Protect My Car

The other thing is I'm a veteran and they gave me a veteran rate. They have never been nasty to me. When I brought it, I had gone my mileage level, and about two months later my little check engine light would pop on and off. I took it right up and called them. I told them I was having trouble with the power window. My mechanic called immediately to find out what was and wasn't covered. To do that power window would have been about 700 bucks between the labor and the parts. I had to pay my 200 and they covered $430 on my window. That's savings right there. I've already gotten one year's worth of my payment.

On my Protect My Car, they also provide me my oil changes. I do full synthetic and they pay for the full change. I called the mechanic the other day to say I was taking it in because of the master sensor. When he did the work on the sensor, I told him we were not going to put Protect My Car through all those little parts that I know they don't cover from having another sensor changed about a year ago. I asked them if they cover CVT and they said yes. I like the fact that Protect My Car has secondary mechanics. If they feel that the mechanic is not going to fix, they're going to recommend where you take it to get the best fix. They have master mechanics that will come to any shop where your car is, if they want to re-check what they're doing to make sure you're not getting hosed by the mechanic. You have a second pair of eyes looking at your vehicle and you know they're going to go for the best repair to maintain the cost.

My mechanics love Protect My Car. They say they're the easiest of everyone to work with. I pay $68 every month to have my premium and pay the $200 deductible. Protect My Car does the parts and labor as long as it's not a wearable part. They encourage you to maintain your car and they do that by offering the oil change. I feel very fortunate that my mechanics feel comfortable calling them. They don't feel that they're going to be put on hold for 50 years. Protect My Car works with the mechanic to see what they can cover and how much. They try to cover as much as possible within reason. Their car information and their folder are very clear and concise. It's very open. They're transparent with the consumer.

I'm a very satisfied customer. Protect My Car is oriented to the customer and to the driver. I told a friend she needed to get Protect My Car and she called them immediately and got them. Another incentive that they offer is for every person you bring them, they offer you a gift card of $100 and they're really good on that. I have gotten five or six people in there. The only thing that I don't like about them is you can't do work on a Sunday.

When I go to a mechanic, before they do a diagnostic on it, and then they let me know whatever it's gonna cost, then I give them the information for the company, and they call them. Of course, they ask the mechanic's information for the truck. After everything’s said and done and they okay it, they give me a call to let me know what my portion is, and they're gonna cover their portion, and I cover mine.

The one thing that I experienced was that there was a part on the truck that was not routine maintenance and the person said that it was not covered. I read over my policy and I called back. I explained that whoever’s told the mechanic that it wasn't covered was wrong. The guy had to research what I was talking about. He apologized on behalf of the other person and that's what got fixed.

The only thing was that when I was trying to get the door handles fixed on my Nissan, they didn't accept it ‘cause it wasn't covered. It was considered as cosmetic. They didn't call me about it. I’ll appreciate it if when I take my car to a mechanic and it’s something not covered, they should at least give me a courtesy call about it. But whatever they covered, they covered. I recommended it to my mother and she uses it too.

I've had to do two claims with them, and both of them were covered. For my 2013, the cost in owning that contract is already paid for the year and got it back with two fixes it had had that went over $1,000 for both fixes. Me being in the automotive business, I knew the CV axle blew the boot apart because of the malfunctioning axle, the bearings in it. At first, it wasn't going to be covered. I called Protect My Car. I got an agent who looked it over and said they made a mistake, and that would be covered. I've already contacted the repair facility to tell them that it's covered and to go ahead with the work. They even fix their mistakes, if they make one, so that's awesome.

To know what's covered in an extended warranty is very important. Most of the companies will cover engines and transmissions, the main components of the vehicle, really expensive. But most of them don't cover all of the other stuff that is connected up to that, whereas Protect My Car will do. They cover everything on the suspension of the vehicle. The only thing they don't cover are wearable items, like brake pads. But they'll replace a brake caliper which holds the pads if the caliper’s bad. Plus, they give three oil changes a year for free. They also have roadside assistance. I had to use that to get my vehicle towed for a flat tire from a campsite. I used it for my 2003 also, and they were on the spot. Quickly, had a vehicle out there, towed it to a local shop, and it was fixed on the same day.

And as far as the inspectors, they are the same. They just go out, look at the vehicle, and say that they're going to put the claim in. But when they put the report in, it still kicks back to the customer service rep, who has no background knowledge in what's going on. The mechanic was telling me that the reason why my transfer case went out was because my car is an all-wheel drive and the ball bearings were bad, which relates to the transfer case because that made tires drive differently.

So, if the ball bearings can go out and will cause the transfer case to mess up and break, then they should cover the ball bearings as well, because the transfer case was more than the ball bearings. It will come out cheaper for the company versus having to pay for thousands of dollars for a transfer case when you can pay for $90 for a ball bearing. If you stop the problem before it starts, then it will not be a bigger problem. But they didn't cover the ball bearings.

By me trying to explain that to the customer service rep, he was pretty much saying that it was not in my drivetrain and that's not what's covered. He told me that I needed to look at my policy and he sent me eight emails about my policy. But I already have the policy right here. At the end of the day, I don't know what a drivetrain is because I'm not a mechanic. But that's what he was telling me pretty much, that I'm at fault because I'm not a mechanic and I don't understand the lingo. But as far as the product itself, the product is good because I benefit from it personally. I get my oil change at Valvoline and by me having this warranty now, I get free oil changes.

I've had problems with coverage and it's not just with Protect My Car. I've had it with other companies too. One time, something broke and I had it fixed. When you're under stress with your car, you have to take your car to get something taken care of and it's a major part, you're not thinking that you have this extra coverage. I spent $800 to have that done then, I realized it. I called the company. They said, “We can't cover it now because of the fact you’re supposed to call us before they did it.” That pissed me off. That was early, so I try to remember. Certain things they say, “Well, that’s wear and tear,” and I can understand that part. However, when they're telling me they're not gonna cover what they told me they covered because I didn't contact them before the shop worked on it, that’s not nice at all.

The other day, I had to get my inspection done. Not thinking, I left my car at the shop and went home. The guy called me and said, “Your ball joint on your tire need to be replaced.” I’m not gonna pass inspection by that part being bad, so I said, “Well, go ahead and do it." I needed my car inspection to be done then after I was done paying the guy and got home, a day later, I realized maybe I could’ve used the warranty to pay for getting that part done. I don’t know if that is considered one of the wear-and-tear parts, so I never called them back.

The only one thing I have been doing on a regular basis is getting my oil changed. With the first couple ones, they said, "Rotate the tires,” and it was done. They paid the people that did the work and I didn’t see any issues with them. If I did, I’m the type of person who will tell people about it. They get my oil changed, but in essence, it’s not free because I’m paying for it every month that I put out $70-some.