Breakdown cover: Get the cheapest roadside recovery

velton49

I've been with them several years and never needed to use them.
My daughter does and has had great service.
Great if you have more than one vehicle, and may I emphasise VEHICLE (not just Cars - "The vehicle – a saloon car, hatchback, estate car, car derived van or motorcycle. Motorised caravan under 2.5 tons gross vehicle weight and with an engine capacity of no more than 2500 cc".)
As it is at the moment 2 of my vehicles also have breakdown included with the insurance (Churchill car & FootmanJames classic bike), but I'll stick with Auto Aid for the others (kit-car & modern bike) and as a back-up.

db7

Quentin wrote: »

The green cashback offers from the cashback sites is for motor insurance.

How do you know this? Can anyone confirm this?

db7

db7 wrote: »

How do you know this? Can anyone confirm this?

Forget that - I've just realised it's £29.70 for the quote so I doubt they'd give cashback on that!

Chaufeurse1956

velton49 wrote: »

I've been with them several years and never needed to use them.
My daughter does and has had great service.
Great if you have more than one vehicle, and may I emphasise VEHICLE (not just Cars - "The vehicle – a saloon car, hatchback, estate car, car derived van or motorcycle. Motorised caravan under 2.5 tons gross vehicle weight and with an engine capacity of no more than 2500 cc".)
As it is at the moment 2 of my vehicles also have breakdown included with the insurance (Churchill car & FootmanJames classic bike), but I'll stick with Auto Aid for the others (kit-car & modern bike) and as a back-up.

Agreed Velton. AutoAid provide an excellent service at an excellent price. I have been a member for 6 years now and even though I used them twice last year, and again in March and last week of this year I have had no questions or problems at all. I was towing my 6 x 4 x 4 trailer when I needed to be recovered in March and AutoAid could not help me enough. It was midnight on a Saturday and they said they would recover me to home then recover me at my convenience on either the Sunday or Monday to my mechanics garage. As it happened we had my sisters car here so we were able to bring the trailer home (the breakdown truck driver helped to get it into the garage) and then he took our car to the mechanics garage where we left it and then drove home in my sisters car. Nothing was too much trouble for them.

Claiming is easy - 1 form, a couple of weeks wait and you are reimbursed. Husband broke down one night without his wallet or credit cards and AutoAid took care of the payment for us. It's not something they like to do but were very obliging on that occasion.

My father has just kicked his AA £66 renewal quote into touch. Frankly I never did see the point in paying massive amounts for more expensive breakdown when you can get you and spouse and the vehicle you are driving covered for £35.

If you are looking for cover give AutoAid a try - you might just be pleasantly surprised.

Chris

lgerhardt

I am already a member of the RAC, however my existing membership does not cover me for Europe.
How do I obtain a "cheap" policy that will cover a one week holiday in France?

afwone

JustPassingBy wrote: »

My phone call to the AA was today. £115.50 (Roadside £59, Relay 56.50) was the renewal cost..

..I was given complimentary Relay for life and Roadside for £37 for this year and future years.

Thanks to the many useful posts on this forum I'd sold myself on either the Autoaid or IC Breakdown offering but convenience and a good deal left me with the AA.

I have you to thank for keeping me in the AA. I had decided to move over to Autoaid after many years of being a member of the AA. I have paid them a lot over the years, but have have hardly ever needed to call them out. Seeing your post, I thought I would phone up the AA before I cancelled my direct debit.

The cost of my renewal has dropped now from £126 (for Roadside and Home Start with 'complimentary' Relay) to £70. The concession on my side has been to change from cover for me, to cover for the car.

Of course I am still wondering if I should have opted for AutoAid or if the AA would have reduced it further to the level you achieved...

Something to ponder over the next year.

dacouch

There was a report in today's paper that Autoaid had come top in a Which survey, they just beat the AA

pixiechick_2

I was with AA for years but when I came to renew last year the amount they wanted was ridiculous. I phoned them and they would only reduce it by £20 so I went with Auto Aid after reading the MSE article and the comments on this forum. I haven't needed to use them and the policy is due for renewal next month.

The problem I have now is that I am pursuing unenforceability on my credit cards (it was either that or go bankrupt) . If I renewed with AutoAid I wouldn't have a credit card to pay the garage prior to reimbursement from Auto Aid should I break down. I'm looking for roadside recovery, home assistance and relay. I've had a quote from Total Rescue for £38.29 with cashback of 20% which actually works out cheaper then Auto Aid. Does anyone have any idea what this company is like? I need reliable assistance as a I am woman who drives alone.

kateyb84

i have a quick tip about breakdown cover and recovery. in my opinion its a good idea to get your basic cover for roadside start, but unless your car is a rust-bucket and you think its gonna breakdown AND need recovering more than 2/3 times a year i wouldn't bother getting roadside relay!

if you do breakdown and the rac/aa or whoever can't start it, they will try to get you to pay on the spot to increase your annual cover! Instead just ring a local recovery company who will ask for about £30 one-off. if you are far away from home they will charge about £1 per mile to get it to your preferred local garage or to your house. most roadside relay with a breakdown insurer only covers you for the first 10 miles of your journey anyway! and they charge about £1.75 for each extra mile so its not worth the money you pay, especially if you frequently travel over 10 miles!

so if you do break down ring a telephone directory company and ask for the number of a nearby recovery company. independant recovery companies will negoiate on price to win your business and they can usually get someone out to you in less than half and hour.

if you breakdown miles and miles away from home it'd be cheaper to get it recovered and taken to the nearest garage. get it fixed there and drive home yourself!

butterfly72

kateyb84 wrote: »

Instead just ring a local recovery company who will ask for about £30 one-off. if you are far away from home they will charge about £1 per mile to get it to your preferred local garage or to your house.

so if you do break down ring a telephone directory company and ask for the number of a nearby recovery company. independant recovery companies will negoiate on price to win your business and they can usually get someone out to you in less than half and hour.

if you breakdown miles and miles away from home it'd be cheaper to get it recovered and taken to the nearest garage. get it fixed there and drive home yourself!

Umm thanks for the tips, but I wouldn't fancy the hassle of that if I was stuck on a country lane at gone midnight on a winters night!!! Too risky for me.