Carvana Extended Warranty Review

Drivers who purchase a vehicle through Carvana have the option to add extended warranty coverage called CarvanaCare. Extended protection may be a good idea for a used vehicle, but is a Carvana extended warranty your best option?

Our research team has looked into the best extended car warranty companies in the industry, compiling and comparing prices, customer reviews and coverage plans. This article provides more information about the Carvana extended warranty. See how CarvanaCare costs and coverage stack up against competitors, and learn what customers are saying about Carvana.

The best way to find the lowest-priced coverage is to compare free quotes for yourself from top providers.

An extended car warranty refers to mechanical breakdown coverage offered by a vehicle manufacturer. However, this term is often mistakenly used to describe coverage from third-party companies. Independent providers offer similar protection through vehicle service contracts, but we’ve used the terms interchangeably in this article for convenience.

Is a Carvana Extended Warranty Worth It?

Carvana is an online used car retailer based in Tempe, Arizona. For the past eight years, it has sold cars online that drivers can have delivered to their homes or pick up at Carvana vending machines across the U.S.

Here’s how Carvana stacks up:

Is it worth it? No, we think there are better extended car warranty providers on the market.

Carvana Extended Car Warranty Coverage

A Carvana extended warranty covers your vehicle for repairs following mechanical breakdowns for up to 48 months. Called CarvanaCare, Carvana’s extended warranty plan offers extensive named-component coverage.

When you purchase a Carvana vehicle, you’ll have the option to choose between two Carvana extended warranty term lengths that are determined by the mileage of the vehicle you’re purchasing. The highest term you may be offered is 48 months. There is only one type of plan, and plans are administered by SilverRock.

Some covered items include:

• Transmission
• Engine
• Fuel system
• Heating
• Air conditioning
• Steering
• Ignition system
• Suspension
• Brake system (excluding pads and shoes)
• Cooling system
• Most electrical components
• Front- and rear-wheel drive
• Emissions components
• Exhaust system (including catalytic converter)
• Hybrid batteries
• Door hinges
• Door locks

For a stated-component coverage plan, CarvanaCare is extensive. Even many exclusionary contracts do not provide coverage for emissions and exhaust components. Door hinges and locks are also typically excluded from extended warranty coverage. However, named-component coverage is still not as comprehensive as exclusionary contracts that may be offered by other providers.

CarvanaCare comes with the following benefits:

• Roadside assistance
• Towing
• Jump-starts
• Flat tire assistance
• Lockout services
• Fluid and fuel deliveries

What Coverage Do You Already Have?

When trying to decide whether to purchase a Carvana extended warranty, keep in mind that Carvana vehicles already come with the Carvana Worry Free Guarantee. The guarantee covers your vehicle for repairs after mechanical breakdowns for 100 days or 4,189 miles, whichever comes first. There is a $50 copay for repairs.

The guarantee effectively acts as a very short warranty and comes with the same benefits as the Carvana extended warranty. Carvana customers who want warranty protection past 100 days must purchase CarvanaCare.

Cost of a Carvana Extended Warranty

We looked into quotes for a low-mileage and high-mileage vehicle through Carvana’s website to get an idea of Carvana extended warranty costs. In general, we found the plans to be affordable, but your own price will depend on the vehicle you purchase.

For a 2017 Honda Civic with 30,000 miles on it, we were offered a 24-month/50,000-mile plan for $1,000. We were also offered a 48-month/75,000-mile plan for $1,150. For a 2010 Mazda3 with 96,700 miles on it, a 12-month/100,000-mile contract would cost $1,550, and a 24-month/125,000-mile contract would cost $1,900. Monthly payment options ranged from just $17 to $34 per month.

All Carvana plans include a $50 deductible. The prices listed above are about average for two- and four-year extended warranties. It is easy to check prices for yourself, as CarvanaCare warranty quotes are supplied instantaneously upon checkout.

How to Get a Quote and File a Claim

Carvana extended warranties are among the easiest warranties to price and purchase. Because Carvana sales are exclusively online, customers can simply add warranty coverage as part of the checkout process.

Carvana extended warranty contracts must be purchased when you buy your vehicle or within seven days of purchase. If you decide to purchase CarvanaCare and become unhappy with your coverage, you can cancel your contract at any time for a prorated refund.

Using Your Carvana Extended Warranty

For CarvanaCare claims, call 866-628-3905, and a representative will guide you through the claims process. In general, this will require taking your vehicle to a licensed repair facility and authorizing a teardown service. If your vehicle needs a covered repair, your plan administrator will pay the repair facility directly.

Carvana Extended Warranty Reviews

Carvana is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has an A+ rating. Its customer review score is a bit lower at 1.5 out of 5 stars based on over 450 reviews. Carvana has received over 700 complaints through the BBB in the past three years, which is about average for a company of Carvana’s size, though few of these relate to the Carvana extended warranty.

Customers who complain about Carvana say that their Carvana vehicles don’t run very well. Many don’t believe that Carvana properly inspects their vehicles.

Customers who like Carvana praise the purchasing process. Many strongly prefer the experience of buying through Carvana than purchasing a car at a dealership.

Carvana Extended Warranty: Conclusion

Carvana is attempting to streamline the automobile purchasing process to make buying a car as easy as buying a book on Amazon. Carvana’s extended warranty plans are similarly simple to purchase: Just select the coverage you want from a drop-down menu during checkout. This makes for a painless process and transparent pricing.

The purchase process is easy, and Carvana prices are reasonable. However, coverage terms are short, there is only one level of coverage and contracts are not exclusionary. Plus, if you already bought your vehicle and didn’t opt for a Carvana extended warranty at the point of sale, you’re likely ineligible for coverage. Rest assured you can find a warranty to better suit your needs elsewhere.

Our Picks for Best Extended Car Warranties

If you’re looking for extended protection on your used Carvana vehicle, a Carvana extended warranty is not your only option. Our review team examined every major extended auto warranty provider in the industry, taking a look at plan options, costs, customer reviews and more. Based on this, we found Endurance and CARCHEX to offer the best extended warranties on the market.

Get free, personalized quotes from each warranty company to see how much you would pay for coverage.

Endurance: Best Provider

Endurance has six levels of coverage that range from a basic powertrain warranty to comprehensive, bumper-to-bumper extended warranty contracts. Endurance extended warranty plans include:

• Secure: A basic powertrain warranty that covers the engine, transmission and drivetrain
• Secure Plus: A mid-level plan that provides more coverage than the Secure warranty, including coverage for the air conditioning, brake system and steering
• Superior: A named-component coverage plan for hundreds of listed parts, including everything in the Secure Plus plan as well as the cooling system, suspension and fuel system
• Supreme: An exclusionary bumper-to-bumper warranty that includes coverage for most mechanical and electrical parts
• Select Premier Coverage: A plan designed especially for high-mileage vehicles that covers mostly powertrain components
• EnduranceAdvantage^TM: A combination of prepaid maintenance service and repair coverage

Endurance extended warranty contracts can extend as high as 8 years or 200,000+ miles, which are some of the longest-lasting extended vehicle service contracts in the industry.

CARCHEX: Best for High-Mileage Cars

CARCHEX offers five levels of coverage that can cover vehicles as long as 10 years or 250,000 miles:

• Bronze: Covers the engine, transmission and drivetrain
• Silver: Covers everything in the Bronze plan, plus limited electric, air conditioning and steering components
• Gold: Covers everything in the Silver plan, plus braking system components and full coverage for steering, electrical and air conditioning components
• Platinum: Covers everything in the Gold plan, plus the suspension, high-tech electronics and fuel delivery system
• Titanium: Covers all vehicle parts and systems minus a short list of exclusions

CARCHEX is among the most reputable extended warranty providers on the market. It has an A+ BBB rating and partners with companies like Edmunds.com and Kelley Blue Book. Plus, it has hundreds of positive customer reviews online. We think it is a great choice for older vehicles in particular.