Going without breakdown cover ?

Randomface74

Randomface74

Randomface74

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I wonder if you guys can point me in the right direction.

I've been driving for about 10 years, and every year I've had problems with breakdown companies. E.g.
- poor prices
- cancellation fees
- higher renewals for loyal customer
- 'gold membership' nonsense
- not far enough from your house
- legalese
- scaremongering

You get the idea...

At the moment I have a near-new car, so the chance it breaks down seems extremely slim. So I'm tempted to just not bother dealing with these companies at all, and going without breakdown cover.

But, if I did break down, I'd still need to know who to call to get my car fixed or towed, and some idea of what that would cost. I'm struggling to find this information, so this is what I'm asking you for - has anyone done breakdown this way? Do the main breakdown companies show up if you call them without being a member? How would it work?
 
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It's in their interests to encourage people to NOT do without until they need it, as you're considering. So they will charge you, at the least, their full, undiscounted annual rate before they'll agree to come out.

In that circumstance, you'd be better off using google to find a well reviewed garage local to your breakdown who will come out and collect the car. But removing that hassle is part of what you're paying for.

Personally, I'd have a look at AutoAid breakdown cover. Very cheap, recommended by Moneysavingexpert. I've been with them for a good few years with no problems. Only had to call them out once - but I was at the very top of an Alpine pass at the time, and they were excellent. Car recovered to a specialist garage and paid for a night in a local hotel with no quibble at all.
 
billysielu said:
At the moment I have a near-new car, so the chance it breaks down seems extremely slim.
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What car, and where do you get it serviced? A lot of main dealer servicing now includes a years breakdown cover as part of the price.

(Currently I get this on my Focus via Ford Motorcraft fixed price service, and have had it on my Zafira via a standard Vauxhall main dealer service, and in both cases I believe it was a full coverage including european and homestart)
 
I've always got mine through a premium bank account, Nationwide offers roadside + recovery, not just roadside (i.e. TSB for example will charge you about £100 for recovery).

Have used it several times and had no issues at all, much easier than faffing about going direct and then having them have your details and spamming you every year ;)
 
I get mine through my bank (First Direct) I had an issue at my house and they came out within 60 minutes.
Also included is phone insurance and holiday insurance, as its a joint account we both get the benefits for £15 a month between us.
 
Before I got cover through my bank account I would always just sign up when I needed it.

Yeah it cost me more each time, but I only used it every few years so it worked out cheaper that way.
 
bazzabear said:
Personally, I'd have a look at AutoAid breakdown cover. Very cheap, recommended by Moneysavingexpert. I've been with them for a good few years with no problems. Only had to call them out once - but I was at the very top of an Alpine pass at the time, and they were excellent. Car recovered to a specialist garage and paid for a night in a local hotel with no quibble at all.
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I'll have a look at that ty.

Armageus said:
What car, and where do you get it serviced? A lot of main dealer servicing now includes a years breakdown cover as part of the price.
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Vauxhall Astra 1.4T 150 Auto, 16 plate, bought it 1 year ago at 1 year old.
I got 1 year breakdown free with it, which is just about to end.
I'm 1 year through a 3 year service plan with the main dealer, but it doesn't include breakdown.

WoodyUK said:
I've always got mine through a premium bank account.
Have used it several times and had no issues at all, much easier than faffing about going direct and then having them have your details and spamming you every year ;)
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I'll have a look at that too, ty.
 
billysielu said:
But, if I did break down, I'd still need to know who to call to get my car fixed or towed, and some idea of what that would cost. I'm struggling to find this information, so this is what I'm asking you for - has anyone done breakdown this way? Do the main breakdown companies show up if you call them without being a member? How would it work?
Click to expand...

It can vary. Back in 2012 I had a 2 year old car which annoyingly didn't have a spare wheel. I thought I had breakdown cover with my insurance but for some reason when I'd renewed my insurance the cover hadn't been renewed - my fault for not checking over all the paperwork.

I was on the M74 from Glasgow one evening headed down to Basingstoke when around 25 miles out of Glasgow my tyre pretty much exploded. I called up all the common breakdown companies and got some crazy quotes but the best I managed to find was £110 callout fee and an extra £60 to get the car taken up to an extremely convenient 24 hour tyre place so that was £170.

I guess it depends where you are if you need to call out and the situation you're in. At the very least, if you don't have runflats, make sure you have a spare wheel so don't need to call someone out for that :)
 
I just cancelled my AA cover, they jacked it up from £90 to £150 this year.

I might get a new policy next year, but it’ll be the bare bones personal cover you can get for about £50.
 
WoodyUK said:
Honestly I do think premium accounts are the way to do it, especially Nationwides, I don't think any other premium account comes close to the level of cover they provide.

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts/flexplus/insurances-and-benefits

£13 quid a month, you can't go wrong.
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They will do recovery to a nearby garage (usually the one that the truck comes from as it's independent guys / recovery firms they use) but if you want recovery home etc. then they are meant to charge you extra to flatbed / trailer the car. I've used mine before and thought I was going to require recovery but thankfully it turned out to be a stupid issue so I didn't have to find out if I would be charged, I know the guy that turned up didn't seem too keen to have to recover my car from Exeter to Bristol before he fixed it. :D
 
InvaderGIR said:
They will do recovery to a nearby garage (usually the one that the truck comes from as it's independent guys / recovery firms they use) but if you want recovery home etc. then they are meant to charge you extra to flatbed / trailer the car. I've used mine before and thought I was going to require recovery but thankfully it turned out to be a stupid issue so I didn't have to find out if I would be charged, I know the guy that turned up didn't seem too keen to have to recover my car from Exeter to Bristol before he fixed it. :D
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That’s not 100% true.

From the policy document “If the fault or damage cannot be repaired at the local repairers by the end of the working day on which the breakdown occurred, and the breakdown occurred more than a 1⁄4 of a mile from your home address, we will transport your vehicle, you and up to 7 passengers to a destination of your choice in the UK (we will not pay for any other recoveries)“

That is pretty reasonable tbh.
 
M1k3H said:
That’s not 100% true.

From the policy document “If the fault or damage cannot be repaired at the local repairers by the end of the working day on which the breakdown occurred, and the breakdown occurred more than a 1⁄4 of a mile from your home address, we will transport your vehicle, you and up to 7 passengers to a destination of your choice in the UK (we will not pay for any other recoveries)“

That is pretty reasonable tbh.
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It's been a few years since I used the service to be honest but also I wouldn't want to be stuck at a local garage for a day, if I breakdown and can't be fixed at the roadside I want to be recovered to a place of my choosing at that point. I'd still be careful though as it doesn't say the recovery is free.
 
Fortuitous timing for this thread. I've gone without breakdown cover, and because both the cars in the household are relatively new and reliable, it was just something I never got round to.

This came back to bite me this very week - to cut a long story short, the radiator on my girlfriend's Kia collapsed, dumping coolant everywhere. She limped it back to her stables, but it couldn't be driven any further, and needed to go back to the main dealer (~30 miles), as the failure was suspected to be covered by warranty. Not a problem with breakdown cover, as most would have offered recovery, but I didn't have it. You can buy a policy online, but I think most cant be used for 24 hours. If you need emergency assistance, you can phone up and open an account immediately, but you'll probably end up paying an increased premium.

Luckily in our case, one of her friends was a Green Flag member with national recovery on her policy, so stepped in and we were able to get the car shipped off to the dealer no worries. For a while though, I was kicking myself for not getting around to it...it'l certainly be something I buy now.
 
I have cover via my bank and via my insurance (thrown in "free" as a deal sweetener) so don't see any point in taking out extra.
 
I've not had breakdown cover since...2008? :p

Breaking down is pretty rare, only happened to me once. I called my insurance company, bought their Greenflag breakdown cover. Called them up and the car was being towed home an hour later :D
 
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