Carchex Prolong plus, Promised never to let me down but that was exactly what they did!!! I have the recording!! Hunt Valley, Maryland

First, I am very glad I came here to read about carchex, carbuyingtips and their buddy network, as I was just about  ready to buy a carchex warranty but knew I had to keep checking and learn more about them BEFORE I handed over money.  Of course I will NOT now and I will pass the info on to EVERYONE I know to RUN FAST!

I have read through the "rebuttals" from the "empolyees and managers" and they are just PATHETIC!  It is ALWAYS someone elses fault and the policy HOLDER seems to have to jump through HOOPS just to get a repair but it appears even after all of that they are DENIED.  So typical of companies with HORRIBLE intentions. I did not have to go through ANY of this when I had a fire in my house.

let me also say that I NEVER had to do ANY of the things on a dealer warranty.  We brought it in, they fixed it and we picked up the car and left, end of story, we did not have to prove it was not preexisting, price shop etc etc.  Besides, when you buy warranties on USED cars that is the point of it, you do NOT know what MIGHT go wrong because it is a USED car and yes it may have been starting to go prior but showed no signs of it.  Yet again, THAT is WHY you buy a WARRANTY!  For the JUST IN CASE.

It is clear to me that these warranties are USELESS unless you go PUBLIC like on ripoff report, then suddenly someone "cares", but that is ONLY for DAMAGE CONTROL.

CarChex seems to HIDE behind them ONLY being a "broker" but their whole reputation is based on THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS and "ADVOCACY so they have a DUTY to KNOW what is going on with these companies especially seeing how they are PROFITING from them.

As for the BBB that is one of the BIGGEST jokes of them all, in fact 20/20 did a report on how all you have to do is BUY your A+ rating by being a MEMBER and paying your DUES,  Although those of us who have been in business for any length of time knew this SCAM many years before 20/20 exposed it.  Why do you thnk the BBB covers for Carchex and THOUSANDS of other companies who have more complaints with the AGS office in EVERY state than they can handle.

The BBBS only existence is through MEMBERSHIPS and the DUES the companies pay, so as long as you "PAY YOUR DUES" you get the rating you NEED to fool consumers.

I REFUSE the BBB every time they call me to join.  I do not need them I just DO the right thing fro my customers to begin with so I do not need to PAY them to HIDE anything for me nor PAY them to give us a FAKE rating.

Don't just belevie me, just type in 20/20 exposes BBB. The show aired Nov 12, 2010.  They even showed how the BBB will give a FAILING grade to those who REFUSE to join and PAY the dues.

If you REALLY want to know the reputation and what to expect of a company SKIP the BBB and go and read blogs and boards like this (ripoff report) where REAL people are telling their HORROR stories, and call your AGS office and consumer protection agencies to see the TRUTH.  Granted in blogs you will find a few crazies but they are usually few and far between but there is truth in numbers.

By the way, for those of you who feel HELPLESS to these USELESS warranties, just SUE them for BREACH OF CONTRACT, once they BREACH the contract their arbitration is USELESS as the contract is now VOID and you are no longer obligated to THEIR stipulations. Not only that, if the judge finds the contract egregious he/she can throw it out altogether.  You can do this in small claims court without a lawyer, just make sure you have your ducks in a row because the judge is NOT going to try your case for you.  The costs are minimul and the LOSER pays the court fees in the end PLUS prejudgment interest.

Here are some tips. ALWAYS take names and numbers of EVERY person you talk to, write the times and dates and whenever possible RECORD ALL conversations, but CAUTION, recording ANYONE without their permission is ILLEGAL in many sates so find out the laws in your state.  Keep ALL paper work no matter how small it seems.

GOOD LUCK to you all!

To "Ben",
I understand how it works ...now...
But other people might not. So why don't you tell them what it means when you write: "...that sales organization maintain no authority...of claims". It means that Carchex will gladly sell you a contract, give 'advice', answer the phone, give 30 days etc. etc. since they're not the guys receiving the claim, processing the claim and rejecting the claim 90+ days down the road.
 
Carchex is just a sales place, a broker if you will.
"What difference does that make?" you may ask. I will tell you. The difference is that when you call Better Business Bureau to complain about a contract breach the BBB refuses to take the claim against Carchex. Since they're 'only' a broker company they only have to live up to the standards of that. That means that they only promise to create the contact between you and the actual warranty company; to transfer the contract for money and they take their break of it. According to BBB that is what Carchex is listed as and only the actual transaction people can complain about. Not the warranty contract. That is the 'other' company.
Apparently it doesn't matter that in Carchex' web and printed material and in person on the phone they give a different impression. The impression that they are this big and trustworthy company providing good auto warranty when they're actually only brokers and can leave you hanging dry any day and get away with it!!

The 'other' company would then have to care about rating or name. Trust me, they don't. Actually i appears they change name so often that the people working there have a hard time remembering what the company is called. Happened to me.
So the BBB 'rating' "Ben" is boasting about is not the product they sell. It is the brokering process. Think about that for a moment. It would be the same as if Office Depot only were responsible for giving you a good experience at the cashier and not responsible for the office chair they sell. And if it breaks, they leave it up to you to talk to the manufacturing company and see if you can travel across the country and get anything out of them!

So as long as Carchex keep their brokering process clean their BBB 'rating' seem ok.
But don't be deceived. The product (warranty contract) you pay a lot of money for may not even be worth the paper it is written on as soon as the 90 days and 1000 miles is over and you face a problem.
Take a look at the photo of the oil pump from the transmission for your self and see if you think it looks like "wear and tear" or you think it looks like 'mechanical failure of an internally lubricated part' - which by the way was supposed to be covered according to the contract.
 
Only deal with auto warranty companies where the actual claims department is in the same company or even better the same person that sold it to you, just like it is with eg. local Farmers Insurance agents for auto insurance or home insurance (I'm not associated with them in any way, I have AAA through family, and AAA do claims somewhat similar).

"Ben", your rebuttal sounds nice, just as the rest of what comes from Carchex, but it all covers over the sad reality that it appears that most people don't get the whole truth, but get cheated when they deal with Carchex.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this customer's posting. It is important to understand that sales organizations maintain no authority or discretion in the adjudication of claims. That responsibility rests with the Administrator of the contract. Similarly, if you buy insurance through your Allstate sales agent, Allstate is the entity approving and paying insurance claims, not the agent.

Each Administrator's contract contains specific Terms and Conditions which outline exactly what is covered by the contract as well as other important items such as claim procedures. We strongly recommend to all consumers to request and review the service contract information thoroughly prior to and after purchase so that they may get a clear understanding of the covered components associated with their purchase as well as familiarize themselves with the company backing the contract. At CARCHEX all contracts in their entirety are available for consumers to review prior to purchase and we proudly offer a 100% 30-day Money Back Guarantee and the highest quality products backed by top tier administrators and insurance carriers. In the instance of a cancellation beyond 30 days, each service contract is prorated exactly based on the terms included in the Administrator's contract.

In this case, the administrator denied the claim due to wear and tear. While we attempt to make every customer happy with their purchase, inevitably there are some instances in which a customer may be dissatisfied with the result of a claim. In all cases, we are available to work on behalf of consumers to help determine validity of any denial. CARCHEX is Accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has earned an A+ rating by delivery a high level of service for the better part of a decade. If you have any questions you may contact our customer service department directly. We look forward to the opportunity to serve future consumers thru our consultative sales process.