Upgrading AA membership at the Roadside

mick31601

l currently have basic AA roadside breakdown cover, as my car is relatively new and I generally only make short journeys not too far from home. If needed is it possible to upgrade my cover at the roadside. I presuming there would be a surcharge.

DUTR

mick31601 wrote: »

l currently have basic AA roadside breakdown cover, as my car is relatively new and I generally only make short journeys not too far from home. If needed is it possible to upgrade my cover at the roadside. I presuming there would be a surcharge.

More the reason to have more than basic cover, you get cover often with a new car for the 1st to 3rd year, and can renew at a reduced rate, your best option is to contact the provider as they will have the final say not the opinion of the readers.

specialboy

Also check to see if you get free cover through your bank account or car insurance.

mick31601

I will check that out. Thanks for your help

mick31601

Just got an online quote with Direct Line 67 quid for Recovery Plus!!!!!! If I remember rightly AA and RAC was about 150.

Herzlos

It's something like £50 roadside fee + whatever upgrade. I discovered the hard way that my bank AA cover was very basic.

Ebe_Scrooge

Or £39.90 with Autoaid. To cover you and your spouse ( if applicable ) in any car.

Sorry, I must sound like an advert for these guys recently ! But really, they knock spots of any of the "big names".

And ( the most important thing for me, as I travel far and wide with my job ), they'll recover you to a garage of your choice, no questions. If my car needs to be at a garage, I want it to be at my local indy who's 3 minutes walk from my house, and who I trust. Not stuck 300 miles away from home at an unknown cowboy outfit.

afzaal1988

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Or £39.90 with Autoaid. To cover you and your spouse ( if applicable ) in any car.

Sorry, I must sound like an advert for these guys recently ! But really, they knock spots of any of the "big names".

And ( the most important thing for me, as I travel far and wide with my job ), they'll recover you to a garage of your choice, no questions. If my car needs to be at a garage, I want it to be at my local indy who's 3 minutes walk from my house, and who I trust. Not stuck 300 miles away from home at an unknown cowboy outfit.

Do they not have conditions like "if it can't be repaired within same day" or something similar than we will recover you to your home or garage of your choice.
Most cheaper breakdown recovery company's have this condition

fred246

One of the interesting things about having a new car and keeping it for 16 years is that you can see the pattern of breakdowns. The only time my car truly let me down was in the first week when a hose came off the radiator. It was a manufacturing defect.The breakdown staff were so excited. It was the first S reg breakdown they had attended. I had a problem with the alternator in 2006 but it has been perfect since. So my experience was the older the car the more reliable it became.

fred246

My previous car to the last I bought with a bank loan in 1990. With the loan came basic Green Flag roadside assistance cover. One wet night I was driving up the M6 when my temperature gauge suddenly shot up from 50 degrees to dangerously hot. I stopped on the services and parked over a puddle. Green Flag arrived. "Your radiator has gone see all the water". I have parked over a puddle I replied. I wondered how water could suddenly boil. My knowledge of specific heat capacities made me question an electrical fault. "Yes you have a major electrical fault" the Green Flag man said. If a gauge is a major electrical fault I wondered what a minor one would be. They quoted me hundreds to take me home. Wouldn't look at car. I told them to get lost and signed their form and carried on my way. It turned out to be a wire from the gauge was grounding on the bodywork. Quick fix with a piece of insulation tape.

Ebe_Scrooge

afzaal1988 wrote: »

Do they not have conditions like "if it can't be repaired within same day" or something similar than we will recover you to your home or garage of your choice.
Most cheaper breakdown recovery company's have this condition

In my experience the guys who come out will try to fix you at the roadside, but if they can't fix it then they'll take you wherever you want. This is great if you're hundreds of miles away from home - you can ask them to take you home if you want to, but I usually get them to drop the car at my local mechanic.

One thing to note - they don't have their own fleet of mechanics, like the AA or RAC do. They'll just use whichever local recovery firm is nearest. Or, if you happen to know a local firm, you can ask Autoaid to send them if you prefer.

I've never had any problems whatsoever, and as I said earlier, I'm happy that my poorly car is sat with my trusted mechanic, who's within walking distance of my house. So much more convenient