Get breakdown cover or just hope for the best and contact local garage if breakdown occurs?

35har1old

Arunmor said:

Breaking down near home probably isn't the issue.  It is breaking down far from home or on the motorway than can start becoming eye watering.  So if you just stay local with the car probably not a bad idea.  But remember sods law will always apply when it comes to that odd long distance trip. 

Can you change a tyre?  Probably the most likely problem you will have.

Some don’t have spares and  only a puncture repair kit and tyre inflation 

Soudle_Noop

Grumpy_chap said:

Soudle_Noop said:

Looking to renew my breakdown insurance, to be honest starting to wonder whether to bother. RAC took 5 hours to come out and looking through Trustpilot most breakdown companies have mixed reviews with similar instances across the board.

So I'm wondering whether to just call a local garage for recovery in the event of a breakdown instead. Has anyone else taken this approach? Any opinions?

If it helps, my car is 11 years old but has never broken down, has had regular servicing. If my car did breakdown I am confident I would be able to cover the cost of recovery.

You could assess that 11 years without a breakdown could mean that a breakdown is overdue.  It is not just to do with the car's age and maintenance record - some consumable items can fail unexpectedly and without warning resulting in being stranded. 

Some items can fail even though only recently replaced - my last "proper" breakdown requiring recovery was in a car that had the timing belt fail catastrophically within a month of having had the belt replaced.  I have also had to call out for a blown tyre and the bolt seized and for battery failure - arguably not "proper" breakdowns but still leave you stranded.

Your post seems a bit inconsistent as you start by saying "RAC took 5 hours to come out" but then end by saying "never broken down"...

Having breakdown cover is also not just about the ability to cover the cost of recovery.  It is about having a number to call when an incident arises even if it occurs as some ghastly hour of the day on the worst weather of the year and at some back-of-beyond away from any civilisation place where you have no contacts or support network.  Having a contact that you can call that will respond is a massive peace of mind in that scenario.

I have just gone through exactly the challenge about renewing breakdown cover and the apparent waste of money given I have a brand new car.  I decided to get cover regardless, albeit with an excess that applies in the event of a call out.  That seemed the most sensible compromise between risk and cost.

You make several excellent points here, thank you.

You are quite right to point out the inconsistency, the RAC call out was for my partner's car which I could have made clearer.

chrisw

It's like all insurance, a waste of money until you actually need it. I've had breakdown cover for nearly 40 years so it's probably cost me thousands, but I was extremely glad I had it when a tyre shredded in the middle of nowhere on a recent trip to Scotland.

EnPointe

Soudle_Noop said:

Looking to renew my breakdown insurance, to be honest starting to wonder whether to bother. RAC took 5 hours to come out and looking through Trustpilot most breakdown companies have mixed reviews with similar instances across the board.

So I'm wondering whether to just call a local garage for recovery in the event of a breakdown instead. Has anyone else taken this approach? Any opinions?

If it helps, my car is 11 years old but has never broken down, has had regular servicing. If my car did breakdown I am confident I would be able to cover the cost of recovery.

when they did attend  was that one of their own patrols or was it a contractor ?  if it was a contractor  guess who you would be ringing  if you  broke down   and   if you are self paying  they have no obligation to organise  onward travel or even a cab from the  garage you  chose  to have your broken down vehicle taken to as  however  pence per mile  on top of the feee to attend 

good luck in  getting a 'local garage' to come out to  you at all...   'in hours' you might be lucky and get a mobile mechanic between jobs 

Bigrog

I had a renewal price from A.A. for £212.00. I went online to A.A. chatbot and got the price reduced to £135.00, no hassle, same cover. Well I was impressed. 

BigSkoda

I've had the AutoAid cover for years, never used it. My wife went or a weekend to Bournemouth  with friends and broke down on the way back Hertfordshire where we live (2.5 hrs drive, on a good day). 13 hrs it took them to tow her back, dropping her off at service stations with about 4 different tow trucks used. They passed her on to the next local tow truck and her time to be dealt with then restarted, so a she had to wait up to an hour before they arrived. So in conclusion, think on before using AutoAid as any long journey back will take a significant amount of time. They didnt actually try to fix it, just towed her which i dont believe was what they are supposed to do. Raised it with MSE who promote them heavily, but no response from them. 

Bigwheels1111

I was in a hire van with AA cover, broke down near chesterfield, tibshelf services.

Called the AA, said van not covered, called van hire and around and around it went.

3 hours later AA arrived and figured out the water pump had gone. So needed van to be lifted and taken to Sidcup kent. 3 more hours and driver arrived and loaded us onto the truck.

Off we go, but wait he dropped us at Thurock srevices and then 3 more hours for next truck before we were dropped of at the van depot.14 hours later i was home. 19 hour day to help my brother move.

No the best day ever.

maxmycardagain

Car_54 said:

As EssexExile has said, who are you going to call?

sorry..... has to be done

maxmycardagain

£80/year peace of mind, £120 full EU european cover

ive had to use both and been grateful

(although the european was a repayment of repair costs id paid in Spain)