CarShield Reviews
CarShield is a company offering a range of vehicle service protection plans, stating they are one of the most popular extended car warranty companies doing business since 2005.
The company claims to protect its customers from costly auto repairs, no matter how new or old the vehicle is. They have service plans designed for every stage of automobile ownership.
Below we take a look at their coverage options and help you answer some popular questions, most importantly whether this service is worth it or not.
How Does CarShield Work?
CarShield offers a simple and personalized experience to receive protection for your automobile.
First, potential customers request a free quote, personalizing the information to their vehicle. Doing so allows for an accurate quote.
Next you and CarShield will work on developing a personalized plan that will realistically fit your budget and lifestyle.
Once you're enrolled you can reach out to their claims department in case of any mechanical issues with your vehicle, including emergency breakdown.
If the issue is covered by your plan, CarShield will pay the mechanic directly and you’ll be responsible for the deductible and any overage charges.
This business model provides protection for customers when their vehicle is past the coverage terms of their existing warranty, or for those who've decided to prepare for worst case scenarios with an older high mileage vehicle.
This sounds simple enough, but potential customers should be aware that CarShield plans come with a variety of important caveats.
Almost all online complaints about CarShield come from customers who never fully read their service contracts and are disappointed to find that an expensive car repair bill is denied by CarShield.
CarShield Plans and Coverage
CarShield plans include a variety of services, including 24/7 roadside assistance, choice of mechanic for repairs, courtesy towing, and rental car eligibility.
Unlike a dealer purchased car warranty, CarShield offers you a vehicle service contract. The main difference being that a 3rd party (called an obligator), such American Auto Shield, administers your protection plan.
This allows CarShield to offer 6 different protection plans with a variety of options, and allows for repairs to be made at any dealership or repair facility certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).
If you want the highest level of coverage the Diamond Plan will cover the following items:
|
|
The lower priced plans cover fewer items allowing you to select the level of coverage vs price you want.
In your contract you will also have a detailed breakdown of what CarShield does not cover. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Sheet metal
- Hoses
- Trim
- Weatherstripping
- Lighting
- Spark plugs and wires
- External nuts, bolts, or fasteners
- Parts that have been modified or altered
- Wear-and-tear components such as brake pads and air filters
- Damage caused by acts of nature, collision, vandalism, or lack of proper maintenance
- Auto repairs that have been made without pre-authorization from a CarShield claims representative
- Misuses such as racing or off-road driving
- Tampering with the odometer
- Pre-existing mechanical issues
- Damage from a non-covered part
It’s important to truly understand the potential implication of some of these exclusions.
For instance, one online review that we found detailed a situation where repair of a covered part was denied because it was deemed it failed due to a fault in the external fasteners.
Extra Benefits:
If a qualified repair is quoted for more than 4 hours of labor, CarShield will offer up to $40 per day for a rental vehicle.
*Additional Notes of Importance*
If you’re thinking of signing up for CarShield to deal with impending repairs, be aware that the company has a 20-day/500-mile waiting period, along with the aforementioned clause against covering pre-existing issues.
When it comes to the actual repairs, they state that part replacement may include new, used or remanufactured parts of like kind and quality.
Cost and Price Plans
To get the true cost of your plan you have to go through the full process of getting a quote. However, on average, the cost of a plan is between $99.99 and $129.99 per month.
The obvious key variables will be the plan you choose, vehicle make and model, and mileage.
In general, Car Shield offers competitive prices when compared to other popular extended warranty companies on the market.
Customer Service
If you have a more general question or comment, you are able to leave a message on their website’s contact page. All you have to do is leave your email, phone number and name.
If you are ready to get a quote you can call 800-277-7170.
For more specific issues, questions or concerns relating to customer service, they have specific numbers for different services you may be needing.
1-800-380-2165 for United Car Care
1-800-531-1925 for American Auto Shield
1-800-492-6762 for INDS
1- 866-222-7869 for Roadside Assistance
CarShield Customer Reviews & Complaints
Positive Reviews
We found a range of customer experiences with CarShield from online customer reviews.
There are many positive reviews with customers stating that the company is dependable and allows them to feel that their vehicle is being properly protected.
From needing towing to mechanical breakdowns, some people have found that CarShield is able to cover a variety of claims for them, ranging from serious to less serious.
Customers cite that CarShield offer plans that many other companies do not - from service plans on older cars, to extremely flexible price options.
They also get decent marks for customer service and people seem very pleased with the service when everything goes right.
Negative Reviews
On the other hand there are a lot of complaints and customer service horror stories detailed in many angry reviews.
In general most of the bad reviews come from instances where customers were unexpectedly denied coverage, were not happy with their reimbursement totals, or their mechanics had difficulties obtaining payment from CarShield.
The company has an F rating with the BBB and, on that platform, they have a rating of 1.4/5 stars from an average of 1,421 customer reviews.
From reading those negative reviews you can see instances where using CarShield can be frustrating and not seem worth it.
Many complaints pertaining to serious high dollar repairs described a difficult process full of bureaucratic pitfalls.
In some cases claims adjusters will require detailed maintenance records & receipts for your vehicle in an attempt to prove pre-existing conditions or blame the breakdown on a lack of routine maintenance.
Further some unhappy customers found that CarShield doesn’t distinguish the difference whether the lack of routine car maintenance comes from the vehicle's current owner or previous owner.
Other people had issues with the fact that the rental car they were getting was not covered for enough time.
One important detail to keep in mind is that the company relies on a “nationally recognized labor guide” to determine repair rates. If your mechanic’s rates and labor hours quoted are above that, you will have to pay the price difference yourself.
Another issue that customers raised is that some mechanics refuse to work with CarShield, precisely due to some of these additional issues they encounter when trying to collect payment.
On a positive note, it does appear that CarShield has an active customer service team that replies to online complaints, albeit not always with what customers want to hear.
CarShield Alternatives
While what CarShield is doing is different from many companies that protect vehicles, they do have competitors as well.
CarShield vs. Endurance Warranty - Endurance Warranty is another popular choice for vehicle protection by American citizens. It, for the most part, has very similar offers to CarShield.
However, it specifically specializes in extending warranties on cars, as the name suggests. When comparing CarShield vs Endurance Auto Warranty, the latter has been in business since 1988, making it more experienced than CarShield.
That being said, Endurance Warranty seems to offer less personalized or flexible plans. Another alternative that you may want to consider for vehicle protection is Toco Auto Warranty. It runs, again, pretty similarly to CarShield.
CarShield vs. Toco Warranty - Toco allows you to bring your vehicle to any repair shop of choice to fix it in case of mechanical issues and promises that you will not need to make any down payments.
It would seem the main difference is that Toco Warranty seems to offer more varying plans, which will cover less or more of your vehicle.
CarShield vs. Liberty Auto Warranty - This company has been protecting vehicles for over 40 years and offers extremely flexible prices, along with 6 months without payments.
However, their plans seem to be less personalized to your specific case and vehicle than CarShield’s. All of these options run somewhat similarly, with minor differences here and there.
It would be best to request a free quote from the different companies and get a feel for their style of customer service before you choose one.
Is CarShield Worth It?
Buying a used car can be a risky endeavor and people want assurances that their investment will be protected. CarShield provides those assurances, but keep in mind that they are a for-profit business.
Their service contract is designed in a way where they will put the burden of proof on the customer and their mechanic to show that costly repairs are due to mechanical failures and not due to neglect.
If you’re confident that you can clear those hurdles, then one of their extended warranties may be a good bet on a high mileage vehicle.
It will also help to thoroughly read the CarShield service contract and ask as many questions of the sales rep as possible to ensure that you understand all of the terms and conditions of the service.
If you have any experience with CarShield or their services, please leave your reviews below.
You may also be interested in
CarShield Customer Reviews
-
Sort Reviews By:
THANK YOU!!!
Warranty Service
This company expects your used car to be in new car condition when you contract their service. to be declined a claim due to pre-existing conditions knowing the car is used is puzzling.
Carshield is a scam. Don't waste your money.
This pertains to Carshield Auto Warranty. I have taken my car to the shop for the third time and was denied. My car was in the shop for three different issues, and an excuse for each was given for the denial. In total, I will have come out of pocket $9,000.00. Every issue has included my drivetrain. I spoke to a representative and clarified my policy to see if I was covered on this latest issue and was told I was covered. Hindsight is 20/20, and if I knew all of this, I would have saved my money instead of giving it to Carshield. I canceled my policy today and wasted two years and $2,500.00 for nothing. I will never recommend Carshield to anyone, even my enemies. I feel like a fool for falling for this scam and should have canceled after the first issue. I would give this company 0 stars if I could. This is for anyone out there, avoid this company. This company is a scam.
RIP Off
They don't cover what they say, twice I have been refused coverage on items they said they would cover with their premium plan.
I believe Carshield is a scam.
I had carshield for several months when I was driving across country from Michigan to Arizona. When I was in New Mexico my engine blew. I had no warning whatsoever.
My car was less than 5 years old at the time. Carshield said they would not cover it because I would have had a warning. So I cancelled it and they still took out the next months payment from my bank account.
Respect your customers and do not lie to them
CarShield will take your money and they will not fix your car, they always give you excuses not to fix your car...
Do Not Subscribe To Carshield
I rate CarShield a Minus 5 (-5). There are way too many hoops to jump through to get vehicle repaired.
My truck has been sitting in the parking lot over a week waiting on authorization from CarShield to do the repairs while CarShield flops back and forth between adjustors.
Bottom Line DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO CARSHIELD. Trust the BBB "F" rating. It's a scam and a waste of time and money.
so true
Ding Dong The Wicked Witch Is Dead!!!!
I wish there was a minus one star. This company is horrible. DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM CARSHIELD. They will deny any claim and that’s if you can find a mechanic who will accept them. They are rude as well. AVOID THEM.
I don't know if any auto extended warranties are worth it but I know this is the worst I’ve ever seen. The people are ruthless and rude, so I hope if you try this again it won't be with CARSHIELD!
so true
DO NOT SIGN WITH CAR SHIELD
so true
Carshield buy your car parts like there professionals, not the actual car shop
Lousy, Carshield decided to find their own car parts. Meanwhile, your car is sitting in a lot days. The actual shop had the parts I let them put it on, instead of Carshield, I had my car back less than an hour. I didn't get any support from carshield at all and I haven't saved no money.
so true
They find every excuse not to pay for fixing my car. I have towing with my insurance already and phone company. This company deserves a bad rating. Mad mother of three
Car Shield is the worst provider of car warranty services. They have a load of exclusions for things they are not going to cover. They advertise that they cover over 6,000 parts and that is a lie. They list over 6,000 parts they do not cover, so the only way they will pay is the motor or transmission falls out of the car without other components failing.
This is the worst Auto Warranty insurance in the country, choose someone else, Don't pay for this crock...They don't care about people, my daughter is on her last leg (on dialysis) trying to care for her two children and pregnant sister with no car. Join me in suing this company. They owe us better coverage, a better description of what they do cover and better service.
so true
Zero stars - They won't cover your repairs
To be clear, I am not even giving them 1 star, but because this site requires that I pick at least 1 star. This company does not even deserve 1 star.
I have a 2016 Smart ForTwo Pure. It has less than 50,000 miles on it. In December of 2021 I decided it would be a good idea to get a repair warranty to cover anything that went wrong.
Fast forward to January of 2023. My car displays a warning "Transmission malfunction. Visit workshop". No, I'm not paraphrasing, that was the exact message. Given that this car is build by Mercedes Benz, and that I purchased it, after leasing it for 3 years, from a local Mercedez Benz dealership, I had the car towed to their service department. I followed Car Shield's instructions, and gave the service writer my Car Shield contract documents. He said that they would diagnose the problem, and then submit the repair recommendation to Car Shield for approval.
Two weeks later, after I had to agree to $400 worth of more diagnostics demanded by Car Shield, Car Shield denied the claim. They refused to cover it because, apparently, the "dry clutch" (this is an automatic transmission) was the cause of the failure and the clutches are not covered under their Diamond contract (for which I have been paying $137 a month).
The cost to repair would be almost $12,000 dollars, which I cannot afford, and which is more than double the blue book value of this car in good condition, Not to mention I still owe $3,000 to the bank on the car. So now, I have a useless vehicle. I am out more than $400 for the diagnostics, and I have to dispose of the car.
so true
Uncooperative Customer Service
Wow! After reading all the reviews I am definitely NOT going to buy this policy. Thanks to all of you for the warnings. I hope more people take the time to do their research.
They Suck! Hands Down For Customers And Shops!
I am an auto repair shop in Las Vegas. Currently I have 4 claims on going. I can't get anyone to call me back, and when I do they put us off requesting insane requests. I've had vehicles in my shop over 1 month and still don't have a proper claim going. I'm ready as a shop owner to stop servicing this company!
Scammers
CarShield???
I purchased not one but two warranties from CarShield at least two years ago because I was impressed by the actors and the sports personalities that they used to push their products.
About a month ago my car had an issue with the engine and when I contacted them to inform them of the issue, it took them a while to get back to me. Then once they contacted me, I was told that it could be fixed and they gave me about 8 locations to contact.
When I contacted these locations, I was told that they did not do that type of work. I called CarShield and spoke with a representative who stated that they are not aware of what these locations practice as far as fixing cars.
I replied then why would you recommend them if you didn't know what they do. Sounds a little strange to me so I asked to talk to a supervisor. No help there either. She played the part of being concerned by trying to call the places while I was on the phone but with no success.
She said that she would call me back the next day and I am still waiting. They are a scam and I am disappointed at the fact they these actors and sport personalities who I look up to are out here helping scam people along with common folk making it seem like they are best and scamming people out of their money.
I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau to seek assistance. This is just wrong. Since they make you place a rating, I put one star but i would have preferred to put nothing.
stole my money
MEPCO CAR SHIELD May not be as reliable as the commercial says. I will update this tomorrow when I get my bill. More to follow!
I just took my car to get fixed because the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT was on. I was told they have to replace 3 injectors and my bill will be 1,098 dollars. The garage just informed me that this is not covered. When I bought this policy; I was told that I would pay $99 no matter what the cost. Did I get ripped off when I bought this warranty? I will find out later when I call them.
More to follow!!
Waste of time
Car shield is a scam.
I also agree Cars Sheild is not a very user friendly company. I have attempted to file a claims at the dealership and a local certified mechanic shop for my 2014 Jaguar. I was either completely denied or partially denied, Regardless, they find reasons not to pay claim or make it extremely difficult to claim accepted. I found a great shop and they refuse to have anything to do with Car shield because of denials and lack of payment. I would advise folks to look elsewhere to avoid frustration. Life is too short for the crap they put you through.