Is it worth getting breakdown cover?

shane2k

trust me your car might decide to take a dumb and then you be like crap what will i do now because if you breakdown on the motorway and you no cover police will charge you for removing it off the motorway and its not cheap

Fingerbobs

Thanks for all the responses. 

I phoned a few recovery firms and asked how much they would charge for a hypothetical recovery scenario, and the highest quote I had was £156.12 including VAT. 

Given that I've been driving for over 20 years now, and have never broken down, I think I'm happy just carrying the phone number of a few recovery firms with me, and just call them out as and when and pay the one-off fee for the recovery. Even if it costs me £200 to take me and my car to where I want to go, I'll still have saved loads of money by not taking out a recovery policy. 

And to answer the other points - I'm not on a "tight motoring budget" and always pay out when safety is concerned. I would never attempt to change a tyre on a motorway; I would call out recovery. 

This site is about saving money, which paying for something unnecessary, no matter how cheap, is not. It's not a question of being able to "afford" it or not. I could easily "afford" a brand new Ferrari from the showroom, but I wouldn't buy one because it would be a complete waste of money. Similarly, I could easily "afford" a breakdown recovery policy, but I see absolutely no value in it at all. 

MaxPerwer

I'd always have breakdown cover, it'll always come back to bite you. Luckily I got mine through my Nationwide Flex Plus bank account so it's included in the monthly cost for the account. It covers the person and any vehicle you're traveling in, might be worth a look

Mercdriver

Fingerbobs said:

Thanks for all the responses. 

I phoned a few recovery firms and asked how much they would charge for a hypothetical recovery scenario, and the highest quote I had was £156.12 including VAT. 

Given that I've been driving for over 20 years now, and have never broken down, I think I'm happy just carrying the phone number of a few recovery firms with me, and just call them out as and when and pay the one-off fee for the recovery. Even if it costs me £200 to take me and my car to where I want to go, I'll still have saved loads of money by not taking out a recovery policy. 

And to answer the other points - I'm not on a "tight motoring budget" and always pay out when safety is concerned. I would never attempt to change a tyre on a motorway; I would call out recovery. 

This site is about saving money, which paying for something unnecessary, no matter how cheap, is not. It's not a question of being able to "afford" it or not. I could easily "afford" a brand new Ferrari from the showroom, but I wouldn't buy one because it would be a complete waste of money. Similarly, I could easily "afford" a breakdown recovery policy, but I see absolutely no value in it at all. 

Now where is that gif with the incorrect Dirty Harry quote?
Not broken down in 20 years.  The law of averages will catch up with you.

fred246

The other reason to pay for insurance is so that you can actually get someone when you need it. I have heard of desperately long waits recently from breakdown companies but at least you know someone will eventually get to you. Is there any chance say on a busy bank holiday weekend that everyone would refuse to help you? Are big contracts with people like GreenFlag more important to them than a motorist phoning up offering to pay?

Fingerbobs

Mercdriver said:

Fingerbobs said:

Thanks for all the responses. 

I phoned a few recovery firms and asked how much they would charge for a hypothetical recovery scenario, and the highest quote I had was £156.12 including VAT. 

Given that I've been driving for over 20 years now, and have never broken down, I think I'm happy just carrying the phone number of a few recovery firms with me, and just call them out as and when and pay the one-off fee for the recovery. Even if it costs me £200 to take me and my car to where I want to go, I'll still have saved loads of money by not taking out a recovery policy. 

And to answer the other points - I'm not on a "tight motoring budget" and always pay out when safety is concerned. I would never attempt to change a tyre on a motorway; I would call out recovery. 

This site is about saving money, which paying for something unnecessary, no matter how cheap, is not. It's not a question of being able to "afford" it or not. I could easily "afford" a brand new Ferrari from the showroom, but I wouldn't buy one because it would be a complete waste of money. Similarly, I could easily "afford" a breakdown recovery policy, but I see absolutely no value in it at all. 

Now where is that gif with the incorrect Dirty Harry quote?
Not broken down in 20 years.  The law of averages will catch up with you.

Possibly, but having or not having breakdown cover won't change anything. I'll still break down, and I'll still get someone to come out and recover me either way. I see no point in paying every year for a service that I probably won't use. I'll just pay for it as and when I use it.

Fingerbobs

fred246 said:

The other reason to pay for insurance is so that you can actually get someone when you need it. I have heard of desperately long waits recently from breakdown companies but at least you know someone will eventually get to you. Is there any chance say on a busy bank holiday weekend that everyone would refuse to help you? Are big contracts with people like GreenFlag more important to them than a motorist phoning up offering to pay?

This is a valid point, but as a backstop, you can still call the RAC or the AA, and they will arrange to come and rescue you (probably using one of the companies you have called yourself) even if you're not a member. Probably a lot more expensive than an independent recovery firm, but still a lot cheaper than 20 years of unused cover.

Mercdriver

Since you are so sure of the future, can you send me the numbers for the next multi rollover Euromillions jackpot? Thanks

fred246

My longest recovery was over 360 miles. So they drove a lorry at least 720 miles. At least 12 hours labour. They won't do that for £150. Do you not travel far fingerbobs?