Keeping your car in great shape is your best bet to make the most of it and get your money’s worth over the years. While regular maintenance and service can help, the most important thing is to take care of repairs as soon as they arise. This will prevent larger, more expensive repairs and any issues from worsening. If you want help paying for repairs and getting them done quickly, an extended warranty, more accurately called a vehicle service contract (VSC), is a great way to get the assistance you need.

When you buy a new vehicle, it will come with a factory warranty provided by the manufacturer to protect you from any issues with the design or production. You will be responsible for any repairs when this factory warranty is up.

A vehicle service contract can take some financial burdens off your shoulders and keep your car running smoothly for a long time. You have all kinds of options for warranty providers, but Endurance and Mechanical Protection Plan (MPP) are two of the most popular. Knowing how these two companies compare and how they stack up against one another will help you make the right choice so you can have confidence whenever you hit the road.

Company Overviews

Endurance Warranty

Endurance has provided top-notch protection plans to drivers throughout the United States for over 16 years. With plans for every kind of car and every type of driver, there are options for everyone. Starting at just $99 per month, you can get protection for vehicles of all kinds, including cars that other providers won’t cover, such as cars with a rebuilt or salvage title, Canadian Gray Market vehicles, and cars used for things like rideshare, delivery, or other commercial purposes.

Endurance’s award-winning customer service team highlights the company’s brand. And, with their mobile app, you can access your plan 24 hours a day. Endurance also offers various perks and benefits with every plan, like 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 add-on includes extra services like tire repair or replacement, key fob replacement, $1,000 toward total loss protection, and more.

Unlike many auto protection providers, Endurance offers California residents mechanical breakdown insurance (MBI) coverage. Due to strict state regulations, Californians can purchase only this type of insurance contract to help cover the cost of repairs due to mechanical breakdowns.

Mechanical Protection Plan

Mechanical Protection Plan has been in the VSC business in one form or another for over 30 years. They pride themselves on being one of the most financially sound VSC providers in the United States. They are backed by the Old United Casualty Company, which provides insurance for all plans and helps protect customers. One thing to note is that their services are only available in ten states. These states include:

• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• New Mexico
• Texas

They have a wide variety of extended car warranty plans, including new and used cars and prepaid maintenance plans, making them a good choice if you have a few different needs for your vehicle and want to take care of them all in one place.

Warranty Coverage Options

Endurance

Endurance offers customized coverage for all kinds of drivers, automobiles, and budgets. These are just the main coverage plans:

• Supreme – If you want some of the best protection outside your factory warranty, the Supreme plan will be your best option. It covers nearly every component, including the cooling system, electrical components, seals, gaskets, and tech features that other providers won’t cover.
• Supreme for Highline Vehicles – High-end luxury vehicles can be challenging to get coverage for, and many providers don’t include them in their plans. The Supreme for Highline plan covers vehicles made by major manufacturers like Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and Alfa Romeo, as long as they have fewer than 80,000 miles on the odometer and are less than eight years old.
• Superior – While you may not need bumper-to-bumper coverage, it is still a good idea to protect as much of your car as possible. The Superior plan offers vital component coverage on the most common parts that break down over time, including the engine, transmission, A/C, and more.
• Select Premier – If your vehicle has relatively high mileage, you may need help finding coverage. The Select Premier plan is specifically designed for high-mileage vehicles and will help protect your older car, even when other providers won’t.
• Secure Plus – To keep your vehicle running for as long as possible, you must protect its essential components. The Secure Plus plan offers affordable coverage designed for older cars and covers the engine, transmission, and drive axle, ensuring these crucial systems are in good shape.
• Secure – If you want protection for your vehicle on a budget, the Secure plan is your best option. This wallet-friendly plan covers all the most essential components of your vehicle’s powertrain to ensure you can keep your car on the road.
• Advantage – Advantage offers comprehensive coverage and up to $3,500 in annual or routine maintenance costs, such as oil changes. This can save you a lot of money over the years and reduce the overall cost of ownership for your car while also giving you the highest level of protection.

Mechanical Protection Plan

MPP offers levels of coverage for new vehicles during factory coverage and used cars after your manufacturer’s warranty has expired:

Maintenance Coverage for New Vehicles

• Care Coverage – This plan can be added to your new vehicle’s factory coverage and includes oil and filter changes, lubrication, tire rotations, and other maintenance procedures.
• Elite Coverage – This could be a good option if you want to protect some of the extra accessories for your new vehicle. It covers the battery, headlamps, brake pads, engine belts, and hoses.
• Luxury Plus – The Luxury Plus plan covers some of the cosmetic aspects of your vehicle, like the exterior and everything included in the Elite Coverage Plan.

Coverage for Used Vehicles

• Certified Pre-Owned Platinum Wrap – This plan is designed to augment the factory coverage of a certified pre-owned vehicle. It covers all the components that are excluded from your factory coverage, and it wraps around your included plan to protect every part of the vehicle.
• Bronze Coverage – The Bronze Coverage plan is the most basic powertrain coverage you can get. It includes the car’s most important components, like the engine, transmission, and drive systems.
• Silver Coverage – This plan includes everything covered in the Bronze Coverage plan, as well as the steering, brakes, electrical system, and air conditioning unit.
• Gold Coverage – This is Mechanical Protection Plan’s exclusionary coverage for used vehicles and protects nearly every component of the car, including all the parts covered in the Bronze Coverage and Silver Coverage plans.

Benefits Beyond Coverage

Endurance

As a VSC company, Endurance is known for offering a wide variety of extra perks and benefits to customers that help keep them safe when they are behind the wheel and give them peace of mind. Every Endurance plan comes with standard benefits like 24/7 roadside assistance, towing, trip interruption coverage, and rental car reimbursement.

Plus, Endurance customers get access to the Elite Benefits package, which includes tire repair, key fob replacement, collision discounts, and total loss coverage. A small activation fee applies.

Endurance plans are also transferable and come with a 30-day free look period, which will help you be absolutely certain that you have chosen the right plan for your particular vehicle and needs.

Mechanical Protection Plan

Mechanical Protection Plan offers a few extra benefits to their customers with every plan. These benefits include up to $100 in towing services, up to $35 in rental car coverage for five days, and roadside assistance of up to $100. Their plans are also transferable, which can be a big help if you plan on selling your car at any point in the future. Other than that, there are no extra, optional benefits or extra perk programs that you can enroll in when you get one of their plans.

Pricing: Getting the Best Bang for Your Buck

Endurance Warranty

Endurance plans are fully customized for every individual driver and vehicle, and every plan will be different and tailored to your specific needs. The most basic coverage starts at $99 per month, so you can be sure there is something for every budget. You can also build the cost of your coverage into the total cost of ownership for your vehicle and the value added with a transferable plan. Endurance deductibles on claims range anywhere from $0 to $500, depending on your service contract.

Mechanical Protection Plan

Mechanical Protection Plan does not advertise the price of plans outright, and it is difficult to properly assess how much a plan will cost without getting a quote for a specific vehicle. Customers have claimed that their plans cost anywhere between $1,500 and $2,495, but these have been for their particular vehicles, and your quote may vary depending on things like mileage and the model year of the car.

Claims Process

Endurance

Endurance’s claims process is designed to be as easy and stress-free as possible. When you have to get a repair done on your vehicle, all you have to do is take it to an ASE Certified repair shop of your choosing and present your Endurance contract information. Endurance is the direct provider of most of their coverage plans, so you’ll be sure to have a hassle-free claims process.

The repair facility and Endurance’s award-winning customer service team will work together to ensure your repair will be covered by your plan. If you run into any issues, you can work with the customer service team to resolve them and get your vehicle back up and running so you can get back to your day-to-day life.

Mechanical Protection Plan

With a Mechanical Protection Plan service contract, you can take your vehicle to an ASE-certified shop for any necessary repairs. Mechanical Protection Plan and the shop will work out the details, and the company will pay the shop for the repair directly. This means that you won’t have to wait to be reimbursed and can simply get your car repaired and be on your way as long as the repair is covered under your current plan.

Customer Reviews and Company Reputation

Endurance Warranty

Endurance is one of the most trusted VSC providers in the country, with many customers praising everything from the coverage to the award-winning customer service team. Endurance currently holds a high star rating on Trustpilot, with over 7,000 reviews total, many of which name specific customer service team members as being particularly helpful. Current customers have also found the claims process incredibly simple and feel that all their needs were met during the repair process.

Mechanical Protection Plan

Both Mechanical Protection Plan and the insurance company that backs them, Old United Casualty Company, hold A+ ratings from the Better Business Bureau. When you look at reviews by current and former customers, though, the ratings are not nearly as high. Many customers found the claims process difficult and had trouble getting their repairs covered, even when their contracts specifically stated that they would be. Some customers have also found it difficult to get answers from the service team at Mechanical Protection Plan, which made the repair process frustrating and often cost more money than it should have.

Get the Best Protection With Endurance

When choosing a VSC for your vehicle, it is essential that you know what your options are and which providers offer the best service. Endurance’s plans and team members make getting your car fixed as hassle-free as possible. If you want comprehensive coverage and a customer service team with your interest at heart, Endurance will always be your best choice.

Endurance offers a wide variety of plans, the most comprehensive protection, and a friendly, helpful customer service team. With standard benefits and extra perks to help give you confidence and peace of mind on the road, Endurance can help you keep your new or used car running smoothly for a long time.

If you’d like protection for your car and wallet, 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 provider comparisons like CarShield and CARCHEX, repair facility reviews, mechanical breakdown insurance, FAQs, and more over on the Endurance Warranty blog.