How to Avoid Car Warranty Scams (2024) (2024)

What are car warranty scams?

In most cases, a car warranty scam involves a scammer either wanting to sell you a fake warranty for thousands of dollars or collecting and selling as much of your sensitive personal information as possible.

Make sure to be extremely cautious when answering calls about your car warranty. The FCC warns that even if a number appears to be authentic, it can still be false.

According to the FCC, a common scam tactic is for the scammer to contact you by call, text or mail pretending to represent a car dealer or an automaker and warn you that your auto warranty is about to expire. A scam call will often start out as a prerecording before having you press a number or stay on the line.

The scammer then give you a pitch to renew your policy, collect as much of your personal information as possible (like name, address, Social SecuritynNumber and billing information.) and charge you hundreds or thousands of dollars for a fake warranty.

Car warranty scam basics

If you’re not interested in an extended warranty, then avoiding scams is relatively easy — just don’t engage with whoever contacted you. There’s no legal requirement to have warranty coverage, so you can safely ignore anyone trying to sell you one.

If you are interested in buying an extended warranty, though, one of the best ways to avoid being scammed is to understand how the legitimate process usually works. After that, you’ll be better at detecting when something seems off.

There are four main ways to purchase a legitimate extended auto warranty:

1. Online, through the provider’s website
2. On the phone, by dialing the provider directly using the number listed on its homepage
3. From a dealership, though it doesn’t have to be the one that sold you the car
4. Through a warranty marketplace, like ConsumerAffairs, which can connect you with different providers

The common thread here is that you are reaching out to the provider, not the other way around. If a “provider” comes to you first, there’s a very good chance it’s a scam. (The ads some car manufacturers now place on their vehicles’ infotainment screens are an exception.)

That’s especially true if someone calls your phone claiming to represent Toyota, Ford or any other automaker. “In general, manufacturers do not call customers to extend a warranty,” said Allison Harrison, an attorney with experience in automotive law. “So anyone telling you they are the manufacturer should be a red flag.”

Reputable extended warranty companies typically don’t cold call, either. “We never just call random numbers,” an associate with Endurance told us. “We only call once they’ve completed a form online and given us permission.”

Still, things might get a little confusing if you’re shopping for a warranty and you start filling out online forms or requesting quotes. (Some providers, like CARCHEX and CarShield, only sell plans over the phone, and sites with matching services, like ConsumerAffairs, may call to follow up after you’re matched with a brand.)

So, if you start getting calls after you’ve submitted information online, how do you know if the caller is legitimate?

If you use our site to get matched with an auto warranty provider, you can expect a call from them right away. (This is not the same thing as a cold call — cold calls are made without any action on your part.) A ConsumerAffairs concierge may also follow up with you later to see how things went.

» MORE: Questions to ask a car warranty provider

6 tips to avoid car warranty scams

It can be difficult to determine if calls or texts about your car warranty are legitimate. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to verify communication about a car warranty. Here are six effective tips for avoiding scammers.

1. Know how to spot a bot

If the call starts with a generic, prerecorded greeting saying something like, “Hello, we’re calling with urgent information regarding your auto warranty …” it’s almost definitely a scam.

The same goes if it starts with a suspicious, generic greeting like (“Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me?”). These are just an attempt to get you to speak, which verifies that your phone number is active and that you’re a viable target for further harassment.

2. Never give out personal information until you verify the caller

If a caller claiming to represent a legitimate warranty company begins asking you for personal information (full name, address, etc.), don’t answer until you verify who you’re talking to.

In fact, a legitimate warranty company that you reached out to first should already have information on you and your vehicle readily available.

3. Verify the caller using a simple trick

An experienced scammer might be prepared with credible answers to simple questions regarding which company they represent, where they got your number, etc. However, there’s one question no scammer can lie their way through.

“If someone calls claiming to be from a legitimate warranty company, you can always say ‘give me your number and I’ll call you back,’” an associate with olive told ConsumerAffairs. Once you hang up, you can make sure the number they gave you matches the number on the provider’s official website.

4. Ask for a written copy of the warranty agreement

You should always read an extended auto warranty agreement from top-to-bottom before you sign it. You want to ensure it includes the coverage you asked for, doesn’t have surprise fees attached, etc.

Plus, asking for a copy of the policy is a great way to filter out both scammers and illegitimate providers. Unlike scammers, the latter might actually be a licensed business. They just make false or misleading promises over the phone to get you to sign.

So, if you see glaring differences between what the sales representative promised and what the contract actually states, it’s probably best to choose a different warranty provider.

» MORE: How to avoid the worst extended auto warranty companies

5. Don’t comply with pushy sales tactics

If a caller is speaking too quickly or using an overly aggressive tone, they’re either a scammer or a company you don’t want to deal with. (Both scammers and pushy sales reps often try to manipulate reactions out of people before they have time to think.) If you feel pressured, rushed or confused, ask the caller to communicate appropriately or hang up.

6. File a complaint with the FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a webpage for reporting unwanted calls and texts. While the agency doesn't address individual incidents of auto warranty scam calls, the information you provide can help lead to enforcement actions against scammers violating FCC rules.

How to prevent auto warranty scam calls in the first place

If you’re aware of what scam calls sound like and you’d just like them to stop, here are some steps you can take.

• Activate the anti-spam settings on your phone: Both Android and Apple phones can utilize anti-spam apps and settings to help filter out fraudulent calls. (Your exact settings may differ based on your device and cellular carrier.)
• Don’t engage with suspected spam callers: A scammer’s robocall might ask you to press a number to be removed from the call list. In a similar vein, a spam text might ask you to type “STOP” to be left alone. In either case, replying to the suspected spammer could do little more than confirm that you’re human and subject you to further harassment. You’re better off blocking or ignoring the number.
• Register your phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry: The National Do Not Call Registry is a database maintained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If you log your number there, certain callers (mostly telemarketers) are banned by federal law from contacting you. If they still call after 31 days, you can report them to the FTC. Many scammers, fraudsters and other criminals ignore this rule, but in our experience, adding your number to the database does lower the number of unwanted calls you receive by a noticeable amount.