Does Your Extended Warranty Cover Your Starter?

The bane of your morning commute often catches you without warning. Sitting in the driver’s seat, coffee in hand, you fire up the engine.

Only nothing happens.

Puzzled, you scratch your head. The lights and power windows work fine, you reason. It can’t be the battery. Slowly, it dawns on you that if it’s not the battery, then it’s probably the starter.

Oh shit, here we go again.

You know the starter isn’t extremely expensive to replace, but the $500 or so it’ll cost to do the job would really be better in your pocket. That’s not to mention the extra cash you’re going to have to pay to tow your car to the mechanic.

Definitely not your morning.

Now this situation would’ve played out a little bit differently if you had a Protect My Car extended warranty, or really any reliable warranty at all.

First things first, your tow to the mechanic would be covered and you wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket. Better yet, if you had a plan with us, your alternator repair would be completely covered. Suddenly that $600 dollars you’d have to shell out for the repair and the tow becomes only $100 dollars which is the cost of your deductible.  

Such is the power of an extended warranty.

What Does Your Starter Do, Exactly?

Your car’s starter is an electric motor that provides a powerful crank to start your engine. The starter is comprised of the motor, and the solenoid which delivers the power to the starter motor and pushes the starter gear forward so it’s teeth interlock with the engine’s flywheel.

If your battery is fully charged thanks to a working alternator, your engine should crank and start with no issues. However, it can be difficult to diagnose a weak starter ahead of it failing.

Signs Your Starter May Be On The Way Out

If your car won’t crank, you’ve definitely experienced starter failure.

But that’s not exactly a sign you can rely on to fix it ahead of time.

• Difficulty Cranking When Starting: If your car is slow to start, or needs to take extra time just to get things going, you’re likely experiencing the last dying gasps of your starter. Although it could be something else – get your car to a mechanic ASAP before it turns into an expensive paperweight.
• Car has a starting problem that comes and goes: When I was younger, I drove a Honda Accord that did this. It would refuse to turn on in certain conditions, like right after it had rained. I would try to start the car, and when it refused to start, I’d have to leave it alone for a day. But lo and behold, it would start up fine the next day. I later learned there was an issue in the starter wiring and had it replaced.
• Lights in the car dim when you start the car: Your starter motor may be drawing current away from your interior and dash lights because it has a wiring problem and needs excess power. This is usually accompanied by what sounds like the chugging of a model train. This could be the bearings or the wiring in your starter motor. Either way, if you notice this, your starter is about to fail. Get to your mechanic!
• Grinding noise when the car is running: The gears in your starter motor may have failed to disengage if you notice a grinding sound after the engine begins running. A grinding sound is almost always related to the system of internal gears, which may have failed to disengage.
• Whirring sound when trying to start: The opposite of the above, the whirring sound is the gear in your starter motor not engaging with the flywheel, causing it to spin around and around.
• Starter is soaked with oil: If your starter is drenched with oil, it may have engine fluid leaking on to it. This can be a potentially serious sign of other issues with your engine, but you should count your starter’s days as numbered.

Does My Extended Warranty Cover My Starter?

The good news is that if you have a policy with us, your starter is covered. All of our plans, including our most affordable plan, The Driveline, covers the cost of your starter repair.

To make things even better, most other warranty plans also cover the starter too! To make this a little easier on you, I’ve gone ahead and listed all the plans for 4 major extended warranty companies and if they cover the starter.

Protect My Car

Plans that cover the starter: Driveline, Select, Supreme

Direct Service Contract Provider: Yes

Notes: We cover the starter as part of the electrical system, which also includes your solenoid, another common repair often linked to the starter. Better yet, even our lowest cost plan covers it completely, in addition to your engine, transmission, drive axle, air conditioning, and engine cooling system.

Endurance Warranty

Plans that cover the starter: Select Premier, Secure Plus, Superior, Supreme

Direct Service Contract Provider:: Yes

Notes: Endurance’s lowest-cost plan, Secure, does not cover the starter motor or solenoid.

Car Shield

Plans that cover the starter: American Auto Shield Enhanced Power Train, American Auto Shield Comprehensive, American Auto Shield New Car

Direct Service Contract Provider: No

Notes: Car Shield’s lowest-cost plan, American Auto Shield Power Train, does not cover the starter motor. Car Shield is also not a direct provider, and instead sells policies by American Auto Shield.

Carchex:

Plans that cover the starter: American Auto Shield Powertrain Plus, CARCHEX Care By Royal, Royal Administration Services Centennial, Allegiance Silver, Allegiance Select Elite, American Auto Shield Deluxe, CARCHEX Care By Royal Gold, Royal Administration Services Preferred, Allegiance Gold, American Auto Shield Platinum, CARCHEX Care By Royal, Royal Administration Services Premium, Allegiance Platinum, CARCHEX Care By AAS Titanium Plus, CARCHEX Care by AAS Titanium, American Auto Shield Diamond, CARCHEX Care By Royal Titanium, Royal Administration Services Ultimate, Allegiance Ultimate.

Direct Service Contract Provider: No

Notes: Carchex lowest-cost plans, American Auto Shield Bronze and CARCHEX Care By Royal do not cover the starter. Carchex is also not a direct provider and sells the service contracts of American Auto Shield, Royal Administration Services, and Allegiance

What Is A Direct Warranty Provider?

So you’re probably wondering what the direct warranty provider bit is above. It’s an important distinction that is worth talking about.

A direct warranty provider is a warranty company that administrates and services its own claims, legally speaking. What that means, is when a direct warranty provider sells you an extended warranty, they are responsible for paying your claims, as well as handling any customer service issues that arise.

Direct providers can offer lower prices for their plans and better customer service because everything is handled in house. 

Currently, only Protect My Car and Endurance are direct warranty providers.

Other extended warranty companies aren’t selling their own plans.  When you buy a policy with them, they then transfer the responsibility for your future claims to a 3^rd party finance company. They get paid, and then that finance company that you didn’t choose becomes the legal entity responsible for paying your claims.

This can be a huge hassle. Claims take longer to get paid, and we’ve seen prices that are more expensive.

That’s not to mention that the 3^rd party finance company has no connection to you as a human being and has every financial incentive to pay as little as possible on your claim.

With over 13 years in this business, everyone will tell you that choosing a direct warranty provider is the best way to go. You’ll avoid getting a run around from claims agents, and instead will get help from a real person who wants to see you off smiling.

Want To Get The Best Extended Warranty For Your Starter? Choose Protect My Car & Save

While the starter is covered with most extended warranty companies, Protect My Car is far from “any” extended warranty company. Our lowest-cost plan, the Driveline covers more than the basic coverage you’ll get from other extended warranty companies, including your starter, and important bits like your air conditioning, windshield washer pump, and alternator.

Best of all, we’re able to do this at a lower price than our competitors because we’re a direct warranty provider.

As a proud direct warranty provider, you’ll never be mistreated when you join us. There’s a reason our average review score (TrustPilot, Consumer Affairs, BBB) is a 4.3/5.0, and I want you to find out why.

We know there are a number of other great extended warranty companies out there, we know we’re the best and we want to prove it to you.

That’s why, for a limited time, we’re giving away $50 dollars in rewards just for getting a quote with us. From there, you’ll be able to shop all of our different plans, online, with no phone call needed. You can even buy the driveline in less than 5 minutes and have your starter covered and ready to go.

Because we’re a direct warranty provider, you may find that our plans are significantly cheaper than what you’re paying right now.

So don’t wait, get your free quote today and claim your $50 dollars in free rewards. You’ll be one step closer to not having to shell out hundreds for an expensive starter repair ever again.