breakdown cover for car and motorcycle

meat_n2_reg

Hello looking at breakdown cover for me and wife for 1 car and 2 motorcycles

Have had bad experience with RAC before

So looking at Start Rescue , Green Flag and AA ( joint cover for 2 people , nation recovery )

Green flag is competitive £69 but seems to have a 10 mile limit for puncture even if you have national recovery , bad news for a tubed motorcycle tyre ok for car as have spare

AA not used before but worried they might be as bad as RAC £ 88

Start Rescue £101

Any help appreciated

MyRealNameToo

AA and RAC are both a vertically integrated business, they own their own recovery trucks and breakdown vans and only fall back on third parties when one of their own isnt going to be available in a reasonable time. The AA fleet is significantly larger than the RAC

GreenFlag and Start Rescue own no vehicles of their own, though GreenFlag will pay some independents if they are willing to put their livery on their vehicles. All call outs are attended to by third parties.

There are pro's and cons to both models, obviously having your own vehicles mean you are more in control of standards and in theory should also be cheaper as there is one less mouth to feed in the supply chain. On the flip side they may be making you wait for their own vehicle to become available than pay the premium for an independent to attend you quicker.

At the end of the day its really a bit of a luck of the draw in the event of a claim, under both models the operator covering the area (be it their own or their partner) could be being hammered with jobs, staff sickness, mechanical problems etc and so you end up waiting a lot longer especially if you are depriotised when a "vulnerable" call from someone else comes in.

There arent that many recovery agents out there, a lot of the time it won't matter which brand you are with, the call is going to the same recovery agent. Now there could in theory be some pecking order, RAC pays more than Start Rescue (illustration not fact) so BB Bags Recoveries prioritise the job from RAC over the one from Start Rescue but thats going to be pure speculation and may not even be consistent in each area.

shinytop

My recent experience (car) was that AA was better (faster response) than RAC. My last RAC breakdown was not an RAC van, my last AA one was an AA van. A sample of one (me), obviously.

For bikes, I have heard it said that more AA vans than RAC ones can transport bikes so you are more likely to be sorted quicker if you need to be recovered.

Another anecdote; my last bike recovery call-out response (for a puncture) was a Vauxhall Astra with one of these folding trailers in the boot. Although he got the bike and me home (250 miles) the driver completely ignored trailer speed limits (not even close) and lane restrictions.

eschaton

I used RAC a few weeks ago and they were excellent. It was under the Mercedes Mobilo banner but provided by RAC.

Communication was excellent. I made the initial call to Mercedes and had a call back from RAC with an approximate arrival time. The recovery guy then phoned me when he was on his way with an accurate time and arrived within 1hr of the original call. Very quick considering I was at home and not at the roadside. He then repaired a puncture within 30 minutes and spent another 30 minutes repairing a non reported fault.

My cover is complimentary due to servicing but whenever I have to pay, I use Green Flag. I’ve used them twice in the past and they were excellent both times.

tom192

Gem motoring assist joint personal cover is £141 for the both of you, both covered in any vehicle if that suits your needs? Obviously if there is an occasional third user this won't work.

https://www.motoringassist.com/

Been with them over a decade, good service and friendly staff

You both need to live at same address

Oldernowiser

I insure my motorcycles with Carol Nash - free breakdown (inc Europe) cover. Admittedly never had to call on it, but a definite bonus.

Joint car cover (ie. Wife and i) with AA for 40 years, used once. Got ridiculously expensive, especially paying lots extra for European cover, now with Start Rescue - again untested, but reviews generally good.