A car that drifts to one side is telling you something, but the message is vague. The cause might be tire pressure, wheels that have fallen out of alignment, or a steering or suspension part wearing toward the point where it stops holding the car straight. Only the last one is the kind of repair a service contract might touch, and even then the contract has to name the part. Your job is to sort the three before anyone writes a repair order.
Check the cheap explanation first
Look at the tires while they are cold. Compare the pressure to the number on the sticker inside the driver door frame, not the maximum printed on the tire wall. A tire that is low on one side pulls toward that side, and the pull can shift as the tire warms up. Then look across each tread. Even wear on one edge, feathering, or cupping points toward alignment or a worn part. Wear that is worse on one side of a single tire points toward that tire.
Tell the pull apart from the drift
On a flat road with a steady hand on the wheel, notice whether the car holds a line for a few seconds at a time or keeps pulling. Then notice whether the pull changes when you brake gently, when you lift off the gas, or when you accelerate. A pull that changes with braking often points to the brakes, which is a different system and a different contract line. A pull that stays the same through those changes is more often alignment or a loose or worn steering or suspension part. A clunk over bumps, a steering wheel that sits off center when the car drives straight, or a vibration that rises with speed all add to that list.
Ask the shop for the readings
An alignment check should come with a printed reading taken before the adjustment and another taken after it. Ask for both. If the shop only says the car was out of alignment and that it has been corrected, you have no way to tell whether the adjustment fixed the pull or whether a worn part was hiding behind it. Ask which parts were measured and which were only looked at. Ask the shop to name any part it believes is worn, and to show it to you.
Read the contract for the part, not the symptom
Most service contracts describe coverage by category, such as steering or suspension, and then list the specific parts in a schedule or covered components section. Find that list. Check whether it names the parts that hold the wheels in line, and whether it excludes alignment, tires, and wear items by name. Check whether a claim needs a shop inspection to diagnose the failure before anything is approved, and who pays for that diagnosis. Look for a clause that excludes a worn part even when the wear causes a failure somewhere else. If the company posts a sample contract, read the steering and suspension wording before you pay anything.
Keep the paper that shows the history
Keep every alignment receipt, every tire rotation record, and every repair order. If the pull started after a pothole, a curb strike, or a collision, take photos of the tire, the wheel, and the spot on the road, and write down the mileage and the day it happened. When a claim asks what happened to the car, it will ask for this record, and a gap in it gives the administrator a reason to question the claim.
Where the published figures live
This guide does not rank companies or say what any one contract covers. For the published terms of each company, use the comparison table on this site. To see how each company is scored, read How We Score Vehicle Service Contract Companies. If you want to read the wording before you commit, start with Vehicle service contract companies that post a sample contract you can read first.