Should You Buy a Lincoln Extended Warranty?

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Owners of Lincoln vehicles often seek to keep their vehicles for a long time, which is why a Lincoln extended warranty can be an attractive purchase. Lincoln’s extended coverage protects your car from mechanical breakdowns after the factory warranty expires, but it isn’t the only option out there. You can also buy a plan from a third-party warranty company.

In this review, we’ll explore Lincoln extended warranty coverage from the manufacturer and compare it to leading independent providers. To go ahead and get free, personalized quotes from some of the industry’s best extended warranty companies, click above.

A Lincoln extended warranty exceeds the 4-year/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty that protects new Lincolns from manufacturing defects. The company offers additional protection from mechanical breakdowns for up to 8 years/125,000 miles.

Lincoln offers four different extended warranties: PowertrainCARE, BaseCARE, ExtraCARE, and PremiumCARE. We like the fact that Lincoln offers a variety of plans for its customers. However, it would be nice if Lincoln added one additional coverage plan between ExtraCARE and PremiumCARE since the difference in coverage between the two is so wide. Lincoln offers deductibles of $0, $50, and $200, as well as a disappearing deductible for those who get their vehicle repaired at the same shop where they purchased their extended warranty.

PowertrainCARE: Covering 29 components, Lincoln’s PowertrainCARE plan is a powertrain warranty that covers a few major components of your vehicle’s engine, transmission, and rear/front-wheel drive axle.

BaseCARE: Lincoln’s BaseCARE plan covers 84 components, including additional components within the vehicle’s engine, transmission, and rear/front-wheel drive axle. It also adds coverage for your Lincoln’s electrical system, brakes, steering, and air conditioning systems.

ExtraCARE: Covering 113 components, Lincoln’s ExtraCARE plan covers additional components on each of the BaseCARE plan’s areas of coverage and adds coverage for heating and high-tech equipment.

PremiumCARE: Covering over 1,000 components, Lincoln’s PremiumCARE plan is by far the most comprehensive contract Lincoln offers. It covers all of the areas in the plans above with additional key components and adds protection for the emissions system, audio system, rear suspension system, and safety system.

Lincoln’s extended warranty comes with 24-hour roadside assistance, including tire changes, lockout services, out-of-fuel services, and battery jump-start assistance. It also comes with towing services up to $100 per occurrence, emergency travel expense coverage up to $500 within the first three days per occurrence, and up to $75 for destination assistance.

Lincoln’s disappearing deductible is another nice perk to its plans. In order to get the disappearing deductible, you have to get your repairs done at the same place where you purchased your extended warranty. Lincoln’s Key Service plan will repair or replace your key or key fob in case you lose or damage these items. A drawback of this perk is that it is not available in all states. Likewise, Lincoln is generous in offering loaner vehicles when your Lincoln needs service, but this service is only available for 2017 and newer Lincolns.

Long-time car owners know that car repairs can be very expensive. It is not uncommon, especially on older vehicles, to have to foot a $1,000 to $5,000 repair bill in order to keep your vehicle safely running. For that reason, many car owners in the US purchase an extended warranty instead. According to IBIS World, almost 18 billion dollars in 2019 was spent on extended warranties in the US alone. With an extended warranty, you pay a relatively small monthly payment and deductible instead of potentially paying thousands of dollars for major repairs.

How much will repairs cost you? Below are the estimated five-year repair costs for a 2016 Lincoln MKC, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln MKT, according to Edmunds.com. These estimated costs do not include common maintenance, such as oil changes and tire rotations.

For many Lincoln owners, these five-year repair costs would not be a big deal. However, these numbers are just the average estimated repair cost, meaning that the repair cost could potentially be less or more. According to RepairPal, the probability of a Lincoln repair being “severe” is 15 percent, which is higher than the 12-percent average across all brands.

Ultimately, whether or not you need extended warranty coverage for your Lincoln relates to your tolerance for risk and your financial situation. Most extended warranty owners will end up paying a bit more in the long run for an extended warranty than for any costly repairs they will need, but many Lincoln owners find peace of mind in having a relatively small monthly warranty payment shielding them from large repair costs.

Lincoln vehicles are not considered to be very reliable by experts. RepairPal ranked Lincoln 24th out of 32 car brands for reliability, giving the brand an “average” reliability rating.

That being said, the reliability of Lincolns seems to have considerably improved in recent years. Lincoln ranked high above the industry average for dependability in J.D. Power’s 2020 US Vehicle Dependability StudySM, which measured the number of problems experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of three year-old vehicles.

Lincoln’s extended warranty plans will work well for many Lincoln drivers, but extended warranty companies such as Endurance can offer warranties with some advantages over Lincoln for certain drivers. Endurance has a more flexible start date, longer coverage terms, more levels of coverage, and a broader repair network. It also provides a much more robust benefits package than Lincoln, including tire repairs and replacements, a personal concierge assistant, and $250 toward select shopping and dining destinations.

If you want genuine Lincoln parts for your vehicle, you should purchase an extended warranty directly from Lincoln. But if flexibility is more important to you, an independent warranty provider can be a smart choice.

The cost of a Lincoln extended warranty will depend on whether it is purchased from an extended warranty company or from Lincoln. Money Crashers estimates that the average cost of an extended warranty from a manufacturer typically ranges from $1,000 to $1,500. Since an extended warranty on a luxury vehicle costs more than one on a non-luxury vehicle, the cost of a Lincoln extended warranty is likely well over $1,500 per year.

In comparison, our review team has found that you can get a good mid-level extended warranty on a luxury vehicle such as Lincoln from an extended warranty company for under $1,200 per year. Cost isn’t everything, but extended warranty companies are generally more affordable than manufacturer extended warranties, while simultaneously providing similar levels of coverage and benefits.

Q & A

What does a Lincoln warranty cover?

Lincoln’s factory warranty coverage protects a new Lincoln for 4 years/50,000 miles. The warranty covers repairs and replacements of components that fail or prove to have defects. The Lincoln extended warranty last for up to 8 years/150,000 miles.

What does a factory warranty cover?

A factory warranty covers vehicle components that experience mechanical failure or those that are defective due to a manufacturer error. Depending on the manufacturer, the warranty will usually cover your vehicle for hundreds of parts and components from bumper to bumper.