Difference between big name and no name breakdown cover

mrochester

mrochester

mrochester

Soldato
Joined
29 Sep 2003
Posts
5,826
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne
Hi all.

Can anyone tell me the difference between the big name and no name breakdown cover providers?

My assumption is that the no name simply sub-contract the recovery/repair to a local 3rd party whereas the likes of AA and RAC will use in-house teams.

What other differences are there? I am due my renewal and the price differences are quite stark for what appears to be similar cover (home start, onward journey, unlimited call-outs, no excess etc).

Many thanks for any advice.

M.
 
mrochester said:
Hi all.

Can anyone tell me the difference between the big name and no name breakdown cover providers?

My assumption is that the no name simply sub-contract the recovery/repair to a local 3rd party whereas the likes of AA and RAC will use in-house teams.

What other differences are there? I am due my renewal and the price differences are quite stark for what appears to be similar cover (home start, onward journey, unlimited call-outs, no excess etc).

Many thanks for any advice.

M.
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afaik your assumptions are correct. from reading around, some people have good experiences, some have bad, with the no name breakdown cover providers. same as the well known one's really.
 
How much is your renewal?

Going to plug the Nationwide FlexPlus account which is £13 a month, gives you the top tier AA coverage, worldwide family travel and family phone insurance.
 
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always used home start in the family usually aa come out but not bad cover, only problem i had was daughters car at the time they would not put it on my drive, so dropped it on main road outside and we pushed/ pulled it on.
otherwise nps.
 
Begbie said:
Tried recently with rac. Got no where. Wouldn't budge.
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I had the same issue with the RAC, ridiculous price increase and not used a call out in the year.
My solution was to cancel it then go and open a new one with the RAC at their discounted rate for exact same service, saved me £160 on a years cover.
 
I just got AA cover for myself and my wife in any vehicle as driver or passenger - Roadside/At Home/National Recovery/Onward Travel for £168 with £64 cashback (TCB) so just over £100 for the year.

I basically swap between RAC and AA year on year, with the cashback, it's never eye watering.

About 2 years ago I had the top AA package with garage cost cover up to £500 as well, that was £274 with £160 cashback.
 
FWIW, we've had good experiences with AA, but it's only worth signing up under discount/as part of some packages account (like the Nationwide Flex account mentioned earlier)
 
for breakdown cover i used a breakdown cover price comparison website (like the insurance price comparison websites), loads to choose from all broken down into what you need etc, think i'm paying about £40 or £50 per year, iirc it's called RAC Essentials or something.
 
This topic always pops up all over the place and the simple answer is they're all equally rubbish.

No breakdown cover is going to get to you sharpish at 6pm on a bank holiday Friday, and they'll all get to you within an hour if it's 3am on a Wednesday.

They also all subcontract a lot to whoever is willing to work a shift, so they often use the same providers.
 
ChrisD. said:
Greenflag have been excellent for a few friends who have used them.

Avoid the RAC like the plague.
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On the flipside I was left to freeze to death in the middle of the countryside in December by Green flag and it's only because the subby they were using was a biker and spotted the model of my bike on his job list and thought it was strange that I wasn't at the top above all the home start calls that I didn't.

Like @Diddums says, they're all great and all absolute rubbish so pay as little as possible and hope it's never needed.
 
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It's true that people have positive and negative experiences with all breakdown operators, but for the love of god, just avoid RAC. Their performance has absolutely plummeted post COVID.

RAC used to be sign of reliability and a shining beacon for motorists, but now they're an absolute shadow of their former self. The delays in getting to people are atrocious, their customer services are absolutely atrocious (ask Rilot!), and these days their focus has shifted to making money by putting their coveted RAC name on as many **** products to sell them for third parties. Warranties, insurances, car care crap - you name it, and someone is paying RAC to stick their logo on it.

AA seem like one of the best options these days.
 
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