How to Cancel Car Warranty
Many extended car warranty contracts want cancellation in writing. We write the letter your contract calls for, you sign it on your phone, and we mail it certified. $29, paid when you order.
Here's how to cancel car warranty coverage, also called a vehicle service contract: find the cancellation section, work out the refund you're owed, send the written request the contract asks for and keep proof. This page covers 3 contracts we've researched, the refund rules they list and the paperwork some of them want.
How to cancel car warranty coverage, step by step
- Find your contract. Extended car warranties are usually vehicle service contracts, and the cancellation section names who to contact. It's often the administrator that runs the contract, not the company that sold it to you.
- Read the refund formula. Contracts often give a full refund in an early window if you made no claims, then a pro rata refund after that, minus claims paid and a cancellation fee.
- Check what proof they want. Some contracts ask for the current mileage, a signed odometer statement, a notarized form, or a payoff letter if you sold or traded the car.
- Send the request the way the contract asks, and keep a copy of everything you send.
- If the contract was financed into your car loan, expect the refund to go to the lender, not to you.
- If the refund doesn't arrive, ask for the refund calculation in writing.
All 3 contracts in our guides require written notice in some form. For most, a signed letter sent certified is the safest way to start. Endurance is the exception: it wants its own notarized form.
Car warranties cancellation guides
Each guide shows how the company takes cancellations, where to send or call, the notice period and fees, with links to its official pages. Letter tags mean we can mail a signed letter for you.
GAP insurance
Letter requiredCancels by phone, by mail, by email or by fax.
Refunds when you cancel a car warranty
Refund rules are where car warranty cancellations get complicated. Here is what the official pages in our guides say. Your own contract and its state endorsement control.
| Contract | Refund rules | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| CarShield | Term contracts: full refund within 30 days of the effective date if no claim (if a claim was paid, refund is amount paid minus claims, not below zero). After 30 days: pro rata by the greater of days in force or miles driven versus the full contract term, less claims paid and less the declarations-page cancellation fee. Monthly contracts: full refund of the first month if cancelled in that month with no claim; in renewal months, pro rata by days less claims and fee; non-renewal also occurs if a renewal payment is 45 days late. Uncashed refunds after 90 days are converted into extended coverage. Older forms: 30 days or 20 business days from mailing (whichever later) for a full refund, then pro rata less $50. | Cancellation fee after the free-look window (current contracts): As listed on the customer's declarations page (amount not stated in the sample); Cancellation fee after 30 days (older contract forms): $50.00; Florida administrative fee within 60 days: 5% of amount paid |
| Endurance | Within 30 days of purchase with no claim: entire purchase price refunded (FAQ says less any applicable fees), credited to the original payment method. After 30 days, or if a claim was paid: pro rata refund of the unearned price, using whichever of the months-in-force or miles-driven calculations gives the lesser refund, less a $50 administrative fee and all claims paid; paid by check mailed to the home address. No refund is processed until the notarized form or odometer statement is received. If financed, the lienholder can cancel for non-payment, total loss or repossession and receives the refund; cancellation for non-payment forfeits refund rights. | Administrative fee on pro rata cancellations: $50; California administrative fee after 60-day free look: Lesser of $25 or 10% of purchase price |
| GAP insurance | See the fees column | The refund depends on your lender's GAP terms. Two of the three lender examples we found say the GAP fee is non-refundable after 60 days |
For the service contracts in our guides, the pattern is a full refund early in the term if you haven't made a claim, then a refund that shrinks with the time or miles you've used, with claims paid and a fee taken off. GAP coverage is different: the refund depends on your lender's terms.
Notarized forms and odometer statements
Some administrators won't process a cancellation until they get a notarized form or a signed mileage statement. Endurance, for example, lists a notarized cancellation form and an odometer statement in our sources. We can't sign a notarized form electronically for you. For those, use the official form and see a notary; many banks and shipping stores have one.
Send the notarized form the way the contract asks, and keep a copy. A phone call can start the process with some companies, but the cancellation isn't complete until the paperwork arrives.
Cancelling when you sell or pay off the car
Selling the car is one of the most common reasons to cancel. Some service contracts can be transferred to the buyer instead, sometimes for a fee, which can be worth more to the sale than the refund. Check the transfer section before you cancel.
If you're cancelling because you paid off or traded in the car, include the payoff letter or the lien release if the contract asks for it, and the mileage on the day you sold it.
GAP insurance from a dealer or lender
GAP coverage pays the difference between what you owe on the loan and what the car is worth if it's totaled. When you pay off the loan early, sell the car or refinance, ask your lender whether any of the GAP fee comes back. When there is a refund, lenders often apply it to the loan balance.
Don't count on a refund until your lender confirms it. The refund depends on your lender's GAP terms, and two of the three lender forms we found say the fee is non-refundable after 60 days. GAP forms are lender-specific, so use your own lender's form or a signed written request.
Calls about your car warranty expiring
If you're here because of a call saying your car warranty is about to expire, be careful. The FTC has warned about these calls. You don't need to call anyone back to cancel something you never bought, and you shouldn't give a caller your card or bank details.
What to put in a car warranty cancellation letter
A cancellation letter has one job: make it impossible to argue you didn't ask to cancel. Keep it to one page and include these details.
- Your full name exactly as it appears on the account.
- Your account, member, contract or policy number. If you can't find it, the address and phone number on file help them match you.
- A plain statement that you are cancelling. Use the word cancel, not pause, freeze or downgrade.
- The date you want the cancellation to take effect.
- A request to stop all billing after that date.
- A request for written confirmation, with the email and mailing address where you want it sent.
- Your signature and the date you signed.
Leave out your reasons unless the contract asks for them. A reason gives the company something to argue with or a retention offer to make, and you don't owe one.
Address the letter to the place the contract names for notices. That can be a corporate office, a third-party administrator or your home location, and it is not always the address on your bill. Payment addresses often go to a processing center that never reads mail.
Why send it USPS Certified Mail
USPS Certified Mail gives you a mailing receipt and a tracking number, and the Postal Service records when the letter is delivered. That record is what you point to if the company says it never got your notice.
Some contracts require certified mail. Others only ask for written notice, and certified mail is still the safest way to send it. Some contracts count notice from the day the letter arrives and others from the postmark date. The USPS record shows both.
Regular mail leaves you with nothing to show. A letter can sit in a mailroom, get misrouted or get thrown away, and you have no way to prove when, or whether, it arrived.
When we mail a letter for you, it goes USPS Certified within one business day of your order, and we email you the tracking number. You can follow it on the USPS site until it's delivered. The price is $29, paid when you order.
If they keep charging you after you cancel
Check the dates first. A charge that covers your notice period or the last billing cycle may be allowed by your contract. A charge for a period after your cancellation date usually isn't.
- Contact the company in writing. Say when you cancelled and how, and ask them to refund every charge after your cancellation date. Include your proof.
- If they don't fix it, dispute the charge with your bank or card issuer. Give the cancellation date and send the proof: a copy of your letter and the USPS delivery record, or the confirmation number from your call.
- If charges keep coming, ask your bank whether it can block future payments to that company.
- File a complaint with your state attorney general's consumer protection office. It creates a record, and some companies respond faster once one is filed.
Banks and card issuers set deadlines for disputes, usually counted from the statement date. Don't wait for several months of charges to pile up before you act.
Frequently asked questions
Can I cancel an extended car warranty at any time?
The contracts in our guides list refunds both for cancelling early and for cancelling later in the term, so you aren't locked in. The refund depends on timing and claims. Check your own contract's cancellation section.
Do I get money back when I cancel?
For service contracts, usually a full refund in an early window if there were no claims, and a pro rata refund after that, minus claims and a fee. For GAP, it depends on your lender's terms, and some lenders don't refund after 60 days. The exact formula is in your contract.
Does cancelling a car warranty affect my car loan?
If the contract was rolled into the loan, the refund usually goes to the lender and lowers the balance. Your monthly payment may not change.
Can CertiCancel cancel my car warranty?
When the contract accepts a signed letter, yes. We write it, you sign on your phone, and we mail it USPS Certified for $29. If your contract needs a notarized form, we'll point you to the official form instead.