This is what I sent to the CEO of United Car Care:

Mr. Mathews,

My name is David Greenberg. I purchased an extended warranty from your company in August, 2020 when I bought my used 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe from Hgreg in West Palm Beach. The warranty was pushed on us as an important part of purchasing a used vehicle outside of the original manufacturing warranty period (or very close to the original warranty expiring).

I purchased this warranty contract for ~$3800.00 and, of course, never hoped to use it.

In almost 2 ½ years I only put 18k miles on the car and took care of my vehicle. I took it for all scheduled oil changes and required maintenance and beyond that, had no issues with the car.

Around December, 2022 I felt that the vehicle was having trouble with accelerating and seemed to be somewhat sluggish. I was going to take it in to be looked at; however, the car almost completely stopped moving and barely started up. I had it towed to a local mechanic who told me the engine was making noise and that I needed a new engine. I had the vehicle towed from there to Hyundai of Coconut Creek because I wanted it to be looked at by Hyundai. My car has been there since the end of December.

The mechanic assigned to my vehicle has 40 years of experience. He said it was a piston rod failure from the get-go. One of your inspectors came out and said we needed to find the ‘failure reason’ or something to that effect. The mechanic opened the oil pan and found metal shavings. That wasn’t enough for your company. Eventually, we were told that the engine had to be ‘torn down’. This job cost me $1,000 out of my pocket. The pictures are attached to this email.

Again, your inspector returned and wrote up his report which I have not received/reviewed. The claim was denied. I was told that this was due to neglect on my part or lack of oil lubrication??

I am baffled by what is happening. I purchased a warranty plan and your company does not want to honor that warranty. I took my vehicle for all scheduled oil changes and had no issues with the car until late December, 2022. The mechanic with 40 years of experience did not find sludge in the engine which would have indicated a lack of oil changes. The piston rods failed and caused metal to mix in with the oil which I presume led to the accelerated burning of the oil that eventually led to a dry engine. How is this my fault? The damage to my engine should be covered because it was damaged by the failure of an internally lubricated part – the piston rods. They were lubricated properly through my oil changes. The internal system failed to keep them lubricated. This is not my fault.

I found you on LinkedIn and even requested to connect. I am hopeful that you will reverse this decision. I do not intend to pay for my engine to be replaced out of my own pocket. I hope you can understand this. Thank you and please feel free to contact me at the number below.

July 6, 2022, I had taken my mother for cataract surgery. We leave and 2 miles down the road, and the engine just dies. I’d start it, it would sputter and die. Did this half dozen times. I disconnected the positive battery cable and sat for 15 minutes, to hopefully reboot the system. Reconnected the battery cable, started it, and it seemed to be running fine. Put it in gear, engine died. Started it again and this time it drives. I drove the half mile(luckily) to the Hyundai dealer. It idled for about 20 minutes while I was checking it in, and never missed a lick. They diagnosed a blown brake circuit fuse. I had put a curt wiring harness on it 3 years ago and they claimed that it blew the fuse, and that caused the motor to shut down (thanks to all this electronics🐎💩). I needed a genuine Hyundai wiring harness, if I wanted to tow with it. Price? $300. Rotflmao. We’re talking about 3 feet of wire that literally just plugs in to the wiring that’s accessed through a panel underneath the drivers side rear. Literally, just plugs in. Yeah, I don’t think so skippy.