Endurance vs. CarShield

What is the difference between Endurance and CarShield?

These are the highlights we found for each:

Endurance stands out for its easy online quote tool, its positive customer service reviews and its superior benefits. We also got cheaper quotes from Endurance for five out of our six sample vehicles.

CarShield, meanwhile, stands out for its specialty coverage options and its generous rental car and rideshare reimbursement limits. It also has a better selection of plans for European luxury vehicles at better prices.

Endurance vs. CarShield: How to decide

The choice between CarShield and Endurance comes down to which plans fit your needs, the benefits you want the most and which company offers you the best price, among other factors. But we found that, in general:

• Endurance is best if you value customer service.
• CarShield is best if you drive a European luxury vehicle.

Endurance pros and cons

CarShield pros and cons

Endurance vs. CarShield coverage

There are some key differences between the coverage options from CarShield and Endurance. We go over each company’s extended warranty plans in the following sections.

Endurance extended warranty plans

Endurance offers six coverage plans:

• Supreme: Exclusionary bumper-to-bumper-style coverage for nearly all of the components and systems on your vehicle except a few named in the warranty contract.
• Superior: Endurance’s top-tier named-component warranty plan, with coverage for more than 300 parts across your vehicle’s main systems, including the air conditioning and electrical systems.
• Secure: A powertrain-only plan for covering your vehicle’s primary systems like the drivetrain, engine and transmission.
• Secure Plus: Budget-friendly stated-component plan that adds coverage for your air conditioning and brakes to a basic powertrain warranty.
• Select Premier: Offers coverage similar to what’s included in Secure Plus but designed specifically for vehicles with more than 150,000 miles.
• Advantage: Combines the Supreme plan with up to $3,500 in annual maintenance coverage.

CarShield extended warranty plans

CarShield has six protection plan options to choose from:

• Diamond: CarShield’s exclusionary warranty plan with bumper-to-bumper coverage similar to your new car factory warranty.
• Platinum: The highest level stated-component plan from CarShield covers more than 700 components across most major systems.
• Gold: A mid-level inclusionary warranty plan that covers more than 300 components across nine of your vehicle’s most important systems.
• Silver: Powertrain coverage for only the most essential systems in your vehicle.
• Aluminum: Add-on coverage for more than 300 components not included in the powertrain warranty, like your vehicle’s cooling system, electronics, infotainment and brakes.
• EV, motorcycle and ATV: CarShield offers specialty extended warranty plans for electric vehicles, motorcycles and ATVs.

Endurance has a good selection of standard coverage plans and offers the option to cover your vehicle’s regular maintenance, too. However, CarShield offers specialty options, like its Aluminum plan and EV package, which may appeal to many car owners.

Endurance vs. CarShield cost

As part of our extended warranty research, our team reached out to both Endurance and CarShield for quotes on six different vehicles. All of the quotes we requested were for top-level exclusionary plans (Endurance Supreme and CarShield Diamond) and came with $100 deductibles, with the exception of the Endurance warranty for a Porsche Macan.

Endurance gave us cheaper quotes for all but one vehicle in our study. However, you should keep in mind that the cost of extended warranties can fluctuate, even for the same plan and vehicle, for a variety of reasons. It’s always good to get quotes to compare for yourself.

Endurance vs. CarShield extended warranty quotes

The table below shows the quotes we got from Endurance and CarShield in our study.

Endurance vs. CarShield: How to get quotes

We should also mention that gathering quotes from Endurance was easier for us because it lets you get estimates and purchase plans entirely online. While the CarShield representatives we spoke with were friendly and informative, having to call and spend 10 minutes on the phone for a quote wasn’t quite as convenient.

Endurance vs. CarShield availability

CarShield is not available in the state of California. Endurance is available everywhere in the country. However, in California, Endurance extended warranty plans are sold as mechanical breakdown insurance (MBI) and do not come with the Endurance Elite benefits available elsewhere.

Endurance vs. CarShield policies

Both Endurance and CarShield offer a standard deductible of $100. CarShield also offers $50, $200, and $500 deductible options as well, depending on the make, model, age and mileage of your vehicle.

Endurance automatically assigns a $500 deductible to any Supreme plan covering an Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Jaguar, Porsche or Alfa Romeo. It also only covers these vehicles until they hit eight years old or 80,000 miles, whichever comes first.

According to a CarShield representative we spoke with, the company does not have these restrictions and will cover most European luxury vehicles with a standard $100 deductible. The one exception was for Maserati vehicles, which the company does not cover.

Endurance vs. CarShield benefits

Both Endurance and CarShield offer 24/7 roadside assistance, towing and rental car assistance with every plan. CarShield has more generous allowances for rental car coverage at up to $100 per day with a $700 per-repair maximum, compared with Endurance’s rental car coverage limit of only $30 per day and $150 per repair. You also get rideshare reimbursement with CarShield plans, which Endurance does not include.

However, Endurance packages 12 months of its Elite Benefits with each plan, which you can renew for a fee after that time is up. Endurance Elite benefits include:

• Up to $500 for key fob replacements
• Up to two tire repairs/replacements
• Up to $500 in collision repair assistance

How customers feel about Endurance vs. CarShield

At the time of publishing, Endurance has a 4.6-star overall rating from over 15,800 reviews on ConsumerAffairs, while CarShield has 3.1 stars from 9,451 reviews.

Endurance customer reviews

The general sentiment surrounding Endurance is that the reps are friendly and knowledgeable and that claims move along quickly.

“They're good people and we get no hassle whenever I have a claim. I had a claim for the radio and Endurance took care of it. They're the real deal. I have already got four of my family members signed up with them,” said William, a reviewer from Georgia.

“The first claim I ever had with Endurance was awesome,” reported Yvonne in Kentucky. “Endurance has been great with me, and I've never been on the phone 15 minutes when I called there.”

Most of Endurance’s negative reviews seem to stem from a misunderstanding of coverage, waiting periods or other key terms of the warranty. To its credit, Endurance responds to its critical reviews, seeking ways to make things right with the reviewer.

“I was told I need 30 days before my warranty was activated. It’s been over 90!!!! Come time to use the warranty fine print page 3 on a digital contract say 30 days and 1000 miles. I drive my car 550 miles so I have been paying them and I am not covered????” wrote Ivorie in Pennsylvania.

Endurance’s response? “Hi Ivorie, we’re sorry to hear about your experience. We’d like to learn more about it and see what we can do to make things right.”

CarShield customer reviews

Feelings were very similar regarding CarShield. Overall, customers seemed happy with how their claims were handled.

“Everything was covered in my plan and saved me over $1,500. My water pump failed and was leaking really bad. And with these new cars almost nothing can be done by the owners anymore so CarShield took the hit instead of me. So now it not only got repaired but there’s even a warranty on the parts,” wrote Daniel in Texas.

“I really enjoyed speaking with the Lady that helped me with my claim. She was very easy to talk to helping with the information that I need and very patient with answering the questions about my Autos and what was covered,” wrote Elihue in Georgia.

Like with Endurance, many of the negative reviews stemmed from a misunderstanding of the fine print. This highlights the importance of double-checking what each plan does and does not cover. Carefully reviewing your contract in advance can help you avoid unexpected repair bills if a specific part isn't listed.

“Denied my claim, what’s the point of paying for a service that picks and chooses what they want to fix. … It’s not the actual turbo that’s causing the issue, but the bolt that connects it to the waste gate is causing the turbo to malfunction. I had to pay $700 to get it fixed myself,” wrote Johnny in Georgia.

“We're sorry to hear this. It is unfortunate when a needed repair isn't listed for coverage on your policy,” CarShield responded. “Even though we are sorry to see you go as a customer, we hope you keep us in mind for the future. If there is anything more we can do for you, please give us a call.”

Bottom line: Endurance vs. CarShield

The best choice between CarShield and Endurance for your extended warranty will depend on your vehicle, your budget and your personal preferences for coverage and customer experience. Our research team came up with a few strong reasons to choose each company.

Endurance is best for:

• Drivers who value customer service
• Robust standard coverage plans
• Maintenance coverage options
• Drivers interested in more comprehensive benefits included in the Elite package

CarShield is best for:

• European luxury car owners
• Rental car and rideshare benefits
• Month-to-month warranty plans
• Specialty coverage options
• EV owners

If both Endurance and CarShield have plans that fit your needs and budget, take the time to get quotes from each provider so you can compare real rates. We got cheaper quotes from Endurance, but that doesn’t mean you will.

If neither sounds like a good fit, or if you’d simply like to see more top-rated providers, check out our other picks for the best extended car warranty companies.