American Auto Shield

As soon as I was able to get the right contact information from the protection specialist (which took 3 phone calls by the way), I was on hold for about 20 minutes. Then it really got bad. I spoke to a representative who would not only not let me speak, he undermined both me as a woman saying phrases like "is your husband there?" and "it sounds like your husband is making you cancel this service, not you." (Um, how dare you?) He kept asking irrelevant questions, and truly would not let us get a single word out.

At one point he questioned my husband's common sense! He said phrases like "you have not given me a logical reason to cancel this coverage." Here is the real kicker - After a 20-minute phone call of questioning our intelligence and being generally the worst, he said "fine, you will get your refund in 7 days" and HUNG UP ON US IMMEDIATELY. Needless to say, do not fall for this crap. I learned my lesson the hard way, but please be smarter than me! Stay away!

Day 2 I spend 47 minutes on hold before getting an adviser, and then another 30 minutes starting the claim. The only silver lining here was the adviser, Mike, was very thorough and efficient and respectful of my time. The next step was sending an inspector, which occurred early on Day 3. Was told by him I should get a call at noon. Having not received one, I placed a call at 3 pm... As a matter of fact, I'm still on hold after 1 hour and 36 minutes. I understand being busy and high call volume, but I have 15-20 other customers to assist throughout my day, and these kinds of wait times are very prohibitive. If getting your car in and out of a shop quickly, and you value your service adviser's sanity, I wouldn't choose American Auto Shield. That is all.

While on hold I called claims department because facilitator was getting nowhere. When I asked the rep his name he gave a name of Imadu. Told me that they were closing in 2 minutes. Call back on Monday. I asked if the facilitator should continue to hold. He said no one will be here to answer their call and no one did. So I am still waiting and the brochure says peace of mind. Yeah right. Working on one whole week to get something accomplished or even an answer.

I ended up calling and then doing a 3 way call once an adjuster finally answered. Spoke to Hector Adjuster, he spoke to Hans supervisor, the freaking Auto Technician at my repair dealership talked to Blake Floor Manager who was extremely argumentative and rude to both of us. Would not listen to the technician who said the compressor was seized and should be covered accordingly. Blake finally hung up on both of us when the technician began asking specific technical questions to prove my case. Absolutely A SCAM COMPANY!!!

They started at 8:15 on Wednesday trying to get the payment arranged. And all the time on hold and faxing back and forth. Warranty company claiming they didn’t get the fax and other stalling tactics along with one time on hold for an hour and fifteen minutes. The entire day had gone by without resolution. So, I went by and paid for it and picked it up. Then when cancelling was encouraged that this was not the norm. There was bad weather and other excuses for the extreme wait times on the phone along with other excuses. Note again there were no issues on the money collection end paying about $4500. Just seemed to be issues when there was a small $277 claim. I didn’t get the warranty for those small amounts. But if it is this hard to get them to pay that how would it be if you had a real claim?

So deciding to give it another chance I went the path of being reimbursed which is not the process I got the warranty for. At that time I started to understand the frustration the shop was experiencing. Trying to fax the invoice the fax line would be busy for 30 minutes which was the longest time my fax machine would continue to retry sending it. So after 30 minutes of the line being busy I would fax it again for another 30 minute try. After spending over half a day doing this I called and waited about 30 minutes to get a live person who gave me an email to send it to. I then spent another half a day resending it in email form and calling about half an hour later to check and see if they received it. And that entire second half of a day when I had called at the end of the day they claimed to still not received it.

At this point it is close of business on Friday and Wednesday morning the payment process had started. So three entire business days had been spent on it without acknowledgement of receipt. Note again that receipt of $4500 they collected from me went real smooth. Since the fax line was always busy I faxed it again around midnight thinking there would be less business at that time. And that was the first time I saw from my end that the fax went through. I called back after long wait times on Monday morning (5 days after the process started) and then they claim they got the invoice which is the same one the shop had faxed them 5 days earlier and they had sent out a check for reimbursement late Friday. Today is now the next Friday and I haven’t received the check yet that was sent out a week ago, supposedly. If the post office treats their mail the way they treat paying claims I might expect that check to arrive in about 6 months.

No matter what you reply with this is not how the process should work. If you were sent a bill at shop rates the hours I and the shop spent on getting payment on an approved claim you would probably owe about $2500. A two hour repair should not take 20 man hours dealing with the warranty company. I hope I never need to use your service again and just lose the $4500 spent now. I will never buy another extended warranty again. Most reviews suggest it is a waste of money and most in the past I have had were never used anyway. Care was repaired 9 days ago and still waiting on payment to arrive. American Auto Shield gets a NEGATIVE 5 Star rating from me.

Original review: I have had the warranty for over two years with no claims. They had no problem taking payment for the policy but when it came time for a very small claim they used all the tactics you can think of to hold up payment where I ended up going in and paying for the repairs myself even after they approved them. The repair shop spent twice the amount of time dealing with them than it did to repair the car. They were on hold the first time without ever speaking to anyone for over an hour. Then I finally called and after holding for a long time was able to put in a callback number. They called the shop and approved the repairs then said they didn't get the fax. Then said they wanted it in a different format which wasn't industry standard so they refaxed it. Then couldn't get hold of them again.

You shouldn't have to spend 8 hours trying to get in touch with someone when you need them. If they are not there in the time of need you have paid for then they have no value. I am going to request a refund since the first claim I had of only about $300 couldn't be completed after they had approved the claim and taken about $4500 for their service. If I can't get refund I guess I will have my attorney contact them. You have to rate something but 1 star is too high.

Original Review: My vehicle ran hot on 3-14-2019 while picking up my wife from her group meeting. I immediately pulled my vehicle over and notice antifreeze and water leaking heavily. I called my AAA and my insurance company to see which one would arrive first. The Insurance company came first so I canceled the other one. They towed my car to my repair shop immediately where I was told the water pump was bad. The engine needed to be dropped to change it out so he sent it to a partner shop I block from his facility. He had the warranty info and began calling the company. He had to wait for hours not able to get anyone, so he called me to see if I could get them. I then spoke Luke ** after waiting for about 2 hrs to get someone and Luke stated he needed the receipt from the towing company. Now keep in mind my warranty with the dealer just expired recently that is why I went to Auto Shield.

The dealer would get the car to see what was wrong and get it done. I had to hunt down a receipt for the towing. I finally send them a letter that the insurance company sent me and they say it's not enough. The insurance company says they don't keep those things and had never been asked to provide detail receipts so she said she would investigate. They called my repair shop right after talking to me and that was 5 days ago. He stated to me he has seen how that company operates and they will make you wait until you give up the contract which is cheaper for them. I am a small businessman and need my vehicle and can't afford to spend 2 hours at a time trying to reach them on the phone, I will reach out to an attorney, thank God that is one of the things I kept from my teaching job an attorney plan. They will be reported as well.

My service advisor at BMW told me he couldn't wait on hold to speak to an adjustor and that this was the worst extended warranty company he's ever dealt with. He said he couldn't do anything for my car. I thought he was being dramatic so I started calling AAS. Monday of this week I spent 4 hours and 45 minutes on hold trying to get a hold of an adjustor before the line went dead on their end. Tuesday I spent 3 hours 15 minutes on hold trying to speak to an adjustor and had to give up as I had to go into a meeting.

Yesterday I finally got through to someone and he HUNG UP ON ME after I waited 2 hours!!! I was trying to patch my dealership on the line and he just HUNG UP while I had him on hold for maybe 3 minutes! As the customer I shouldn't have to hold on the line for HOURS and pray that I can get my service advisor/shop on the phone... how will I ever be able to do this?! I live in Los Angeles - my dealership has THOUSANDS of cars. The chances that I will be able to get a hold of my service advisor after I spend hours on hold and MAYBE get a hold of an adjustor at AAS is highly unlikely. How will my car ever be fixed?

This is insane to me, it's costing me $100 every day that my car sits in the shop because I am being charged for the loaner and a storage fee, but the car is inoperable so I can't even move it. I don't know what to do, I'm calling Carchex (who I bought the contract from) in tears at least twice a day begging someone to please help me. This has been the biggest nightmare of a company I could've ever imagined. Carchex's executives have submitted requests for American Auto Shield's adjustors to please contact my shop but it's been 3 days and no one has.

I genuinely don't know what to do, I want to cancel this contract and dispute it with my credit card but I don't know how my car would ever get fixed, I would be out thousands of dollars either way. I'm resorting to posting here because maybe then someone from American Auto Shield can PLEASE PLEASE help me. I spent thousands of dollars on this contract, and I'm now bleeding money and I can't afford to do this, and I'm going to lose my job if I keep sitting on hold for hours during the day. I've been collecting screenshots of my wait times so if I don't hear back from American Auto Shield maybe I can speak to attorney. I don't know.. I am desperate at this point. If you are considering buying a contract from them PLEASE save yourself the heartbreak and stress and go somewhere else.

AAS's reasons for denying claims directly contradict what's in their contract. They'll claim you didn't have coverage when your contract says you did. They'll claim your car had a pre-existing condition when your contract says you didn't. I asked one of their supervisors, Alonzo, about this fact. "I understand your point," he said. "That won't change our decision about your claim." It may not change your fantasy land decision, Alonzo, but it also doesn't change AAS's contractual obligations under the law. Jason Currier and the AAS crew will probably never escape their fantasy land. At least, when they wind up in jail, American auto owners will truly be shielded from these despicable criminals.

There’s obviously an issue as it has happened a few times. I took my vehicle into the local Honda dealer because who knows Honda’s better than Honda? Apparently American! They denied the repair because they couldn’t duplicate the issue. Which means I’ll have to wait until I’m stranded again somewhere and hope they can duplicate the issue. I can’t afford the repairs myself on a single income because I’ve been paying them $114 a month! I should’ve just put the amount in savings. I would at least be safe! Find a reputable auto warranty company. This one is a scam.

The claim was put online from AAMCO TOTAL CARE 125 Main St, Lakewood, NO 08701. It would be nice if someone would answer the phones to take care of my claim. It is not fair or reasonable for a car to sit for several weeks or months for something that could be solved today. Look at the other side. How would you feel, you're being paid to perform a service in a professional manner with little interruption in someone's livelihood. My car has a cracked radiator. It is covered under your warranty, please authorize this claim today. I have been calling since yesterday. The mechanic's lot is filled, as respectable company please do the right thing.

Oh yeah, about two weeks before being illegitimately "denied", I received an email stating "your claim has been closed...hope you are happy with our service" (I have the email saved). American Auto Shield is part of a pyramid/shell game; CarShield sends to American Auto Shield, American Auto Shield sends to "Stoprepairbills.com", they play the shell game together while no one gets the service they deserve; my mechanic said the "AAS inspector" admitted "all the claims they go to, are denied", "you better get a credit card from the customer before you do any work" (I have pictures of all the sites/documents because I know they will delete everything possible). I have documents/pictures/statements to prove everything - legit website AAS reviews validate my statement. As stated, my first steps were the BBB and FTC for all involved; If needed, litigation will proceed afterwards.

I went out the next morning and opened the hood to see if I lost a belt or something. I checked the oil it looked like peanut butter. I left the car parked and called American Auto Shield on Monday to start a claim. I had the car towed to a Mazda Dealership at my expense. Mazda informed me that the water-pump had failed and coolant got into the engine so the car would need to have the water pump and engine replaced. From what they told me was the car has an internal water-pump and they are seeing more CX9’s coming in for this issue. Mazda called the warranty company to give the diagnosis and later called me to tell me that American Auto Shield denied the claim.

I called American Auto Shield and after 30 minutes on hold I spoke with a customer service rep. He informed me that the claims adjuster denied the claim due to negligence. I had just had my oil changed on January 7th and had driven less than 600 miles. I sent the receipt along with a copy of the tow receipt. While I was waiting for someone to get back to me I googled water pump failure Mazda CX9. I learned that this water-pump is a poor design and learned that I was not the only person that had this problem. In fact I found 20+ stories from other people that sounded like the same experience I had.

I was told that this claim was moving forward. I was told that the sub frame and engine would have to be taken out of the car so the water pump could be inspected I was told at this time that they need to see the component failure and it was at my expense if it was not the water-pump and that they would be sending an inspector to inspect it. While the engine was out of the car Mazda also noticed a problem with the transmission and transfer case and both also needed to be replaced. I was told by Kyle from AAS that both he and the Mazda dealership were sourcing engines. I called the Mazda dealership to confirm this conversation and I was told that they found a used engine with 90k on it. I wasn’t thrilled with this cause my car had 124k miles.

I had called the Mazda dealership about a week later to get an update and the dealership had not heard from American Auto Shield. I called American Auto Shield and literally waited for 45 minutes to speak with a customer service rep and an additional 1 hour 30 minutes to speak with a claims adjuster in powertrain. I was informed that they would replace the water pump but not the engine. I asked why and they told me cause I drove the car. I argued with them that it was less than a 1/4 mile and the adjuster just started being rude and stated that he is a master mechanic and was read the BS language from the warranty. He tried to tell me it was my fault. I explained to him that my car has always been maintained. I had the oil changed just 585 miles before and they did not notice anything in the oil and the coolant was not low.

The Mazda dealership faxed a letter to American Auto Shield because they were unable to get a hold of them after several attempts. “if there was coolant mixed into the oil at the time of the oil change the oil would have been have been very full and discolored. Water pump failure is becoming more and more common in this generation CX-9 with the 3.7 V6 engine. Most often, the engine has to be replaced, even if just the water pump is replaced and everything is put back together, we have still had engine failure directly after repairs. Because the water pump is internal, behind the timing chain, it is near impossible to detect any leaking until it shows up in the oil system and by that time, it is too late to do anything to prevent what has already transpired.”

I have made several phone calls to American Auto Shield. Ive spoke to managers and all they do is look at the claim adjusters notes and tell me the same thing. I finally got Kyle back on the phone and when I asked him why did you tell me that your company and Mazda were sourcing an engine he outright lied to me and said he never said that. I called the dealership and they confirmed that they were sourcing an engine.

Over the weeks, I have tried contacting American Auto Shield and been on hold for 1 - 2 hours. The dealership has experienced the same issues. My car tied up the lift at the Mazda dealership for weeks. Mazda had the same hold time experience and complaints about poor customer service with AAS. In the same letter from Mazda to AAS the service manager states “We’ve been waiting for weeks for an update on this vehicle with very limited contact. I’ve tried calling in to get an update but cannot get through after waiting for more than a half an hour.

This car is disassembled (engine/transmission out of the vehicle on the engine table) which is now occupying a bay which cannot be used. I have a factory warranty engine… This vehicle needs an engine and transmission. I need to know what you guys intend on covering or not coverings I can get this taken care of as soon as possible. My technician is loosing moneyed not being able to work efficiently and Mazda needs the other engine back…” AAS didn’t even have a courtesy to call this repair facility. They just simply ignored it.

The water pump was replaced the week of March 4th. American Auto Shield told the Mazda dealership that they would address the transmission after the engine was put back into the car. I was informed by Mazda that the engine is definitely damaged and it is running but can’t be test driven. Mazda was going to attempt to call the warranty company about the engine and transmission. I was informed on March 12 that American Auto Shield is still denying the claim for the engine and also denying the claim on the transmission. Stating that the dollar amount is higher than the cars value.

I am left with a bill for around $800.00 from Mazda, I am left without a car now and I have been dealing with this nightmare for 2 months. I purchased an extended warranty in good faith, paid for it in full and It was supposed to cover Engine, Transmission, water pump and other parts of my car. I am beyond angry, frustrated and I feel like I have been lied to, deceived and have been completely taken advantage of. I have spent countless of hours on hold, and have had disconnects and hangups from rude customer service people and managers.

The claim was originally denied because AAS said I drove the vehicle to the Mazda dealership - I sent them the tow receipt proving that it was towed. The claim was still being denied because they said it was neglect - I sent them the oil change receipt that was less than 600 miles from the last oil change. The claim was approved but they needed to see water pump failure. Mazda removed the engine, and oil pan for AAS to inspect the water pump and take pictures. Kyle from AAS and Mazda service were working together to source and engine. - A few weeks later Kyle lied to me and said he never said that. Mazda did confirm that he and Kyle were sourcing engines.

Was told that only the water pump would be covered because I drove the car after I knew there was a problem - I didn’t know that there was a problem until my car was in my driveway. I have not started or driven this vehicle in over 2 months. Was told that the water pump must have been leaking for a long time and that I kept driving it - The oil was changed less than 600 miles ago and at that time and during the time of the oil change they did not notice any discoloration and high oil level.

In the letter from Mazda faxed to AAS they stated that because the water pump is internal, behind the timing chain, it is near impossible to detect any leaking until it shows up in the oil system and by that time, it is too late to do anything to prevent what has already transpired. Was Told they would address the transmission after it was back in the vehicle - was told this this was denied because it was more than the value of the car. The bottom line is that American Auto Shield makes their money by selling warranties and denying claims.

Being it was a Sunday morning I decided to turn around and return home, which I did, on the short trip home as soon as the transmission began to shift into third from second I let up gently on the accelerator pedal so the transmission would lock into gear with the slightest slippage not wanting to do any further damage to my only vehicle. Well first thing monday morning I contacted Colandrea pontiac GMC in Newburgh New York, there are two GMC dealer/repair shops in my area Colandrea and Hudson Valley which is probably 5 times farther away than Colandrea and I know quite a few people that recommend Colandrea. I made the soonest appointment and then as I did as I did returning home I babied the truck slowing to let red lights turn green so I did not have to stop and "feathering" the accelerator pedal as to not do further transmission damage.

Once at the dealership I signed in and waited with a kinda secure feeling with my American auto shield policy in my hand. Well when the tech returned from his "test drive" my worst nightmare was confirmed my transmission was slipping! The service manager was very helpful and patient due to a roughly 80 minute wait on hold with American auto shield, Finally she was speaking with someone, this is the point I believe things went anything other than smooth and as described in your contract booklet. I am disabled and on a fixed income so when I originally spoke with your people and purchased the "ABPTGOLD plan for $3693.00 it was a strain on my wife and myself but we made the payments on time as promised, which was money we had tried to save up for a new truck eventually.

With the purchase of your gold plan we had a feeling of being "safe" while we started over our saving for a new truck during the length of our coverage thru your company. The first thing that took place was your claim rep instructed me thru the service manager that at that moment my wife and I were "stranded" at the repair shop Approximately 20 miles away from home, according to your claim person the vehicle could not be driven. I immediately referred to my contract booklet, trying to figure out how I was going to get home, I remembered seeing a u-haul sign for a van or truck for $19.95 per day so I figured I would save money compared to the car rental which even with the dealer discount was still approx. $40 per day. Well once we were driven to the u-haul facility and yet again stranded yes $19.95 per day was good but the $0.65 per mile was just out of hand.

So the next day we did rent a car with the dealer discount which still added up to roughly $200 every 4 days, so after all this the dealer called me to inform me that your company ordered a "pressure test" ok fine that's a kick off point, then I was informed that I had to authorize this first and costly test, I did, test results came out within factory acceptable readings. Next after waiting a couple days I get a call from the dealership requesting my authorization for a "teardown", per AAS requirement, I did so. After speaking with the service manager I was informed she had been on hold with your company for over an hour and a half trying to move along to the next step. I received a phone call from a claims rep within 3 days after the "teardown" began to inform me that he had noticed my truck is registered commercial and may be disqualified from policy coverage!

My truck was registered commercial due to the fact at that time a truck with no permanent cover/cap or affixed seats in the truck bed could not be registered non commercial in New York State, I informed the rep of that and the fact when I purchased my plan that was discussed and I have non commercial insurance and as I mentioned this is our only vehicle and I am disabled. I still have not heard back from AAS about that "issue" this is my interpretation is the first attempt to not honor my claim.

Approx. 3 weeks go by still no word from AAS after I personally was on hold 3 times for more than an hour each time, every time a rep would answer they would inform me I needed to speak to the claims rep please hold, after a few minutes of a different hold sound on the phone it would switch back to the main hold music and go on for what seemed like forever, then the prompt to have a call back which I did try and use but all 3 times no call back so after a minimum of 2 hours per call on hold and awaiting a call back I could not wait any longer. Somewhere thus far in this process I was contacted by the dealership requesting my service records, I asked exactly how many copies they need she informed me just the last year we laughed when I told her I have every oil change transmission brake shoe/pad windshield wipers I have everything ever done to my truck.

I sent the requested records via e-mail I could not bring the paperwork due to the fact I was without a vehicle because we could not afford the rental fees. About a week goes past and I had a friend that let us use a truck he has so we stopped at the dealership just to check on progress, the "teardown" process was still going on, however while chatting with the service manager she informed me of a phone call from an AAS rep inquiring about why had I taken my truck home and not to the dealership upon noticing the transmission unit failure?! Before I could get the words out she said "well like I told them. it was a Sunday morning!" This is my interpretation was attempt number 2 to avoid paying my claim! I was never personally contacted by AAS about that issue.

After another 3 to 4 days I spoke with the service manager and was informed they had found a couple issues that in their opinion led to the unit failure, there were a couple bands that were blued and wore a groove into a clutch pack and subsequently that clutch pack had been damaged, also upon contacting AAS with the findings she was told "keep digging we do not covered worn parts" which they did continue to "dig" and as told previously been told it was a series of unavoidable failures which led to the unit failing. She informed me that an AAS adjuster was to be there and document the findings within 48 hours. The service manager phoned me the next day to let me know he had in fact been there it went well he documented all the findings and she was told he had told her he would contact me with his findings.

Well several days went by and the service manager contacted me to find out what I had been told, I explained that I had not heard from anyone but her, I told her I would immediately get on the phone and she would also, note this was approx. 930 am. well I called and was on hold until 1130am when I opted to use the "call back option" but due to my previous bad experience with "call back" we chose to call on a second phone hoping for better chances of speaking to an AAS rep. At one point around 1145am I did receive a "call back" at which time I was informed that I was being transferred to my adjuster, same events as before a few minutes of different hold sound and right back to the original hold music.

At approx 215pm my adjuster at least that's what I was told got on the phone with me, and began to explain to me that my claim will not be authorized due to the fact that the GMC tech could not show the adjuster what single part failed and in the adjusters opinion the transmission had "worn out" I could not believe what I was hearing!!! First I can see if a fan belt, or a tire, even a clutch in a standard shift transmission was to be "worn out", but bands and a single clutch pack within an automatic transmission??? This is the third and final attempt of avoiding the repair!!

At this point my back was against the wall no vehicle and a worthless $3693.00 policy! I had to do something so I was told if I can have the tech give them a "point of failure" the authorization would be "considered and a portion of the claim may be paid" I left it at that and contacted the dealership to authorize the purchase and installation of a GM factory transmission. This came as a horrifying shock to us, we had a portion of the fee and had to take a loan out to get my truck back.

I am trying to understand what and why I have been treated this way by AAS. I fulfilled my end of our agreement and made all the promised payments on time. It was well within all the parameters of the policy, all the steps and procedures have been adhered to, the dealership tech as well as the service manager in their words have attributed this to a unit failure, if the transmission was "worn out" it would be all the clutch packs as well as numerous other worn out components.

Please review my claim. I feel as though my claim has been denied unfairly and unjustly This has cost us the better part of $8000.00 with the policy fee and over $4000.00 shop fees! It seems like I have said from the beginning of my claim AAS has done little more than try one thing after the next to deny my claim with total disregard to facts and all attention to searching out loopholes in an attempt to avoid fulfilling their end of our contract.

Original Review: I've been calling since yesterday, Monday 3/11, and now today 3/12, Tuesday about getting a repair finished on my 2008 BMW 335i. American Auto Shield/Car Shield has once again provided HORRIBLE service - this time not even answering your phone. Tried to submit a claim online - won't even go thru! I am highly disappointed by this scam company!

They denied my entire claim and said due to it being a "seal" they wouldn't pay for any of the claim plus I only had the warranty for a short period of time. What's the use of buying an extended warranty for older cars only to be told this? I recorded the entire conversation with the claim dept. because I knew something was wrong when American Auto never returned my calls after attempting to leave my number with the automated recorder to have them contact me. In the end I cancelled my service after losing money with this company and had my truck serviced with the shop who did fix my water pump and seals as told to American Auto!! PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY WITH THIS COMPANY FOR OLDER VEHICLES!!!!