CARCHEX Warranty Review and Pricing

Who It Would Be Good For

• Someone who wants 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 a lot out of pocket and wait for reimbursements
• Anyone who wants emergency roadside assistance, towing benefits, and rental car reimbursement

Who It Would Not Be Good For

• Someone who needs coverage for more than 10 years
• An owner of a car with a preexisting 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

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, Rolls-Royce, and Tesla vehicles

The Buying Process

CARCHEX starts the purchase process online but completes it with a phone call 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 is easy and works much the same as an insurance claim. You will take your car to any Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) licensed repair facility. ASE technicians complete specific training to best serve customers’ needs. Facilities include auto dealerships, independent mechanics, and franchised repair shops.

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

To file a claim, you’ll contact the service department at CARCHEX at 800-531-1925. There is no email address, though you can complete a service request form online to get an email response at https://www.carchex.com/connect-with-us/general-requests/. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.

If you are unsure about the work the repair facility needs to do to your car, have the repair facility call CARCHEX and review the needed repairs to see if they are covered. There are different levels of coverage with different warranty policies, 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 with a list for each coverage level. Plan prices vary based on the provider and the vehicle’s year, make, and model. Take a look at the chart to get a better sense of what each level covers.

What’s Covered

• 24/7 roadside assistance that includes jump-starts, tows, lockouts, and fuel delivery (excluding cost of fuel)
• Flat-tire service that replaces the flat tire with your spare tire (up to $75 in benefits)
• Parts and labor plus taxes
• Rental car coverage, which pays up to three days 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

• Any type of illumination
• Battery and cables
• Brake discs, rotors, and pads
• Catalytic converters
• Convertible tops and sunroofs
• Glass, otherwise known as windshield coverage
• Hoses and belts
• Hydraulic clutches
• Keyless entry pads and transmitters
• Paint, carpets, upholstery, and fabrics
• PCV valves
• Pressure plates
• Rubber body parts
• Rubber hoses and metal lines
• Seat belts and retractors
• Shocks and struts
• Throwout bearings
• Trim, moldings, and weatherstripping
• Vehicle frames
• Wheel balancing
• Wheels and wheel covers
• Wiper blades

CARCHEX falls below the average annual cost of an extended warranty. The average annual cost of an extended auto warranty from CARCHEX is $5,195, or $433 a month.

CARCHEX can cost as little as $4,962 per year, or $346 a month. The higher-end warranties are approximately $5,770 per year, which is less expensive than offerings from autopom!, Concord, Toco, and Omega.

Keep in mind that costs are conditional on the type of car you drive. The year, make, and model drive the price of your warranty, as well as the 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 regularly has a special on its website that will give you a discount. For example, in January 2023, use the code “GET400” to get started for $99 for the first month, and take $400 off the total warranty cost.

Money-Back Guarantee

A 30-day money-back guarantee comes with all CARCHEX 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 this time, so you won’t be able to use the warranty to see how it works before the 30 days are expired.

Cancellation Fee

You can cancel a warranty at any time during the contract. There is a $50 cancellation fee due upon cancellation. You will receive a prorated refund of any payments made less the $50 cancellation fee. You may cancel by calling 888-984-3941 or by using the online contact form at https://www.carchex.com/connect-with-us/cancellations/.

There are several ways to contact CARCHEX:

• Customer support:
  • Phone: 888-973-0758
  • Contact form: https://www.carchex.com/connect-with-us/general-requests/
• Claims:
  • Phone: 800-531-1925
  • Contact form: https://www.carchex.com/connect-with-us/general-requests

Better Business Bureau

The BBB has accredited CARCHEX since 2009. It has a 2.05-star rating out of five, with more than 155 customer reviews. The BBB notes that there were 168 complaints in the past three years, with 69 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 1,491 reviews on Trustpilot, with a 2.9-star rating out of five, which is below average for extended warranty companies. Most complaints revolve around uncovered claims. Seventy-one 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 is an exception. Its mobile app is meant to connect customers to roadside assistance or make it easy for them to submit and manage claims.

However, the app doesn’t have a good rating; it has just a one-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, which began in 1999, has more than 23 years of experience helping car owners protect their investments. 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, we decided to compare it to other warranty companies, such as autopom! and CarShield.

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 look to see if the company considers vehicles with preexisting conditions.

Claims Process

Companies that allow customers to use any licensed repair facility in the U.S. gain preference in our reviews. It must be easy for customers to use their warranties and get their vehicles fixed by mechanics they trust.

Coverage

We sought companies with 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 $5,195, and we prefer companies that fall below this average.

Customer Service

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