Is CarShield Legit?

CarShield is a legitimate extended auto warranty provider, offering six vehicle service contracts. In our review of the best car warranty companies, we gave CarShield an overall review score of 8.9 out of 10.0 based on its reputation, coverage, cost, transparency and customer experience. 

The MarketWatch Guides editorial team also gave the provider our Affordable Monthly Payments designation in 2023 for its affordable rates and unique month-to-month coverage structure.

We also took a deep dive into the thousands of CarShield reviews online, showing that the company is indeed legitimate. It’s earned the following scores from review sites:

• BBB customer review score: 1.48 out of 5.0
• Trustpilot customer review score: 4.2 out of 5.0
• Google customer review score: 4.3 out of 5.0

CarShield BBB Complaints

While CarShield has a solid reputation on other review sites, its ratings on the BBB show a relatively high number of customer complaints. The company has closed nearly 3,500 complaints in the last three years, with over 1,000 complaints closed just in the past year.

CarShield has been flagged by the BBB due to a series of complaints on the platform that talk about how CarShield:

• Promoted misleading sales and advertising practices, including TV advertisements
• Failed to cover auto repairs
• Failed to explain mileage and time components before coverage began
• Didn’t cancel policies or provide refunds
• Delayed taking and processing claims
• Had limited repair shop availability
• Displayed poor customer service

After being contacted by the BBB, CarShield released a statement saying:

“CarShield works hard to provide excellent customer service to all consumers we encounter and to meet the demands and standards set forth by the BBB.” 

Our team reached out to CarShield for a comment on these scores and complaints and did not receive a response.

While CarShield is a reputable company overall, there are still things our editorial team found that the company can improve on when it comes to its reputation and customer service. In our industry-wide review, we gave CarShield a rating of 8.9 out of 7.5 for customer experience and 9.1 for reputation.

During our research, we found that most CarShield customers complained about the company’s claims experience. Car owners often found that the component they needed fixed wasn’t covered under their contract, which led to frustration. 

While CarShield provides sample contracts on its website, these contracts can sometimes be misleading for customers who are unfamiliar with how extended car warranties work. While our team gives the provider high ratings in the coverage, cost and transparency categories, the provider scores lower in areas related to reputation and customer experience.

CarShield offers six coverage plans, all of which come with perks like roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement and trip interruption coverage. Like most warranty companies, CarShield provides a bumper-to-bumper warranty (the Diamond plan) that covers everything in your car but a small list of exclusions laid out in the contract.

Two other plans that CarShield offers are geared towards specialty coverage, which isn’t common for warranty companies. The Aluminum contract protects high-tech electronic vehicle components, while the Motorcycle & ATV plan covers specialty vehicles like all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motorbikes.

All in all, we found that CarShield offers some of the most affordable coverage in the industry. Its plans can cost as little as $90 per month for basic powertrain coverage with the Silver plan. You can choose your deductible option when deciding on your level of coverage, typically $0, $50, $100 or $200. Contracts are also transferable to new owners and can be canceled anytime since they’re month to month.

Do You Need an Extended Warranty From CarShield?

Whether you need a warranty depends on your car’s reliability and your financial situation. If you’re in an older vehicle, like one that’s 10 years old and has 80,000 miles or more on it, it has a higher likelihood of experiencing a mechanical breakdown than a car that’s just a few years old. Your car’s make and model also influence how likely it is to break down.

Having a monthly CarShield warranty can provide peace of mind when it comes to dealing with expensive repair costs, especially when you don’t have to worry about towing to the nearest repair facility. If you’re able to pay for repairs out of pocket, it may not be worth it to get a CarShield contract.

CarShield is a legitimate extended warranty provider that can be a solid option if you’re looking for affordable coverage. The company offers competitive rates and plans that last up to 300,000 miles (one of the longest warranty mileage limits in the industry). 

Before you purchase coverage, read through the sample contract to know which of your vehicle’s components are and aren’t covered under warranty to avoid any surprises.

CarShield Alternatives

If you’re looking for an alternative to CarShield, there are other providers worth considering. We found that Endurance and Olive® offer excellent customer service, affordable coverage and transparency with their contracts.

Endurance: Best Comprehensive Coverage

Endurance received the highest score in our review of the best car warranty companies. It stands out for providing six extended warranty plans, in addition to three mechanical breakdown plans for California drivers. Each plan comes with one year of Endurance Elite Benefits, which include perks like total loss protection, tire replacement and key fob replacement.

Read more: Endurance warranty review

Olive: Convenient Online Process

Olive stands out for offering unique benefits, like a hassle-free online claims process and no waiting period before its vehicle service contracts go into effect. It also offers protection plans with no yearly mileage limits, making it an ideal choice for owners of high-mileage vehicles or older cars.

The company offers three main levels of coverage. Its highest warranty is similar to a manufacturer’s warranty in that it covers almost everything. Olive’s basic powertrain plan covers your vehicle’s most essential (and expensive) components.

Read more: Olive warranty review

Below are frequently asked questions about whether CarShield is a legitimate extended warranty provider.

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best extended car warranty companies. We collected data on dozens of auto warranty providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the companies that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Reputation: Our research team considers availability, ratings from industry experts and years in business when conferring this score.
• Coverage: Companies that offer a variety of choices for warranty coverage, long contract terms and added benefits are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Cost: Auto warranty companies with affordable rates and multiple deductibles scored highest in this category.
• Transparency: This score is based on contract transparency and the availability of a money-back guarantee.
• Customer experience: Based on customer satisfaction ratings and our extensive shopper analysis, we consider the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each warranty company’s customer service team.

Our credentials:

• 500+ hours researched
• 50 companies reviewed
• 2,000+ consumers surveyed

*Data accurate at time of publication.