AAA Extended Warranty Review (2021)

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AAA Extended Warranty Review

In Our Opinion:

AAA extended warranties are a strong option for those who are already AAA members. The coverage is long-lasting and available to older cars. However, there are more coverage options to choose from if you opt for different providers.

Industry Standing:

Coverage:

Customer Service:

Pros:

Coverage for older vehicles available

Four levels of coverage to choose from

High coverage limits up to 7 years/230,000 miles

Cons:

Warranty plans not available from all regional AAA clubs

Coverage details may vary between clubs that do offer warranty plans

3

Deciding whether to purchase a AAA extended warranty? This review provides all the information you need to determine whether AAA’s extended coverage is right for you. 

From plan details to pricing to customer reviews, we will take a deep dive into AAA extended warranty coverage. We’ve also reviewed the best extended car warranty companies in the industry, and we’ll see how AAA stacks up against the competition.

When purchasing an auto warranty, it’s smart to get quotes from multiple providers before signing a contract. This way, you can make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. To get a AAA extended warranty quote, you’ll need to reach out to your local club, but you can go ahead and start getting free, personalized quotes from our top recommended providers below.

Top Extended Warranty Companies

We reviewed the best extended auto warranty providers, and here are our top picks. 

Best Overall	Best for Older Vehicles	Best Prices
Endurance	CARCHEX	CarShield
Get Quote	Get Quote	Get Quote
(877) 374-1840	(866) 254-0205	(800) 563-2761

AAA Extended Warranty: What You Need to Know

There are 42 regional AAA clubs across the U.S. and Canada, and depending on your location, your AAA extended warranty offer will vary. Not all AAA clubs have extended warranty packages. For example, AAA Auto Club South that serves Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia stopped offering an extended warranty in 2018. But AAA Carolinas, which serves North and South Carolina, offers comprehensive extended warranty plans.

This review will use AAA Carolinas coverage as an example of what to expect from a AAA extended warranty. A representative of AAA Carolinas informed our research team that coverage does not vary much between clubs that offer warranties.

AAA Extended Warranty Coverage

AAA Carolinas offers customers the choice of four AAA extended warranty plans: Essential, Essential Plus, Comprehensive, and Exclusionary. Any extended warranty plan from the provider can cover your vehicle up to seven years or 230,000 miles.

Here’s a breakdown of the covered components each plan offers:

AAA Extended Warranty	Essential	Essential Plus	Comprehensive	Exclusionary
Engine	?	?	?	?
Transmission	?	?	?	?
Turbo/ Supercharger	?	?	?	?
Air Conditioning and Heating	?	?	?	?
Transfer Case	?	?	?	?
Drive System	?	?	?	?
Cooling System	?	?	?	?
Electrical	?	?	?	?
Front and Rear Suspension		?	?	?
Anti-Lock Braking System		?	?	?
Brakes		?	?	?
Steering		?	?	?
Audio			?	?
Hybrid Vehicles			?	?
Entertainment				?
Navigation				?

 

With each AAA extended warranty plan, you’ll get added benefits including:

• Battery coverage
• Trip interruption coverage of $75 per day for up to three days if you break down far from home and have to stay overnight while your vehicle is repaired
• Rental car reimbursement of $35 per day up to five days while your car is in the shop

One other nice benefit of the AAA extended warranty is that you can self-approve claims up to $500 if the claims administration office is closed and you need a quick repair.

All AAA extended warranty plans offered by AAA Carolinas come with a $100 deductible that is reduced to $50 when you take your car to an AAA-authorized repair facility and further reduced to $0 when you take your car to a club-owned repair facility. Additionally, the club offers zero-interest payments for two years. This may differ from club to club, so be sure to verify payment details when you call your local AAA for a quote.

AAA Warranty Exclusions

Like all vehicle protection plans, AAA extended warranty coverage has a few exclusions. Examples of items your AAA plan will not cover include:

• Collision damage
• Theft or vandalism
• Environmental damage
• Damage due to misuse, abuse, or neglect
• Wear-and-tear items like tires, windshield wipers, and brake pads

AAA Extended Warranty Cost

AAA extended warranty costs are not available online. However, our research team found that the average extended warranty costs between $1,300 and $4,600 for three to seven years of coverage. If you receive a quote from AAA that falls in the middle of that range, it’s probably a fair deal.

The cost of your AAA extended warranty will vary depending on the following factors:

• Where you live
• Level of coverage you choose
• Length of coverage you choose
• Number of miles on your odometer
• Make, model, and year of your vehicle

AAA Reviews

AAA Carolinas has earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). However, each regional club has its own BBB rating, so be sure to look up your local club for insight into its customer service. 

AAA offers a number of products for drivers, the most popular of which are roadside assistance and insurance. In general, AAA has a great reputation for providing fast, quality service to drivers in need. However, extended service plans are not among the company’s top services, so there aren’t many customer reviews online specifically pertaining to the AAA extended warranty. 

How Do AAA Warranties Work?

You can get a free quote for an AAA extended warranty online or by calling your local AAA club. It’s important to note that you do not have to be a AAA member to get a quote for a AAA extended warranty. However, you do need to be a AAA member to purchase an extended warranty plan.

Customers who own an active AAA extended warranty can file a claim by calling 866-411-3076. Have your AAA membership number ready so that an agent can pull your plan information up and help you accordingly. All covered repairs must be approved by your AAA club before being completed.

Final Thoughts: AAA Extended Warranty

Overall, the AAA extended warranty provides comprehensive coverage, and at the right price, it could be worth it for eligible drivers. However, you’ll need to reach out to your local AAA club for details about the price and coverage of vehicle service contracts available in your area.

An AAA extended warranty may be a good option for drivers who are already AAA members or who want to become AAA members. If you find this company’s coverage isn’t right for you or if your local club doesn’t offer car warranties, you can learn about our top recommended providers below.

Our Top Picks for Extended Warranty Coverage

Whether you’re interested in a AAA extended warranty or not, it’s a good idea to look into other warranty companies. There are plenty of reputable extended car warranty companies that could be a good fit for your vehicle needs and budget.

We recommend drivers look into Endurance for the industry’s best coverage and added benefits or CarShield for a budget-friendly provider that doesn’t sacrifice quality. Learn more about each provider and compare free quotes below.

Endurance: Best Overall

Endurance extended warranties offer the highest-quality coverage in the industry. The provider has six extended warranty plans for customers to choose from, ranging from bumper-to-bumper to powertrain coverage. Benefits that come with each plan for the lifetime of your warranty include:

• Roadside assistance
• Trip interruption reimbursement
• Rental car or other substitute transportation reimbursement

Plus, for your first year of coverage, you will also get the following benefits through the Endurance Elite Membership program:

• Personal concierge service
• Two tire repairs or replacements
• One key fob repair or replacement
• Repair financing loans up to $5,000
• Identity theft protection and recovery services
• $250 in vouchers to be used on shopping, dining, and hotels

If you want to keep these benefits after your first year, you can extend your Endurance Elite Membership for an annual fee.

Learn more about this provider by reading our full Endurance warranty review, and get a free quote below.

Best Overall

Get Quote (877) 374-1840 Industry veteran that handles your plan directly, from quote to claim

CarShield: Best Prices

CarShield offers the best extended car warranty for drivers on a budget thanks to its flexible payment plans and low monthly premiums.

CarShield has six plans to choose from, including a specialty plan for motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. All warranties come with the following benefits:

• Roadside assistance
• Coverage up to 200,000 miles
• Deductible options as low as $0
• Payments made directly to the repair shop

Learn more in our full CarShield review, and reach out for a personalized quote below.

Best Prices

Get Quote (800) 563-2761 Well-known provider that offers great coverage with great pricing

Original article: AAA Extended Warranty Review (2021)

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Triple Trouble: Krautmotors’ Kawasaki H1 flat tracker

The mythical Kawasaki H1 Mach III needs little introduction. The triple-cylinder 500 cc two-stroke made a splash when it hit the market in 1969, with an unforgiving power band earning it the infamous ‘widowmaker’ nickname. There are faster bikes out there these days, but a classic H1 is still a good candidate for a rapid restomod or cafe racer build—if you can get your hands on one.

But here’s something you don’t see every day: an H1-based flat tracker, pieced together almost entirely from leftover parts. Dubbed the ‘Räng Däng Däng Sweet Bum Bäng,’ this scrappy wonder was lovingly built by Rolf Reick—the man behind the Krautmotors name.

Based in the university town of Heidelberg in Germany, Rolf’s an industrial designer, and heads up a design school in the neighboring town of Mannheim. He’s also been building and racing bikes for the longest time, so he’s amassed a workshop full of parts.

Most of Rolf’s race bikes have been designed to compete in the European Sultans of Sprint series, and the StarrWars spring races at the Glemseck 101 festival. But he’s been itching to build a flat tracker for a while. So he pieced this one together from bits and pieces from previous builds, dating way back…

“I started Kawasaki rebuilds in the 90s,” he tells us, “and bought up a lot of parts when they were cheap.”

At the heart of the beast is a 60 hp H1 motor that Rolf previously used for sprint racing. He dropped it in as-is, but tasked two-stroke guru Ralf Gille with rebuilding the clutch and ignition, and rewiring the bike. Ralf has been building Rolf’s race engines for years, and is also his source for vintage Kawasaki two-stroke parts.

The motor wasn’t cracked open for two reasons: it already runs fine, and Ralf doesn’t plan to leave it in the frame for too long. Herr Gille is already working on a 750 cc mill that’ll make 100+ horsepower.

Current upgrades include a set of K&N filters, and an old, beat-up exhaust system. “I welded that one together myself from old motocross exhausts in the 90s,” says Ralf. “You can tell by the horrible seams.”

The chassis is yet another repurposed part. It’s a 1969 H1 frame that Rolf customized back in the day to run with a Yamaha mono-shock swingarm, and even got TÜV certification for. There’s a shock hiding away under the seat, but in the past, this particular frame has also been used in a rigid format for sprint racing.

At the front, Ralf has an original H1 wheel set up to run brakeless, and there’s a 19” high shoulder rim laced to a drum hub at the back. The tires are a Bates Baja (front) and a Dunlop K180 (rear).

The bodywork is all pick-‘n’-mix, but fits together beautifully. The fuel tank’s from a vintage Kawasaki enduro; Rolf tweaked it to fit, then welded in a bung for a Pingel Power-Flo fuel tap. He handled the paint himself too—a classic Kawasaki white-and-green affair with a cheeky Krautmotors logo.

The aluminum tail section’s a classic flat track part that Rolf picked up on eBay in the USA years ago. He built a separate subframe to fit it to the Kawasaki, made a new seat pan, and had his upholsterer cover it in suede.

Since this is a track bike, there’s very little going on in the cockpit, short of new LSL bars, vintage-style grips and a single cable throttle. Number boards at the front and sides carry the number ‘2 1/2’—because the bike is a triple, but Rolf isn’t considering it complete until the new engine’s in.

There’s a very peculiar mod hiding behind the front board: a catheter bag, set up to run as an oil tank. “I didn’t know where to put the oil,” says Rolf. “On my last project I used a bicycle bottle, but it was too big. Unfortunately, my stepfather has to use such a thing—so I came up with the idea.”

Now that the H1’s complete, Rolf’s patiently waiting for Europe’s lockdown to lift, so that racing can resume. Until then, he’s squeezing in as much test riding as he can… while he prepares to shove that 100 hp screamer in there.

Krautmotors | Facebook | Instagram | Images by (and with thanks to) Marc Holstein and Christine Gabler

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Hot Wheels Unleashed Trailer: New Racing Game Coming This Fall

There’s a new Hot Wheels game coming out for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Called Hot Wheels Unleashed, it looks to have realistic graphics and a physics engine with high fidelity. According to Milestone (the game’s producers), Hot Wheels Unleashed will have the world’s raddest cars, the most insane tracks, and the most exciting races.

The big question, as with all Hot Wheels games, is will it be as fun as actually taking over your living room to build that totally cool track. Check out the game trailer, and let us know what you think. Hot Wheels Unleashed is set for release on September 30th.

Original article: Hot Wheels Unleashed Trailer: New Racing Game Coming This Fall

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How the environmental impact of commercial vehicles is improving thanks to vehicle tracking

Over the last 15-20 years, we have all had to become more aware of our environmental impact. Thanks to improvements in science and better general awareness and understanding of the issues, we can look at any decision we make and think about how it can impact our carbon footprint.

Businesses have the same ability, and for many, they have embraced the challenge of reducing their environmental impact and enjoying the benefits that come from this. The way different business go about this varies, but some areas transcend industries. Commercial vehicles are one such area.

Many industries use commercial vehicles, be this company cars or trucks and lorries that make up a fleet used as part of a supply chain. Some people may think that merely moving commercial vehicles over to electric and making use of developing platooning technology is the way to reduce their environmental impact. However, there is a far more straightforward and faster way to reduce the environmental impact of a commercial vehicle, which can help businesses of all sizes immediately.

Vehicle tracking has taken significant steps forward over the last ten years and has become a vital tool that businesses worldwide rely on. So, how can vehicle tracking help improve a commercial vehicle’s environmental impact?

Driver coaching

The development of in-cab driver coaching systems has allowed businesses to significantly reduce the amount of fuel their commercial vehicles are using, thanks to drivers being alerted to actions that increase fuel usage. By using audio and visual alerts, commercial drivers can self-correct their own driving behaviour.

Some of the causes of alerts include engine idling, speeding and harsh acceleration, all of which are known to increase the amount of fuel used by a commercial vehicle. A study found that, along with reducing dangerous actions when out on the road, by proving drivers with this direct and immediate feedback, the amount of fuel they used was reduced thanks to fewer instances of the aforementioned issues.

Route planning

Another critical element for any business which operates a commercial fleet of vehicles is route planning. Business vehicle tracking allows fleet managers, who are responsible for all commercial vehicles operated by a business, to see the routes their vehicles are taking and their exact location at any time.

Choosing the theoretically shortest route is sometimes not the most fuel efferent option, and by analysing route data, fleet managers can identify routes that are the quickest. As any driver knows, sitting in traffic is frustrating, but it can also be wasteful for fuel due to engine idling. Routes that allow commercial vehicles to arrive at their destination as soon as possible, despite being longer, can reduce the impact a commercial vehicle can have on the environment.

Maintenance needs

When operating a commercial vehicle, businesses must continuously monitor their condition. There are many reasons for this, most importantly, it ensures that the vehicle is safe, which protects employees and other road users. Also, by ensuring the vehicle is operating at its best as often as possible, the vehicle will run more efferently.

Vehicle tracking systems can track when a service is needed along with the lifespan of a particular part. Keeping vehicles serviced regularly and carrying out simple maintenance such as properly inflating a vehicle’s tyres has shown to improve fuel efficiency. Previously, tracking these needs would have relied on paperwork and been time-consuming, but now it can all be done through computer systems and far more efficient.

The environmental impact of commercial vehicles should be an area that is taken seriously by all businesses that operate them. As highlighted above, businesses and their clients can benefit from the steps taken to improve their commercial vehicles’ environmental impact. In the years to come, this is likely to be an area that continues to progress, with new ways to make businesses and their vehicles more fuel-efficient and improve the overall impact we all have on the environment.

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