Ford Extended Warranty

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Crash Course:

• Ford earned 4.4 out of 5.0 stars in our 2023 automaker warranty study, the second-highest score of any manufacturer.
• Ford extended warranties, known as Ford Protect Extended Service Plans (ESPs), can cover cars up to 10 years or 175,000 miles, whichever comes first.
• We found that the the average cost of a Ford extended warranty is $2,590.
• Ford ESPs are available in four coverage levels: PremiumCARE, ExtraCARE, BaseCARE, and PowertrainCARE.

A Ford extended warranty can help cover unexpected vehicle repair costs after your factory warranty expires. To help owners discover whether it’s worth buying, our review team took an in-depth look at the four extended warranty plans offered by the Ford Motor Company.

In the following article, we’ll share plan details, coverage options, and estimated costs for Ford extended warranties. You’ll also find information about the top third-party warranty providers that offer alternatives to the automaker’s warranty plans.

What Is a Ford Extended Warranty?

A vehicle service contract, also called an extended warranty, provides coverage for Ford vehicles after the new vehicle limited warranty expires. Ford’s comprehensive warranty options are called Ford Protect Extended Service Plans (ESPs).

When you purchase extended warranty coverage from a Ford dealer, your repairs will be performed at licensed dealership service centers by certified Ford technicians. Those technicians will use Ford original equipment manufacturer (OEM) components for any needed replacements.

A Ford extended warranty covers car repair and labor costs after a mechanical breakdown. Since all of Ford’s plans offer at least powertrain protection, most major repairs are covered under any plan. While coverage terms last up to 10 years and 175,000 miles, drivers can mix and match mileage and time limits to account for their annual driving habits.

Ford Extended Warranty Review

Ford Protect ESPs earned an overall score of 4.4 out of 5.0 in our 2023 automaker warranty study. This is the second-highest score of any car manufacturer in the study.

The table below shows exactly how the Ford extended warranty scored in our study.

Category	Ford Extended Warranty Score
Overall	4.4
Coverage	4.8
Cost	3.7
Accessibility/Usability	4.3
Benefits	4.6

Ford Extended Warranty Coverage

Ford owners have four levels of coverage to choose from that vary both in what they cover and in how much they cost. These plans range from comprehensive bumper-to-bumper protection to powertrain coverage that only covers your Ford’s most essential drivetrain components.

Ford Extended Warranty Plans

There are four Ford Protect ESPs offered by the automaker. The table below provides a basic overview of what each plan covers.

Ford Extended Warranty Plan	Coverage Terms	Coverage	Plan Summary
PremiumCARE	3 years/48,000 miles up to 10 years/175,000 miles	Covers over 1,000 components	With few exclusions, this plan is similar to a bumper-to-bumper warranty and is Ford’s most comprehensive plan.
ExtraCARE	3 years/48,000 miles up to 10 years/175,000 miles	Covers 113 components	The next tier of Ford’s extended warranty plans is a comprehensive stated-component plan with high-tech coverage.
BaseCARE	3 years/48,000 miles up to 10 years/175,000 miles	Covers 84 components	BaseCARE is a powertrain-plus plan that covers essentials from PowertrainCARE along with components that specifically impact drivability, like the steering system.
PowertrainCARE	3 years/75,000 miles up to 10 years/175,000 miles	Covers 29 components	PowertrainCARE is Ford’s most basic extended warranty contract that covers the bare essentials for running a vehicle (engine, transmission, and driveline).

For those interested in more details about Ford’s coverage levels, the sections below provide a more comprehensive description of Ford’s extended warranty plans:

Ford PowertrainCARE Warranty

Ford BaseCARE Warranty

Ford ExtraCARE Warranty

Ford PremiumCARE Warranty

Ford Protect ESP Added Benefits

Ford packages a number of perks with its extended warranty coverage. All four plans come with benefits that include:

• Roadside assistance: Access to 24-hour roadside assistance with services such as tire repair and fuel delivery.
• Emergency travel expense: Up to $1,000 within the first five days per occurrence to cover travel-related expenses such as food and lodging.
• Towing assistance: Up to $100 toward a towing service.
• Destination assistance: Up to $75 to help you get to your next destination if you suffer a covered breakdown.
• Rental car reimbursement: Rental vehicle benefits up to $30 a day for up to 10 days when a covered vehicle is kept overnight for a covered repair.

Ford ESP Exclusions

As with most extended warranties, Ford Protect ESPs don’t cover routine maintenance such as oil changes or tire rotations. They also exclude windshield, tire, and dent damages, though Ford offers separate protection plans that can cover these items.

Can I Extend My Ford Warranty After It Expires?

No, Ford ESPs can only be purchased before your factory warranty expires prior to three years or 36,000 miles. If you’re looking for more flexible, longer coverage terms, consider getting free quotes from a few of the best car warranty companies.

Does a Ford Extended Warranty Transfer?

Ford extended warranties are transferable, meaning they follow the vehicle if it gets sold to a new owner. However, you must pay a small fee to transfer coverage, and these fees vary by state. In addition, Ford vehicle service contracts must be paid in full before you can transfer the contract to a new owner.

Ford Premium Maintenance Plan

As an add-on to Ford’s extended warranty coverage, drivers can purchase a Ford Protect Premium Maintenance Plan. These protection plans cover:

• Routine inspections
• Preventive care
• Wear and tear items like wiper blades, brake pads, and struts
• Oil filter changes
• Multipoint inspections
• All factory-required maintenance

Ford Protection Plans

Ford Protect has several protection plans available for Ford owners. These plans cover components that are normally excluded from extended warranties because they’re considered general wear and tear items and cosmetic damages.

Ford Tire Warranty

Ford Ding and Dent Coverage

Ford Windshield Warranty

Ford TripleCARE

Ford SurfaceCARE

Ford Protect TheftCARE

Ford Extended Warranty Cost

According to the company, the average Ford extended warranty costs around $2,590. Our research shows drivers typically pay between $2,100 and $4,300 for coverage, though Ford mentioned that many motorists get warranty protection for less.

Ford Extended Warranty Plan Quotes

We got quotes from Ford to determine what each plan would cost for a Ford F-150 and a Ford Fiesta. The Ford extended warranty costs for each vehicle and plan are described below.

Ford PowertrainCARE Cost

Ford BaseCARE Cost

Ford ExtraCARE Cost

Ford PremiumCARE Cost

What Affects Ford Extended Warranty Costs?

While estimates offer an idea of how much you’ll pay for a Ford extended warranty within a certain range, there’s no set warranty cost for every vehicle. Because Ford Protect ESPs are sold by dealerships, you may even find different prices on the exact same coverage for your vehicle.

Other than variations in price between dealers, the cost of a Ford extended warranty depends on various factors. Here are the different factors and how they can affect the pricing of an extended auto warranty:

• Coverage level: A more comprehensive plan like a bumper-to-bumper extended warranty will cost the most, while a simple powertrain plan will cost the least.
• Coverage length: Longer contracts typically cost more. You can save money by opting for a plan that covers fewer total miles if you drive less than the average person.
• Deductible: Ford gives drivers the choice between a $0, $50, $100, or $200 deductible. Paying a higher deductible will lower the overall cost of the plan. On the other hand, choosing a lower deductible often leads to a higher overall coverage cost.
• Make and model: Different models can have different extended warranty prices. For example, a Ford Edge extended warranty costs less than a Ford F-250 extended warranty. This reflects the average cost of repairs for the vehicles.
• Mileage and vehicle age: Coverage costs more for vehicles with higher miles or ages because older vehicles or those with more miles are more prone to breakdowns.
• Existing coverage status: If the original warranty covers your vehicle at purchase, you’ll often get a cheaper contract.

Ford Extended Warranty Deductible

While the standard deductible for new and used Fords is $100, you can choose a $0, $50, or $200 deductible. New cars are not eligible for a $0 deductible.

Ford owners can also choose a disappearing deductible. This option means you won’t pay the deductible for covered repairs when they’re performed by the dealer who sold you the car.

Ford Extended Warranty Payment Options

Ford also offers an installment payment plan, which allows you to be interest-free for up to 24 months if you choose not to include a Ford Protect ESP in your vehicle’s purchase financing. If you select the installment payment plan, you must first pay off any remaining balance to transfer the coverage.

Is a Ford ESP Refundable?

In most cases, you can get a full or partial refund on a Ford extended warranty. Depending on your state, If you cancel your Ford ESP within 30 or 60 days, you’ll receive a full refund minus a $75 processing fee if you haven’t made a claim on your existing policy.

How To Get Ford Extended Warranty Quotes

You can buy a Ford extended warranty from your local Ford dealership, a dealership selling plans online, or the Ford Protect website. No matter where you shop, the plans are identical – but the prices might not be. As the prices above show, Ford extended warranty costs vary widely depending on where you get a plan.

Some online dealers are known for providing much more affordable coverage than in-person dealerships or the Ford Protect website. This is likely because they have goals to sell a certain number of warranties each month.

Because of this, if you decide to purchase an official Ford Protect plan from your local dealer, we’d recommend getting quotes from online dealers beforehand and bringing them to the dealership. Negotiating with local dealers is possible when you bring evidence of lower prices. Some may even price-match Ford extended warranty costs from another dealership.

Is a Ford Extended Warranty Worth It?

Whether or not a Ford extended warranty is worth it for you depends on your preferences. There’s no guarantee that you’ll use all of the coverage you pay for, but you could also pay far less for a Ford ESP than you would for the repairs it covers.

Drivers today are keeping their cars an average of over eight years. That’s why many new car buyers and those buying certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles purchase an extended warranty from the automaker or a third-party provider. Because they’re transferable, Ford ESPs and other extended warranty plans can add to the resale value of your car. The peace of mind that extended coverage can provide from knowing you won’t face out-of-pocket repairs also offers value.

What To Consider Before Buying a Ford ESP

A Ford extended warranty may not be worth it for everyone. While they provide substantial value in several different ways, there are some situations when buying extra coverage doesn’t make sense for Ford owners.

Expand the section below to read more about what to consider before purchasing a Ford extended warranty.

Ford Extended Warranty Reviews

Ford Protect ESPs have mixed reviews from customers online. The general consensus is that you may not get what you pay for, but that an extended warranty could insure you against major expenses at a manageable cost.

Here are Ford extended warranty reviews from Reddit:

“I would say it comes down to price of the warranty, as well as your financial stability (can you afford to buy a whole new engine on the car in the worst case?).” – u/G33k-Squadman

“As a technician I would say yes to Ford ESP all day. Just a decade ago I would have said no to any extended plans, they were pure profit and you wouldn’t generally spend that much on a vehicle repair to cover the expense. That has changed.” – u/DefEddie

Best Ford Extended Warranty: Ford Protect or Third-Party?

While Ford Protect ESPs are solid options with multiple choices for term lengths and coverage levels, they can be expensive. The good news is that an extended car warranty from Ford is not the only way to extend warranty protection for your vehicle.

If you’ve weighed the pros and cons of extended car warranties and are interested in a Ford extended warranty, consider the alternatives. While Ford is the only place to get a Ford Protect ESP, you can find comparable coverage from independent vehicle service contract providers.

Ford Protect ESP vs. Independent Warranty Providers

When our review team analyzed every major extended warranty company in the industry, it found Endurance to offer the best overall coverage. You can compare Endurance with the Ford ESP in the table below:

	Ford Extended Warranty	Endurance Extended Warranty
Time limit for purchasing	End of the 3-year/36,000-mile factory warranty	Can be purchased at any time
Longest term limit	150,000 miles	200,000+ miles
Levels of coverage	4	6
Deductible options	$0, $50, $100, or $200	$0, $50, $100, or $200
Repair facilities	Ford dealerships	U.S. or Canadian repair facilities certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE®)
Extra benefits	Roadside assistance, towing, rental car reimbursement, trip interruption coverage	Roadside assistance, tire repairs and replacements, key fob replacements, member rewards, personal concierge services, identity theft protection, repair financing, Endurance Protect app
How to purchase	Purchase from dealerships	Get a quote online

Ford Aftermarket Warranty Advantages

Ford Protect ESPs have a lot to offer car owners. However, third-party extended warranty providers have some distinct advantages compared to the automaker’s plans. Expand the section below to see some of the most significant advantages of independent Ford extended warranties.

Ford Extended Warranty: The Bottom Line

A Ford extended warranty can offer significant value in multiple ways to vehicle owners. A vehicle service plan can potentially save you money on repair costs. However, it can also add resale value to your Ford if you decide to sell it. It can also provide valuable peace of mind from knowing you don’t need to worry about surprise repair costs.

But a Ford Protect ESP is not your only option for extending your warranty coverage. Independent warranty providers offer a number of advantages compared to the automaker. These companies also allow you to request free quotes, so it’s easy to compare the costs and coverage of these plans with Ford Protect options.

Best Ford Extended Warranty Companies

Based on our research, the best aftermarket car warranty companies for Ford owners are Endurance, CARCHEX, and CarShield. Each provider is known to have relatively reasonable rates, holds an established industry reputation, and offers plenty of added benefits:

Endurance: Best Overall

If you could only consider one extended auto warranty provider, we’d go with Endurance. With its outstanding benefits package, comprehensive coverage plans, and affordable costs, Endurance is an excellent alternative to a Ford extended warranty.

The company has been in business since 2005 and is one of the industry’s only direct warranty options. Since most drivers have positive experiences with the company, Endurance warranty reviews for customer service are largely positive. Endurance holds a 4.4 out of 5.0-star “Great” customer rating on Trustpilot and has a 3.32 out of 5.0-star customer rating on its Better Business Bureau (BBB) profile.

Endurance offers an accessible pricing structure with various plans and payment options, including multiple deductible options ranging from $0 to $200. Endurance warranties can cover up to 200,000 miles, which is plenty of protection for older vehicles. Drivers can choose from five standard plans plus the EnduranceAdvantage^TM plan, which includes maintenance.

Ford Extended Warranty Plans from Endurance

Endurance is a leader in the industry and our first choice for an extended auto warranty. This provider offers six levels of vehicle protection plans:

• Select Premier: Designed for vehicles with high mileage, protecting important components like the engine, transmission and drive axle
• Secure: The most affordable coverage option, covering the most vital and most expensive components, including the engine, transmission, transfer case, drive axle, fuel and turbo/supercharger.
• Secure Plus: A higher level of coverage that covers steering, electrical and braking systems
• Superior: The highest level of stated component coverage available, providing comprehensive protection for hundreds of car parts
• Supreme: Exclusionary coverage for the maximum protection from any breakdowns (most similar to the original factory warranty) 
• EnduranceAdvantage™: Covers mechanical breakdowns and maintenance, which is uncommon for an extended car warranty.

Protection plans from Endurance also come with many benefits, including 24-hour roadside assistance, courtesy towing, trip interruption benefits, and rental car coverage for the duration of the contract. Perhaps the most notable aspect of Endurance coverage is that all plans come with a free year of Endurance Elite Membership along with the standard perks above.

This provides unique benefits like tire repairs and replacements, personal concierge services, $250 in vouchers to use with Endurance partners, identity theft protection, key fob and tire replacements, collision discounts, total loss protection, and more.

CARCHEX: Best for Used Cars

If your Ford vehicle has been past its original warranty period for a long time, consider that CARCHEX has plans that last for up to 250,000 miles. The company, which started offering warranty products in 2004, has five plans covering everything from the basic powertrain components to high-tech electronics. CARCHEX holds an A+ rating and accreditation from the BBB and a 3.0-star rating on Trustpilot.

Ford Extended Warranty Plans from CARCHEX

With flexible plan options and service contracts particularly well suited for used and older vehicles, CARCHEX offers five levels of coverage: 

• Bronze: Coverage for the major systems of your vehicle, including the most common and expensive repairs
• Silver: Popular for vehicles with high mileage, providing coverage for the major systems
• Gold: Comprehensive coverage and flexible terms for vehicles with more than 60,000 total miles
• Platinum: The highest level of stated component coverage that protects hundreds of parts in a vehicle’s major systems
• Titanium: Maximum bumper-to-bumper extended warranty protection and the highest level of coverage, with only a short list of excluded parts

Along with reasonable costs and impressive coverage options, CARCHEX warranty plans come with the following perks:

• Towing reimbursement
• 24/7 roadside assistance
• Rental car reimbursement for covered repairs
• Trip interruption reimbursement

Read more: CARCHEX review

CarShield: Most Affordable

If your main goal is to keep Ford extended warranty costs as low as possible, CarShield is worth checking out. Our research team pulled quotes from extended warranty providers across the industry, and we rate its offerings as the cheapest overall.

In business since 2005, CarShield has served millions of drivers nationwide and is a popular pick for Ford extended warranty coverage. This company also has a trusted brand, reflected in its impressive 4.0-star rating from over 33,000 customer reviews on Trustpilot.

Ford Extended Warranty Plans from CarShield

CarShield offers six plans ranging from basic powertrain protection to factory-style coverage plans:

• Silver: Most affordable policy with coverage for most major parts of your vehicle, from engine to water pump 
• Gold: Greater increased coverage for all major and minor vehicle parts, from engine and transmission to power windows
• Platinum: Intended for vehicles with high mileage, providing comprehensive protection for all the vital car systems
• Diamond: Similar to a manufacturer’s factory warranty
• Aluminum: Protects against electrical and computer-related problems
• Motorcycle & ATV: Applies to other motor vehicles, such as motorcycles and ATVs

To make the experience of a mechanical breakdown a bit less stressful, CarShield plans come with the following:

• Rental car coverage
• Towing reimbursement
• 24/7 roadside assistance

Read more: CarShield review

Ford ESP: FAQ

Here are some commonly asked questions about Ford extended warranties

Our Methodology

Our expert review team takes satisfaction in providing accurate and unbiased information. We identified the following rating categories based on consumer survey data and conducted extensive research to formulate rankings of the best extended auto warranty providers.

• Affordability: A variety of factors influence cost, so it can be difficult to compare quotes between providers. Our team performs ongoing secret shopper analyses for different vehicles, mileages, warranty plans, and locations to give this rating.
• Coverage: Because each consumer has unique needs, it’s essential that a car warranty company offers an array of coverage options. We take into account the number of plans offered by each provider, term limits, exclusions, and additional benefits.
• Industry Standing: Our team considers Better Business Bureau (BBB) ratings, availability, and years in business when giving this score.
• Customer Service: Reputable extended car warranty companies operate with a certain degree of care for consumers. We take into account customer reviews, BBB complaints, and the responsiveness of the customer service team.