Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 5,586
- Location
- Stone, Staffordshire
Had to go into work yesterday as we had a new system going live. Left home a 6.50am arriving at work for 7.35. Everything migrated and went live as planned so left Warrington at 4.50pm. Travelling down the M56 just before the M6 junction I hear a flap flap flap noise from the front left of the car! 
I pulled over to the hard shoulder, hazzards on and took a quick look (thinking I had a puncture!), tyre inflated was still inflated so I had a quick gander under the car and all looked well! Decided I may have ran something over so decided to set off again. As I'm building up speed it starts again, I'm onto the southbound slip for the M6 at this point so stop. I get out again and have a feel of the back of the tyre and I can feel the metal spine poking into my fingers along with bits of rubber hanging off!! This doesn't sound good!!
Now for some reason the car has a wheel well for a spare tyre but in it's place is a towing eye and a foam "fix and go" kit, bah useless in my situation!
The car is 1 year old yesterday and came with a years AA cover, I am also covered with direct line but didn't want to lose my no claims if I could use the AA cover!! Rang the AA who where very helpful and said they would send someone out, it would either be one of their guys or a third party and they might be able to sort a tyre or recover me.
I left the car on the hard shoulder and waited on the grass until the attending vehicle arrived. Before the vehicle arrived I got a text from the AA to advise that a third party would be attending, within 20mins, excellent news!!
I then received a call from the third party to say that they had strict instructions from the AA to recover me to the next "Safe" place, this was deemed to be off at the next junction, the guy explained that this was madness as I would be stranded without a tyre and that I really needed to be recovered home!! He said once his man had attended he would explain my options!!
Sure enough the third party people arrived true to their word. They where incredibly polite and the driver explained that they would recover me to Knutsford Services, a much better alternative!! He put a call into his "control room" to advise that I'd need recovery home and then we had to wait for a response.
In the mean time the AA called giving me a courtesy call to check that the third party had attended as requested. I explained that I was at Knutsford services, on the back of a recovery truck, and would need recovering home. He asked to speak to the recovery driver, who repeated what I had said and then passed the phone back. The AA said that I would be unloaded and re-recovered by their own people, of course they couldn't tell me when!
I settled down in the services with a couple of 500ml bottles of coke (2 for £2 if you're interested!). 30 mins later I got a call at 6.30 to advise that the recovery truck would be with me between NOW and 8.20, nice 1hr and 50min window!! Having drank the first bottle of coke I decided that with the bladder of a 2 year old I'd better hold off the second bottle. At 8pm I got a text to say their man will be with me by 8.10, thank christ for that!!
8.05 I see the recovery truck pull up alongside my car and dash out to greet him!! "Are you here to recovery me?" I ask, "Yes...." he replies, "....but I've got to have a 30min break before we can set off"
8.35 we load up and finally I arrive home and am offloaded at 9.45, just short of 5 hrs from leaving work! (trip took 45 mins in the morning!) Tyre is still completely inflated and I've booked a mobile company to come out and replace the 2 fronts.
Will I renew the AA sub, no chance!!
Why do car manufacturers not supply spare tyres? I have a wheel well filled with polystyrene, no use in this case!!
Thanks for reading, letter of AA off in the week expressing my dismay that they wouldn't allow the third party to recover me. Letter to the third party expressing my thanks for their great service!!
I pulled over to the hard shoulder, hazzards on and took a quick look (thinking I had a puncture!), tyre inflated was still inflated so I had a quick gander under the car and all looked well! Decided I may have ran something over so decided to set off again. As I'm building up speed it starts again, I'm onto the southbound slip for the M6 at this point so stop. I get out again and have a feel of the back of the tyre and I can feel the metal spine poking into my fingers along with bits of rubber hanging off!! This doesn't sound good!!
Now for some reason the car has a wheel well for a spare tyre but in it's place is a towing eye and a foam "fix and go" kit, bah useless in my situation!
The car is 1 year old yesterday and came with a years AA cover, I am also covered with direct line but didn't want to lose my no claims if I could use the AA cover!! Rang the AA who where very helpful and said they would send someone out, it would either be one of their guys or a third party and they might be able to sort a tyre or recover me.
I left the car on the hard shoulder and waited on the grass until the attending vehicle arrived. Before the vehicle arrived I got a text from the AA to advise that a third party would be attending, within 20mins, excellent news!!
I then received a call from the third party to say that they had strict instructions from the AA to recover me to the next "Safe" place, this was deemed to be off at the next junction, the guy explained that this was madness as I would be stranded without a tyre and that I really needed to be recovered home!! He said once his man had attended he would explain my options!!
Sure enough the third party people arrived true to their word. They where incredibly polite and the driver explained that they would recover me to Knutsford Services, a much better alternative!! He put a call into his "control room" to advise that I'd need recovery home and then we had to wait for a response.
In the mean time the AA called giving me a courtesy call to check that the third party had attended as requested. I explained that I was at Knutsford services, on the back of a recovery truck, and would need recovering home. He asked to speak to the recovery driver, who repeated what I had said and then passed the phone back. The AA said that I would be unloaded and re-recovered by their own people, of course they couldn't tell me when!
I settled down in the services with a couple of 500ml bottles of coke (2 for £2 if you're interested!). 30 mins later I got a call at 6.30 to advise that the recovery truck would be with me between NOW and 8.20, nice 1hr and 50min window!! Having drank the first bottle of coke I decided that with the bladder of a 2 year old I'd better hold off the second bottle. At 8pm I got a text to say their man will be with me by 8.10, thank christ for that!!
8.05 I see the recovery truck pull up alongside my car and dash out to greet him!! "Are you here to recovery me?" I ask, "Yes...." he replies, "....but I've got to have a 30min break before we can set off"
8.35 we load up and finally I arrive home and am offloaded at 9.45, just short of 5 hrs from leaving work! (trip took 45 mins in the morning!) Tyre is still completely inflated and I've booked a mobile company to come out and replace the 2 fronts.
Will I renew the AA sub, no chance!!
Why do car manufacturers not supply spare tyres? I have a wheel well filled with polystyrene, no use in this case!!
Thanks for reading, letter of AA off in the week expressing my dismay that they wouldn't allow the third party to recover me. Letter to the third party expressing my thanks for their great service!!
