Motoring

Motoring

We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Basics of car breakdown cover

Posts: 1,670 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
hi

i am trying to clear myself on a few things with regards to car breakdown cover. it may look very stupid questions but i am trying to get my head around to this being a relatively new car owner...

Say my car breaks down. I call my breakdown cover provider and they will send someone to fix the car. say if it needs a new part then what happens? who pays for the part that is required to fix the car (e.g. a battery) and labour charges of mechanic.

another quesiton regarding autoaid. If i breakdown and am covered by them then do they attempt to repair the car on site or just recover it to your location. and again who is responsible for labour and part for resolving the problem..i am assuming it will be me but just want to confirm it...

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Comments

  • It will depend on your policy level. The standard is to fix the problem if it can be by the roadside (for example a jump start for a flat battery), or take the car to a safe place to be fixed and/or get you home.

    If the car needed a new battery for example that would be down to you to fix later, or if you had a flat tyre they would put on a spare by the road, then you should go to the tyre place shortly afterwards for a repair or new tyre :)
  • Posts: 1,670 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    It will depend on your policy level. The standard is to fix the problem if it can be by the roadside (for example a jump start for a flat battery), or take the car to a safe place to be fixed and/or get you home.

    If the car needed a new battery for example that would be down to you to fix later, or if you had a flat tyre they would put on a spare by the road, then you should go to the tyre place shortly afterwards for a repair or new tyre :)

    What happens with Autoaid. They only have one policy level, right ?
  • xyz123 wrote: »
    What happens with Autoaid. They only have one policy level, right ?

    My understanding is that the recovery man fixes the puncture / flat battery etc and charges you the call out fee. You then send the receipt to Autoaid and they pay it :)
  • Posts: 1,670 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    My understanding is that the recovery man fixes the puncture / flat battery etc and charges you the call out fee. You then send the receipt to Autoaid and they pay it :)

    Sorry to bother again but then does it mean that Autoaid pays for the parts, or by call out fees you mean only labour chages?
  • You pay for the parts with many cheapy policies :)
  • Posts: 15,141 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 28 October 2009 at 12:52PM
    With RAC, AA & Autoaid, (and probably all other breakdown services) you pay for any new parts.

    If you breakdown, they will attempt to get you started roadside. Theoretically, this is limited to 30mins labour. You don't pay for labour - that's what the cover provides.

    The interesting time comes when the repair can be done roadside, but would take longer than 30 mins. With the RAC & AA (and not having relay/recovery) they will simply tow you to a nearby garage or home (as requested)
    If you have Relay/Recovery, they will seek information on where you want the car to go to. If the cost of a recovery vehicle (they don't come cheap!) is more than the cost of the labour to repair roadside, then they often refuse recovery and authorise repair roadside. A mate of mine had over 4 hours work done on his car roadside because the RAC didn't want to pay the recovery vehicle He did ask to go over 300 miles though, and then the recovery vehicle would need to return too.

    I'm not sure what Autoaid would actually do in such a situation. The policy is as stated (30 mins labour) but I'm sure they are as cost conscious as the AA & RAC and will make similar cost based decisions.
    (edit: but that's if you decide to contact them first. Unlike the AA/RAC, you don't have to. You can just arrange what you want and send them the receipts. Or you can call them and they will arrange things for you)

    The significant difference with AutoAid is it is pay & reclaim, whereas an RAC/AA member is not charged for labour at all.
    e.g. say you just want a jump start because of a flat (but not faulty) battery.
    With AA/RAC, you will not be charged. With Autoaid, you'll be expected to pay the cost of the jump start and then send that receipt to AutoAid for reimbursement.
    "Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 2010
  • Posts: 1,670 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Premier wrote: »
    With RAC, AA & Autoaid, (and probably all other breakdown services) you pay for any new parts.

    If you breakdown, they will attempt to get you started roadside. Theoretically, this is limited to 30mins labour. You don't pay for labour - that's what the cover provides.

    The interesting time comes when the repair can be done roadside, but would take longer than 30 mins. With the RAC & AA (and not having relay/recovery) they will simply tow you to a nearby garage or home (as requested)
    If you have Relay/Recovery, they will seek information on where you want the car to go to. If the cost of a recovery vehicle (they don't come cheap!) is more than the cost of the labour to repair roadside, then they often refuse recovery and authorise repair roadside. A mate of mine had over 4 hours work done on his car roadside because the RAC didn't want to pay the recovery vehicle He did ask to go over 300 miles though, and then the recovery vehicle would need to return too.

    I'm not sure what Autoaid would actually do in such a situation. The policy is as stated (30 mins labour) but I'm sure they are as cost conscious as the AA & RAC and will make similar cost based decisions.
    (edit: but that's if you decide to contact them first. Unlike the AA/RAC, you don't have to. You can just arrange what you want and send them the receipts. Or you can call them and they will arrange things for you)

    The significant difference with AutoAid is it is pay & reclaim, whereas an RAC/AA member is not charged for labour at all.
    e.g. say you just want a jump start because of a flat (but not faulty) battery.
    With AA/RAC, you will not be charged. With Autoaid, you'll be expected to pay the cost of the jump start and then send that receipt to AutoAid for reimbursement.


    That explains a lot. probably final question, say if the vehicle can not be repaired at breakdown site and if i ask AA/RAC/Autoaid to recover it to my home. Then how do i get it to garage next day? do they provide any help? And once i have taken it to a garage who pays for the labour cost at garage to fix the problem....
  • Posts: 15,141 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 28 October 2009 at 1:50PM
    You are normally only entitled to one jouney. If you decide to take the car home, you need to pay for it to be moved to the garage.

    What many people don't realise is that many large garages/recovery firms have facilities to store vehicles safely, even if delivered in the middle of the night, so enquire about this before agreeing to transport a vehicle to your home (unless you want it at home)

    Also, most recovery drivers don't mind giving you a short lift (e.g. home, local train station, etc) so you are not left standed with the car at the garage late at night. (but this is a goodwill gesture, not part of the cover)
    How you get back to the garage is then your problem.

    Once the car is taken to your choice of destination it is up to you for any repair costs the garage/mechanic then charges. Hence why if you only have the basic RAC/AA rescue, they are unlikely to pay for than the policy 30mins roadside labour.
    "Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 2010
  • Posts: 2,098 Forumite
    We broke down once at Tibshef services, a little way south of Sheffield. The AA couldn't fix it at the roadside so we got taken home.

    But home was Newcastle! So what they did was the first van took us as far as Ferrybridge services, then handed us off to a second who took us home. Took many hours!

    What they won't do in my experience is take your car to a garage and then take you home, it's one location only.
  • Posts: 15,141 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    We broke down once at Tibshef services, a little way south of Sheffield. The AA couldn't fix it at the roadside so we got taken home.

    But home was Newcastle! So what they did was the first van took us as far as Ferrybridge services, then handed us off to a second who took us home. Took many hours!

    What they won't do in my experience is take your car to a garage and then take you home, it's one location only.

    Yes, this is the downside of the AA relay service.
    You are relayed across the country, possibly using many vehicles, and are often left waiting at the relay point after one lorry has dropped you and you await another.

    The RAC and Autoaid will put you on a Recovery vehicle and take you non-stop to your required destination using the same lorry.
    For some reason, unlike AA vehicles, they are exempt from normal tacho driving restrictions as they are classed as emergency vehicles.
    "Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 2010
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 347.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 251.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 451.8K Spending & Discounts
  • 239.5K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 615.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.1K Life & Family
  • 252.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.