Car Breakdown Discussion

geoffplus

Been with the RAC since 1980. In the last 10 years or so I have had to haggle each year to get a reasonable deal. Always been prepared to switch to another supplier's 'New Member' deal then back for the RAC's 'New Member' deal the following year, but so far have managed to get a competitive price out of them before having to.

This year they moved my premium from £138 to £159.99. No reason given for this 15% hike at all. Checked the AA and even better cover than I currently have with the RAC available at £125 for new members. Presented this to RAC and sure enough deal matched.

They do this because they know not everyone bothers to check alternative suppliers and just renew each year.

Plus

The article leads on a £34.99 RAC policy, which you can then get cashback on.
Where do you find this policy on the RAC site?

The RAC affiliate link takes me to a page where the cheapest offer is Rescue Essential for £8/month (£96/year) or I can 'build my own policy', where the cheapest is vehicle cover at £5.50/month (£66/year).

None of those come anywhere near £34.99 per year. Did I miss it somewhere?

(I'm also not very impressed with the RAC quoting monthly prices, which is generally a ruse for hiding a high annual figure)

Edit: I found it now. At the very bottom of the screen there's a bar where you can select Annual or Monthly. For some reason it defaults to monthly. The bar hovers over the rest of the page, but if you're on a big enough screen it may be nowhere near the prices you're selecting. What terrible web design.

petestan

I have been with Insurance choice breakdown insurance for the last few years, I have had to use them on a couple of occasions but not for he last couple of years, but it seems they have decided they no longer want to do breakdown insurance any longer, it's no longer available via their site, looks like I may have to try AutoAid instead.

matchplayer

I had looked at using the deal reported by Martin for £47.77 cashback (actually only £27.77 as the site charges £20 more than without topcashback cookie). However they have reduced that deal to £20 now. So clear the cookies or install a new browser & just go straight to AA. I say AA, as they are the only one that will cover me for being a Taxi! Unless you know better?
Go to AA get a quote of £99, go via topcashback it is £119???

2010

Going through Quidco link,the RAC for basic roadside cover is £34-99 and the cashback is £5-50.
MSE are saying it should be £13 taking the price to £21.

Quentin

MSE article is dated 2017 - cashback rewards from quidco do change regularly

2010

I`ve decided to go with https://www.startrescue.co.uk which is also on Quidco but a lot cheaper than the AA/RAC.

faddy

David42 wrote: »

Do you have experience of being rescued by any of the Pay as You Go breakdown recovery services? I am considering this solution, but I cannot find any user reviews for the cheapest companies. So maybe we could collect some reviews here?

The two companies with no annual fee that I have found so far are:

• RTR ( http://www.bestvaluebreakdowncover.com ) costs £3.00 for one off registration, £50 + vat for a callout, and £1.50 per mile of recovery over 10 miles.
• Boleyn ( http://www.ukautorescue.co.uk ) free registration. Callout costs not published (or I could not find them).

Two companies offer pay as you products for an annual fee:

• The AA pay as you go service costs £4.99 per year and £80 per callout. It excludes accidents, and recovery is only to a local garage. ( http://www.theaa.com/apps/aa-breakdown-standby-app.html )
• National Breakdown pay as you go service costs £10.00 per year, £75 + vat per callout + a charge for agent travelling time, £55 + vat per hour for labour over the first hour, and £1.55 + vat per mile of recovery over 10 miles. ( http://www.nbshop.co.uk/english/breakdown-membership.html )

The above was asked four years ago but didn't seem to get any response. Does anyone have any views/experience of PAYG breakdown services and in particular Boleyn (or any other service able to connect you to local breakdown services anywhere in the country)?

Molly4

My car is five years old tomorrow. Happy Birthday car! So the warranty and complimentary breakdown cover expires tomorrow as well. I've always been with the RAC over the years and once with the AA and Green Flag. Never had any problems with these three companies except the cost.

I am a single mature lady and planning a big road trip to Scotland and back in the summer. I am looking today to take out breakdown cover to cover me for the next year and every eventuality on my trip. Obviously I want to save money but not cut down on the service I receive.

Which company do you experts recommend for me?

P.S. My car insurance is due for renewal at the end of March 2018. I could risk six weeks without breakdown cover to take advantage of a better deal coupled with my car insurance but knowing my luck the car will breakdown the moment my cover expires!

Quentin

MSE article on breakdown cover:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/breakdown-cover