Here's the fact many drivers never learn: an extended warranty is not a leash to the dealership. If your vehicle carries an extended warranty or vehicle service contract - from the manufacturer, the dealer, CarMax, or a third-party provider - you can have covered repairs performed right here at Hillside Auto Repair. We work with all of them, and we handle the claim so you don't have to.
Four Steps. We Handle Three of Them.
Your job is step one: bring the car. The phone calls, the paperwork, and the back-and-forth with the administrator are ours.
01 Diagnose & Document
We identify the failure and document it the way warranty administrators require - including photos from your free digital inspection.
02 We Call Your Provider
Authorization, coverage confirmation, and the paperwork are our job, not yours. You'll know what's covered before anything is decided.
03 Payment Over the Phone
Approved claims are paid directly by the provider. You cover your deductible and anything outside coverage - known up front, never after.
04 Repaired & Double-Backed
Quality parts, and our own 2-year / 24,000-mile warranty on the workmanship - stacked on top of whatever your contract covers.
The Claim We'd Never Heard Of
A recent repair here ran well into the thousands - paid in full by a warranty company we'd never worked with before that week. One call for authorization, payment over the phone, done. That's the routine: dealership-attached plans, CarMax plans, big national names, and companies with names nobody recognizes. If the contract is real, the claim works here - whoever administers it.
Names we see all the time
A few of the providers and plans our customers walk in with. Yours isn't here? Bring it anyway - the list of companies we'll work with has one entry: all of them.
Brand names belong to their owners. Hillside is not affiliated with any warranty provider - we repair the cars and handle the claims.
What to bring
- The car, with whatever it's doing (or not doing)
- Your contract, or the pamphlet from the glovebox - the provider's phone number is usually on it
- Your contract or claim number, if it's handy
No paperwork? Bring the car anyway. Between the dealership that sold the plan and the provider's records, we can usually track down the rest with you.
What extended warranties typically cover
Plans vary widely, but most cover the expensive mechanical failures: engine, transmission, drivetrain, air conditioning, electrical components, cooling system, steering. Wear items - brake pads, tires, wiper blades - and routine maintenance are typically yours. The coverage terms live in your contract, and confirming them against your actual repair is part of what we do on that authorization call.
Do I have to go back to the dealer for covered repairs?
No. Your contract names where you can take the car, and nearly all of them allow any licensed repair shop - that's exactly what these plans are for. And if your car is still under its factory warranty, federal law protects your right to service it outside the dealership without voiding that warranty. Either way, you get to choose your shop.
My plan is California "mechanical breakdown insurance" - is that different?
Same idea, different rulebook. California regulates most third-party vehicle protection as insurance, so many plans here are technically MBI policies rather than service contracts. From your side of the counter nothing changes: we diagnose, we call, they authorize, they pay.
Does Hillside's own warranty still apply?
Yes, and this is the part we like: your provider's contract covers the repair bill, and our 2-year / 24,000-mile parts-and-labor warranty covers the workmanship. Two layers, and the second one is on us.
Check before you pay out of pocket
If your car needs a repair and you carry any kind of protection plan, mention it when you book - it costs nothing to check and it regularly saves our customers real money. Worst case, the repair isn't covered and you've lost two minutes. Best case, the provider picks up the bill and you drive home wondering why nobody told you this sooner.