CARCHEX Warranty Review and Pricing

Who It Would Be Good For

• Drivers who want to be able to choose their own licensed repair facility
• Customers who want claims paid directly to the repair shops so that they don’t have to pay out of pocket and wait for reimbursements
• Anyone who wants emergency roadside assistance, towing benefits and rental car reimbursement that they don’t currently have on their auto insurance policy

Who It Would Not Be Good For

• Someone who needs coverage for more than 10 years
• An owner of a car with a pre-existing condition
• Someone with a car that has more than 250,000 miles on it

Eligible

• Vehicles with up to 250,000 miles
• Vehicles 20 years old or newer
• New or used vehicles
• Electric vehicles

Not Eligible

• Vehicles with more than 250,000 miles
• Vehicles over 20 years old
• Exotic vehicles
• Salvage title vehicles
• 10-cylinder and 12-cylinder vehicles
• Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Bentley, Daewoo, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Lotus, Maserati, Maybach, McLaren, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault and Rolls-Royce

The Buying Process

You can start the CARCHEX purchase process online by inputting some basic personal and vehicle details, as shown in the screenshot below.

It advertises an instant quote, but I tested this out, and it’s not quite instant — you’ll need to wait for a phone call from a CARCHEX specialist to review your quote and coverage options. You will also have the option to provide your vehicle VIN and street address for faster processing.

Once you’re ready to purchase the warranty, you’ll need to do so over the phone to ensure that you are getting the right warranty. You don’t need to get the car inspected before you buy a warranty, which makes the process faster and more convenient.

Claims

The claims process works much the same as an insurance claim, but it’s even easier as the repair facility will file the claim on your behalf. You simply need to take your car to the licensed repair facility of your choice and authorize it to diagnose your vehicle and estimate repair costs. Facilities include auto dealerships, independent mechanics and franchised repair shops.

The repair facility will contact the claims department of the company that is providing your warranty (remember CARCHEX is only a broker), and once it receives authorization, it will move forward with the repair.

You will pay your deductible, and the extended warranty company will pay the rest of the repair bill directly to the repair facility. You pay the deductible for the visit, which means you could have multiple repairs done simultaneously under the same deductible.

If you’re unsure about the work the repair facility needs to do to your car, have the facility call CARCHEX and review the needed repairs to see if they are covered. Different warranty policies have different levels of coverage, and CARCHEX doesn’t cover all claims. For example, most warranties don’t cover components like airbags, catalytic converters, and emissions control devices.

CARCHEX Plans

CARCHEX offers five levels of warranty coverage. Plan prices vary based on the provider and the vehicle’s year, make and model. I’ve put together this chart to help you get a better sense of what each level covers.

Here’s an example of what a contract from CARCHEX looks like:

What’s Covered

The following are included in CARCHEX plans:

• 24/7 roadside assistance that includes jump-starts, tows, flat tire service that replaces the flat tire with your spare tire, lockouts and fuel delivery (excluding cost of fuel)
• Parts and labor plus taxes
• Rental car coverage, which pays up to three days (up to $100 per day) of renting a car while your vehicle is in the shop under a covered claim
• Trip interruption reimbursement for a maximum of three days if your breakdown interrupts a trip and requires you to stay in a hotel

What’s Not Covered in Plans

Extended warranty plans generally don’t cover standard maintenance, and CARCHEX’s plans are no different. This includes oil changes, wiper blade replacements, and tire rotations.

I reviewed several sample CARCHEX contracts, and they also highlight the following exclusions:

• Air bags, seat belts or supplemental restraint systems
• Brake pads, shoes, rotors and drums
• Shocks and struts
• Rubber hoses
• Serpentine belts
• Wiper blades
• Headlamp bulbs
• Oil changes
• Air filters
• Timing belts
• Lithium-ion or hybrid batteries
• Lubricants, coolants and fluids (unless replacement is required due to a covered breakdown
• Repairs performed without prior authorization
• Breakdowns that occurred before the contract effective date
• Repairs needed for lack of maintenance or negligence
• Damage caused by accidents
• Normal wear and tear

Depending on the warranty provider, you may also be able to add additional coverages such as a luxury electronics package, emissions components package, key replacement coverage, navigation system coverage, and windshield coverage.

CARCHEX plans tend to be more expensive than competitors. The average total cost of an extended auto warranty from CARCHEX is $1,904. Exactly how much you pay depends on your terms. For example, a warranty with a 5-year term is around $3,400, which comes out to about $189 per month with an 18-month payment term.

Long-term extended warranty contracts are typically paid off within the first couple of years, so you won’t have a monthly payment for the entire coverage period unless you get a monthly plan, which CARCHEX also offers.

Keep in mind that costs depend on the type of car you drive and the coverage level and type of plan you select. Compare quotes from multiple providers to ensure that you are getting the best coverage for the price.

How to Lower the CARCHEX Warranty Cost: Discounts

CARCHEX doesn’t offer a discount for students or military members. However, it occasionally advertises a special on its website that will give you a discount, so be sure to check before purchasing a plan.

Money-Back Guarantee

CARCHEX includes a 30-day money-back guarantee with all of its warranties. During this time, you can cancel the extended warranty and get a full refund. Keep in mind that you are still in the waiting period during the first 30 days, so you won’t be able to use the warranty to see how it works before the 30 days expire.

Cancellation Fee

You can cancel a warranty at any time during the contract. If you cancel after the 30-day money-back guarantee period, you will receive a prorated refund minus any claims paid and the cancellation fee listed in your contract. To cancel, you must send a written cancellation request to the administrator by mail. The address will also be noted in your contract.

There are several ways to contact CARCHEX customer support:

• Phone: 888-973-0758
• Contact form: https://www.carchex.com/connect-with-us/customer-support/

Better Business Bureau

The BBB has accredited CARCHEX since 2009. It has a 1.91-star rating out of five, with more than 160 customer reviews. The BBB notes that there were 165 complaints in the past three years, with 53 of those occurring within the past 12 months. Complaints in negative reviews mainly revolve around uncovered claims that people expected to have paid.

Overall, CARCHEX gets an A+ rating from the BBB because it addressed customer complaints.¹

Trustpilot

CARCHEX has more than 1,530 reviews on Trustpilot, with a 2.2-star rating out of five, which is below average for extended warranty companies. Most complaints revolve around uncovered claims. 70 percent of reviewers gave CARCHEX a five-star rating, however.²

Not every car warranty company offers a mobile app to manage policies on the road. CARCHEX has a mobile app for iOS called Carchex Roadside that’s designed to connect customers to roadside assistance. I downloaded the app, and it’s very basic and a bit laggy. It prompts users to log in but also provides an emergency number and access to FAQs.

However, the app doesn’t have a good rating; it has just a 1.8-star rating in the Apple App Store, with people saying the app didn’t get them the service promised. There is no CARCHEX Android app.

CARCHEX was founded in 1999 as a ​​mobile pre-purchase car inspection company. It began offering extended warranties in 2004. In 2014, CARCHEX solidified a partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), where it donated $20,000 to the organization to further its work to combat underage drinking and driving.

The company headquarters is in Hunt Valley, Maryland. In 2017, the company was honored as a Silver Winner in the 9th Annual GoldenBridge Awards Customer Service Department of the Year.³

To see how CARCHEX rates among warranty companies, I’ve compared it to other warranty companies, autopom! and CarShield, on several key metrics.

When reviewing car warranty companies, we consider several factors.

Eligibility

We look at the area the company serves and the types of vehicles it covers based on make, model, year and mileage. We also check whether the company covers vehicles with pre-existing conditions.

Claims Process

We give preference to companies that allow customers to use any licensed repair facility in the U.S. It must be easy for customers to use their warranties to get their vehicles fixed by mechanics they trust.

Coverage

We look for companies that offer a wide range of coverage for the price. Coverage varies from company to company, but we prefer those that offer roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement, flat tire replacement, towing and trip interruption protection.

Pricing

We considered the average price for the warranties with each company. The industry annual average is around $2,235, and we prefer companies that fall below this average.

Customer Service

We give preference to companies that provide various ways to reach customer service. Customers have their own preferences on how to contact companies, so we looked for those that offer phone support as well as online forms and email.

Ratings

We review BBB and Trustpilot ratings to get a sense of whether or not the company delivers on its promises. In general, the car warranty industry has a bad reputation, and we want to find companies that have high customer satisfaction ratings.