Complaint Review: Carchex - Internet

There are times when you feel you must warn the public based upon what you have experienced. This concerns Carchex and the auto warranty I purchased. I’m sure if someone at Carchex reads this post you will hear “it’s in the contract and let me show you where”. I have already heard that from Carchex.

I purchased an extended auto warranty for a used car earlier this year from Carchex for a 2007 Porsche Boxter. The car is great shape. I had it inspected and there were no problems.  However, buying a warranty was going to give me peace of mind so I decided to purchase a warranty from Carchex. It was a pricey warranty as you might expect since it is a Porsche Boxter but I was willing to pay the price of the warranty for peace of mind.

Last Thursday, I was noticing water underneath my car and the coolant was low so I took my car to the Porsche dealer and repair shop on Friday morning. There are very few repair shops that are familiar with European cars in my area and specifically a Porsche so I feel comfortable with the dealer. The mechanic at the repair shop determined the problem was the Water Pump. I looked at my warranty and felt relieved when I saw the water pump was covered. This was on a Friday morning about 10:00 a.m. The repair shop contacted the warranty company providing the coverage and was told that the car would need to be inspected and that the earliest it could be done was the following Monday. I wasn’t happy about it and didn’t understand why it needed to be inspected when it was as simple as a water pump i.e. it’s either working or it isn’t working but I calmly dealt with it. Nothing I could do about it then anyway. So I left my car at the repair shop over the weekend.

On Monday I waited and waited for a call from the repair shop telling me the car had been inspected and that the repair work could begin. Well, the call came around 4:00 p.m. and I was advised that the inspector was going to review the situation and his notes that evening and make a determination. So another night without my vehicle.

On Tuesday morning I received a call from an individual with the warranty company. It was not the inspector. I called back and a gentleman answered the telephone. He looked up my case and advised me that they would not cover the full cost of the water pump. They were offering to pay for a lower cost water pump but not a Porsche water pump product. I was advised that if I chose to use the Porsche product then I would have to pay the difference in cost. He then explained to me that the Porsche repair shop would not agree to use a different product other than a Porsche product. I thought about it and realized I had two options: 1) pay the difference in cost or 2) drive or have my car towed to another repair shop (once I found one familiar with Porsche repairs) and start this process over again. Well, by natural reaction, I said “this is BS” and the gentleman with the warranty company proceeded to chastise me about cursing at him and how he didn’t appreciate it. I explained to him that I was not cursing “at him” that is was simply my frustration about the process and my options. I received no empathy from the service representative but rather a continued discussion about me cursing at him. He said” do you want me to read your contract to you so you know we have the right to require you to use less expensive parts”. At this point I wanted to curse at him but shut the conversation down by just authorizing the work to be done at the Porsche repair shop. I needed my vehicle and was not going to spend the next day, Wednesday, making arrangements to transfer my vehicle and start this process over again.  

This was truly a nightmare. So my problem with a Carchex warranty is as follows:

1. It takes too long to get final authorization (I know the contract says up to 48 hours and they sure took every hour)

2. I cannot use the services of the repair shop that is the most qualified to perform repair work on my vehicle because they use parts and products recommended by the maker of the vehicle rather than lessor quality low cost parts and products that the repair shop of my choice cannot guarantee or install. I can guarantee you that since my vehicle is high maintenance and costly to repair, expected and anticipated repair expenses were built into the overall price of the warranty. 

3. The customer service is poor. There was no understanding of my frustration and no negotiation. Instead I spoke to someone who got his feelings hurt because I said “that’s BS” and then he proceeded to chastise me because he said I was cursing at him. I’m the customer who is already hurting and frustrated and he is upset and the condescending to me because he got his feelings hurt???  Someone needs to educate their customer service people so they know the difference between an emotional outburst (“that’s BS”) and someone directing a curse word at them. Oh, and how about a thank you and we value your business following the discussion. Would have liked to heard those words from the customer service representative. It was obvious that the only thing their customer service representatives are trained to do is to direct the customer to the specific location in the warranty document which gives them the right to make these decisions.

I realize now I made a bad decision selecting the Carchex warranty over the others I considered. If you like to use the dealer and the dealer’s repair shop because you are comfortable with their knowledge of your vehicle, be prepared to pay out of pocket for parts that the repair shop recommends and will only install on your vehicle. Be prepared for delays in getting your car repaired and poor customer service. The Warranty document will always govern and there will be no comprise or understanding of the customer’s needs. This is all about the bottom line with no intent to maintain valued relationships with customers.