Elite Auto Protect Review: Appealing Options for Older Cars

While car insurance will protect you in case of an accident, a car warranty can bring peace of mind in the event your car suffers mechanical failures that are a result of manufacturing faults. Once your manufacturer’s warranty expires, equipping your whip with the best extended warranty for its needs offers some well needed peace of mind. If something goes wrong, there’s a policy in place to help cover the costs.

Breakdowns might be a particular concern for drivers of older cars, and this is where Elite Auto Protect is interesting. Where some warranty companies will apply limits according to the age of the vehicle, Elite Auto Protect’s policy is more generous. Just hope that when your car does breakdown, you’re not too far from home, unless you’ve got enough in the bank to cover a hotel and onward travel.

Elite Auto Protect review: What you need to know

Elite Auto Protect, based out of Wilmington, Delaware, has been providing warranty services for more than 15 years. There are three tiers of coverage – Basic, Plus, and Elite – offering varying levels of cover. At the Basic level, there’s a 10-year age limit for vehicles, while the Plus and Elite policies cover models from 1999 onwards.

This is particularly important since the average age of vehicles in the US continues to rise, according to data from S&P Global Mobility. Note, however, there’s still a 150,000 mile limit, so while older cars are covered, those with high-mileage vehicles might be better served by companies such as Toco or Endurance Warranty.

There’s a 30-day waiting period after sign-up before you’ll be able to make a claim – which is standard for the industry, unless you use a company such as Olive.

As is often the case for extended warranties, you’ll need to have maintained your car in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendation. If you’ve owned the vehicle in question for a long time and have a proper log of its maintenance then you’ll be fine; however, those whose cars have a patchy vehicle maintenance history would be advised to have a conversation with a prospective warranty provider before taking out a policy.

Finally, the maximum payout with Elite Auto Protect can be to the value of the car, rather than some arbitrary figure that you might find on other policies.

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Elite Auto Protect review: Tiers and parts coverage

The Basic tier from Auto Elite Protect stipulates a 10-year age limit on the car, but the Plus and Elite tiers offer coverage for models from 1999 onwards – which is more generous timeframe than what is offered by many rivals. Be aware of the 150,000 mileage limit, however.

Elite Auto Protect covers electric motors, too, which isn’t something that all warranties do. If you want cover for cameras and parking sensors, for example, you’ll need to the Elite level of coverage – and even then, the policy here isn’t as comprehensive as that provided by a firm such as Endurance Warranty for covering all of your in-car technology.

Note that the Basic level offers no coverage at all for the high-tech systems in your car.

Elite Auto Protect review: Breakdown cover and extras

Elite Auto Protect includes breakdown cover on all tiers; but again, this is an area where the offering isn’t as comprehensive as some others. There’s no protection for trip interruption, which means the cost of having to stay in a hotel overnight in the event of a breakdown won’t be covered. If you’re regularly undertaking long distance trips then a provider which offers reimbursement, CarmaCare for instance, will be a better option for you

Plus, any reimbursement is only at a basic level; the policy doesn’t cover all of the expenses you’ll incur if your vehicle breaks down. Endurance Warranty’s offering is better in this regard.

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Elite Auto Protect review: Customer service

Elite doesn’t have a web portal or app to support customers, so you’ll have to deal with any claims via phone or use email. That’s a little behind the times – of the top warranty services we considered, only a couple have failed to embrace the latest technology to keep customers informed, of which Elite Auto Protect is one and Select Auto Protect is another.

Should you have to make a claim, you’ll have to use a licensed facility recognised by the state as a vehicle repair shop for Elite Auto Protect to pay.

Elite Auto Protect doesn’t have any reviews on Trustpilot, which might make some apprehensive to consider it compared to some other firms with plenty of user feedback.

Elite Auto Protect review: Verdict

Elite Auto Protect looks to offer warranties on older vehicles with higher mileage than some of the competition, with good protection for standard parts such as the powertrain across all tiers of coverage. Plus, Elite Auto Protect will pay up to the value of the vehicle, so if you have a larger claim, you should be covered.

While breakdown cover is included, in this area Elite Auto Protect isn’t as comprehensive as rival offerings from providers such as Endurance and CarmaCare. Elite Auto Protect only makes contributions to some of the costs rather than covering them all.

The lack of reviews is a concern, and the absence of a customer portal will make dealing with Elite Auto Protect a little more difficult than it is with some other warranty firms.