying more out-of-pocket expenses than with other providers.
Carchex is the most seasoned provider on our list, with over 20 years of experience in the business. It partnered with industry giants like Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds and Carfax, further solidifying our appreciation for its reputation.
We also like how it offers plans for cars with up to 250,000 miles on them, making it a solid pick for those of you with an older car or used vehicle. Additionally, its rental car benefits include alternative transportation options like Uber and Lyft, which is rare in the industry.
While Carchex has a solid industry reputation, it has low customer review ratings through BBB, which is concerning. Its coverage options also leave something to be desired, as it offers standard plans with no stand-out features. Most competitors in this review offer something unique, such as EV plans, motorcycle coverage or maintenance benefits.
Carchex has five levels of coverage to choose from, ranging from basic powertrain to bumper-to-bumper coverage. Not every car is eligible for each coverage plan, so keep that in mind when shopping with Carchex.
Carchex plans come with common extended warranty perks like roadside assistance, towing, rental car reimbursement and trip interruption benefits.
We used our 2020 Hyundai Elantra with 30,000 miles and 2018 Toyota RAV4 with 50,000 miles to get exclusionary and mid-level plan quotes. The cost of an unlimited, month-to-month Titanium plan was $139.99 per month with a $100 deductible for the Elantra and $149.99 per month with a $200 deductible for the RAV4.
We don’t like how Carchex has some of the most expensive month-to-month plans out of the providers in this review. If you’re looking for a cheaper unlimited plan, you should consider Autopom or CarShield, depending on the coverage you want.
Though Carchex holds an A+ rating with BBB — which indicates that it responds to almost all customer complaints — it has a customer review rating of 1.9 stars. On Trustpilot, 83% of Carchex’s 1500-plus reviews give the company four or five stars, though the company has an overall rating of 2.2 out of 5 stars.
Reviews often complain about the lack of claims approval. A review from Jim states that Carchex only covers aftermarket parts, which means repairs at a dealer aren’t covered by his policy. This sentiment is echoed in many other reviews on BBB and Trustpilot. However, positive reviews praise the purchasing process and customer service.
CarShield is an extended warranty broker that sells plans administered by American Auto Shield. The company offers flexible contracts with unlimited month-to-month terms, but this means its coverage may be more expensive than other competitors.
CarShield offers some of the most unique plans in our review. Not only does it offer standard coverage ranging from powertrain to bumper-to-bumper coverage, but it also offers specialty plans for motorcycles, ATVs and electric vehicles. Plans for electric cars are rare in this industry, which makes CarShield’s coverage special.
We like how CarShield offers month-to-month contracts for those of you looking to avoid a long-term commitment to a plan. It also covers cars with up to 300,000 miles on them, which is the highest mileage limit in the industry.
CarShield’s month-to-month contracts are convenient. Its prices, however, are high. Other providers, like Autopom, offer lower monthly payments for their unlimited plans.
CarShield maintains an A rating on BBB and responds to customer concerns, though there is a pattern of complaints that include misleading advertising practices, delayed processing of claims and more.
CarShield has seven extended warranty plans, but only five are for standard cars. The other two are for motorcycles, ATVs and electric vehicles. Learn more about the plans for standard cars and electric vehicles below.
Perks that come with a CarShield plan include rental car reimbursement, trip interruption benefits and 24-hour roadside assistance. After reading through several sample contracts on CarShield’s website, we found that it also allows rideshare expenses to be included under rental car reimbursement.
We used a 2020 Hyundai Elantra with 30,000 miles and a 2018 Toyota RAV4 with 50,000 miles to get quotes from CarShield. The cost of an unlimited, month-to-month Diamond plan for both the Elantra and RAV4 was $139.99 per month with a $200 deductible.
CarShield’s unlimited plans are around the same prices as Carchex’s plans. Unfortunately, its plans overall are fairly expensive when compared with other providers’ unlimited and fixed-term plans. If cost is the most important factor to you when shopping for warranty coverage, you may want to look elsewhere for vehicle protection.
CarShield currently holds an A rating with BBB and a customer review rating of 1.4 stars from over 2,400 reviews. CarShield’s ratings fare better through Trustpilot. It currently holds a rating of 4.2 stars from over 46,500 reviews.
Though reviews frequently complain about denied claims, a review by Cyrille W. praises the company’s customer service after having made three claims. As in this review, other customers typically compliment the company on its professional and responsive customer service staff.
In addition to Endurance, Omega Auto Care is the only other provider in our list to offer maintenance benefits, though the cost of its plans aren’t disclosed upfront.
Omega Auto Care offers free maintenance benefits with its vehicle service contracts. This includes oil changes, brake pad replacements, battery replacements and free safety inspections. Endurance is the only other provider in our review that offers plans with maintenance benefits — even so, it doesn’t include them with every plan like Omega does.
We also like how Omega Auto Care can cover cars for up to 15 years/250,000 miles. While 250,000 miles isn’t the highest limit we found in our review, 15 years of coverage is much longer than the standard for this industry.
While Omega Auto Care has a mostly positive reputation among customers, some have reported trouble with canceling contracts.
Additionally, we don’t like how we were unable to get in contact with sales when attempting to get a quote from the company.
You’ll find five different plans with Omega Auto Care, three of which offer varying levels of powertrain coverage. We appreciate how easy it is to find sample contracts for each plan online.
Perks offered by Omega Auto Care include 24/7 roadside assistance, road hazard coverage, rental car coverage, trip interruption coverage and maintenance benefits. Your maintenance perks will last for a year.
Omega Auto Care is the only provider in our review that we were unable to get a quote from. It was difficult to get in contact with a sales representative, and the company doesn’t offer online quotes or purchases. Despite this, I discovered that Omega’s sample contracts mention a $100 deductible with no other options.
Our research team found that the average extended car warranty costs $2,845 in total. This average is based on quotes from the top eight providers in our review. If you get a quote from Omega Auto Care, we encourage you to compare it to quotes from other companies.
Omega Auto Care has solid customer review scores across platforms. It holds 3.8 stars from over 300 reviews on BBB and 3.9 stars from over 1,200 reviews with Trustpilot. However, these scores are for Omega Home & Auto Care, the ratings and reviews aren’t always extended auto warranty-specific.
Many Trustpilot reviewers, like Dan, were pleased with their maintenance benefits. Other reviewers mention helpful customer service representatives and a quick claims process. Negative reviews complain of rude treatment when attempting to cancel their contract and difficulty getting in touch with customer service.
Finding the best extended car warranty is more complex than simply requesting a quote and signing a contract. Kathleen Long, chief revenue officer at RepairPal, says that consumers typically have one set of considerations in mind when buying a policy and another set of considerations when using the policy and recommends you shop around for policies based on more than just price.
When looking for the right coverage for you, keep the following considerations in mind to find a plan that meets your budget, needs and preferences.
Extended warranties don’t cover every component or situation. Some policies, like bumper-to-bumper warranties, are exclusionary, which means they cover everything except a list of parts outlined in the contract.
Other warranties are stated-component plans, which means they only cover the parts listed in the contract. Powertrain, powertrain plus and drivetrain warranties are stated-component plans.
When you shop around for an extended warranty, read through each provider’s sample contracts to learn what’s covered and what isn’t. “There isn’t a policy in the world that covers every single thing that’s going to go on with your car,” Long says.
“There isn’t a policy in the world that covers every single thing that’s going to go on with your car.” — Kathleen Long
There isn’t a policy in the world that covers every single thing that’s going to go on with your car. Kathleen Long, chief revenue officer at RepairPal
There isn’t a policy in the world that covers every single thing that’s going to go on with your car.
Pay attention to how and when parts are covered, too. According to Long, “a lot of consumers don’t distinguish between what’s actually mechanical auto repair and collision.” If a covered part is damaged by an event that isn’t covered by your policy — such as an accident or damage from driving over a pothole — your extended warranty provider may not pay for repairs.
Though an extended warranty can give you peace of mind, you may not always need one. Because most of the coverage provided by an extended auto warranty kicks in when your factory warranty expires, it may not make sense to pay for an extended policy if you don’t plan on keeping your car for long after its manufacturer warranty expires.
Another consideration is the reliability of your vehicle and how likely it may need repairs. Consult resources, such as RepairPal or the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, to determine the frequency and severity of your type of car and use that information to determine if an extended warranty is worth it.
“If you have a BMW, chances are something’s going to go wrong, and it’s going to be expensive,” Long says. If you have a more reliable brand, such as a Toyota, it may not need repairs as frequently, which means you may be paying for coverage you don’t use.
The cost of an extended car warranty depends on several factors:
In the know
According to our research, extended warranties cost an average of $2,845 in total, or $108 per month.
Below are quotes we collected from top extended warranty providers for various plan types based on different vehicle profiles. We didn’t include quote information for month-to-month plans with unlimited coverage because total costs vary widely depending on how long you keep coverage.
When you request quotes for different policies, remember that the lowest-cost plan isn’t always going to be the most affordable overall. Long warns that the cheapest policies often have large deductibles, which can be a surprise when you need to make a claim for covered repairs.
The only way to really know what an extended warranty will cost you for your car is to get free quotes from multiple providers. Comparing costs is the best way to find the best coverage for a price you’re happy with.
You’ve got options when it comes to extended car warranty providers. Not only do you have a range of options from third-party providers, but manufacturers also offer extended warranty plans. There are pros and cons to each, so we encourage you to consider both options carefully and choose the one that fits your needs best.
Vehicle manufacturer extended warranties are great if you’re most concerned about genuine parts being used to repair your car. Repair facilities backed by authorized dealerships use original equipment manufacturer parts and employ factory-trained technicians to install them. Third-party providers may authorize repair shops to complete car repairs using aftermarket parts, though Long says that most aftermarket parts are high-quality and backed by their own warranties.
Third-party providers offer more affordable protection plans than a dealership, as dealerships often mark up plans before selling them. We’ve also found that manufacturers offer fewer options for you to choose from, with some only providing one comprehensive, exclusionary plan for purchase.
It’s worth noting that manufacturer-backed extended warranties can usually only be bought while your factory warranty is still valid. Third-party coverage, however, can be purchased at any time.
The right extended warranty provider for you should give you peace of mind that when you need coverage, it’s available. Reputable extended car warranty companies are transparent in what their plans cover (or don’t), how plans are priced and how the claims process is handled.
When shopping around for coverage, compare:
Many providers offer a range of coverage options, from comprehensive bumper-to-bumper warranties to plans that limit coverage to certain systems or components.
Extended warranty plans vary in cost depending on the specific coverage, provider and details of your vehicle. Cover for older or high-mileage vehicles typically costs more than policies for new vehicles with fewer miles.
These are inactive policy contracts that represent what an actual contract may look like, including the cost, deductible, what’s covered and when, exclusions and policy terms, such as additional benefits, how to transfer coverage and how to file a claim.
Consult resources like BBB, Trustpilot and Google Reviews to gauge what previous and existing customers think of an extended warranty provider. Does the company attempt to resolve customer complaints?
Consult a company’s website or BBB to determine how long it’s been in business, if it’s won any awards or if third parties (such as BBB) have published any consumer alerts. Check the company’s website or sample contracts to determine if it offers a money-back guarantee or prorated refund if you’re unhappy with coverage.
Endurance is our top overall pick because of its coverage and benefits, and Carchex is our recommendation for used or older cars. Still, we encourage you to consider your personal situation and needs. Then, research and gather quotes from multiple providers before deciding on the best extended warranty coverage for you.
Extended vehicle warranties can be a worthwhile investment for many, giving car owners like you peace of mind regarding a mechanical breakdown. However, they may not be suitable for everyone — especially if you have a new vehicle you won’t drive past its factory warranty terms.
At Homefront, we analyze, rate and rank top vehicle service contract providers to help you discover the right one for your needs. The best automotive service contract companies offer transparency, affordability and expansive coverage options, among other qualities.
We rate companies using our objective scoring methodology. We assess brands on factors that are important to consumers like you — including cost, coverage, market standing, trustworthiness and customer experience. After scoring companies on a 100-point scale, we simplify final scores into the 5-star ratings you see in our content.
BBB and other third-party ratings are accurate as of March 2024.
Editorial note: The name “Homefront” refers to the alliance between USA TODAY and Home Solutions that publishes review, comparison, and informational articles designed to help USA TODAY readers make smarter purchasing and investment decisions about their home. Under the alliance, Homefront provides and publishes research and articles about home service and home improvement topics.
Homefront has an affiliate disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Homefront editorial staff alone (see About Homefront). Homefront adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is believed to be accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
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