Is The Carvana Extended Warranty Worth It?

Carvana is a well-known platform for consumers to buy/sell and finance used cars. Carvana delivers the car straight to your door, or let’s you pick it up from a Car vending machine.

We really are living in the future.

For those of you considering buying a car from Carvana, you’ve likely heard a thing or two about their customer guarantees. Carvana offers a 7 day test-to-own program where you can return your new purchase if you don’t love it, which is an improvement over the 3 day window most car lots give you.

Simple enough, right? If you do decide you love your Carvana car, you probably are interested in protecting it. Today, we’re going to take an inside look at Carvana’s vehicle protection offerings. We’ll break all 3 of them down, discuss the benefits, and make a final recommendation if we think it’s worth it for you.

Let’s begin.

What Is An Extended Warranty?

An extended warranty (also known as a vehicle service contract) is a promise to pay for certain car repairs. Typically, these include major repairs like an engine or transmission replacement, as well as more minor fixes such as your air conditioning and heating.

With an extended warranty, you pay a monthly premium and when your car suffers a mechanical breakdown, the extended warranty company steps in and pays your repair bill for the covered components, minus a deductible. The deductible is usually somewhere between $0-$100 dollars.

Extended Warranties typically offer other benefits besides just repair savings including:

• Roadside Assistance
• Rental Car Assistance
• Trip Reimbursement
• Hotel Reimbursement
• Free Tire Rotations and Oil Changes (Protect My Car)

Carvana certainly does offer this type of policy, but it’s not the only car protection that they offer.

Carvana’s Limited Warranty (Worry Free Guarantee)

Carvana offers a limited warranty with all cars it sells. The limited warranty is good for 100 days or 4,189 miles, whichever comes first. The counter starts when you take possession of the vehicle from Carvana.

In order to keep this limited warranty valid, you’ll need to keep up with recommended service intervals, notify Carvana before authorizing a repair, and finally you’ll need to pay a deductible of $50 dollars.

The limited warranty is not transferrable, and the administrator for the policy is SilverRock (which is a 3^rd party company).

All in all, these are very standard terms for a limited warranty.

Carvana’s limited warranty covers all the mechanical parts minus the exclusions below. For your vehicle this includes your engine, drive train, electrical system, air conditioning/heating, turbo, and others.  

Unlike with most manufacturer warranties, Carvana’s limited warranty doesn’t cover everything. Typically, bumper-to-bumper coverage from the manufacturer covers nearly everything.

Carvana’s limited warranty doesn’t cover:

• All interior and exterior cosmetic imperfections (which are considered physical defects on your vehicle that do not affect the drivability or safety of the vehicle)
• All wear and tear parts (tires, brake pads, brake rotors, clutch parts, wiper blades, and fluids like oil, and drive belts.
• All recommended maintenance. Think lubrication, engine tune-ups, air filters, coolant, spark plugs, bulbs, fuses, cleaning and polishing.

Considering Carvana deals in used cars that it doesn’t manufacture itself, the exclusions make sense and are relatively consistent with other similar used car policies.

However, Carvana’s limited warranty also has a number of other notable exclusions. They are (per Carvana): https://www.carvana.com/limited-warranty

Carvana Limited Warranty Claims Process

If your vehicle suffers a mechanical breakdown, your first job is to make sure your car suffers no further damage. Have your vehicle towed to a repair shop and contact SilverRock at their claims number (866) 628-3905.

You will then be able to get approval to authorize repair. If your vehicle suffers a breakdown outside of normal business hours, keep any damaged parts and contact SilverRock at the number above during the next business day.

SilverRock’s normal business hours are:

• Monday-Friday: 7 AM to 7 PM central.
• Saturday: 8 AM to 2 PM central.

All in all, considering the Carvana limited warranty is completely free and goes along with your purchase of any Carvana car, we think it’s a great value.

Free feels good, doesn’t it? Now, if you want to keep the protection going, you have two options. You can either go with gap coverage, or their extended warranty.

Yes, Carvana Does Offer An Extended Warranty!

Carvana’s Extended Warranty plan is better known as CarvanaCare. Surprisingly, CarvanaCare is very similar to CarMax’s MaxCare extended warranty plan, which we’ve covered here.

However – if you didn’t buy a plan from Carvana at the time of sale you will no longer be able to do so.

If that’s the case, we reccomend you cover your vehicle with one of Protect My Car’s extended warranty plans.

How Does The CarvanaCare Extended Warranty Work?

Much like MaxCare, CarvanaCare has to be purchased before you take delivery of your new car. Once you have your new car, you won’t be able to purchase a CarvanaCare policy, although you will still be covered by the limited warranty for 100 days or 4189 miles.

We took a look at a couple of models, including a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. Because Carvana does offer some newer cars, the car you buy may still have it’s manufacturer warranty. For example, the 2016 Hyundai Tucson we looked at had 27,834 miles on it.

The basic warranty was due to expire in 22 months or around 32,000 miles more. If you wanted to buy CarvanaCare, the protection plan you purchased would go into effect affect the manufacturer warranty expired. In this case, we were given two options. 1 option was for a 48 month, 90,000 mile plan, while the other was for 60 months or 100,000 miles.

In terms of protection plans, the mileage coverage is on the low end, but it’s made up for by having numerous covered components that other 3^rd party providers don’t cover.

CarvanaCare Extended Warranty Details

CarvanaCare is fairly standard for an extended warranty.

Carvana’s extended warranty plan has two main phone numbers you need to know about. The first, the administration number is used for claims and any customer service concerns you may have. The second is the roadside assistance number if you ever break down or find yourself in need of services.

To contact the administrator (SilverRock): 866-628-3905

To contact roadside assistance: 888-300-8607

Carvana Offers A Standard $50 Deductible

Each policy has a $50 dollar deductible and the coverage begins the day that you receive the vehicle. Each policy also comes with roadside assistance which provides towing, jumpstart, flat tire assistance, locksmith assistance, and emergency gas and fluids.

CarvanaCare also requires you take your vehicle to an ASE certified mechanic or to a manufacturer dealer.

If you decide to cancel, you can cancel at any time and receive a pro-rated refund.

Carvana doesn’t specify the method for prorating their refund, but the standard practice for most extended warranty companies is to give you a full refund up to 30 days from purchase. Normally that includes your full down-payment as well, although Carvana doesn’t require one as of writing.

After 30 days when your warranty coverage goes into effect, you’ll receive a prorated refund based on the lesser of the remaining portion of the days or mileage that the contract has been in effect, compared to the total length on the contract.

Normally, a processing or administration fee of between $25-$50 dollars is applied, but Carvana’s administrator SilverRock does not appear to have one right now.

Because CarvanaCare is added along with the purchase process, the monthly payment can also be rolled into the financing of the vehicle which will increase your monthly payment.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at what CarvanaCare covers so we can make a better assessment if it’s worth it or not.

What Does The CarvanaCare Extended Warranty Cover?

The CarvanaCare extended warranty covers the following parts. Anything not listed below is NOT considered a covered repair.

• Engine
  • Balance Shafts, Balance Shaft Chains, Balance Shaft Sprockets, Cam Bearings, Cam Bolts, Cam Cover, Cam Follower, Cam Plugs, Camshafts, Camshaft Sprockets, Compression Rings, Connecting Rods, Crankshaft, Crankshaft Pulley, Crankshaft Sprockets, Cylinder Block, Cylinder Head Bolts, Cylinder Heads, Dipstick/Tube, Engine Mounts, Exhaust Manifolds, Exhaust Valves, Flex Plate, Fly Wheel, Freeze Plugs, Front Crank Pulley Bolt, Harmonic Balancer, Intake Manifold, Intake Valves, Intercooler, Intermediate Shaft Lifters, Main Bearing Caps, Main Bearings, Oil Cooler, Oil Cooler Intake, Oil Filter Adapter, Oil Plan, Oil Pressure Relief Spring, Oil Pump, Oil Pump Gears, Oil Rings, Oil Sending Unit, Piston Rings, Pistons, Pushrods, Rocker Arm Studs, Rocker Arms, Rod Bearings, Seals/Gaskets/O-Rings, Silent Shaft, Supercharger, Tappets, Thermostat Housing, Thrust Pins, Timing Belt, Timing Belt Tensioner, Timing Gears, Timing Sprockets, Turbocharger, Valve Covers, Valve Keepers, Valve Lifters, Valve Seats, Valve Springs, Valve Stem Guides, Valve Stem Seals, Vibration Dampers, Wastegate, Wrist Pins
• Transmission/Transfer Case
  • Accumulator Pistons, Accumulator Rings, Accumulator Seal Bands, Bearings, Bell Housing, Bushings, Case, Chains, Check Balls, Control Module Cooler, Counter Shafts, Detent Cable, Drive Link, Drive Plate, Drums, Dust Cap, External 4×4 Actuator, External Control Module, External Servos, Flex Plate, Front Bands, Gaskets, Gears, Gearshift Lever, Governor, Governor Support, Impeller Hub, Input Shaft, Input Turbine, Input Turbine Sensor, Intermediate Bands, Internal 4×4 Actuator, Kickdown Bands, Kickdown Servo, Main Shaft, Manual Shaft, Modulator Valve, Multifunction Valves, Neutral Safety Switch, O-Rings, Oil Cooler Lines, Oil Pan, Oil Pump, Oil Pump Cover, Output Gears, Output Shaft, Output Shaft Bearings, Overdrive Switch, Parking Lock Spring, Parking Pawl, Pistons, Planetary Gear Carrier, Planetary Gears, Pressure Sensors, Range Selector, Reaction Gear Set, Rear Bands, Reverse Bands, Reverse Servo, Ring Gears, Roll Pins, Roller Clutches, Seals, Servo Rings, Shafts, Shift Cover, Shift Forks, Shift Indicator, Shift Valves, Shifter Linkage, Shifter Lock Cable, Side Cover, Snap Rings, Speed Sensor Speedometer Drive Gear, Sprags, Springs, Sprocket Supports, Sprockets, Stator, Start Shaft, Sun Gears, Synchronizer Hub, Synchronizer Rings, Synchros, Temperature Sensor, Throttle Linkage, Thrust Washer, Throttle Valve, Throttle Valve Control Cable, Torque Converter, Transaxle, Transaxle Case, Turbine, Vacuum Modulator, Valve Body, Valve Solenoids, Vents
• Fuel System
  • Air Temperature Sensor, Barometric Pressure Sensor, Cold Start Switch, Coolant Temperature Sensor, Esc Detonation Sensor, Fast Idle Valve, Fuel Accumulator, Fuel Charging Assembly, Fuel Distributor Manifold, Fuel Gauge, Fuel Injection Relay, Fuel Injector Resistor, Fuel Injectors, Fuel Meter, Fuel Pressure Damper, Fuel Pressure Regulator, Fuel Pump, Fuel Pump Relay, Fuel Pump Sensor, Fuel Rail, Fuel Sending Unit, Fuel Tank, Idle Air Control Motor, Idle Air Control Valve, Knock Sensor, Manifold Pressure Sensor, Mass Air Flow Sensor, Metal Fuel Delivery Lines, Seals/Gaskets/O-Rings, Supercharger Actuator, Supercharger Solenoid, Tdc Sensor, Throttle Assembly, Throttle Position Sensor, Vehicle Speed Sensor, Wastgate, Actuator, Engine Control Module
• Heating & A/C
  • A/C Hoses, Accumulator, Aspirator, Blower Motor, Clutch Pulley, Compressor Clutch, Compressor Manifold, Condenser, Drive Belt Tensioner, Evaporator, Expansion Valve, Heater Control Valve, Heater Core, Orifice Valve, Pressure Relief Valve, Receiver/Driver, Schrader Valve, Seals/Gaskets/O-Rings, Temperature Controller, Vacuum Tank, Vent Door Motor.
• Steering
  • Center Link, Evo Actuator, Flow Control Valve, Fluid Cooler, Fluid Cooler Lines, Hoses, Idler Arm, Pitman Arm, Pressure Switch, Pump, Pump Reservoir, Rack And Pinion, Relay Rod, Seals, Gaskets, O-Rings, Shaft Bearings/Bushings, Shaft U-Joints/Couplings, Spindle, Spindle Support, Steering Column, Steering Control Module, Steering Damper, Steering Gear, Steering Knuckle, Steering Valve Body, Tie Rod/Tie Rod End, Tilt Mechanism.
• Ignition System
  • Buzzer Switch, Camshaft Sensor, Crankshaft Angle Sensor, Crankshaft Position Excitor, Distributor, Distributor Model, Electric Ignition Control Module, ESC Module, Hall Effect Switch, Igniter Unit, Ignition Lock Cylinder, Ignition Switch, Pickup Coil, Pulse Generator, Pulse Sensor, Pulse Transmitter, Stator
• Suspension
  • Bearings/Bushings Suspension, Cams Coil Springs, Control Arm Bushings, Control Arm Shafts, King Pins, Leaf Springs, Lower Ball Joints, Lower Control Arms, Radius Arms, Seals, Gaskets, O-Rings, Spindle Supports, Spindles, Spring Shackles, Stabilizer Bars, Stabilizer Bar Bushings, Stabilizer Bar Links, Strut Bars, Strut Mounts, Sway Bars, Sway Bar Links/Mounts, Torsion Bar Mounts, Torsion Bars, Track Bar Bushings, Track Bars, Upper Ball Joints, Upper Control Arms
• Brake System
  • ABS Accumulator Switch, ABS Control Module, ABS Lamp Relay, ABS Motor, ABS Power Modulator Relay, ABS Pressure Switch, ABS Pump, ABS Solenoid, ABS Wheel Speed Sensor, Brake Hoses, Brake Light Switch, Brake Pedal, Caliper, Combination Valve, Compensating Valve, Excitor Ring,G Hydro Boost, Load Sensing Valve, Master Cylinder, Metal Brake Lines, Parking Brake Actuator, Parking Brake Cable, Parking Brake Equalizer, Power Brake Booster, Pressure Accumulator, Pressure Limiting Valve, Seals, Gaskets, O-Rings, Self-Adjuster, Vacuum Valve, Wheel Cylinders
• Cooling System
  • Fan Blade, Fan Clutch, Fan Motor, Fan Motor Relay, Overflow Tank, Radiator, Seals, Gaskets, O-Rings, Temperature Sending Unit, Water Pump
• Electrical
  • Alternator, Amplifier, Antenna Mast/Motor, Anti-Theft System, Backup Lamp Switch, Cassette Player, CD Player, Clutch Start Switch, Convertible Top Motor, Convertible Top Switch, Cruise Control Actuator, Cruise Control Cable, Cruise Control Servo, Cruise Control Switch, Cruise Control Transducer, Daytime Running Light Module, Defroster, Defroster Switch, Dome Light Switch, Door Lock Actuator, Door Lock Switch, Driver Information Gauges, Glove Box Light Switch, Hand Operated Switches, Hazard Warning Switch, Headlamp Switch, Headlight Motor, Horn, Horn Relay, Horn Switch, Map Light Switch, Power Window Motor, Power Window Switch, Radio, Seals, Gaskets, O-Rings, Starter, Starter Drive, Starter Relay, Starter Solenoid, Sunroof Motor, Sunroof Switch, Trunk Pull Down Motor, Turn Signal Switch, Voltage Regulator, Window Motor Switch, Windshield Washer Pump, Windshield Washer Switch, Windshield Wiper Motor, Windshield Wiper Switch, Wiper Delay Module, Wiring Harness, Body Control Module
• Front & Rear Wheel Drive
  • Axles, Axle Shaft, Carrier Bearing, Center Support Bearings, CV Joints, Differential Carrier, Differential Cover, Differential Housing, Drive Shaft, Half Shafts, Locking Hubs, Pinion Gear, Positraction Clutches, Ring Gears, Seals, Gaskets, O-Rings, Side Bearings, Slip Joints Spyder Gears, Universal Joints, Vents, Wheel Bearings, Yokes
• Emissions
  • Air Injection Pump, EGR Control Valve, EGR Modulator, EGR Purge Control Solenoid, EGR Temperature Sensor, EGR Transducer, Fuel Tank Pressure Control Valve, Fuel Vapor Canister, Oxygen Sensor, PCV Valve, Purge Control Canister, Seals, Gaskets, O-Rings
• Exhaust
  • Catalytic Converters, Gaskets, Muffler, Pipe, Resonator
• Electric/Hybrid
  • DC to DC Converter, Hybrid Control Module, Hybrid Drive/Electric Motor
• Misc
  • Door Hinge, Door Latch/Lock, Gas Tank Door Release, Glove Box Hatch, Glove Box Latch, Glove Box Lock, Hood Hinge, Hood Latch/Lock, Hood Release, Hood Springs, Hydraulic Hatch Strut, Keyless Entry Receiver, Keyless Entry Transmitter
• Level Ride Sensor
  • Odometer, Seat Track, Speedometer, Speedometer Cable, Storage Bin Hinge, Storage Bin Latch, Storage Bin Lock, Sunroof Cables, Sunroof Guides, Tachometer, Tail Gate Hinge, Tail Gate Latch/Lock, Window Regulator, Windshield Wiper Reservoir, Windshield Wiper Linkage

How Much Does The CarvanaCare Extended Warranty Cost?

How much your CarvanaCare Extended Warranty is going to cost depends on 3 things.

1. The model you select
2. It’s mileage
3. The level of coverage you select

With that in mind, we went ahead and got quotes for a hatchback, a sedan, a minivan, a SUV, a crossover, and a truck. These quotes were obtained in Tampa, Florida however they shouldn’t change because location is not a variable for extended warranty plans.

The CarvanaCare Extended Warranty Is Worth It – For Certain People

Getting an extended warranty through Carvana can be a great choice considering how inexpensive it is. Because Carvana does its own 150 point inspection, it’s able to accurately forecast out what your vehicle should cost in maintenance over the life of your extended warranty.

Carvana also makes a pretty penny on you financing your vehicle and is able to offer the warranty as a cherry on top to get a little extra cash out of you.

With that said, we think CarvanaCare is a great value for a couple of different situations:

1. If you’re buying a car notorious for expensive repairs (BMW, Mercedes, RAM, Audi).
2. If the car you’re considering buying has higher mileage (think 70,000+ or so)
3. If you’re okay with paying between $20-$80 bucks a month to not have to worry about a good deal of covered repairs (Carvana claims to cover over 7,500 components)
4. If the entire cost of the policy can be paid for by one covered repair. For example, if you paid $1,800 for a policy but had a $2,800 transmission repair, the Carvana warranty would have saved you at least $1,000 dollars.
5. If you’re on a fixed income and can’t handle the possibility of a $1000+ repair. However, if that’s the case, you probably shouldn’t be buying a Carvana vehicle anyway!

Ultimately what it comes down to is your tolerance for risk. Because most of Carvana’s cars are newer models with lower mileage and have been thoroughly inspected it’s unlikely that you’re going to suffer a major breakdown under the warranty period.

The biggest knock against the CarvanaCare extended warranty is their coverage period. None of the options we saw covered more than 125,000 miles. From our data, a car over 150,000 miles is up to 6x more likely to suffer from a major repair than a car with 75,000 miles.

What it comes down to for us is this: is up to $80 bucks a month worth not having to worry about paying for a mechanical breakdown of the covered components above? We’ll let you decide that for yourself!

The Carvana Care Extended Warranty Reviews Are Admittedly Mixed

Now of course, to make the ultimate determination if you should buy the CarvanaCare extended warranty, we’ll need to look at some reviews first.

After doing some research, a lot of the issues with Carvana seem to be related to Carvana delivering cars with unreported cosmetic defects. With that said, the majority of the problems we found were with SilverRock, the 3^rd party administrator. Carvana is NOT a direct provider which is somewhat of an issue.

The primary complaints we found were:

1. SilverRock taking their time to approve a claim. This is a very common issue with non-direct providers considering a claim has to be passed between multiple different people in 2+ companies.
2. Even if a repair is covered, common complaints suggest that it can take weeks for the repair to actually be finished.
3. You have to follow Carvana’s maintenance schedule, which is more frequent. For example, oil changes are required every 5,000 miles, and not covered under the policy. This is particularly painful if you need a synthetic oil change. Timing belts also need to be replaced at 60,000 miles.
4. SilverRock, the 3^rd party administrator has a very poor track record. Their current BBB rating is 1.25 stars out of 5.
5. Customers have had issues with SilverRock not paying for diagnostic work.
6. SilverRock appears to deny a number of claims that should be covered based on our experience. However, we can tell you that customers who have a negative experience are far more likely to leave a review than customers who have a very positive experience.

After looking through all the reviews, we can surmise the issue as follows: the issue isn’t with Carvana, it’s with SilverRock, who is responsible for the processing and payment of your potential claims. With that said, we can’t take reviews alone as an absolute considering that customers who have had bad experiences tend to report more than customers who haven’t.

Should You Buy The CarvanaCare Extended Warranty?

To be clear: Carvana has not paid or endorsed us in any way to say this. In fact, we’re directly competing with them.

With that in mind, we feel comfortable in saying that based on what we’ve seen, CarvanaCare is an excellent value for the money, even though experience tells us you probably won’t use your policy because you’ll be getting a lower mileage vehicle that’s been thoroughly inspected.

Other than the relatively short coverage terms, CarvanaCare is a pretty good option if you haven’t already bought a car from Carvana. If you have and can’t extend your warranty, you still do have options, however.

What Is A Direct Contract Provider?

As we’ve established, Carvana is not a direct provider of their extended warranty. SilverRock is the company used as a 3^rd party administrator. Let’s take a look at what this means in practice.

A direct contract provider is a service contract company that administrates and services its own claims, legally speaking. What that means, is when a direct contract provider sells you a vehicle service contract, 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 contact providers.

Other vehicle service 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 contract 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 Be Covered By The Best Rated Direct Provider? Protect My Car Can Help

Ultimately, if you didn’t get the CarvanaCare extended warranty, you still have options. We’re one of them, and we’re willing to help. While we’re far from the only extended warranty company, we can certainly offer something very few can.

We’re able to offer plans up to 300,000 miles, while most companies cover 150,000 or less. Because we can administrate our own contracts, we can give you the wholesale price that most other providers can’t afford to do.

As a proud direct service contract 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 service contract companies out there, we know we’re the best and we want to prove it to you.

That’s why, for a limited time you can get up to 10% off your policy by using our buy online tool. From there, you’ll be able to shop all of our different plans, online, with no phone call needed. You can buy a plan and have your car covered in less than 5 minutes.

Because we’re a direct service contract 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 discount before we’re no longer able to offer it! You’ll be one step closer to not having to shell out thousands for an expensive repairs as you enjoy the peace of mind that an extended car warranty can provide.