As a car owner, you have a lot of responsibilities and things to keep in mind if you want to keep your vehicle in good working order. Maintenance, service, cleaning, and detailing are all essential parts of car ownership and can help prevent serious issues and expensive repairs down the line. Sooner or later, though, most vehicles will need a repair of some kind, and when that happens, you want to be prepared. An extended warranty can help.

An extended auto warranty, which is more accurately called a vehicle service contract (VSC), can help you pay for repairs after your vehicle’s factory warranty has expired. Several third-party VSC providers are on the market, and choosing the right one for your car and your needs is crucial.

Endurance Warranty and Optimus Warranty Group are two providers offering coverage in the U.S. market. Knowing how they compare and what each has to offer will help you choose the right one to keep your vehicle in good condition for many years.

Company Overviews: Endurance and Optimus Warranty Group

Endurance Warranty

Endurance Warranty has provided drivers with a wide range of auto protection plans since 2006. With plans for every budget and nearly every type of vehicle, there is customized coverage available no matter what your needs are. Starting at just $99 per month, you can keep your vehicle in the best possible shape and get the help you need when you need it most.

Endurance also provides top-notch customer service from an award-winning team. Plus, with the Endurance mobile app, you can access your plan any time of the day or night. Endurance offers perks and benefits with every plan, such as 24/7 roadside assistance, rental car coverage, and travel interruption costs. Every Endurance customer can also access exclusive Elite Benefits for a small activation fee. This includes extra services like tire repair or replacement, key fob replacement, $1,000 toward total loss protection, and more.

One of the things that makes Endurance unique is the company’s mechanical breakdown insurance (MBI) option. This coverage is available to California residents who could not otherwise get a protection plan due to strict regulations in the state. In place of a VSC, MBI acts as an insurance policy to help cover the cost of repairs due to mechanical breakdowns.

Optimus Warranty Group

Optimus Warranty Group was founded in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2019 and offers dealer-provided extended coverage to customers all over the United States. With a wide range of products for customers to choose from, Optimus Warranty Group provides coverage that customers can buy when they purchase a pre-owned vehicle from a licensed dealer.

Optimus Warranty Group offers many products for people who want protection for their pre-owned vehicles. This includes things like wraparound protection, which covers certified pre-owned cars, and wheel and tire coverage. No matter how you want to protect your vehicle, there will most likely be a product that suits your needs.

Coverage Options: Endurance vs. Optimus Warranty Group

Endurance

Endurance offers plans for every need and nearly every type of vehicle. While every plan is customized to your specific situation, the available coverage plans include:

• Secure – When you need the most basic coverage possible and are working on a budget, the Secure plan protects essential components like the powertrain, transmission, and water pump.
• Secure Plus – Having slightly more comprehensive coverage can be a major help, and the Secure Plus plan covers the things that are more likely to malfunction on older vehicles, such as the steering system and electrical components.
• Select Premier – It can be difficult to find coverage for a high-mileage vehicle, but the Select Premier plan protects cars with up to 150,000 miles on the odometer and covers the most essential components.
• Superior – The Superior plan is designed to cover a wide range of parts and keep your vehicle in the best possible condition by protecting the fuel system, air conditioning system, suspension, and everything else covered in the lower-tier plans.
• Supreme – The Supreme plan is Endurance’s exclusionary coverage plan and offers complete breakdown coverage for all vehicle parts with only a few exclusions. It also comes with a 30-day/1,000-mile waiting period before the coverage activates.
• Supreme for Highline Vehicles – High-end luxury cars need protection like any other vehicle, and the Supreme for Highline Vehicles plan is designed to cover cars by automakers like Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz that have less than 80,000 miles on the odometer and are less than eight years old.
• Advantage – Maintenance coverage is essential if you want to keep your car in great shape. The Advantage plan offers comprehensive protection and up to $3,500 in routine maintenance like oil changes and filter changes.

Endurance also offers standard benefits to every customer. These include things like 24/7 roadside assistance, rental car coverage, and travel interruption costs. For a small activation fee, every Endurance customer can also access exclusive Elite Benefits, including extra services like tire repair or replacement, key fob replacement, $1,000 total loss protection, and more.

Optimus Warranty Group

Optimus Warranty Group offers a fairly large range of coverage products through dealers nationwide. Most of their plans have two different programs, New and Pre-Owned, which will determine the cost of the coverage. New programs are available for vehicles that are no more than four years old, and Pre-Owned programs are available for vehicles that are no more than 12 years old. The tiers of coverage that the company offers in these two programs include:

• Basic Care – This plan covers the most basic components of the vehicle that keep it running, such as the engine, transmission, and drive axle.
• Preferred Care – The Preferred Care plan includes all the coverage in the Basic Care plan, including brakes, air conditioning, steering, and suspension.
• Premier Care – If you want exclusionary coverage for your vehicle, the Premier Care plan is your best option, with protection for every part of the car, with only a few exceptions.
• Premier Care Wrap – The Premier Care Wrap plan is designed to cover certified pre-owned vehicles and wraps around the factory coverage to bolster the protection and keep your vehicle in the best possible shape.

Optimus Warranty Group offers standard benefits with the coverage plan. These benefits include towing reimbursement of up to $100, rental car coverage, trip interruption reimbursement, and a deductible reimbursement of up to $100. Several extra products can be purchased alongside a VSC, including the Optimal Care Maintenance Plan, which covers upkeep. Optimum Protection protects exterior components like glass and tires. And Optimal Appearance Protection offers paint and interior coverage to keep your car looking its best.

Optimus Warranty Group also offers Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) coverage. This coverage is designed to protect you in the event that your vehicle is in an accident and is deemed a total loss. With GAP coverage, you can be covered for the difference between what your insurance pays for the vehicle and what you still owe.

Pricing Structures and Flexibility

Endurance Warranty

When you sign up for a protection plan from Endurance Warranty, you get a customized quote specific to your particular vehicle and situation and a 30-day money-back guarantee. While plans start at $99 per month, your coverage will be designed to give you the best possible protection. Depending on factors like how many miles your vehicle has, what kind of deductible you want to pay, and what type of vehicle you own, your particular pricing structure will vary.

Endurance offers flexible payment plans, though, so you can get a plan that suits your needs and budget. Since Endurance is a direct provider, you can be sure that you are getting the best possible price without an intermediary bringing the cost of coverage up.

Optimus Warranty Group

Optimus Warranty Group only offers protection plans through dealerships. Since the company is not a direct provider of coverage, the price of plans will change from customer to customer and dealership to dealership. With dealer-provided coverage, the dealer will often take a percentage of the sale of coverage, which can drive up the cost of plans in order to keep margins wide. Because of this, it is important to shop around and get multiple quotes from direct providers before you decide that a dealer-provided plan is the right choice for you and your vehicle.

Customer Reviews and Satisfaction Levels

Endurance

Endurance has one of the best reputations for customer service and satisfaction in the VSC industry. With an award-winning customer service team on hand to walk you through any questions you may have, customers feel that they are taken care of every step of the way. Many of the reviews that customers have given Endurance over the years have praised the service team’s knowledge and helpful attitude when it was needed the most.

Endurance currently holds a high star rating on Trustpilot, with over 7,000 reviews in total, with many reviewers also praising the easy claims process and the comprehensive coverage that was provided. Endurance also maintains a 4.2-star rating on Google (as of February 2024).

Optimus Warranty Group

Optimus Warranty Group is not reviewed on any major review sites, such as Trustpilot or the Better Business Bureau, but this may be because they are a relatively new company. Many of the reviews that have been submitted elsewhere, though, are less than satisfactory.

Customers have felt that there were discrepancies in their contracts and information that have resulted in claims being denied. It should be noted, though, that this could be an issue with the dealership that sold the plan instead of with Optimus Warranty Group itself. Another review also mentioned that once the customer contacted an Optimus representative, they were very helpful and solved their issue for them. Based on these reviews, it might be a good idea to consult with Optimus directly for customer service issues instead of the dealership.

Service Quality and Claims Process

Endurance Warranty

On top of Endurance’s incredible customer service, many drivers have also been impressed with the easy claims process. With an Endurance membership, all you have to do is take your vehicle to the certified shop of your choice. Once there, present your Endurance contract, and the service manager will take care of the rest. If the repair is covered under your particular plan, the shop can get right to work and get you back on the road.

This easy claims process and the ability to purchase a plan with a $0 deductible make getting your vehicle repaired as easy as possible. In a stressful situation like a vehicle breakdown, you want to be sure that you don’t have to go through any more hassle than is absolutely necessary.

Optimus Warranty Group

The claims process with Optimus Warranty Group is fairly simple, but it has some caveats. For the most part, the company encourages you to take your vehicle to the original dealership where you bought it when you need repairs. While this may be convenient enough for some people, for others, the dealership may be far away from where they live or out of the way when it comes to their day-to-day routine.

It is possible to take your vehicle to a shop outside the dealership, but according to Optimus, you must choose a shop from the company’s list of approved service providers. This makes it more difficult to get the repairs you need. On top of this inconvenient process, many customers have also had trouble getting their claims approved once they bring their vehicles to the shop. Because of this, it is a good idea to consult your contract and know exactly what is covered and where you can bring your car before you decide to get coverage from Optimus.

Get the Best Coverage and Service With Endurance

When the time comes to get a protection plan for your vehicle, you want to ensure you are getting the best possible service. Choosing a provider with a reputation for good customer service and comprehensive coverage will be your best bet. With a good understanding of how different providers stack up, you can make an informed decision that will keep your car in great shape for a long time.

Endurance offers a wide variety of auto protection plans, the most comprehensive protection on the market, and a friendly, knowledgeable customer service team. With standard benefits and extra perks to help give you peace of mind whenever you are behind the wheel, Endurance will help you keep your new or used car running smoothly.

If you’d like protection for your car and your bank account, contact our award-winning customer service department at (800) 253-8203 for a FREE quote. You can also shop online to see your price right away.

Continue reading about all things automotive, including other comparisons with extended car warranty companies like CarShield and CARCHEX, repair facility reviews, mechanical breakdown insurance, FAQs, and more on the Endurance Warranty blog.