Which breakdown cover to choose?

muddyl

I've just had a look through mse's guide to breakdown cover and you can definitely get them cheaper than I expected.

But I'm still not sure which to go for.
Ideally I'd like something that would cover both my wife and I and both of our cars (we often swap cars).
We would only need UK this year I think (unless the difference is small) but may have a run over to France next year money permitting.

Which breakdown cover would you suggest from your experiences?

Cheers, mark

forgotmyname

And you want cover for what?

At least 10 miles away from home and a tow to the nearest garage. Or do you want homestart and a polisy that will take you anywhere or arrange an overnight stop. Do you need a hire car if yours cannot be repaired quickly?

Is the trip to France going to be within the 12 months of the policy your buying now?

Then it comes to things like how old is the car? Cheaper policies may exclude vehicles over a certain age.

muddyl

forgotmyname wrote: »

And you want cover for what?

At least 10 miles away from home and a tow to the nearest garage. Or do you want homestart and a polisy that will take you anywhere or arrange an overnight stop. Do you need a hire car if yours cannot be repaired quickly?

Is the trip to France going to be within the 12 months of the policy your buying now?

Then it comes to things like how old is the car? Cheaper policies may exclude vehicles over a certain age.

Ah right, didn't realise it was quite that complicated as I've never had to get breakdown cover before.

OK the cars will be 10 and 9 years old. Seems old now I say it but they are both great cars.
I'd prefer a policy that takes you to a chosen destination rather than nearest garage as I normally do all my own repair work and have friends who are mechanics for the bits I cant do myself. I don't like the idea of a garage being able to hold you to ransom because your stuck there.
Not sure if the France trip would be within twelve months as I can't guarantee finances that far ahead, so I'd say no and look into changing it if I had to.

Would not need car hire as I could walk to work if without it for a few days. Probably no to an overnight stay too.

We only go away once a year and not very far due to small children. Its more for if my wife breaks down with the kids in. That's my biggest concern.

fivetide

After some recommendations on here, I went with Auto Aid. It's basically insurance against breakdown but no restriction on the car etc so seems very flexible.

You pay the tow costs then claim it back on the policy. For £30 (or there abouts) seemed worth a go. Especially because the usual crowd wanted a fortune to cover my commuter car just because it's getting on a bit.

benjus

European cover tends to be expensive to buy as an add-on, so I prefer to get a policy that includes it as standard.

I was with QuoteLineDirect, which was £59/year for full cover. Now I've switched to the Co-op bank's packaged account which includes full European breakdown cover (and various other insurance products) for £13/month. The Nationwide FlexPlus account is arguably an even better deal if you are thinking of going down this route.

Another popular option on this forum is ADAC (the German equivalent of the AA).

AFAIK none of the above have restrictions on the age of the vehicle.

Crabman

As mentioned above, Autoaid is great value (it covers a spouse for free) but you must always have the ability to pay the breakdown agent on the spot.

If that isn't to your liking there is vehicle-based cover from Autonational Rescue which works out at roughly £50 per year after cashback (via TopCashBack) for the top cover (Roadside, Recovery, At Home, Onward Travel).