Honda Civic extended warranty: cost, coverage and plans

Honda Civic extended warranty coverage

An extended auto warranty is an optional, paid extension of the factory warranty your Civic comes with. For context, Honda Civics come with the following warranties from the factory:

• A three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty
• A five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty

Factory warranties follow the vehicle, not the owner. So if you buy a 2-year-old car with 20,000 miles on it, you still have one year or 16,000 miles worth of factory bumper-to-bumper warranty remaining.

For an extended warranty on your Honda Civic, you have two options:

1. Buy the official Honda extended warranty, called Honda Care.
2. Buy a plan from a third-party extended warranty company, which allows you to take your car to any ASE-certified mechanic for repairs.

Without significant savings, having to deal with a massive repair bill can be disastrous. A ConsumerAffairs investigation found that most drivers surveyed couldn't afford to pay cash for a $1,000 repair bill, and 13% of respondents had no way to deal with a bill that large — even with credit.

In either case, you’ll generally get the most value by purchasing whichever plan offers comprehensive, exclusionary protection (often called bumper-to-bumper or Platinum). These plans cover 90% or more of the parts on your vehicle. Less comprehensive Gold, Silver and powertrain plans may be cheaper, but they tend to cover fewer parts per dollar.

Auto warranties only pay for repairs and replacements of specifically covered parts that fail from normal wear and tear, not from damage or accidents. Repairs generally aren’t covered under warranty if you don’t properly maintain the vehicle or you make aftermarket modifications.

In general, here are the differences between what a bumper-to-bumper warranty and a powertrain warranty cover:

Note that some extended auto warranty plans fall somewhere between bumper-to-bumper and powertrain coverage.

» LEARN: What to know about manufacturers’ extended warranties

How much does a Honda Civic extended warranty cost?

We were quoted $1,072.23 a year from olive for three years of bumper-to-bumper coverage for a 2021 Honda Civic registered in Austin, Texas, with 40,000 miles. From Endurance, the quote for similar coverage was $1,028.16 annually for 30 months of coverage for the same vehicle with the same mileage. Both quotes assumed a $100 deductible. Note that both of these are third-party extended auto warranty companies.

The “official” Honda extended warranty is called Honda Care, and it may cost less than a third-party option. Be sure to get a quote from your local Honda dealer to compare your options.

In general, quotes for extended auto warranties vary based on coverage, vehicle, deductible, location and other factors. A 2022 Civic with zero miles typically has cheaper extended warranty options than a 2020 model with 50,000 miles, for example.

It's worth it to get quotes from multiple providers so you get the best deal for an extended auto warranty.

For context, the average cost of an extended warranty is around $1,000 per year of coverage. The quotes we collected for our hypothetical 2021 Honda Civic were more expensive by comparison.

All the quotes we received were for a bumper-to-bumper warranty — the most comprehensive available. A powertrain warranty will typically be much cheaper, but provide less coverage.

Extended auto warranty providers may use varying language to describe plans. For example, Endurance provides 30 months and 40,000 miles of coverage with its plans — this is as of your vehicle's current age and mileage. Other providers may use the vehicle's original purchase date as the starting point for calculating coverage, so you'll have to subtract the age and mileage of your car (plus any remaining factory warranty) to determine the length of the coverage you're actually getting.

» LEARN: How to choose an extended car warranty

Is a Honda Civic extended warranty worth it?

Yes, a Honda Civic extended warranty is worth it. In general, an extended auto warranty is worth it if any of the following are true:

1. Your vehicle has a bad reputation for reliability.
2. The warranty costs less than you expect to spend on repairs.
3. A big repair bill could hurt you financially.
4. You don’t mind paying for peace of mind.

Honda as a brand has above-average reliability, with J.D. Power ranking Honda 19th out of 29 car brands for overall dependability. As for the Civic specifically, RepairPal gave it a 4.5 out of 5.

Civics have been seen as incredibly reliable cars for the decades they have been in production. But you do need to keep up on timing belt maintenance intervals to avoid engine issues. Also, Civics from 2004 to 2011 have some powertrain and minor electrical issues, making an extended warranty especially worthwhile for these model years.

Honda maintenance is fairly inexpensive, but so are the quotes we received for an extended warranty. Ultimately, if you’d like the peace of mind that a protection plan affords you against expensive repairs, it might be worthwhile to get an extended warranty.

» LEARN: Pros and cons of extended auto warranties