Buying a car, whether it’s a new or used vehicle, can be incredibly liberating. As soon as you have the keys in your hand, you’re free to go wherever you want, whenever the moment takes you. Unfortunately, however, that kind of freedom doesn’t come cheap.

In fact, the AAA recently estimated that the annual cost of car ownership had boiled past the $12,000 mark. If that number causes you to break out in a cold sweat, you aren’t alone — drivers across the country are searching for ways to keep the amount they spend on their vehicles to a minimum.

An extended car warranty is one of the best ways to save on unexpected repair bills, but finding the right provider can be a tough task. There are just so many to choose from, and figuring out which best suits your individual needs takes a lot of time and research.

To help you make the best possible decision, our comparison series compares two of the leading names in auto protection plans to see who comes out on top. Here, we’ll compare Endurance Warranty and Total Auto Protect coverage options so you can see how they stack up.

What Is an Extended Warranty and Why Get One?

Put simply, an extended warranty is a fantastic way to save serious money on the cost of car ownership. But to give you the full picture, we need to go right back to the beginning of a car’s life cycle.

When you buy a new vehicle that’s just rolled off the production line, it comes with a factory warranty or a manufacturer warranty. This is effectively the automaker’s guarantee to repair or replace failed parts within a predetermined number of years or miles traveled and includes bumper-to-bumper coverage.

How long this lasts will completely depend on your manufacturer, with some being more generous than others. Whatever the case may be, the moment it expires, you are fully responsible for any future car repair bills, which is where the worry about money begins.

To continue enjoying the same peace of mind, there are two main options for protection. The first is what’s known as a more traditional extended warranty, which is usually purchased from a dealership or directly from your automaker. They do exactly what the name implies and extend your vehicle’s factory warranty coverage past the expiration date. While this might sound great on paper, there are some pretty significant drawbacks. Extended warranties are usually very expensive and only allow you to have repairs carried out at an authorized dealership. To make matters worse, you must take out an extended warranty while your factory warranty is still active. Leave it a day too late, and you’ll no longer qualify for coverage.

As a result, a vehicle service contract or vehicle protection plan from a third-party provider is the universally preferred alternative. Third parties are incentivized to offer coverage at an even better price point, usually offering added perks to give you better value for money. Work can also be carried out at the certified auto shop of your choice, and you don’t need to have an active factory warranty to be eligible — great news for used car owners.

While we’re on the topic, we should also point out that an extended warranty or vehicle service contract differs greatly from auto insurance. An extended warranty is specifically designed to protect you from the cost of repair bills incurred due to unexpected component failure, while auto insurance protects you from the cost of repair bills incurred due to a collision or other such incident. Together, they form the most effective defense from unwanted driving costs, so it’s highly recommended that you invest in both.

The Warranty Companies

Now that you’re all clued up on what an extended warranty is and includes, it’s about time we looked at the two companies in question.

About Endurance Warranty Services

As one of America’s longest-standing vehicle service contract providers, Endurance opened the doors of its HQ in Northbrook, IL, almost two decades ago. Since then, we’ve helped thousands of U.S. drivers to protect themselves from the rising costs of car ownership.

With unrivaled eligibility, we offer a wide range of plans designed to cater to an even wider range of drivers, with something for casual commuters, commercial vehicle users, high-mileage vehicles, and even select luxury car owners. We pride ourselves on our flexibility, too, so if none of the base plans suit your specific needs and budget, we’ll be more than happy to tailor a bespoke plan that ticks all of the right boxes.

Better yet, we also offer some of the best-added benefits around. All Endurance plans have 24/7 roadside assistance (including towing, fuel delivery, and lockout services), rental car reimbursement, and trip interruption coverage as standard. On top of that, new Endurance customers also get a year’s access to our Elite Benefits package and a 30-day free-look period. Our Elite Benefits add-on includes four tire repairs or replacements annually, key fob replacement, up to $500 in collision discounts, and up to $1,000 in total loss protection. Pay a small activation fee, and these additional valuable perks are all yours to enjoy.

There’s no pesky middleman to deal with when you want to make a claim either, as we’re the direct administrator of all our plans. We have an award-winning customer service team on hand at all times, plus you can download the handy Endurance Mobile app to put all of the most important information in the palm of your hand. Endurance plans are also fully transferable, giving you extra selling power if you decide to part ways with your vehicle.

About Total Auto Protect

Total Auto Protect is a vehicle service contract provider based in Wilmington, DE, with a Better Business Bureau file spanning just three years. Their current BBB rating is a C-, with customer reviews giving them a 2.33/5 score. Their Trustpilot score is better at 4.3/5, but the two recent 1-star warranty reviews claim that the better ratings are based on how easy it is to acquire coverage rather than how good it is to use.

There are just three coverage plans available from Total Auto Protect, which more or less fall into the typical powertrain, stated component, and exclusionary brackets. These all include a few additional benefits such as trip-interruption costs, dead battery recovery, roadside recovery/towing, rental car reimbursement, plus locksmith and lock-out.

Diving deeper into their BBB reviews, there are comments about the difficulties of canceling despite a 30-day money-back guarantee, a difficult claims process, and difficulty contacting staff when problems occur. While the Total Auto Protect isn’t particularly bad, their feedback does look dated. The lack of a mobile app also suggests an opportunity for the company to modernize and enhance its digital presence.

The Auto Protection Plans

As you’d expect, both Endurance and Total Auto Protect offer a range of coverage plans with varying levels of coverage:

Endurance Warranty Contracts

Supreme

If you’re looking for totally comprehensive coverage that’s as close to a factory warranty as you’re going to get, our Supreme plan is just the ticket. Pretty much every part, component, and system in your vehicle is protected, including seals, gaskets, and some advanced components. If you compare providers and spot a Titanium plan elsewhere, you can be confident that Supreme is at least as good, if not better.

Supreme For Highline Vehicles

Everyone wants to own a luxury vehicle, but unfortunately, they’re some of the most unreliable cars on the road. To help with their more frequent (and more expensive) auto repairs, we created Supreme For Highline Vehicles, designed to protect specific luxury vehicles with under 80,000 miles on the clock and under 8 years of age.

Advantage

Our most comprehensive plan, Advantage, doesn’t just provide nearly unparalleled coverage in the event of an unexpected breakdown. It also includes up to $3,500 in annual maintenance costs, keeping your vehicle in top running condition and saving you even more money in the long run.

Superior

If you don’t quite need the level of coverage that Supreme offers, Superior is one step below. Another comprehensive plan that covers a wide range of parts, it’s ideal for anyone who uses their vehicle for daily commuting or those who enjoy the occasional road trip. Coverage includes several electronic parts, with the option to add extra protection for more advanced technology.

Select Premier

It can be tough to find car warranty companies that’ll work with high-mileage vehicles, but Endurance has every driver covered. Select Premier is designed for older cars with up to 150,000 miles on the clock and covers essential components such as transmission and drive axle assembly components, cooling system, fuel system, and select air conditioning and electrical parts.

Secure

The Secure plan offers our most affordable monthly plan, perfect for anyone who wants to protect the most crucial vehicle components. It covers all the essential powertrain parts that cost the most to repair.

Secure Plus

As the name implies, Secure Plus has everything in our Secure plan and then some — adding on brakes, air conditioning, steering, and select electrical parts.

Total Auto Protect Contracts

Total Plus

Total Plus is Total Auto Protect’s most basic level of coverage. It is essentially a powertrain plan that covers the engine, drive axles, cooling, brakes, and electrical components.

Total Convenience

Total Convenience includes everything from the Total Plus plan but adds AWD/4×4 and steering (manual or power).

Total Premier

The most comprehensive plan offered by Total Auto Protect is Total Premier, which includes everything from Total Convenience plus heating, air conditioning, fuel system, anti-lock brakes, hi-tech electronics, turbo/supercharger, rear suspension, and front suspension.

Other Benefits

Extended warranty companies often give customers access to additional benefits with their plans. Endurance and Total Auto Protect are no exception:

Endurance Warranty Benefits

• 24/7 Roadside Assistance: If you break down, we want to ensure your safety. That’s why all Endurance plans include 24/7 roadside assistance, including towing services, fuel delivery, battery jump, and lockout assistance.
• Trip Interruption Costs: Breakdowns often happen when you’re far from home, ruining your plans. If this happens to you, we’ll cover trip interruption costs to minimize the inconvenience.
• Replacement Travel Reimbursement: For those bigger covered repairs that keep your car in the shop for longer, we’ll cover replacement travel so you can get back on the road as soon as possible.
• Maintenance Costs: We don’t just cover your repair bills. Our market-leading Advantage plan is the only one around to offer $3,500 in annual maintenance costs.
• Endurance Elite Benefits: The optional Elite Benefits package gives you access to up to four tire repairs or replacements annually, key fob replacement, up to $500 in collision discounts, and up to $1,000 in total loss protection.

Total Auto Protect Perks

• 24/7 Roadside Assistance: Like Endurance, Total Auto Protect offers 24/7 roadside assistance, including help with dead batteries, towing, out-of-gas, and lockout services.
• Rental Car Reimbursement: Total Auto Protect will reimburse you for renting a car should you need one while your car is at the repair shop, though their website doesn’t include much information on important parameters, such as limits.
• Trip Interruption Costs: Similar to their Rental Car Reimbursement costs, there isn’t much information on what trip interruption costs Total Auto Protect is willing to cover.

Pros and Cons of Each Provider

To quickly sum up, we should put the pros and cons of each provider side by side:

Endurance Warranty Pros

• The top service contract provider in America
• Direct administrator of most plans
• Market-leading eligibility, flexibility, and affordability
• Award-winning customer service team
• Fantastic benefits
• Fully-transferable coverage
• Handy mobile app
• New customers get a year of Endurance Elite Benefits

Endurance Warranty Cons

• Not available outside the U.S.

Total Auto Protect Pros

• Been in business for a significant amount of time
• Some added benefits
• Positive Trustpilot score

Total Auto Protect Cons

• Limited range of plans
• Complaints about difficulty contacting/canceling
• No app for ease of access to information

For the Very Best Coverage, You Need Endurance

The cost of car ownership is only ever going up, so investing in an extended auto warranty has never been more important. These days, more complex components can cost hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars to repair, so having a protection plan in place can be a total lifesaver. However, a warranty is only worth the cost if you can rely on your provider. And Americans trust Endurance more than any other.

Across online publications, automotive experts unanimously rate us as the nation’s best quality coverage. But don’t just take their word for it — we have thousands of 5-star reviews from happy customers on sites like ConsumerAffairs and Trustpilot. If you want to find out more, just pick up the phone and call (800) 253-8203 to request a FREE quote. You can also shop online to see your price now!

Take a look at our extended warranty blog for more helpful comparison articles with CARCHEX, CarShield, Omega Auto Care, and other providers, as well as auto expert FAQs.