Agape Car Warranty may be gone. I have heard nothing but bad press about this extended car warranty company. The first I heard about them came from an owner of a car repair shop in Sacramento, California; he said he tried contacting them in order to get paid on a customer’s car, they gave him a credit card and it didn’t work! Then he contacted them again for the reimbursement money and they said they would send a check. Can you guess what happened next? That’s right, no check! The customer is now stuck with a hefty car repair bill that he thought was going to be covered by this extended car warranty company.

Upon further research on this car warranty company I found the following to complement the story I heard:

• Complaints on Ripoff Report
• Complaints on Complaint Board
• Their website is null

Interesting enough, I haven’t found any news articles on this extended car warranty company.

A lot of the complaints read followed an interesting pattern: They never paid my repairs that was covered in my contract. I went to their business location and they were gone! There was an eviction notice on their business location. I can’t get a hold of Agape.

So what’s up Agape?

This goes to show that before you decide to purchase an extended bumper to bumper car warranty or a used car warranty you need to do research on the different car warranty companies out there! Find a company that will help you along the way and find the best car warranty out there for your car and situation!

One thing I’ve noticed when reviewing some extended car warranty contracts, is in the fine print that nearly everything is excluded. For instance, I was researching a new extended auto warranty company today and in doing so I decided to take a look at their most exclusive contract. This contract is supposed to mirror the manufacture’s contract and give you extended piece of mind. The part of the contract that I have found to look at first is the exclusions because if you only look at what is covered the wording makes it sound like more is covered than is really true. Here is a brief excerpt of the “exclusions” part of the contract.

Any repair required due to normal wear and tear. Repairs required due to overheating, regardless of the cause of overheating, or repairs required due to loss of fluids, regardless of the cause of the loss of fluids. These include, but are not limited to, loss of engine oil, coolant, transmission fluid, freon, power steering fluid, or axle grease. Repairs to be covered components that are performing the function for which they were designed……..Tires, battery, all glass, lenses, sealed beams, light bulbs, brake rotors and drums, shock absorbers, exhaust components, catalytic converter, charcoal canisters, door handle assemblies, speakers, telephones, televisions, AM/FM radio/cassette/CD players exceeding three hundred dollars ($300) repair or replacement costs, GPS/Navigation systems exceeding three hundred dollars ($300) repair or replacement costs, combination GPS/navigation amp; radio units exceeding three hundred dollars ($300) repair or replacement costs, DVD players, game centers, audio/video equipment, radar detectors, touch screens and/or voice activated accessories, voice recognition systems, safety restraint systems to include airbags and related components, fusable links and fuses, circuit boards, head light assemblies, tail light assemblies, shop supplies, hazardous waste charges, bolts, screws, nuts, washers…..

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I would like to know what is covered. In defense of this contract, they do mention that repairs needed as a result of not properly maintaining your vehicle would not be covered. This makes sense to me; if you’re not going to take care of your car regularly then you shouldn’t get repairs covered. On the other hand, this contract also states that normal maintenance is NOT covered. So, what I’m getting from this is manufacture malfunctions are covered, but nothing else?

Remember to research different extended car warranties and read the excluded repairs before signing a contract.

• Find out how much of your repairs will be covered
• Read user reviews and ratings on different extended car warranty companies
• Call and discuss your needs with a reputable representative

Is it an extended car warranty or an automotive service plan? When I was doing some research on extended car warranties I kept coming across automotive service plans during my searches. This intrigued me and I wanted to know what the difference was, if there was a difference. Turns out, no difference. There is a difference however between a car warranty and an extended car warranty or automotive service plan and this is where some confusion may set in for some.

When you buy a brand new car it is usually covered with a manufacture bumper to bumper warranty. This warranty covers nearly everything for the first three years or up to 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. Basically, this is to give the new car owner piece of mind  that when they are driving their brand new spiffy vehicle around that repairs or unforeseen malfunctions will be covered.

Now, an extended car warranty or automotive service plan, as it is also called, is great for the individual that keeps their car longer than three years or 36,000 miles, but still wants major repairs and maintenance costs covered or reduced. I find that this is a great way to keep your car running great without having to spend loads of cash on repairs or a new car. I think that in today’s economy people are finding that it is more feasible to keep the car they own maintained rather than buying a new car every few years.

There are many extended car warranty companies out there that offer great automotive service plans, but there are a few that will take advantage of your situation or try to hard sell you into buying a warranty that is not worth it’s weight in dollars. Check out some automotive warranty review sites before diving into an automotive service plan. Or call a representative and discuss your options.

There are so many different types of extended car warranties that it can be hard to decide which one is the best deal for your car. I have found through my own research that extended car warranties can be easy to understand or very difficult; based on the car warranty company you decide to go with. It is my understanding and that the more fine print details, the less your extended car warranty may cover. This has been the case with hundreds of US Fidelis consumers who did not read the fine print or were pushed into buying an extended car warranty before they could fully understand exactly what was being covered. As a result, there has been over a thousand complaints filed with the BBB because basically, their extended car warranty that they paid good money for was worth virtually nothing.

Avoid losing out on an extended car warranty by following these simple tips:

• READ the fine print
• Do not sign or pay for anything until you understand what is or is not covered in a claim
• Research different extended car warranty companies
• Read reviews online, left by consumers
• Read ratings online
• Call the different companies or a company that will help you decide which extended car warranty company is right for you
• Research what sort of repairs your particular make and model may need in the future and find out if  the extended car will pay for these or not.

Just following these simple steps may save you thousands of dollars in the future. Good Luck!

US Fidelis has just announced that they laid off more workers this week in an effort to cut costs.  They started with over a thousand employees and are now down to five hundred; they claim customer support and current extended car warranty contracts will not be affected by this downsizing. US Fidelis has been in the news for quite some time now; none of positive, except for their own late night advertisements. Here is a brief rundown of what has been going on:

• US Fidelis has an “F” rating with the BBB
• Class action lawsuit against them for unethical business practices
• Sued by BMW for $200,000 for illegally using their trademark
• Sued by Missouri Attorney General for unethical marketing
• Settlement with Verizon because US Fidelis was behind telemarketing cell phones

Personally I’m not surprised that they are laying off hundreds of workers after reading all the shady business practices they have been implementing. If you hear it from the owners though, they are just victims of the economy and bad publicity. They are not doing so bad though; multimillion dollar homes and vacation homes around the world, fancy cars and boats. Seeing such an extravagant lifestyle they are leading makes one wonder why the company can’t afford to cover more claims…

If you would like to read more about what has been going on with US Fidelis check out this local news story.