Car Breakdown Discussion

Grumpy_chap

Oh, yeah, the car goes now.  
Should the response time, even after prioritisation, be over 52 hours?

SaverRate

Grumpy_chap said:

Oh, yeah, the car goes now.  
Should the response time, even after prioritisation, be over 52 hours?

Personally, I wouldn’t be renewing with them when the time comes! I would expect a same day response to be honest!

pje

52 Hours - that's a joke

see my earlier post

I called and they arranged a breakdown truck and he arrived in 60 MINUTES

and would have been quicker if not for a 30 mile detour

Grumpy_chap

Thanks @pje - you were on a motorway so would have been prioritised (correctly) over a breakdown at home.  I get that.  I also think the response time for a "home start" should have some target response but I struggle to find anything on the RAC website.

I will be honest that I chose RAC this year based on price being lowest, having previously been with RescuemyCar and StartRescue, but I also thought RAC would be at the top end of the service levels.  Maybe they are.  Maybe I was just unlucky.

pje

How much was RAC

https://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/ is also cheap

I was with them but never had to used them

Southsee

Just had my renewal letter through from Quoteline Direct

I have held this breakdown insurance for around 8 years after it was recommended on MSE. It has quoted me £65 for annual full breakdown cover for UK and rest of Europe and seems to be fully comprehensive.

Before renewing I thought I would check if there was a competitor offering a better deal and unless Ive missed something there doesnt seem to be any alternative - closest obtained through moneysupermarket is £67 through LV Britannia rescue.  

I was wondering why it wasnt listed as a best buy still? And has anyone ever used it? I have to admit that in the period Ive held it I havent had any need to call out the service - has anyone had good or bad experiences?

theshed

In response to waiting time from call out, I was once kept waiting on the side of the M6 waiting for the RAC for two hours. It was late at night and we where that long the Police arrived and put blue lights around us as the hazards had flattened the battery.
Annoying/amusing (delete as you see fit) thing was we where in sight of the RAC control centre.
On the up side, again RAC, my wife called them recently on a Saturday morning at home for a non-start. From reporting to starting car was little over 90 minutes.

pje

Southsee said:

Just had my renewal letter through from Quoteline Direct

I have held this breakdown insurance for around 8 years after it was recommended on MSE. It has quoted me £65 for annual full breakdown cover for UK and rest of Europe and seems to be fully comprehensive.

Before renewing I thought I would check if there was a competitor offering a better deal and unless Ive missed something there doesnt seem to be any alternative - closest obtained through moneysupermarket is £67 through LV Britannia rescue.  

I was wondering why it wasnt listed as a best buy still? And has anyone ever used it? I have to admit that in the period Ive held it I havent had any need to call out the service - has anyone had good or bad experiences?

I haven't used this outfit but saw them mentioned in a Moneyfacts email I got today

The quote for me was very good

Cover Quote

Southsee

Continuing my fiddling around with breakdown quotes it seems nothing really beats the Quoteline Direct or LV Britannia cover in terms of price - LV Britannia also rated by Which?.

One thing that does stand out to me is that annual cover including Europe generally costs less than single trip cover - eg a single three week trip costs £80+ (two week £70), this is in addition to normal UK cover, whereas the quotes for annual including UK and Europe are £70 or less as mentioned above.

Carman999

musical_norwich said:

Given the manner in which both the AA and RAC try to rip-off customers at renewal, why bother? I've been looking for a European policy and the prices from the AA and RAC are quite simply ridiculous profiteering.

I just bought annual home, recovery, Europe, etc. for £60.99 with Axa, one of the largest insurers in the world. No cashback, no arguing, no attempts to rip me off. Just a fair price from a single phone call for a four year old car and no obligation to auto renew. And fairly decent reviews too. And Axa now has got an app for the iPhone and Android that can be used in the event of a breakdown, which I think is a useful innovation. The chap I spoke to in the call centre was based in an English speaking country too (Republic of Ireland).

When the AA comes out with insulting renewal quotes like some of those listed here, charging loyal customers more than double what they will accept after haggling, I don't think we should even lower ourselves to call them back. I've never known a car or home insurer have that kind of mark-up and wriggle room. It is blatant profiteering.

I have to say, I do worry about some of the companies at the other end of the market that this site is recommending, particularly Green Insurance, when the review sites seem to view their customer service as utterly appalling. Quoteline was great while it used Britannia, but again the reviews for Mondial, Britannia's replacement, are dire.

Yeah I've got the same issue this year with the AA re insulting renewal quotes and having to ring for some sort of discount. 33 years I've been with them and they want £177.72 for Roadside assistance, National recovery and At home service too. Now don't get me wrong I could ring them, I'm not on auto renewal but within a few mins I've managed to get identical cover with Green Flag for £66.08. Why don't companies such as the AA just offer us so called loyal customers a decent quote in the post in the first place. Well now they've lost me as a customer.