Roadside Recovery Article/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

prisci14

I've been raking through thread after thread reading about breakdown insurer AutoAid,but cannot seem to find any website inthat name.Any info phone number or site address would be much appreciated.Many thanks in advance!! :beer:

Godders

Hi

Here's Martins article on the subject of breakdown cover which mentions AutoAid

Theres a phone number at the bottom, they don't have a website

Godders

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1094823518,14076,

Slothy

Are Greenflag and Direct Line breakdown cover supplied by the same company? Their online quote forms look absolutley identical, though the price did differ.

Ericthelobster_2

I'm probably going to defect to AutoAid from the RAC on the strength of Martin's rave review, and have just received their bumf through the post.

One thing it doesn't mention at all is how long you can expect to wait for assistance to arrive; which makes me think it might be a helluva long time. Anyone care to comment please?!

Thanks

Lady_S

There are always peaks and troughs in demand which mean waiting times cannot be guaranteed, but I beleive the average response time at the moment is 48 minutes, which isn't three bad.

everkeen

I maintain my car pretty much okay, and still have it serviced enough to give me peace of mind as far as reliability goes, perhaps even more so as it is 11 years old.

However, the following is from the T&Cs of Quotelinedirect`s European section of Europ Assistance:

"Important: Vehicle health check

This insurance operates on the basis that you will have had your vehicle properly serviced and maintained in accordance
with the manufacturer's specifications, especially when preparing it for a trip abroad.

In particular, we will expect you to have replaced parts which a pre-trip inspection has indicated may be reaching the
end of their normal life, for example the friction linings in the clutch or brakes.

Don't forget that replacing such items abroad will disrupt your trip, may not be practicable within your travel timescale,
and could cost you significantly more than in the UK.

And - have your vehicle checked in plenty of time before your departure date so that your garage can fix any problem
they discover. If you leave the pre-trip check to the last 10 days, then the breakdown benefits under Section 2.1 - Cover
Prior to Departure - will NOT apply.

Keep proof of servicing with your travel documents.

If you call us for assistance, and our mechanic reports to us that it is evident you have not maintained your vehicle in a
state fit to undertake the trip and return you home safely, you will have to pay all the costs arising from our intervention. "

This strikes me as taking the !!!!!!. My car is okay in the UK, and if I drive it abroad it is still the same okay car. I do not want to worry about some mechanic deciding if I am covered or not while conked out in the middle of nowhere in the inevitable rain and wind and dark, any more than I would want the same treatment in the UK.
Too many ifs and buts for me.

Tim_2-2

Hi Does anyone know if Auto aid covers Northern Ireland

Thanks

cajef

Slothy wrote:

Are Greenflag and Direct Line breakdown cover supplied by the same company? Their online quote forms look absolutley identical, though the price did differ.

Not surprising Direct Line own Green Flag

MarkyMarkD

everkeen wrote:

I maintain my car pretty much okay, and still have it serviced enough to give me peace of mind as far as reliability goes, perhaps even more so as it is 11 years old.

However, the following is from the T&Cs of Quotelinedirect`s European section of Europ Assistance:

"Important: Vehicle health check

This insurance operates on the basis that you will have had your vehicle properly serviced and maintained in accordance
with the manufacturer's specifications, especially when preparing it for a trip abroad.

In particular, we will expect you to have replaced parts which a pre-trip inspection has indicated may be reaching the
end of their normal life, for example the friction linings in the clutch or brakes.

Don't forget that replacing such items abroad will disrupt your trip, may not be practicable within your travel timescale,
and could cost you significantly more than in the UK.

And - have your vehicle checked in plenty of time before your departure date so that your garage can fix any problem
they discover. If you leave the pre-trip check to the last 10 days, then the breakdown benefits under Section 2.1 - Cover
Prior to Departure - will NOT apply.

Keep proof of servicing with your travel documents.

If you call us for assistance, and our mechanic reports to us that it is evident you have not maintained your vehicle in a
state fit to undertake the trip and return you home safely, you will have to pay all the costs arising from our intervention. "

This strikes me as taking the !!!!!!. My car is okay in the UK, and if I drive it abroad it is still the same okay car. I do not want to worry about some mechanic deciding if I am covered or not while conked out in the middle of nowhere in the inevitable rain and wind and dark, any more than I would want the same treatment in the UK.
Too many ifs and buts for me.

All they are saying is that they expect your car's servicing to be up-to-date. And quite right too - why should they pay for the cost of recovering a car which hasn't been serviced in the last 5 years, for example? The point about leaving it until the last minute is fair enough, too - if you have your car serviced 2 days before leaving on a long trip, there may not be time to get faults rectified.

MarkyMarkD

Ericthelobster wrote:

I'm probably going to defect to AutoAid from the RAC on the strength of Martin's rave review, and have just received their bumf through the post.

One thing it doesn't mention at all is how long you can expect to wait for assistance to arrive; which makes me think it might be a helluva long time. Anyone care to comment please?!

Thanks

Almost all the recovery companies, other than those with their own recovery operatives, use a network of local recovery agents. There's no reason why any of them will be quicker, or slower, than anyone else.

AutoAid arrived within 45 minutes when we broke down recently and I don't have any complaints about their service.