Broke down with no Breakdown cover..

lisyloo

But how often since new has your car broken down, let say once in ten years. It will not of cost you £40 but £400 !

This calculation assumes 1 car.
I have 3 vehicles on the same policy for £32 so the sums are somewhat different.

Also depends on your situation.
If you are a single fit male then perhaps you don't mind being stuck somewhere.
But for disabled people who can't walk to a phone box or families with small kids, it's not really much fun.

brazilianwax

lisyloo wrote: »

This calculation assumes 1 car.
I have 3 vehicles on the same policy for £32 so the sums are somewhat different.

Same here - my policy covers me and hubby on any vehicle we are in, whether we own it or not.

So that's our 2 cars, his motorbike, plus all the family cars and friends' cars - could be a couple of hunderd cars, all told!

saintjanet

arrowsmith wrote: »

It's great to hear that you got such wonderful service, but your is a very specialist case, and most people will get sent within 10 miles.

I know people that do one thing to their car each year, get an MOT. The RAC/AA/Green flag then come and pick them up when stuff goes wrong.

saintJanet, if I broke down 3 times on the motorway, I'd be changing my choice of cars, there is no luck involved just bad engineering and practice. I'll break down at some point but with the money I've saved I'll have taken some nice holidays in the mean time.

Three times in three different cars over a period of time,one example not a breakdwn as such but stop lights failed due to a broken switch,pulled onto services 140 miles from home RAC sorted it out.Another example slave cylinder went on clutch in heavy traffic beakdown truck required.As i said before its an insurance, please yourself if you want it.Oh and by the way arrowsmith, all my cars i refer to,have been up market sports cars not unreliable old bangers and maintained regardless of cost,i also drive more miles than most and can assure you these things do happen.A friend bought a year old BOXTER from the Porsche dealer ,it would not start the following week outside a hotel 60 miles from home,the dealer sorted it out of course,mind you porsche are probably known for bad engineering in your opinion.,should have bought a reliant!!!

One final thing to bear in mind is that breakdwn cover does not have to be really expensive,i have an extensive home insurance policy that includes Green Flag car cover,i arrange this through my work.I am lucky enough to be able to afford cover AND holidays but i do work hard for it!!

arrowsmith

saintjanet wrote: »

A friend bought a year old BOXTER from the Porsche dealer ,it would not start the following week outside a hotel 60 miles from home,the dealer sorted it out of course,mind you porsche are probably known for bad engineering in your opinion.,should have bought a reliant!!!

Actually saintjanet, Porsche have a wonderful reliablity record, they came out first or second in last years US JD power quality survey (Hyundai ran them very close). The old boxter however does suffer some engine problems, so much so in fact that a particular insurance company, Warranty Direct will not cover them.

MarkyMarkD

brazilianwax wrote: »

Thanks. Car is specialist and only a year old so the servicing is thorough and regular (not to mention expensive). Even so, how much would it have cost to be recovered 700 miles on Boxing Day without the cover??!!! Wayyyyyy more than £400 I bet!

It's taken 3 months for the car to be fixed! No way could that have been done easily!

But this post is a sign of why breakdown cover is so expensive. There's simply no need to have a vehicle recovered 700 miles on Boxing Day, and nobody who was paying for the recovery themselves would dream of doing it.

All you need is to be taken to the nearest garage (probably under 10 miles in nearly every case), and to leave the car there to be fixed, then go back and collect it once done.

brazilianwax

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

But this post is a sign of why breakdown cover is so expensive. There's simply no need to have a vehicle recovered 700 miles on Boxing Day, and nobody who was paying for the recovery themselves would dream of doing it.

All you need is to be taken to the nearest garage (probably under 10 miles in nearly every case), and to leave the car there to be fixed, then go back and collect it once done.

:rotfl: :rotfl:

You don't know what car I drive! It took 6 weeks for some of the parts to come from Japan!!!! I was 700 miles from home, at Christmas, with a rare and extremely specialist car. We were on a driving holiday!!!

Believe me, I'd have rather finished the holiday, but there was no way. So we took the car to the specialist (Ralliart) dealer near home and spent New Year there instead.

Sometimes it isn't that easy!

saintjanet

arrowsmith wrote: »

Actually saintjanet, Porsche have a wonderful reliablity record, they came out first or second in last years US JD power quality survey (Hyundai ran them very close). The old boxter however does suffer some engine problems, so much so in fact that a particular insurance company, Warranty Direct will not cover them.

I know all about the reliability aspect ,again you are missing the point ,i was simply saying ALL my cars have been well engineered and maintained,it was you that suggested i was talking about cars breaking down due to lack of maintenance or being badly engineered at the production stage,This is what you stated in your other posting.I am simply saying ,AGAIN ,that ANY car can suffer a problem regardless of its position in the JD survey.

If you ,or anyone else wants breakdown cover, it is a personal choice based on cost,ability to pay and peace of mind ,as is any insurance ,on your house central heating boiler, or treatment for your pet at the vets!!,this is my last comment on the subject.

hurrah

joncarpet wrote: »

Yesterday my car broke down (wouldnt start) and i dont have any breakdown cover.
After checking on here about what policies are the best, I found that pretty much every breakdown provider stated that you had to be a member for 24 hours before they come out.

OR pay a call out charge.

I called as many places as i could and call out charges tranged from £72 (tesco/green flag) to £160 (RAC).

I phoned green flag, all prepared to pay my £72 and the guy told me it might be cheaper if i contact the garage that they use directly as it may be cheaper.
I did and it was cheaper by £20!!!


Just thought id mention it in case anyone was in the same situation.

But if you breakdown again you still havent got any cover.