When NOT to get roadside recovery

kmsplawn

Are there models/ages of cars where roadside recovery does not make financial sense to have due to good reliability?

Where can I find recovery statistics by vehicle model/age to determine when recovery is an appropriate insurance to own (extremely tight finances, looking for all ideas).
Thanks

vikingaero

Generally anything Korean/Japanese is better than anything European - especially French cars.

If you wait for the right moment you can get decent cashback deals on mainstream companies like the AA/RAC or you could try Autoaid.

But the problem with cars is that even the most reliable ones will have a few problems per 1000 cars. You could run out of fuel, have a flat tyre where the wheel has bonded itself, the wheelnuts could have been overtightened etc etc. Unless you only motor a few miles from home and have mates that could help you 24/7 then it's pretty foolhardy to drive without breakdown cover. There is the other boot where if you can't afford basic breakdown cover and repairs then maybe you should reconsider whether you can afford to run a car.

Outpost

Regardless of how old/reliable a vehicle may be, its chances of being involved in a collision leaving the car un-drivable are no different to any other.

The cost of 'on the spot' recovery to get your car moved will almost certainly outweigh the cost of a basic policy, as will the cost of being recovered after a breakdown. All well and good thinking you'll just ring a mate with a tow rope but there are many situations where this is not feasible due to distance or the breakdown being on a motorway for example.

I would suggest that your plan to look at statistics in order to make a decision on whether or not a particular vehicle requires breakdown cover is naive in the extreme. Toyota Corollas are considered the most reliable cars on the road and regularly come out on top in reliability surveys, but it doesn't really follow that they don't require breakdown cover. They still break down, just not as often as other cars do.

You can take the risk and drive without breakdown cover and admittedly, if nothing goes wrong you'll have saved money. However if something does go wrong the cost of recovery will leave you worse off than if you'd bought the cover in the first place.

Up to you I suppose.

Rolandtheroadie

Outpost wrote: »

its chances of being involved in a collision leaving the car un-drivable are no different to any other.

Will breakdown cover allow for recovery after an accident?

Outpost

scotsman4th wrote: »

Will breakdown cover allow for recovery after an accident?

Depends on the policy I suppose. After an accident that left my car un drivable a few years ago (the bumper had been warped into contact with the rear tyre) the AA dragged the car up onto one of their recovery lorries and brought it and the passengers home.

jase1

One thing I would say with the low-cost recovery packages is check the small print. They often only cover you for 10 miles to the nearest garage. I broke down in the middle of nowhere and had to upgrade to get the tow I thought I was entitled to.

And yeah, don't assume that because you've bought a Lexus GS that it'll never ever blow up. Doesn't work like that unfortunately. I had to call out the AA on a Korean car due to the wiper linkage coming apart in peeing rain. The sort of thing that happens without warning, can happen to any car and stops you in your tracks (can't drive in heavy rain with no wipers!!). A silly little fault that cost £30 to fix.

thenudeone

scotsman4th wrote: »

Will breakdown cover allow for recovery after an accident?

My policy with ETA does. But I probably get my insurers to pay for the recovery in that case, since I would be making a claim one way or another anyway.

MX5huggy

When you look at the things that cause breakdowns

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/breakdown_advice/top_ten_causes.html

Most are not dependant on the make or model but on servicing and age.

Get an AutoAid policy for £35 odd. You need a bit of free capital to pay for the recovery (Credit Card) but they pay back quickly.

Outpost

jase1 wrote: »

(can't drive in heavy rain with no wipers!!)

Yes you can! Have some bottle!

Stephen_Leak

The only time I've needed roadside recovery has been for flat batteries and a puncture caused by a piece of metal in the road. None of these were really the car's fault, which was otherwise totally reliable.

On each occasion, the £37 for AutoAid was money very well spent.

And as for speed of payment, their cheque is usually with you in about a week.

I was once able to pay it into my current account and earn interest on it for nearly 2 weeks before the Direct Debit for the credit card came out. OK, it wasn't a king's ransom, but it made the tartan bits of my DNA all warm and fuzzy.

King_Nothing

For £40 a year, I'd still get it, even if the car was rolled off the production line and onto the street outside of my house.

Reliability of a car model shouldn't really enter the equation as examples above have shown, of crashes or other things happening.