How to get good cheap breakdown cover?

Dav4 · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:28

Any tips on getting a good deal on Full UK breakdown cover? i have always had my breakdown through my insurance but due to changing insurers its now not a valid option.
I have tried google obviously but all these offers that i click on mainly for Greenflag offering recovery plus for £68 etc once clicked on and refered to there website after putting my reg and address it suddenly becomes £110 :confused:

and RAC, AA etc want £120! compare sites are also just offering companies i have never heard of.
I have a friend who got his RAC quote down from £120 to around £85 from saying he had cheaper quotes from others but he has already been with them a few years. Does this trick work for new customers? And is there any other good choices other than the usual AA, RAC and Greenflag?

Armageus · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:31

Silly question but what car and where do you service it?

On both my Focus and my Zafira, had them both serviced at main dealers (£199 major for focus, £149 minor for zafira), and both of them included a years breakdown cover. Don't think it included European cover, but was certainly full UK including homestart.

Dav4 · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:37

I now have a Mondeo ST220 so its quite old. i only paid £80 through my previous insurer for full UK with homestart and national recovery with unlimited call outs. All these £110-£120 quotes seem a lot imo.
i service it at my local indie.

Skillmister · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:39

Quidco would cut those prices in half (for AA at least).

Or even a reward bank account? Halifax is £12 a month for AA breakdown inc homestart in any car even as passenger, family travel insurance, mobile insurance, home emergency cover. And you can get money for switching your current account to them. My Halifax account has paid for itself for at least a year from a travel insurance claim (lost wallet) and a breakdown in my Corsa.

mrk · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:40

Quidco or TopCashback.

I switch between RAC and AA every year and sign up through the above two sites. I usually always get the £120-£140 package which gives a cashback of around £70.

This year my RAC price was £145, and cashback earned was £86.56 thorugh TopCashback.

Dav4 · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:45

i never thought of these cashback sites as i have never used them before. So i just sign up and see what offers they have and then buy policy through them do i? and then get money back once purchased?

Vanquish-Storm · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:47

I got my breakdown with RAC through Kia. £99 a year from the next time round - not sure if you get it with a service. Some places do as already suggested.

I would try Quidco or even if you go to the salesmen you see in shopping centres surprisingly they sometimes have better deals than online.

mrk · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:49

Depends on the retailer as each one has different cashback amounts, and they are payable after different periods.

Any purchase over £50 I usually check if they are available on TCB or QuidCo, and if they are, just buy through there. The cashback sites log your visit and take you to the retailer's own site and you simply buy as normal. Purchases are then tracked by the cashback site and you can see how many weeks are left before the cashback is payable to your bank account, or converted to store vouchers such as Amazon (which is handy as you often get 3-5% bonus!).

Make sure to disable adblock for the cashback sites and the retailers, as sometimes the tracking cookie used can get blocked and your purchase isn't tracked correctly.

Dav4 · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:53

thanks for all the info so far

ill check them out

Gaygle · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:54

mrk said:
Quidco or TopCashback.

I switch between RAC and AA every year and sign up through the above two sites. I usually always get the £120-£140 package which gives a cashback of around £70.

This year my RAC price was £145, and cashback earned was £86.56 thorugh TopCashback.

I normally just renew every year with RAC - it still works with the cashback.

mrk · 10 Mar 2017 at 16:58

Renewal prices always come back LOL though, like AA last year, my initial purchase was £120, but renewal came back nearly £150 if I recall right. So just bought the same package from RAC via TopCashback!

Philyaris · 10 Mar 2017 at 20:51

I ended up going to AXA breakdown via moneysupermarket, AA wanted about £120 and paid about £80.

Stormster · 10 Mar 2017 at 22:42

I'm with Start Rescue, cheap as chips :cool:

a1ex2001 · 10 Mar 2017 at 23:36

Been a happy autoaid customer for a few years now £45 last year and they have been fine when I've used them.

M1k3H · 11 Mar 2017 at 12:36

Nationwide's flex plus account offers very good breakdown cover for yourself and any cars in the household. That costs £10 a month, plus you get travel and mobile insurance and a few other services, on top of 3% interest up to £2500. If you can put that money in there, the account benefits essentially cost £45 a year.

[TW]Fox · 11 Mar 2017 at 13:11

mrk said:
Renewal prices always come back LOL though, like AA last year, my initial purchase was £120, but renewal came back nearly £150 if I recall right. So just bought the same package from RAC via TopCashback!

You don't actually need to do this - when you go to renew, call up and cancel and explain why. For me when I used to use the AA, they'd always match the after-quidco price of the RAC and save me the bother. If they refuse then you can carry on cancelling and move to RAC like you intend, but I'd be amazed if they did.

chaparral · 11 Mar 2017 at 13:22

Armageus said:
Silly question but what car and where do you service it?

On both my Focus and my Zafira, had them both serviced at main dealers (£199 major for focus, £149 minor for zafira), and both of them included a years breakdown cover. Don't think it included European cover, but was certainly full UK including homestart.

That a point
I need to check my ST break down cover from ford as I normally go away on holiday to France and not England

Edit: Looks like I am covered

UK and European Roadside Assistance with a Ford Service

If you take your Ford to be serviced at a participating Ford Dealer you will receive UK and European Roadside Assistance valid from the date of service for 12 months, or until the next service is due, whichever comes first.
http://www.ford.co.uk/OwnerServices/VehicleServiceandRepair/ServicePromotions/RoadsideAssistance

ADT · 11 Mar 2017 at 13:29

I've never bothered with breakdown cover. Looking at the AA website now, what are the best options to have in the cover?

[TW]Fox · 11 Mar 2017 at 14:13

ADT said:
I've never bothered with breakdown cover. Looking at the AA website now, what are the best options to have in the cover?

You want roadside and relay really - anything else is a luxury you may or may not decide is worth it for you.

You want breakdown cover to ensure you are not stuck 160 miles from home at 11pm on a rainy Sunday night.

mrk · 11 Mar 2017 at 15:22

[TW]Fox said:
You don't actually need to do this - when you go to renew, call up and cancel and explain why. For me when I used to use the AA, they'd always match the after-quidco price of the RAC and save me the bother. If they refuse then you can carry on cancelling and move to RAC like you intend, but I'd be amazed if they did.

My experience shows you do, as I have already tried this before only to be told they couldn't lower it to match the deals I got through online services, I gave up trying to phone and haggle with breakdown companies.

For a small amount of work by clicking things online, I have Premier Rescue - Roadside Rescue + At Home + Recovery + Onward Travel for under £60, so a bit of a bargain.