Breakdown cover: Get the cheapest roadside recovery

Chaufeurse1956

jumpingjimminy wrote: »

Long story, cut short but imagine this........

On a wet Friday night 18 months ago, myself and my wife got rammed on motorway by lorry. Fortunately we walked away relatively unscathed, but very shaken and shocked. I phoned the AA who I have been a member with for over 15 years, only to be told that they do not recover from accidents!!!!!!!!! Wet, cold, 100 miles from home, 100 mile to destination, wife crying uncontrollably, the last thing that you want to hear is that you could be stranded too!

I couldn't believe it,:shocked: I tried to explain that I'd seen a TV advert that very afternoon promising "onward travel to any location in mainland UK", but I could tell that the operator had heard this reaction too many times before, and all she could say was that this exclusion was in the terms and conditions.http://www.theaa.com/breakdownrepaircover/terms-conditions.html

We eventually got towed off the motorway, to a hotel, by a recovery firm organized by the police. The next day we had to catch a train home whilst trying to carry a car boot full of luggage and both nursing whiplash injuries.

Their current advertising campaign states "95% of our customers would recommend us". I’m guessing that the other 5% have rang them up after having an accident……..and then like me and my wife, never used them for recovery again.

I was sorry to hear of your AA predictament Jumpin but frankly not surprised. I think once you suffer this kind of treatment, as I did, at the hands of the AA it finishes them with you for good. It was totally disgraceful that the AA had taken your money and then left you at the side of the road like that. Shame on them.

One of the reasons I considered Auto Aid is because they do indeed recover you from an accident scene which is a bonus over the AA. I think I have made the right choice - time will tell.

I just wish people would stop knocking Auto Aid who have not used them. Is there anybody out there who have had a bad experience with Auto Aid? I would have thought somebody would have submitted a post about their experiences if they had.

It's all down to personal choice and how much you wish to spend. I don't care if some gadgey turns up in an older tow truck with grease stuck down his nails - I will be happy to either have my car repaired or towed to my final destination.

Hope you and the wife are fully recovered from your awful accident and there are no lasting injuries.

Kind regards,

Christine

Chaufeurse1956

Sam2007 wrote: »

Also RAC recently won the J.D. Power Survey 2006 for breakdown, AA was closely second... but where was Autoaid eh? nuff said.

In another post you claim that Auto Aid do not have their own patrols - so does that affect their eligibility for the JD Power Survey? Auto Aid do not profess to be like the AA or RAC. They purely reimburse you for having to call out, either via them or from a contact of your own, a company to attend to your broken down vehicle. They don't claim to have vehicles and mechanics driving up and down the UK. Their service is more like an insurance policy against vehicle breakdown/accident that requires roadside repair or recovery to your selected destination.

I have read a few of your posts regarding this Sam and quite frankly you come across as very negative and petulant towards a service that should have no bearing on the industry you work in. Your negativity appears to make you very angry towards people who pay their money and make their choice, especially if that choice is to not use the company you work for.

Thank goodness for freedom of choice.

Christine

tfdodo

...people so pleased with themselves on here for getting AA or RAC cover reduced from £120 to only £60 ! when they can just go the Auto-aid route and get as good or better cover for £32 out the tin.

I changed after a series of appalling callouts with the AA. For the last one (5 hours by the roadside for a mid-week morning in Hampshire ; six broken arrival deadlines ; said they'd call back and didn't ; had no idea whether their own vehicles could carry a motorcycle or not) their guys on the road were superb, but administratively they couldn't find their way out of a wet paper bag. I complained and they refunded me half my year's fee by cheque (so accept this assessment).

It is YEARS since I have had a car OR bike successfully repaired at the roadside, and laughable to see an AA/RAC employee on here accusing cheap solutions of having dodgy terms and conditions , when the AA now have a draconian "fair use" policy, are enforcing "no recovery from off-road" and expect you to pay for recovery if you have an accident ! Maybe because cars are more reliable now, and what the AA & RAC really want to do is take (loads of) your money and not have to do anything...

And claiming back is no big deal in terms of admin... posts here saying "I don't want the hassle of claim-back !. So I buy a limited-time discount offer, get it through a cash-back site, put it on DD and remember to cancel it (at the right time to save too many hassling letters inviting me to renew) and then it only costs me twice as much ! " . Well good luck to you, I'm pleased you're feeling chuffed at your cunning effort-saving.

I've broken down and claimed on Auto Aid and they have been superb (wouldn't say that about the AA for probably 8 breakdowns over the years). I have seen NO reports of people who have broken down with Auto-Aid and weren't satisfied (though I expect there's one out there somewhere).

If you really can't risk a hefty credit-card bill (which you will get refunded before your bill date if you claim promptly) - and this will affect some people - then maybe you should avoid the reclaim route. As you should if you're admin is bad enough not to remember to claim.

Otherwise you're just paying between £30 and £120-odd for the confidence inspired by (getting thoroughly ripped off by) a Big Name. You may decide that's worth it. Your call.

gophertoday

May I add my voice to those interested in using Autoaid (I certainly am, as the service from AA/RAC over the last 4 years has not been good) and also requiring European cover.

The link from Autoaid's site to Eurocover gave me an expensive quotes for both a Single trip (£45) and an Annual policy (£105). They were also restrictive, covering only 1 vehicle, as was the quote from Quoteline at £59 annually. I need cover for myself and wife for UK plus at least 1 European trip per year, usually about 2 weeks.

Any ideas?

meno_2

Well after reading this heated debate i decided on autoaid BUT ive just noticed this:

IMPORTANT NOTE: Vehicles covered are any saloon car, hatchback, estate car, car derived van, motorcycle or motorised caravan under 2.5 tons gross vehicle weight and with an engine capacity of no more than 2500cc

Can anyone clarify this? Does it mean they wont cover my 2.6 Vauxhall Omega or is the 2.5 rule just motor caravans?

Thanks

rjdjcd

I had a problem with Quoteline in that they will only cover a max of 21 days out of the 90 for any one trip.
Further research appears to show that More Th>n offers annual cover at a cheaper price.
I am waiting for the full policy details before finalizing.

dunce_2

Hi rjdjcd

Can you give a pointer to the MoreThan cover? My wife is looking for breakdown cover that will cover her for work in France - and that is potentially spread out over the whole year.

Thanks

Stuart

miaggi

Thought I would share a trick which I have just found.

If you go in using this website https://www.theaa.com/voucher they will give you £20 worth of M&S vouchers for joining and 2 necatar points for each £ you spend. This offer is open until 7/7/7.

You might notice however that when you click to enter your nectar code number another box appears asking you to enter a promo code, if you enter the code SE02 you can get 2000 bonus nectar points. I have no idea when this promotion will run out.

I was dubious that they would let me have both offers and it wasn't until around 3 weeks after the card came through that I got the vouchers in the post and on checking my nectar account the points had come through too!

Even if you just spend the nectar points in sainsburys this takes the cost of a years basic AA membership from £39 down to just £8.22 and this is even less if you make the most of the nectar points.

Gemmzie

My dad has AA cover, today we ring up and ask for a call out because his car won't start.

They will come but it'll cost £85 in fees :mad:

Why? Because the car is within 1/4 mile of our home! He's self employed and works all over the 60 mile stretch of the county. Sod's Law. The guy on the phone even suggested that we roll the car :rolleyes: (Not possible, it's on a hill with a dead end bottom).

We were told when he signed up that he did not need this HomeStart premium because of the nature of the use of the car! Useless people :mad:

flutterby_lil

Hi, i'm looking for car breakdown cover and am tempted by Autoaid. Can somebody please bullet point what is and what isn't included with auto aid? I presume that u breakdown, (or have an accident) at home or away for home, call a company of your choice to tow you to garage and they foot the bill, all for £32 per year? How do they make money then, is it from all the epople paying £32 and not having to use them? please help me.

I don't get the bit about if work is done at a agrage or at road side, do you have the option?

Thanks in advance