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When you drive off a dealership lot with a new car, the factory warranty is not likely to cover repairs beyond 100,000 miles. But you can find high-mileage extended warranty plans from some manufacturers and most third-party warranty companies. Manufacturer extended warranties typically top out at 100,000, 120,000 or 150,000 miles.
That said, third-party companies such as Endurance and CarShield typically offer higher mileage limits that can go to 200,000 or even 300,000 miles.
Many extended warranties for cars offer coverage beyond 100,000 miles, but it comes at a cost. Since older cars have more expensive breakdowns, coverage is also more expensive. As you consider high-mileage extended warranty options, think about the likelihood of potential repairs in the future.
“Any time you have some sort of mechanical failure or breakdown, it’s certainly stressful,” said Michael Chung, senior director of market intelligence for the Auto Care Association. “It’s kind of like if you go to the doctor’s office. You have to do your homework.” Understanding where you can take your vehicle for service and what’s going to be covered is crucial to selecting the right extended warranty for your car over 100,000 miles.
We’ve reviewed the best extended car warranty companies and recommend Endurance as our #1 provider.
Endurance offers coverage for up to 8 years or 200,000 miles, but it only offers long-term plans.
We’ve reviewed the best car warranty companies on market standing, coverage, cost, trustworthiness and customer experience. Here, we’ve weighed the maximum mileage more heavily in the ranking. These companies are good options for covering costly repairs on older vehicles.
It’s kind of like if you go to the doctor’s office. You have to do your homework. Michael Chung
It’s kind of like if you go to the doctor’s office. You have to do your homework.
These mileage limits all refer to the total miles on the odometer. When you get quotes for vehicle service contracts, coverage might apply for a certain number of miles from when you purchase the warranty. But for simplicity’s sake, we’re talking about total odometer miles in this article.
Next, we’ll go over our top five picks in detail. The ranking order is based on the length of coverage available for cars over 100,000 miles.
CarShield is the most popular extended car warranty company, according to our survey that polled 1,500 extended warranty customers.
What we like
CarShield’s maximum mileage of 300,000 miles is the highest in the industry. CarShield’s the best pick if you have a well-maintained vehicle. The company also offers month-to-month plans, which makes it easy to have short-term coverage.
What we don’t like
CarShield’s flexible plans require a constant monthly payment, so they can become expensive for long-term coverage. The company maintains an A rating due to its customer response rate and attempts to resolve these concerns, but more than 3,300 complaints have been posted to the company’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) listing, including failure to cover repairs and delayed claims processing.
We reached out to CarShield for a couple of quotes on a 2018 Toyota RAV4 with 50,000 miles. The first quote was $140 per month for an unlimited Diamond (exclusionary) plan. The second quote was $120 per month for an unlimited Gold plan, a mid-level contract. After some negotiation, the salesperson also offered us discounted rates of $120 and $110, respectively.
CarShield offers six levels of coverage including a plan that covers EVs. Specifically, the Gold plan is designed to cover car repairs on vehicles over 100,000 miles. It covers the engine, transmission, drive axle, turbocharger, transfer unit, cooling system, air conditioning, electrical system and fuel system. These components can be expensive to fix, especially the engine and transmission.
Carchex offers five plans that can cover up to 250,000 miles, but it can be more expensive than the industry average.
Carchex has a solid industry reputation: it maintains an A+ rating from BBB, which means it works to solve complaints quickly. It’s also a trusted partner of industry organizations like Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds. Carchex’s five plans span everything from a bumper-to-bumper warranty to powertrain coverage. The company also offers a specialty plan, Extra Care, that supplements existing powertrain coverage.
The company has a strong reputation, but it also has higher monthly rates than many of its competitors. It also has a 1.9-star rating based on more than 160 customers on BBB, with some customers describing various issues such as denied claims.
Initial quotes for powertrain and mid-level plans ranged from $130 to $140 per month, though the sales rep offered generous discounts that brought rates down by about $20 or $30.
Carchex offers both fixed-term and unlimited month-to-month plans. The quotes we received were month-to-month — if you paid $130 a month for four or five years you’d end up with a very expensive plan.
The Platinum and Powertrain Plus plans from Carchex are both good options for cars over 100,000 miles. The Powertrain Plus plan covers the powertrain (engine, transmission, drive axle, turbocharger and transfer unit), plus the cooling system, air conditioning, fuel system and electrical system. The Platinum plan adds coverage for steering, suspension, brakes, high-tech, audio and emissions systems.
Omega Auto Care covers vehicles for up to 250,000 miles and stands out with its tire repair and free maintenance coverage.
Omega Auto Care has outstanding benefits. Along with roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement and trip interruption coverage, which are standard in the industry, the plans come with road hazard tire repair: $20 for repair or $100 for replacement up to $400 total. Omega Auto Care also covers maintenance such as oil changes, battery replacement and brake pad replacement.
Omega Auto Care could have better transparency compared to other leading providers. The company does provide sample contracts, which is good, but the contracts lack details about specific maintenance coverage.
We tried to get quotes from Omega Auto Care multiple times and were only connected with the company’s customer service department, not sales. The customer service agents were helpful but they weren’t able to sell plans. If you get quotes from Omega Auto Care, keep in mind the average from top providers in the industry is $2,845 in total cost over the life of a warranty.
Omega Auto Care has three main plans: New Exclusionary, Used Stated and Powertrain Protection. The Powertrain Protection plan is the best extended warranty for cars over 100,000 miles since it covers up to 250,000 miles. The plan also has three sub-options: Enhanced, Plus or Powertrain, each of which offers slightly different coverage for crucial vehicle systems.
Endurance offers best-in-class coverage options up to 200,000 miles plus unique perks rarely seen in other warranty companies.
Endurance offers six main plans while most companies offer three to five. One of its plans, Advantage, covers regular maintenance in addition to mechanical breakdowns. It reimburses up to $50 for an oil and filter change three times per year and covers one-time services like brake pad and battery replacement up to a limit, but that limit isn’t stated.
Endurance is also a direct warranty provider, which means you don’t have to work with a third party to file a claim.
Endurance is our pick for the best extended warranty company overall, so there’s not a whole lot we don’t like. But when looking through the lens of coverage for over 100,000 miles, it’s possible the company’s limit of 200,000 miles may not be enough for a well-maintained car that can really go the distance.
Out of all the Endurance quotes we received, quotes for vehicles with the highest mileage were the most expensive, which makes sense. We received two quotes for a Toyota RAV4 with 90,000 miles. One was for the Superior plan and the other was for the Advantage plan. Both plans offered 30 months/40,000 miles of coverage with 30-month payment terms.
The Superior quote was $115 per month and the Advantage quote was $110 per month. With total costs of $3,437 or $3,314, respectively, these were relatively expensive plans for just two and a half years.
If you have a car with over 100,000 miles, the best Endurance warranty plan is Secure Plus. This plan was designed for cars with high mileage and it can cover up to 200,000 miles. It covers the powertrain plus the brakes, steering, air conditioning and electrical system.
Everything Breaks has a simple pricing structure that makes it easy to get warranty coverage for more than 100,000 miles.
Everything Breaks offers a few unique features. It charges a flat monthly rate per plan which is different from most companies that customize quotes. You can see rates up front without giving any of your information to the provider. It also has an inexpensive Critical Coverage plan that covers 50 percent of a breakdown repair up to a $500 limit per occurrence and up to $2,000 total in a year.
Everything Breaks’ plans tend to cover fewer parts than comparable plans from other companies (except the comprehensive Topline Protection plan). For example, Everything Breaks’ Enhanced Powertrain Protection plan doesn’t cover the engine mounts or belt tensioner while these components are covered under Endurance’s Secure Plus plan.
Everything Breaks makes it easy to see what a plan would cost. It advertises monthly rates for each plan on its website. The plans available for high-mileage vehicles are Enhanced Powertrain, Standard Powertrain and Critical Coverage. These cost $80, $70 or $30 per month, respectively.
The Enhanced Powertrain, Standard Powertrain and Critical Coverage plans can cover up to 250,000 miles, so they’re great options for cars over 100,000 miles. Enhanced Powertrain covers 61 vehicle components while Standard Powertrain covers 18. Critical Coverage is a different type of plan that gives you a 50 percent discount on covered repairs up to $500 per repair and $2,000 per year. It can be a good option for old cars that would otherwise be too expensive to cover.
Having an extended warranty plan over 100,000 miles can give you peace of mind that expensive repair bills are covered on your high-mileage car. But whether an extended car warranty is worth it on a high-mileage vehicle can be another story.
A high-mileage warranty can be worth it if you know what’s covered and can justify the cost. As your car ages past 100,000 miles, the chance of having a breakdown increases and you might find yourself asking, “How can I protect my car?” Warranty companies know this, of course. This is why it costs more to get the same coverage for an older car compared to a newer one.
Compare the types of automotive repair costs you’d want financial help with to those you can cover yourself. It might not be worth buying a comprehensive plan that covers everything from the electrical system to the brakes because it’s going to be more expensive. A basic powertrain vehicle protection plan covers the important parts that make your car go like the engine and drivetrain. You can find better rates on this type of coverage for an older car.
Also, consider getting a higher deductible. If you can afford to pay a $250 or $500 deductible to the repair facility, then you’ll find lower rates overall.
To find a reputable warranty company for coverage over 100,000 miles, compare industry ratings and customer reviews on platforms like BBB and Trustpilot. If you have a luxury or electric vehicle, you’ll want to make sure the company covers those types of systems, as not all do.
Make sure the company offers sample contracts online or gives you time to look at a paper contract while you can get your money back. Be aware that some warranty companies require you to mail a notarized odometer statement in order to cancel, which can take some extra time.
Make sure the provider covers auto repairs at any licensed repair shop. All of our recommendations do, but some extended auto warranty companies limit you to specific dealerships for repairs.
CarShield is the best choice if you have an older car or buy a used car with a lot of miles on it and want an extended warranty that’ll cover you for longer. It can cover up to 300,000 miles on the odometer. That said, Carchex, Omega Auto Care, Endurance and Everything Breaks are all good options for high-mileage vehicles as well.
Get free quotes from multiple extended warranty providers to find the best high-mileage warranty for your budget and remember to always read the fine print of your contract before signing.
We analyze, rate and rank top vehicle service contract providers to help you discover the right one for your needs. The best auto service contract companies offer transparency, affordability and expansive coverage options, among other qualities.
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BBB and Trustpilot scores accurate as of January 2024.
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