Breakdown cover: Get the cheapest roadside recovery

Lynne_Voller

I Have just done my breakdown cover and only paid £39.95 for the year. Only covers my car unlike the AA ect. But for this i got roadside homestart and eu cover. I got this with Insurance factory and spoke to a realy nice man call Barry on 0121 622 6006.

hanu

codger wrote: »

Hi Hanu -- welcome to MSE!

I've no experience of the AA, nor any wish to acquire any seeing as how it's owned by Centrica, the outfit behind the appalling British Gas. But the AA shouldn't be 'contracting out' anything: it's a premium service, at a premium price. Had I been unfortunate enough to experience Minivan Man With Broken Screwdriver I'd have been chasing the AA for a large refund.

Hi codger

Thanks for this I had no idea Centrica now owned AA, but I was aware they had been taken over. I couldn't agree with you more they should not be 'contracting out'. Approx 3 weeks after our experience I read in a national newspaper this was exactly what AA were doing. Therefore the service offered is no different to the cheaper breakdown recovery providers! Who are nearly 50% cheaper! Unless of course you 'haggle'. Still contempleting this whilst seeing what else is out there. As often a lone female driver in a rural area I now realise I had be lulled into a false sense of security.

codger

Hi Lynne -- another MSE debut (looks like a welcoming party's going to be appropriate here!)

Re your post, and Hanu's follow-up, there was an interesting report in Which? earlier this year (can't seem to lay my hands on it now) but basically, it surveyed a sample of users of motoring rescue providers and, in terms of service, found that the AA came top and RAC second, with Green Flag, third.

I never take 'user' surveys as Gospel any more than I take TV viewing figures as Gospel, because if every user / every viewer isn't included -- impossible, I know -- then the resulting stats are anything but reliable.

(Hence Which? endorsement of the AA: if they'd asked Hanu, not only would the feedback verdict have been different, it would have neatly exposed a seemingly serious issue where breach of consumer trust & contract is concerned.)

Anyway. The point Which? was making was that the higher fees paid out to the AA and RAC do, in general terms, signify a higher level of service; lower fees, lower service.

Again, generalisations are dangerous, but as our family has come around to the admittedly old-fashioned notion that more often than not, you get what you pay for -- clearly, with the exception of Hanu's AA -- that's why we're all now with the RAC (it must be said though, for nowt: as mentioned above, if you shop at Tesco, then free annual membership of the RAC has to be one of the very best uses for ClubCard Deal Vouchers.)

On which note, others here alerted me to the fact that Tesco itself -- as part of its plans for World Domination -- has now moved into the breakdown rescue market, with plans from £33. They seem to be re-branding Green Flag:

http://www.tescofinance.com/personal/finance/insurance/breakdown/index.jsp?referrerid=tesco

but whether they're actually cheaper or not than Green Flag, I dunno.

One thing's for sure though: when we looked at a range of 'budget' auto rescue providers, we were struck by the fact that in the event anything went wrong, they all too often had no incentive to put things right: small, pretty much unknown, and with no brand image / corporate reputation at risk, it was not surprising to find so many stories elsewhere on the 'Net of the absolute indifference of some of these operators to customer complaints.

I guess that's why, if we weren't enjoying our Tesco-funded RAC freebies, we'd like as not go with Tesco for its motoring breakdown service, because yes, Tesco does value its brand image / corporate reputation -- and a company that's got something to lose if it doesn't perform is always going to be a better bet for the consumer than a company with nothing to lose at all.

Unless, of course, it's called Centrica.

M0neysav3r

ANyone had any dealing with Europ Assistance? Breakdown Policy??

slowrunner

I've had my joint quote through from the AA for £171 which I think is a bit steep but I've been with them for years. I got a quote from Green Flag for similar cover for £89
How reliable are Green Flag? Has anybody had bad or good experiences with them.
Thanks

hanu

I have just checked out Tesco Green Flag v Green Flag (both online) Tesco's is £10.00 cheaper for the cover I require.

I have also looked up reviews on the following site

site:www.reviewcentre.com car breakdown & recovery services reviews

A great site giving visual Green thumbs ups or Red thumbs down.

Interesting! AA & Green Flag both get Red Thumbs! As does Direct Line who have now joined forces with Green Flag.........

RAC & EuropAssist seem to score well with Green thumbs.

Some stuff is a little out of date & needs updating with current reviews & ratings. How about it folks I am sure the posters on this thread can rectifty this situation??

I am still looking........renewal due mid May!

xxdeebeexx

slowrunner wrote: »

I've had my joint quote through from the AA for £171 which I think is a bit steep but I've been with them for years. I got a quote from Green Flag for similar cover for £89
How reliable are Green Flag? Has anybody had bad or good experiences with them.
Thanks

I have just renewed my AA break down cover. I was quoted £123. I phoned them and said that I was looking for a discount. I was offered a lower price so I boldy asked if they could do better and I ended up with a 35% discount... £79.95 for the year joint . I left it for a few days and phoned again asking if they could do any better but they couldn't so I bought the cover for the reduced price.

The comment that I found interesting was 'We don't automatically give discounts to our customers we wait to see if they want one!!'

HTH

Dx

Hobao

codger wrote: »

I've no experience of the AA, nor any wish to acquire any seeing as how it's owned by Centrica

You kinda need to make sure of your facts before posting such comments.

The AA was owned by Centrica, but they sold them about 4 years ago to venture capatalists, who them sold the AA to SAGA.

mentat72

hanu wrote: »

I have just checked out Tesco Green Flag v Green Flag (both online) Tesco's is £10.00 cheaper for the cover I require.!

However, if you get it through a cashback site, you could £20 cashback, so get Greenflag £10 cheaper than Tesco.

My folks have used Green Flag for a few years with no problems at all.

If only you get pay for Green Flag with Deals vouchers - I'd be very happy.

slowrunner

Thanks, I actually asked for a discount, didn't get 35% but got 30% so from £171 to £119
Happy with that, thanks again all.