AutoAid Car Breakdown Discussion

MSE_Tony · 14 May 2015 at 12:35PM

Hi,

This is a feedback thread on car breakdown provider:

AutoAid

Please share your experience with other MoneySavers. Click reply to take part:

Have you experienced problems?
Did you haggle and succeed?

The feedback comes as part of the Cheap Breakdown Cover guide.

Thank you,

MSE Tony

savedmoney · 15 May 2015 at 6:16PM

AutoAid_Full_Policy wrote:

If the vehicle cannot be repaired at the scene of the breakdown, we will refund the cost of taking the vehicle, you and up to 5 passengers from the place where the vehicle has broken down to the nearest available garage.

AutoAid_Full_Policy wrote:

We will refund the cost of taking the vehicle, you and up to 5 passengers from the place where the vehicle has broken-down to any one place you choose.

My question is:
Would they then take you to the garage, drop of your car, give you a chance to discuss with the garage repairs
THEN
Take you onto your destination.
OR
Leave you stranded at the garage (since that is your "one place you choose")

Granny28 · 27 May 2015 at 4:22PM

I have needed to use AutoAid just once, for a flat battery at home. I was asked whether I had a preferred local garage to be towed to if the car could not be started, told how long the wait would be and then had a text message confirming the name of the breakdown service and the expected time of arrival. I paid the breakdown service and sent off the invoice. The cheque arrived two weeks later.

damworker · 1 June 2015 at 9:23AM

Good experience with them last week. Our Vauxhall developed a flat battery and alternator fault while parked at our camp site in the new forest. I talked to the call centre who arranged for a local garage to attend. The call centre discussed the options and it was made clear that if they couldn't fix the car then recovery could be arranged for a later date - good for us as we still had two days holiday planned. They wouldn't make two recoveries - one to a garage and one back home if it couldn't be fixed so we opted for full recovery home - 100 miles or so. The car went on the flat bed and they towed our trailer with the 5 of us in the lorry cab - our 8 year old boy loved it.
We didn't need to pay the garage and recover the cost - the call centre said that this only applies if you breakdown within 1 mile of home. We had been with the AA for for the last 25 years until 6 months ago because we had made so few call outs and Autoaid was just £41. This was our first ever recovery.
I was sat around drinking coffee and enjoying the sun but had I been on the roadside I might have said the service was slow - about 90 mins for the first call out but on 45 for the tow truck. Communications were very good which helped.

savedmoney · 3 June 2015 at 2:26AM

damworker wrote: »

They wouldn't make two recoveries - one to a garage and one back home if it couldn't be fixed so we opted for full recovery home - 100 miles or so.

This answers my query above as well.
Thanks

Sunplum · 2 July 2015 at 1:32PM

We were on our way back from holiday (26th June 2015 at 9.10 a.m.) in Hereford when the power assisted steering went on our Kia (14 month old) car. Autoaid mechanic could not repair so as the car was under warrenty my husband said it needed to go to a Kia garage. Thinking it may only be a fuse (nothing was showing up on mechanics computer) we agreed to go to the nearest Kia agent which was in Hereford. They could not repair the car and said it was not drivable. After ringing Autoaid and explaining - twice - that we needed to get back home (collecting grandchild from school at 3.30 p.m.) they said they had taken us to our choice of destination and would not do anything else. It states in their contract that "If vehicle cannot be repaired or recovered, they will rfund the cost of alternative travel etc." We had to hire a car to get home and they said they would not pay. They would not take our car or us home to Lancashire (3-4hrs drive) as they said they had fulfilled their contract by taking us to a garage. Needless to say we had to arrange for someone else to pick our grandchild up and we got home at 6.45 p.m. I complained on Friday to Autoaid and they said someone would ring me within 24hrs. I also rang them again on Tues 30th June, and was told someone would ring me regarding this. I AM STILL WAITING!!! Our car is still in the garage in Hereford and they cannot get the part needed for possibly 4 weeks!! Don't kow yet how we are going to get it back home. It was the mechanics suggestion to go to Hereford garage and at no time did Autoaid tell us if we did this we would not be able to get the car home.

savedmoney · 2 July 2015 at 3:55PM

Sunplum wrote: »

We were on our way back from holiday (26th June 2015 at 9.10 a.m.) in Hereford when the power assisted steering went on our Kia (14 month old) car. Autoaid mechanic could not repair so as the car was under warrenty my husband said it needed to go to a Kia garage. Thinking it may only be a fuse (nothing was showing up on mechanics computer) we agreed to go to the nearest Kia agent which was in Hereford. They could not repair the car and said it was not drivable. After ringing Autoaid and explaining - twice - that we needed to get back home (collecting grandchild from school at 3.30 p.m.) they said they had taken us to our choice of destination and would not do anything else. It states in their contract that "If vehicle cannot be repaired or recovered, they will rfund the cost of alternative travel etc." We had to hire a car to get home and they said they would not pay. They would not take our car or us home to Lancashire (3-4hrs drive) as they said they had fulfilled their contract by taking us to a garage. Needless to say we had to arrange for someone else to pick our grandchild up and we got home at 6.45 p.m. I complained on Friday to Autoaid and they said someone would ring me within 24hrs. I also rang them again on Tues 30th June, and was told someone would ring me regarding this. I AM STILL WAITING!!! Our car is still in the garage in Hereford and they cannot get the part needed for possibly 4 weeks!! Don't kow yet how we are going to get it back home. It was the mechanics suggestion to go to Hereford garage and at no time did Autoaid tell us if we did this we would not be able to get the car home.

Thank you for your input Sunplum.

This is precisely why I asked the question about.... had you asked that question and known you would have been much better off asking to be towed to the Kia garage near your home....

Sunplum wrote: »

It was the mechanics suggestion to go to Hereford garage and at no time did Autoaid tell us if we did this we would not be able to get the car home.

...irrespective of what the pick up driver said (don't expect he fancied a 3-4 hour tow as opposed to a local one.)

EdGasket · 2 July 2015 at 4:11PM

It would be tricky if you broke down part way through a holiday and had to decide whether to risk the car being fixed locally (to the holiday) in time to be available to drive home or just to cut the holiday short and get transported home with all the kits, cats, and sacks. I guess that goes for all breakdown services though. What you ideally need is probably taking back to your holiday accomodation and then a second recovery home at the end of the holiday but don't think they will do that.

catwoman73 · 5 July 2015 at 7:54AM

How do autoaid know if you are married or not? We currently use GEM, but autoaid is much cheaper, but as we're not married I wouldn't qualify when driving OH's car, unless he was there too.

(We would put the policy in his name as he has an old car and a motorbike and I have a brand new car that is covered by the manufacturer's breakdown service).

But the only time I wouldn't have cover would be if I was out in OH's car on my own and that would almost never happen. So perhaps worth the risk for the saving?

Pasareti · 14 July 2015 at 10:06AM

Broke down in morning rush hours bang at the entrance of a busy roundabout. It took two hours for Autoaid to arrive.During that time I phoned them several times and was told it would be with me within an hour,within 20 mins,in 10 mins time - not a word was true. They knew I was disabled and it was a dangerous place to sit in an immobile car but as I cannot stand for any length of time I had to stay put.
They are supposed to use local garages. Rush hour or not,there is no way a local garage takes two hours to get to a busy junction on a main road.
You've been warned.

Sunplum · 17 July 2015 at 2:22PM

Just updating on the breakdown in Hereford (Sunplum). I sent an e-mail to Equity Insurance who deal with Autoaid complaints. (Not heard anything from Autoaid). They got back to me the day afterwards and agreed that we should have been brought home as the Hereford garage could not repair our car to get us home. They said the contract is ambiguous i.e. says take you to one drop but then says will get you home if the vehicle cannot be repaired. they aid common sense should have won the day and they should not have left us stranded in Hereford. They apologised gave us a small amount in compensation to cover fuel costs etc. In the meantime I had sent the invoice into Autoaid for the hire car and I have received a cheque for that, which on the day they said they would not pay for. Our car is still in Hereford and is still awaiting the part to repair it. We don't know yet how we are going to get it home.

AutoAid Car Breakdown Discussion

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