Car Breakdown Cover - RAC

[SkidMarkKing]

Hi guys,

Who do you use for car breakdown cover? I've been with the RAC for years and each year I have to haggle them down as they try charging me extra (over £100 in total).

I've noticed much cheaper companies but have been told (by someone at RAC) they don't have as many recovery vans on the road and therefore can take quite a bit longer to get to you if need.

 

[dlockers]

Buy a horse, they run on carrots

 

[moon man]

I am with autoaid 6o quid a year, never used though, most companys you are just buying an insurance policy, i go up to yorkshire a fair bit so need something with onward travel ect, you get home start as well at that price

 

[Sho]

Yup with autoaid too.

 

[Uther]

Start rescue I think they're called. Never used them though...

 

[MissChief]

£17pm for AA with my bank account. Have never felt I was treated any different due to this either. Used them a couple of times, flat tyre on my 306 a good few years ago when I could release the spare tyre cage and back in May this year when I had a flat battery. Both times they attended within 30 minutes or so.

 

[swillsy]

I would go for one of the big boys to make sure they got to you if you had an issue. Waiting hours if your car breaks down on a roundabout it no fun! I would look at quidco to see if you can get some cashback though!

 

[LuckyBenski]

Thread belongs in motors TBH but as with insurance, every year they will bump your renewal cost and every year you must go get a quote from a competitor and call your provider with it... Abracadabra, renewal costs lowered.

On this basis I stick with AA as they've been good to me aside from refusing to accept I won't pay double to renew every year.

 

[Rroff]

There was a thread on this recently https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/breakdown-assistance-quote.18932349/ - I usually get a year of RAC cover included with the service and between that usually manage to find a good deal.

 

[mrk]

Start Rescue. Cheap, uses RAC/AA etc whoever is nearest to you in the event of a callout.

 

[Haggisman]

I was with Autoaid until the start of this month, but I joined a few years ago (at IIRC £35), and they've been consistently bumping the price up by ~£5 every year, so went with Eversure this year at half the price for almost identical cover

 

[Jony27]

RAC through HSBC. £22/month but also includes phone and gadget insurance.

 

[Puzzled]

Wonder how much the likes of AA / RAC charge if you take out a policy when you actually breakdown. We've been paying for breakdown cover for years but have never had to use it, might be cheaper to just pay the high price when needed.

 

[bm_999]

with the AA here, think its around £150-200 for 3 family members with everything including free car for 3 days if repairs needed (used this in the past few times) and really have no issues with them till it runs out loll

was with RAC and really not happy with the service they gave

 

[FBi7]

My £13/month current account fee with Nationwide includes breakdown cover, mobile phone insurance and travel insurance.

The breakdown cover is with LV/Britannia Rescue.

 

[Semple]

I've noticed much cheaper companies but have been told (by someone at RAC) they don't have as many recovery vans on the road and therefore can take quite a bit longer to get to you if need.

It's a fair comment, some of the smaller companies might sub-contract out to RAC/AA vans but they'll likely be bottom of the priority list. If you only use the car for local journeys, then it might not be a massive inconvenience if it's going to be a 4-hour wait - could always have someone pick you up and then return later on. But if you do some long motorway journeys or long distance from home then having someone turn up quicker is likely worth the few extra quid.

I've never been able to haggle the price down on a renewal, but i've always managed to bag some extra months free. This year i managed to get 6 months added on, so i'm paying £99 for 18 months.

 

[Joeyuk]

Get it through my bank, only used it once. They got my car working again so I could get to work and then a garage after. Add it phone insurance and the £13pm I pay the bank seems worth it.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Wonder how much the likes of AA / RAC charge if you take out a policy when you actually breakdown. We've been paying for breakdown cover for years but have never had to use it, might be cheaper to just pay the high price when needed.

In September 2017 this happened to me, I believe it was £160-something. £100 surcharge for immediate claim, £60 annual cover, basically. It was worth it - I broke down 1.5 miles from home, walked home to get some paperwork I think, by the time I got there an agent had arrived and pulled a snapped belt out of the underbody!

Edit: Renewal didn't go up much either - highest I've ever been requested was £79.99 and I talked it down again. £67 this year.

 

[bazzabear]

I'm with AutoAid too. I haven't needed to use them since 2008. But on that occasion they recovered me from the top of the Stelvio pass, took me to a nearby garage and onwards to a hotel. My car was fixed (it had lunched the alternator) the following day and they paid for the hotel room too.

Couldn't have been any happier with them.

 

[ron3003]

I was previously an RAC member. On the single occasion I did break down 25 miles from home I never got an RAC man, they sent Wakefields Recovery to relay me home.
The renewal price became unreasonable and this time they wouldn't haggle so I cancelled a couple of years later. Checking bank statements I later found they took payment after I'd left and I had a hell of a job getting refunded.
I joined Autoaid afterwards and on the one occasion I've needed to use them they sent Wakefields also so I couldn't agree with the argument there is a better service from the big outfits.