Endurance Extended Warranty Review

Who It Would Be Good For

Endurance is a good choice for a driver with an older model-year car (up to 20 years old), a high-mileage vehicle (150,000 miles or more), a salvage or rebuilt title vehicle, or a luxury car.

Who It Would Not Be Good For

Endurance would not be good for drivers of vehicles with preexisting conditions, which the company defines as anything that happens or starts to develop before the vehicle finishes the waiting period of 30 to 60 days. Additionally, Endurance does not provide coverage for people who reside in California.

Eligible

To be eligible for an Endurance plan, your vehicle must not be older than 20 years. If it’s a luxury vehicle, the car must have fewer than 80,000 miles and not be more than eight years old.

Not Eligible

Vehicles with preexisting conditions or older than 20 years are ineligible for Endurance warranties. Owners of Land Rovers and Audis, among a few other makes and models, have a mileage cap.

The Buying Process

Customers have three options for getting a quote from Endurance:

1. Fill out a short form on its website: ​​https://www.endurancewarranty.com/.
2. Visit its website: https://buy.endurancewarranty.com.
3. Call 800-253-8203 to speak to a customer service representative.

Endurance Warranty Plans

Endurance offers six tiers of service designed to meet the needs of most consumers, giving them peace of mind that their auto repairs will be covered by a monthly payment to their vehicle service contract provider.

What’s Not Covered

No Endurance plan will cover preexisting conditions, as well as the following parts, unless specifically listed in your policy:

• All exhaust components
• Any equipment the manufacturer has not installed
• Battery and battery cable/harness
• Body sheet metal and panels
• Brake rotors and drums
• Bright metal chrome
• Bumpers
• Circuit breakers
• Distributor cap and rotor
• Door bushings/bearings, hardware, or linkages
• Door handles
• Electronic transmitting/receiving devices
• Emissions components, such as:
  • EGR purge valve/solenoids/sensors
  • Vacuum canister
  • Vapor return canister
  • Vapor return lines/valves
  • Air pump/lines/valves
  • Catalytic converter/filtering/sensors
  • Gas cap/filler neck
• Engine block and cylinder heads if damaged by overheating, freezing, or warping
• Frame and structural body parts
• Friction clutch disc/pressure plate
• Fuses
• Glass
• LED lighting
• Lenses
• Liftgate handles
• Light bulbs
• Moldings
• Outside ornamentation
• Paint
• Preheated car systems
• Programming, reprogramming, or updating a component that has not mechanically failed
• Radar detection devices
• Remote control consoles
• Safety restraint systems
• Shock absorbers
• Speakers
• Standard transmission clutch assembly
• Tailgate handles
• Thermostat housing
• Tires, including tire pressure sensors, and wheel/rims
• Trim
• Upholstery and carpet
• Vinyl and convertible tops, including any convertible top assemblies
• Voice recognition systems
• Weatherstripping

Each Endurance policy comes with trip interruption protection, which provides up to $150 per day for three days for meals and lodging because of a covered breakdown.

In addition, the company gives each policyholder one free year of Elite Benefits, a $2,000 value. Elite Benefits includes the following:

• Complete tire coverage: Each year, drivers can receive reimbursement for up to two tires damaged because of road hazards.
• Key fob replacement: Endurance will replace any lost or damaged key fob or car key for up to $500.
• Collision discount: The company will discount up to $500 per accident in repairing any vehicle damage because of a collision.
• Total loss protection: Policyholders will receive up to $1,000 toward a replacement vehicle.

Endurance doesn’t provide prices for its plans online, preferring to tailor each quote for each customer. However, generally, Endurance warranty services cost between $70 and $75 per month ($840 to $900 annually), along with a one-time down payment of between $150 and $190.

The company also allows customers to choose from several deductible options: $0, $50, $100, and $200. A higher deductible means a lower payment. Customers can pay for warranty plans over 12, 18, or 24 months.

Discounts

The Endurance Extended Warranty website touts a $300 savings off any new policy, but it doesn’t have any other discounts available.

Money-Back Guarantee

Each plan or service contract comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Cancellation Fee

The company considers the first 30 days a review period. Any customer who decides Endurance isn’t for them during the first 30 days of the policy will receive a full refund as long as they haven’t used the policy during that time frame. Customers who wish to cancel their contract with Endurance after the 30-day review period ends will receive a prorated refund. To cancel, call 866-432-4443.

Transferrable

Your Endurance Extended Warranty policy is transferable when selling your car, truck, or SUV.

To contact an Endurance customer service representative:

1. Call (800) 253-8203.
2. Use the web form: https://www.endurancewarranty.com/contact/.
3. Download the Endurance mobile app for iOS or Android.

Better Business Bureau

Endurance has a 3.55-star (out of five) customer rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), based on an average of 1,790 customer reviews. However, the BBB itself has not rated or accredited the company. BBB files show a pattern of complaints against Endurance, such as claim denial and mileage discrepancies. In December 2022, the BBB requested the company address the complaints, and as of that same month, Endurance has shown the BBB it is actively working to address the concerns.

Trustpilot

The company has a higher rating on Trustpilot, earning four stars out of five, with more than 5,600 customer ratings.

The Endurance mobile app is fairly robust in its capabilities, allowing customers to access their accounts and file claims. The app has a 2.3-star (out of five) rating in the Apple App Store and a 3.1-star (out of five) rating in Google Play. Most of the customer complaints center on difficulties getting the app to work or trouble signing up for the app. The app provides, in theory:

• Policy and coverage details
• Real-time updates about claim statuses
• 24/7 roadside assistance and towing
• Direct customer service
• Elite Benefits (if activated)

Endurance has been around since 2006 and has its headquarters in Illinois. The company provides service in 49 states, every state except California. It’s one of the largest providers of auto protection plans in the U.S. In 2018, Crain’s Chicago Business named it one of the largest Chicago-based privately owned companies.¹ In addition, in 2022, Endurance ranked among the top 50 fastest-growing companies based in Chicago.²

Endurance is a direct-to-consumer extended warranty company, similar to CarShield. Both companies provide multiple coverage options for customers to choose from, with some key differences. Endurance offers more options for vehicles, but CarShield has specialized plans for ATVs and motorcycles.

For pricing, CarShield has slightly lower monthly premiums for shorter-term bumper-to-bumper coverage (around $130 per month on average) versus a similar plan from Endurance (around $167 per month).

The BBB also gave CarShield an F rating for advertising issues and failure to resolve underlying causes of complaints but hasn’t issued a rating for Endurance yet. While Endurance and CarShield have the same four-star rating from TrustPilot, Endurance has a higher customer rating from the BBB (3.55 stars) than CarShield (1.35 stars).

For our extended warranty review and pricing pages, we take into account several factors.

Eligibility

We examine which vehicles the extended warranty would include, such as what vehicle year, type, and mileage. We also take into account whether the company allows the vehicle to have any preexisting conditions. Finally, we consider where the warranty company offers coverage in the U.S.

Buying and Claims Process

We like companies that give drivers multiple options to receive quotes and purchase warranties, such as online and over the phone. Companies that don’t require pre-inspections or waiting periods receive priority treatment.

We rank companies that allow customers to access any licensed repair shop in Canada or the U.S. higher. We also prefer companies that pay facilities directly rather than having the customer file for reimbursement. We find that companies with deductibles per visit, rather than per repair, save customers money.

Coverages

Because of the wide differences in coverage for providers and their plans, we prefer companies that offer more coverage options. Companies with 24/7 roadside assistance, towing, coverage for parts and labor, tire repair/replacement, and rental car reimbursement offer more to consumers than companies that offer repairs only.

Pricing

The average yearly cost for an extended warranty in the auto industry is $5,195, with an average of $4,967 on the lower end and $6,423 on the upper end. As almost no extended warranty company posts its prices, we have to use averages.

Customer Service

We like companies that give multiple options for customers to contact them, such as email, online forms, and phone. We also view customer service ratings on Trustpilot and the BBB to see how the company rates with real customers.

Mobile App

More companies have Android and iOS mobile apps for claim submissions, policy checks, and repair facility locators, among other tools. We prefer well-designed apps with at least three-star ratings in both Google Play and the App Store.

Extras

Extras can make companies stand out among the competition, but not many extended warranty companies have them. For example, Toco offers customers a discount on reservations made through Hotels.com. However, we don’t expect every company to have add-ons.