Elite Warranty is a third-party vehicle service contract provider that offers a few different plans with various coverage, though none of them really blew us away. To help you make the best decision for your car and budget, we’ve also reviewed the best extended car warranty companies in the industry. In this article, we’ll detail Elite Warranty coverage options and take a look at a couple of other options that you have for third-party extended warranties.
To go ahead and get free quotes from our top picks for auto warranty coverage, click below.
Elite Warranty Background
Elite Warranty is based in Springville, Utah. The company offers three levels of warranty coverage with a few add-on options. In our research, we found that Elite Warranty mainly provides plans that are sold at dealerships. The website has contact information, but it doesn’t let drivers get quotes online.
Dealers can add plans by Elite Warranty onto any make or model across the United States. One popular option is the short 3-month/3,000-mile warranty, and plans max out at 72 months or 125,000 miles. The company has been in business for 21 years.
Elite Warranty Coverage Plans: Standard, Premium, and Superior
The following coverage options are available from Elite Warranty.
Elite Warranty Standard Coverage Plan
The Standard Coverage plan is Elite Warranty’s baseline option. You can add this plan to any passenger vehicle regardless of the mileage that it has. It can be compared to a very basic powertrain warranty in what it covers, which we’ve detailed below.
- Engine: All internally lubricated parts (like pistons, connecting rods, and valves) are covered. Other parts like the engine block and cylinder head are only covered if they get damaged by an internally lubricated part. Similarly, seals and gaskets are only covered if they need to be replaced because of an internally lubricated part.
- Transmission: This includes all internally lubricated parts inside the transmission case and torque converter. The actual case is only covered if it gets damaged by an internally lubricated part.
- Four-Wheel Drive: The Standard Coverage plan covers the internally lubricated parts in the transfer case and front and rear differential.
- Cooling System: This covers the water pump and thermostat.
- Fuel System: This covers fuel injectors.
Additionally, there are a couple of upgrades you can make on the Standard Coverage plan:
- Air Conditioner: This includes the compressor, the compressor clutch, and clutch bearing. It doesn’t cover A/C evacuation or recharge.
- Lifted Vehicle: This add-on is required if the extended warranty is for a vehicle with oversized tires or a lift kit.
- Standard Plus: This adds a few components like the alternator, cylinder head gaskets, and fuel pump to the list. It also increases roadside assistance to cover the full term of the warranty. Diesel vehicles are covered under Standard Plus automatically.
Elite Warranty Premium Coverage Plan
A step above Standard is the Premium Coverage plan. This warranty works best for cars with 120,000 miles or less, and it includes:
- Engine: Same as Standard Coverage
- Transmission-Transaxle: Adds coverage for cars with transaxle design
- Four Wheel Drive: Adds wheel bearings, axle shafts, and constant velocity axle joints to coverage
- Steering: Covers internally lubricated parts of steering gear housing and power steering pump
- Seals and Gaskets: Adds cylinder head gaskets and intake manifold gaskets to coverage
- Fuel System: Adds fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator
- Cooling System: Adds electrical radiator fan motor and clutch
- Air Conditioner: Covers what the A/C add-on option covers in Standard Coverage
- Electrical: Covers the alternator, stater motor, and voltage regulator
The Premium Coverage plan also offers an optional add-on for lifted vehicle coverage. If you want a bit more coverage, you can go for the Premium Plus plan which adds brake parts and more electrical components to the extended warranty. It also provides for up to $40 per day for six days of rental reimbursement per repair, and it extends roadside assistance for the whole contract.
Elite Warranty Superior Coverage Plan
The Superior Coverage plan is Elite Warranty’s highest tier. It covers everything that the original manufacturer’s warranty covers with these exclusions:
- Routine maintenance
- Body parts
- Any item required for a tune-up
This coverage level also extends roadside assistance for the whole contract and has the same provision for rental reimbursement. There aren’t any more add-ons at this level. The Superior Coverage plan is recommended for cars with 75,000 miles or less.
Additional Perks
Standard Coverage and Premium Coverage both come with 12 months or 12,000 miles of 24/7 roadside assistance. You have the option to upgrade for more roadside assistance, but as far as warranty perks go, that’s not very impressive. For example, Toyota offers the shortest period of roadside assistance with its new cars, but even that period is 2 years or 24,000 miles.
Also, Elite Warranty’s roadside assistance isn’t as comprehensive as other programs on the market. It includes towing, jump start, and lockout assistance. You can get emergency gas, but you’ll be charged for it. Also, the flat tire service only includes putting on your own spare tire.
Possible Issues With Elite Warranty
The warranty descriptions above are partial and based on Elite Warranty’s website. However, the site doesn’t provide any full-text contract examples, only descriptive overviews. From what we can gather, the Standard and Premium warranties are inclusionary, which means any covered item is expressly listed in the contract.
Issues might come up when people don’t have time to go through the full contract themselves before signing, or if they don’t understand the details. The full contract is available at the time of purchase, but many buyers might not read the entire fine print at the dealership. Even from the descriptions above, you can see that some things are covered only under certain conditions. It’s important to read the fine print when considering an extended car warranty.
Looking at the company’s BBB profile, it has 12 reviews and 4 complaints, which are separate from the reviews. In responding to the complaints, Elite Warranty personnel pull up contract excerpts to support their case. One point to note is that Elite Warranty contracts don’t cover pre-existing problems on used vehicles. If a dealer sells a car that has an issue, the warranty won’t cover problems that arise from that.
According to its reputation, the company does cover repairs that are under warranty. If you’re thinking about signing a contract with this company, we’d recommend that you go through the entire text thoroughly beforehand. Make sure you know what’s in the contract so you aren’t caught off guard when something isn’t covered. Also, have an independent mechanic take a look at the vehicle before you buy it to make sure it doesn’t have a pre-existing issue.
Our Verdict On Elite Warranty
So, why would you want to look for an extended warranty in the first place? Well, simply because no factory warranty lasts forever, and no car does either. Even if you buy from the most dependable car brand on the market, there will be issues that come up. Without an extended warranty, you’ll have to pay for any repairs out of pocket. Many people don’t have emergency savings set aside for significant expenses. In 2018, the Federal Reserve found that four out of ten Americans wouldn’t be able to cover a sudden $400 expense with cash or its equivalent.
Unfortunately, unexpected car repairs can go beyond that. Fixing a broken A/C compressor could cost $740–$970 according to RepairPal. Replacing a fuel pump could cost $454–$675, and a brake booster could cost $469–$521.
Ultimately, our verdict on Elite Warranty is that there are other, superior options available.
Our Recommendations for Extended Auto Warranty Coverage
To help cut through the noise, we reviewed the best extended car warranty providers and ranked them on things like customer service, business reputation, coverage options, and perks. We took into account a provider’s customer service track record, business reputation, extra perks, and coverage options. While there are many good options, a few providers rose to the top.
Based on our 2021 survey, respondents picked CarShield for their third-party warranties with Endurance and Carchex rounding out the top three. The respondents picked these companies based on their cost, components covered, and term length among other reasons.
You can get a free, customized quote from our top picks below: