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[MSE Archna]

This discussion relates to the

Breakdown cover: Get the cheapest roadside recovery


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[ms_mark]

Excellent Experiences with Autoaid!
My partner and I have each had to use Autoaid on separate occaisions. Calling and giving details was straightforward and we got through to a real person straight away with no holding. The claimback procedure is very straightforward, there are no complicated rules or exclusions and the chaeques arrived within a fortnight. Faultless!

[preciousbabe]

I just wanted to say that I am definately with you on this one Matrin, I have been a member of Autoaid for 11 years now and I have never had a problem. They have always paid me out very quickly with no questions asked. I would definately recommend this, the only downside is that whilst most companies now accept co-habitating on par withbeing married, these don't, like you stated, you have to be legally married. Apart from that 10 out of 10 is what I say.

[dennyboy]

I'm afraid I disagree with Martin on this one, just got RAC cover for myself and the misus for £63.99. http://www.rac.co.uk/web/breakdownco...B0232CBE3E3FB5
However went through quidco and got £20 back, which makes it £43.99. This is Solution 2 with homestart the lot. You do have to setup a direct debit, just make sure you cancel on the 10th month (put it in your diary). Or if you only want a single policy £39.99 with £20 quidco back, works out £19.99 for homestart the lot.

This solution is much better than AutoID service where you have to pay out and then claim back it all the hassle which I really coudn't be bothered doing, its bad enough your car breaking down without having to claim.

Just my thoughts on this before you all rush to AutoID!

[mattsmith1405]

Any ideas on cheapest single trip european cover. This was sort of mentioned in the article and Ifollowed the link to moneysupermarket.com but couldnt find it there.
Cheers

[MarkyMarkD]

Originally Posted by dennyboy

I'm afraid I disagree with Martin on this one, just got RAC cover for myself and the misus for £63.99. http://www.rac.co.uk/web/breakdownco...B0232CBE3E3FB5
However went through quidco and got £20 back, which makes it £43.99. This is Solution 2 with homestart the lot. You do have to setup a direct debit, just make sure you cancel on the 10th month (put it in your diary). Or if you only want a single policy £39.99 with £20 quidco back, works out £19.99 for homestart the lot.

This solution is much better than AutoID service where you have to pay out and then claim back it all the hassle which I really coudn't be bothered doing, its bad enough your car breaking down without having to claim.

Just my thoughts on this before you all rush to AutoID!

It's AutoAid, not AutoID.

The "hassle" of filling in one form and waiting a week or two for full reimbursement is not that great, and I think the other AutoAid customers on here would agree with that, compared with the "hassle" of having to take out cover for one year with RAC and then cancel and then start up some more cover ...

Horses for courses, I expect.

[dennyboy]

It is my opinion MarkyMarkD, and I do think it is more "hassle" to reinburse than simply cancel a DD on my online banking, but as I say it is my own opinion. I really don't like the idea that you have to be armed with a credit card in the event of a breakdown.

I also find the other cluse AutoAid have unfair that states Home Assistance

" If the vehicle breaks down at your home or within one mile of your home, we will arrange help and reimburse any call-out fees and labour charges needed to start the vehicle. If the vehicle cannot be repaired quickly at the scene of the breakdown, we will reimburse the reasonable cost of taking the vehicle to the nearest available garage. The maximum reimbursement under this benefit ONLY is £45."
which is most likely that if you go the local shops, break down and have to be towed back, I can't see any breakdown firm doing the tow for less than £90, Why have this clause!!! It must happen to people. Why not include it! Anyway that put me right off. Along with the claiming stuff back.

Other than that, I am sure AutoAid are fine and they are a good company to use from what you say.

[FL]

I was considering using the Tesco vouchers and looked at the options. Is it possible to have home start and recovery at the roadside with them using the voucher. If not can't see the point. I have been with Norwich Union for the last 3 years and they charge £65 for my husband and I to have a joint policy which covers just about everything but European travel.

[kaw69kaw69]

( I YES I ) am responsible for informing MSE about AutoAid some 11 years ago (my how time flies) and I am heartened to hear that there are so many people taking advantage of cheap breakdown cover , I have used them 3 times over the years and each time I can only say that the service was FAULTLESS from the local garage coming out( around 15 mins ) to claiming back the money. 1 invoice was for £185 for a long distance recovery, the garage sent me an invoice 2 days later by which time I had gathered the funds from my family to pay them. I faxed the claim form with the invoice and received a cheque within 24 hours GREAT SERVICE

[Sam2007]

I've said it once and I'll say it again, you get what you pay for, I wouldn't buy Tesco Value bread and neither would I buy cheapo cover from the likes of Autoaid etc. They have too many limitations and exclusions which no doubt will come to light when you need them most. I'd rather pay extra and have piece of mind which is surely why you have it in the first place?

[hollie.weimeraner]

Originally Posted by kaw69kaw69

( I YES I ) am responsible for informing MSE about AutoAid some 11 years ago (my how time flies) and I am heartened to hear that there are so many people taking advantage of cheap breakdown cover , I have used them 3 times over the years and each time I can only say that the service was FAULTLESS from the local garage coming out( around 15 mins ) to claiming back the money. 1 invoice was for £185 for a long distance recovery, the garage sent me an invoice 2 days later by which time I had gathered the funds from my family to pay them. I faxed the claim form with the invoice and received a cheque within 24 hours GREAT SERVICE

I have been with Autoaid for 3 years and used them for the first time on Sun 11/2/07 after I left my interior light on for 24 hours and ended up with a flat battery. I rang Autoaid and had a Green Flag truck at my h/a within 30 minutes. The bill was actually £49 due to it being Sunday but I received the invoice on Wednesday, sent the copy and claim form on Thursday and had a cheque for £45 on Monday.

Excellent service. The limitations on this cover (mainly no European cover) do suit me and OH at the moment and they are by far the cheapest for us as we have 3 vehicles between us and are guaranteed cover whichever we are driving

[Aletank]

Originally Posted by dennyboy

I'm afraid I disagree with Martin on this one, just got RAC cover for myself and the misus for £63.99. http://www.rac.co.uk/web/breakdownco...B0232CBE3E3FB5
However went through quidco and got £20 back, which makes it £43.99. This is Solution 2 with homestart the lot. You do have to setup a direct debit, just make sure you cancel on the 10th month (put it in your diary).
I do think it is more "hassle" to reinburse than simply cancel a DD on my online banking

Would cancelling your Direct Debit be enough to cancel the policy after 12 months?
Why do you cancel on the 10th month then ?Why not the 2nd or 8th or 11th etc?

[anniecave]

I am also not sure about the Tesco Vouchers via the RAC.

I think the prices in the article may be incorrect.

Going to:

http://www.rac.co.uk/web/breakdownco...ty_name=omgaff

there is no RAC Roadside At Home that I can see for £80 web price!

RAC Roadside/Recovery may be solution 1 that doesn't include "at home" or could be solution 3 that does include "at home" - they are the same price on the rac website!

RAC Roadside/Recovery & Onward Travel should be solution 4 so that should include "at home"

[anniecave]

just looked at the tesco clubcard website and that doesn't say whether "at home" is included or not!

[Guest_Room]

I have to agree with the poster who said you get what you pay for. In the case of care breakdown cover, the main factor for me is whether the attending resource is likely to fix my car at the roadside - and that invariably means that RAC or AA will win hands down.

Don't be confused by the figures which all breakdown companies quote which state that they fix 80%+ of breakdowns at the roadside. First of all, this excludes terminal failures (like a siezed engine, RTA damage or other major breakdown which could never be fixed at the roadside); it also includes faults like run out of petrol, wheel change and flat battery which will always be fixed, regardles of who attends.

The critical breakdowns are the ones in the middle. And in my experience, only liveried patrols will have the parts, expertise and - most importantly - time to attempt to repair these. Local garages do not carry stock of parts - if they need a part, they call a local motor factor and it is delivered to them the same day (within hours). This is not an option when their mechanic is at the side of the road. RAC and AA Patrols do carry huge range of spare parts, including leads, plugs, connectors and all the usual bits that go wrong in cars.

And they receive a bonus based on the number of cars they fix at the roadside - so it is in their interests to fix you if the possibly can.

For this reason, RAC and AA will always represent better value than all the others, even though they may not always be the cheapest.

[MarkyMarkD]

So cynical, Guest_Room.

This is a somewhat ancient anecdote, but I had an alternator replaced on the hard shoulder of the M5 on a bank holiday several years ago.

The total bill was under £100.

The repairer was a local independent recovery operator, called out by the police because I didn't have any breakdown cover.

I don't believe that the AA/RAC have a monopoly on undertaking major repairs to get you going again.

Car faults are also far less likely to be easily repaired at the roadside nowadays - failures tend to be more catastrophic and to require main dealer attention IMHO.

[mad_cash_cow]

"Any ideas on cheapest single trip european cover. This was sort of mentioned in the article and Ifollowed the link to moneysupermarket.com but couldnt find it there.
Cheers"

I second this. Quite happy to go with AutoAid, but not if adding 10 days in France will bring the total to more than one of the "big names" packages that include European travel. Has anyone found quotes for a few days in France, apart from using the link on the AutoAid website itself?

Thanks!!

The Cow

[dennyboy]

Originally Posted by Aletank

Would cancelling your Direct Debit be enough to cancel the policy after 12 months?
Why do you cancel on the 10th month then ?Why not the 2nd or 8th or 11th etc?

Hi Aletank, Yea there should be no problem setting up a direct debit then cancel it. It is the fact that you have setup a DD that gets you the big reduction as the RAC know most people couldn't be bothered to cancel (Except us MSE's of course!) so setting this up is good enough for them.

I was only said the 10th month as this is near towards the end and you probably wouldn't get too many letters saying you have cancelled your DD & do you want to setup again as they would probably try to keep you as a customer. So cancel when you like, maybe soon after payment of the DD, its up to you when you cancel, although don't leave it too late. So your quite right, I just put that for the hell of it! Sorry it was a bit misleading in hindsight.

[JuniperBerry]

Originally Posted by mad_cash_cow

"Any ideas on cheapest single trip european cover. This was sort of mentioned in the article and Ifollowed the link to moneysupermarket.com but couldnt find it there.
Cheers"

I second this. Quite happy to go with AutoAid, but not if adding 10 days in France will bring the total to more than one of the "big names" packages that include European travel. Has anyone found quotes for a few days in France, apart from using the link on the AutoAid website itself?

Thanks!!

The Cow

Yes, this needs some more MSE type research, best I've found for 4 days to Germany in the summer is £16.76 which is Europ Assist via Insureandgo.com

[mad_cash_cow]

Thanks JuniperBerry,

£25.84 for 11 days in France. Much cheaper than any others I've found. I couldn't work out whether OH was also covered to drive though