Breakdown cover

topher

topher

topher

Soldato
Joined
3 Jan 2003
Posts
3,738
Looking for new breakdown cover, my aa cover is coming to an end, just wondered what some of you guys were using and the level of service you received if you’ve had to call them out.

Cheers
 
I usually get a years worth thrown in with the service at the dealer I use most, between that I've managed to shop around a bit get it reasonably cheap via insurance, etc. personally been using RAC without issues - the only downside I've had with them personally compared to others is the response time can be longer but the customer service and recovery service once they arrive have been excellent.

We use a variety at work but mostly AA and RAC a bit and though most respond quicker than the RAC I've generally found the person who turns up to be less helpful - the AA ones at least around here seem a bit dour and act like they are doing you a massive favour even turning up at all - the last time they were out I also found they'd just dumped the bits they'd taken off the van to fix it in a corner rather than dispose of them properly.

Long story short as above they are mostly much of a muchness.
 
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Rilot had an eye opening thread about RAC which is worth a read.

I've taken basic cover this year after many years of not having, purely because it was £27 IIRC with my car insurance.

My train of thought is the money you save from not having cover for years will be enough to get someone local to tow you. Not ideal, but when you see what Rilot went through, it makes you question paying £70+ a year, or whatever it is.
 
I've got literally everything the AA do as cover and I've used them probably a dozen times in 20+ years and they've been great so far.

However, despite not having to use them for nearly 5 years, this years renewal price has suddenly jumped 25% to nearly £350 and I don't think thats in anyway justified so I'll very probably be dropping my cover to the absolute minimum I need (National recovery), or maybe even leaving them if they can't do any better.
 
I would not even consider RAC again for breakdown. However AA can be just as bad. Green Flag seems to be the best rated out there.
 
I'm in the same boat with renewal coming up. Its gone up by around £100 this year for family cover. It used to be good value with discounts on meals that we could use regularly, I think we got back a good proportion of the cost in meal discounts but thats all rubish now and the discounts don't apply to anywhere i'm interested in.
I will call them to try to do better but looks like I could be looking at one of these other ones that just get you and your car home or to a garage.
 
is it worth saying I've been driving over 20 years, never needed any once

maybe because my cars aren't that old or high mileage ?

im no mechanic, i dont know much about cars tbh
 
ShiWarrior said:
is it worth saying I've been driving over 20 years, never needed any once

maybe because my cars aren't that old or high mileage ?

im no mechanic, i dont know much about cars tbh
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There's certainly a lower probability for a newer/low mileage car to have less breakdowns, and definitely less likely for major components to go wrong, but it can still happen. Only fault I've had on a new car (less than 1 month old) was a dead battery. Luckily I was able to get it started on my driveway with my jump pack, but if we'd have been out, then it would have needed recovery.
 
ShiWarrior said:
is it worth saying I've been driving over 20 years, never needed any once

maybe because my cars aren't that old or high mileage ?

im no mechanic, i dont know much about cars tbh
Click to expand...

It’s just your luck, I’ve needed help with a brand new BMW and Land Rover in the past. I’ve also had the AA bail me out of a sticky situation in the snow before.

If you don’t have BMW/Audi/LR assist then the AA gets my vote all day.
 
My first car broke down all the time. But since then I've kept to newer cars and had no issues.

I didn't like aa/rac because they try to do you on renewal prices so you have to call them and get a sales pitch, switched to autoaid they are easier to deal with.

I'd also say it depends where you drive. There's an argument for not having breakdown, as long as you have an emergency fund you can pay someone if the need arises. I have breakdown because the roads here get very badly affected when someone breaks down, i don't wanna be that guy.
 
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I'm with start rescue only as I was able to tailor the cover to what we needed, wife and I both have cars, plus I have a motorcycle so need personal cover, whole lot works out just over £100 for national cover.

It is a lot of money though, and I've only ever used breakdown cover once, well twice on the same day actually and that was a puncture on my motorcycle.
 
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ShiWarrior said:
is it worth saying I've been driving over 20 years, never needed any once

maybe because my cars aren't that old or high mileage ?

im no mechanic, i dont know much about cars tbh
Click to expand...

Same here ... but that one year I don't buy it will be when I need it :D Green flag at the moment and I buy it as an add-on when renewing the insurance so generally don't get the upwards creep in renewal price that AA/RAC tend to try on.
 
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