Complaint Review: Route 66 Extended Warranty - Mountain Home Internet

I expected much more out of Route 66 Warranty than what I got this afternoon. There are a lot of less than standard clauses included in their contract that make dealing with them a bit of a headache.

First and foremost, I came from Mercury Insurance Group, and they were the best extended warranty provider I'd ever worked with, but unfortunately, my contract expired, and my credit union only offered Route 66. Presuming they were out for my best interest in offering Route 66, I elected to pay their $2103.00 for their Main Street plan for coverage of my '06 Jeep Grand Cherokee at 50,128 miles, to 98,128 miles or until year 2020.

So, my expectation with this was: I have a car problem; I take it to a auto repair facility; the facility calls the warranty company explaining what they can do or can't do; the warranty company then says "ok, given this circumstance, we'll provide our customer with this so they can continue normal business"--nope.

I take my Jeep in because I was having an overheating transmission temperature issue displaying on my dash, causing the radiator fan to spin up fairly loudly, and of course followed by ringing, alarming me of the issue. I explained as much to the mechanic shop, and they told me that they couldn't get a diagnostic for me that afternoon, so I had to leave it overnight for them to look at it in the morning.

Looking at Route 66's contract, I was under the impression that if I had to pay out of pocket for the rental, they would reimburse me the full amount knowing that the vehicle in repair is my only source of transportation. Well they kept my vehicle for 3 days, and the rental cost me $103. Route 66 said they would only send me $40. The person I spoke to actually made it seem like he was doing me a favor, which added insult to injury. He explained that Route 66 only covers rental expenses for so many labor hours worth of repair, and since the mechanic shop couldn't provide a diagnostic that same day, too bad for you, you're just out of that money. It took about 4-5 different ways of phrasing the question "why would they operate this way?" But I finally got a "sorry, you're just out of luck if you rent a vehicle, even if the mechanic shop calls us about the circumstance, if you decide to rent a vehicle before we get a clear diagnostic/labor hour calculation from them." To me that's poor customer service, and an issue I never experienced while I under Mercury Insurance Group. I'm hoping the check doesn't get sent to the wrong place, or bounce to the moon at this point.

Regarding the contract literature, one item that I'm sure most would overlook is the fact they don't pay for taxes on labor or parts associated with their coverage. I'll admit, I didn't see that on Line 10 of the contract, but I signed it, so that's a mute point. But be aware, if your repair part cost several hundred, if not over a grand plus, be ready to pay that taxable percentage. In my case, it was about $50 on a $750 PCM module that failed.

Overall, not including gas, and time, I'm out of $113.00. Again, I never had to pay a dime with a zero deductible plan from Mercury Insurance Group, and I never had to call them to confirm they were going to reimburse me--they would just do it. I can't recommend this company with full confidence that they would take care of their customers full concerns at the high price tag I paid for this warranty. I feel like they want me to be glad that I decided to pay them, and I should be grateful that they even decided to follow through with my claim. That's no way to operate, and it's certainly not a way to keep my business... That's for sure.