To Buy or Not to Buy: The Mazda Extended Confidence Warranty

Even the most reliable vehicle brands are not immune to wear and tear and breakdowns. While all brand new Mazdas come backed by a solid 3-year/36,000 mile New-Vehicle Limited Warranty and a 5-year/60,000-mile Powertrain Warranty, both with 24/7 roadside assistance, what happens after that? What are your options for protecting an older vehicle or a newly purchased pre-owned Mazda? The company offers a comprehensive and well-designed Extended Confidence Warranty that might be exactly what you’re looking for.

The Mazda Extended Confidence warranty plan is designed to cover your vehicle after the new vehicle warranty or the certified pre-owned warranty has expired. In addition to basic bumper-to-bumper and powertrain coverage, the Extended Confidence plan gives you 24/7 roadside assistance service. This includes towing to the nearest Mazda dealership, battery jump-start, flat tire service, fuel delivery, lockout service, computerized trip planning, winching service, trip interruption coverage, and rental car reimbursement of up to $35 per day for up to 10 days.

This extended warranty needs to be purchased before the current New Vehicle Limited Warranty runs out and will seamlessly go into effect as soon as the original warranty expires. As with most extended warranty products, the Mazda Extended Confidence warranty doesn’t cover routine maintenance services or regular wear and tear. Instead, it’s designed to offset the often large and prohibitive costs of major unplanned repairs, keeping your car on the road and you within your budget.

Other available services and protection plans offered by Mazda include New Vehicle Warranty, GAP Protection, Prepaid Maintenance plans, Vehicle Theft Protection, Tire and Wheel Protection, Wear and Tear Protection, and Appearance Package Protection.

The Mazda Extended Confidence warranty includes similar protection as the original factory warranty, covering several important bumper-to-bumper and powertrain parts and components. If a covered repair is required, the dealership uses only genuine Mazda parts. 

Among the components covered under the extended warranty are the engine (the cylinder block, rotary housing, and internal parts), transmission (automatic or standard), turbocharger (if factory installed), drive axle (front and rear), and seals, gaskets, taxes, and fluids. The air conditioning system and electrical system are covered under some plans.

The Mazda Extended Confidence warranty does have several coverage exclusions, including damage to the tires and wheels, collision damage, damage caused by factors beyond the manufacturer’s control, damage caused by environmental factors, lack of maintenance, incorrect fluid or fuel use, and normal deterioration.

The warranty contract is fully transferable to another owner if you decide to sell your Mazda privately, which can be an attractive selling point to potential buyers. Under this warranty, however, you can only use Mazda dealerships to complete the required repair work.

There are several positive aspects of the Mazda Extended Confidence warranty that we think are worth mentioning. It’s relatively affordable when compared to some other third-party extended warranty plans. The deductible choices are very low and budget-friendly. It also provides a comprehensive level of coverage that is very similar to the factory warranty that comes with your new vehicle. 

We like that the warranty options are also highly customizable, allowing you to choose the duration of your coverage in one-year increments up to nine years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. The fact that 24/7 roadside assistance is a staple that’s included in whichever warranty you pick, whether it’s the Total Confidence or the Powertrain Confidence option, is another great benefit.

The fact that the warranty is accepted at all Mazda dealerships and they use certified Mazda technicians to install genuine Mazda parts on all repairs means that your vehicle will be kept running in tip-top shape for as long as you have the warranty. We also like that the warranty is fully transferable if you decide to sell your car.

As you would expect, there are some features of the Mazda Extended Confidence warranty that aren’t the greatest. While we like that the warranty is honored at all Mazda dealers, we don’t love that the dealership is your only repair option. So if you have a favorite go-to mechanic, forget it. Since most towns might only have a single Mazda dealership, your repair options are super limited.

The dealer may also offer to roll the cost of your extended warranty into your total car payment. This might seem like a great idea, but keep in mind that you’ll end up paying interest on that amount, so don’t get hoodwinked into that option if you can help it.

Interestingly and somewhat annoyingly, the cost of the extended warranty can vary significantly from dealer to dealer, meaning you have to take the time to shop around for the best price if you’re concerned about the cost. Who wants to do that? Online forums suggest that the total cost of the warranty is also negotiable, but if you don’t know this ahead of time, you could end up paying a lot more for your warranty than the next customer, even though you’re both getting the same coverage. This also seems unfair. Cancellation terms can also vary greatly from dealer to dealer, so be sure to examine those prior to purchase.

Lastly, we don’t love the fact that this extended warranty is only available through a dealer and not offered by an independent third-party.

Some of the most common issues and repair costs with Mazda vehicles:

This is a personal choice that only you can ultimately decide for yourself. An extended warranty that offers hassle-free, comprehensive coverage can be a life-saver in the event that you need a major repair done. Paying a low monthly premium is much less prohibitive than shelling out hundreds of dollars all at once for a costly repair.

Mazda’s Extended Confidence warranty covers a wide range of parts and systems, including the engine (the cylinder block, rotary housing, and internal parts), transmission (automatic or standard), factory-installed turbochargers, drive axles (front and rear), seals, gaskets, taxes, and fluids.  

No. Unfortunately, routine maintenance is not covered by Mazda’s Extended Confidence warranty. You can opt to purchase a Prepaid Maintenance program from Mazda if you want to have oil and filter changes, tire rotations, coolant changes, and other maintenance covered.

Yes, there are a variety of other third-party providers like Endurance for example, that offer extended warranty coverage for your Mazda. Plans and pricing vary significantly from one to the next, so it pays to invest the time to shop and compare before committing to one particular plan.

Yes, but only if you purchase it before the factory warranty has expired on the vehicle. The Mazda extended warranty plan is designed for continuing the warranty coverage on your vehicle. 

Reading online customer reviews is often a great way to learn the good, the bad, and the ugly about any company’s products. With its longstanding history and millions of customers, Mazda has hundreds of reviews that you can read through, although finding reviews specifically discussing Mazda’s Extended Confidence Warranty was surprisingly difficult. Here is a small sampling of some things customers have to say about Mazda customer service and warranty coverage:

“Mazda Roadside Assistance Program: False advertising What a joke! My wife's Mazda vehicle broke down yesterday morning before work ~8:00 am (wouldn't start). I have AAA, but the vehicle was covered by the roadside assistance program. I figured, hey save myself ~$100 tow to the nearest dealership. BIG MISTAKE. Looking through my call log & text messages, I made the initial call at about 8:30 am EST. Following 19 phone calls throughout the day between Mazda roadside assistance and the various tow truck drivers, Mazda roadside assistance had attempted to recruit 3 tow trucks until one finally came and took my wife's broken down car at 5:45 pm. 9+hrs to get a tow truck?! Did I mention this was a weekday (Thursday)?” - Kenneth via BBB.

“Bought my new Mazda3 in 2019. Great car but the dealer and Mazda itself are terrible. My heated seats won't function properly and the dealer will not call me back. Left message after message so I called Mazdausa. They promised to call me back and after repeated calls to them they never call back. No excuse for not returning calls. Ignore your customers, they'll go away! I know I am!” - George F. via Trustpilot

Numerous online forums seem to indicate that the overall cost of the Mazda Extended Confidence Warranty is highly negotiable at varying dealerships and that you can actually purchase the warranty for far less than the dealer’s initial price quote. If that is in fact the case, then the Mazda extended warranty price can be much lower than some other third-party extended warranty plans.

That being said, there are also numerous complaints about terrible customer service and repairs not being done properly or in a timely manner, so consider this carefully, as you will be forced to have all your repairs done at a Mazda dealership. If you can’t stomach the thought of always having to deal with that, you may want to look elsewhere for an extended warranty.

Here are a few more resources you can use: