Breakdown Recovery

[Ashley Burton]

What do people recommend?

I literally want assistance at the roadside & recovery to home address.

None of this drop you to the nearest local garage & leave your wallet with them!

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

AA
Costs me 120 a year for me and the wife
Any vehicle us or the kids are in.

 

[cheb]

What vehicles have you got? The AA wouldn't cover me for my Transit van, SWB low roof, claiming it was too large.

I went for one of the cheap policies where you pay up front and then claim the money back. It's an all singing all dancing recovery/homestart/roadside/replacement vehicle policy too IIRC. Autoaid are the company.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

What vehicles have you got? The AA wouldn't cover me for my Transit van, SWB low roof, claiming it was too large.

I went for one of the cheap policies where you pay up front and then claim the money back. It's an all singing all dancing recovery/homestart/roadside/replacement vehicle policy too IIRC. Autoaid are the company.

Since when.
My ldv convoy lwb hi top went on the back of there lorries 3 times.
My traffic has been on once too.
My policy with them doesn't specify vehicles.

 

[Ashley Burton]

What vehicles have you got? The AA wouldn't cover me for my Transit van, SWB low roof, claiming it was too large.

I went for one of the cheap policies where you pay up front and then claim the money back. It's an all singing all dancing recovery/homestart/roadside/replacement vehicle policy too IIRC. Autoaid are the company.

MWB, Medium Height Transit Van

 

[Rannsachair]

I just got mine this week, have been with RAC for many years and noticed they had bumped the price up to £220 a year, so I checked out options and decided I would try Autoaid from reading https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/breakdown-cover/. So I phoned the RAC to cancel my renewal and they reduced the price to £84 for 15 months cover (National recovery and roadside assistance).

They are just like insurance companies and you need to shop around every year.

 

[rtcosic]

Nationwide current account. Including loss of interest on the minimum balance it costs £120 per year and also get travel and mobile phone insurance. A few other benefits that I forget.

Used the recovery - from Hereford to my local garage on a Sunday afternoon.
Used the mobile phone - wife broke the screen on hers. Supplied a 'refurbished' newer model, actually unused new old stock.

Don't know what vehicle restrictions they apply though

 

[cheb]

Since when.
My ldv convoy lwb hi top went on the back of there lorries 3 times.
My traffic has been on once too.
My policy with them doesn't specify vehicles.

A couple or three years ago. I changed from being with the RAC, they couldn't find my address for a homestart callout. Not physically, but on their system map. It was easily found on their billing system. I then bought cover via my insurance. Turned out that was with the RAC too, who couldn't understand that my insurers had two trading names, as do so many insurers these days. They refused to recover my wife's car from the A9 more than 30 miles distance.

That's when I went to Autoaid, I haven't used them yet so can't review them.

 

[cheb]

My reasoning for Autoaid is if I'm going to get stiffed by a breakdown company I might as well pay as little up front as I can. I've the luxury of being able to pay any charges up front and claim them back later and am bloody minded enough to persevere. I was a very good debt collector many years ago fro the same reason.

 

[stuvy]

Nationwide current account. Including loss of interest on the minimum balance it costs £120 per year and also get travel and mobile phone insurance. A few other benefits that I forget.

Used the recovery - from Hereford to my local garage on a Sunday afternoon.
Used the mobile phone - wife broke the screen on hers. Supplied a 'refurbished' newer model, actually unused new old stock.

Don't know what vehicle restrictions they apply though

What’s the excess on the phones? I’m sure when I looked into this it wasn’t worth using as a local shop can do it cheaper

 

[steveo3002]

we use autoaid about £50 ish...covers you and the mrs in any car and takes you home

dont think they do the claim the money back thing now...we used em and they just sent out a truck

 

[Robotstar5]

I just got mine this week, have been with RAC for many years and noticed they had bumped the price up to £220 a year, so I checked out options and decided I would try Autoaid from reading https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/breakdown-cover/. So I phoned the RAC to cancel my renewal and they reduced the price to £84 for 15 months cover (National recovery and roadside assistance).

They are just like insurance companies and you need to shop around every year.

I'm the same, been with RAC for nearly 30 years, every year they increase the premium so I phone and tell them I am leaving to re-join as a new member because it is £XX cheaper for the same cover and they reduce my premium

 

[cheb]

That's the sort of behaviour that makes me change on principle. A futile geture I know but if everybody did then maybe the companies would realise.

I stopped using the AA when they advertised themselves as being the fourth emergency service. When I explained why after they asked me they were quite aggressively defensive IYSWIM.

 

[Mikey D]

Autoaid .used them a couple of times recovered home , they didn't appempt diagnosis which suited me fine . I'm sure if it was flat battery or tyre they'd sort that .
No over inflated renewal prices like the aa or rac might try .

 

[Ashley Burton]

Sounds like should give this Autoaid a go!

Is there any catches?

 

[rockweasel]

Another vote for the AA.

 

[armalites]

I'm with the AA, you really do need to read all the small print if you down the the route of the cheaper providers. I can assure you day you are broken down on holiday or your wife is stuck late one night with the kids the £50 you saved will be completely unimportant. I did a load of research last year and found loads of things in small print like not covering vehicles over a certain age, not covering trailers,not covering trailers over a certain weight. I was about to sign with an alternative when they told me they wouldn't recover my trailer, only my vehicle. The upshot was if I was stuck on the hard shoulder they would just collect the vehicle not the trailer which technically means they wouldn't recover me at all.In many case the providers didn't openly highlight the restrictions but they were in the small print.

Shopping around and getting cheap deal is great until something goes wrong when you really need them, I'm not saying you'll never get problems with the AA or RAC but breaking down is stresfull enough without having extra misery.

Every year with the AA I have to ring them and they drop the price.

As with all insurance we all pay for them hoping we never use them.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

RAC, built into my car insurance. The whole 9 yards, inc Homestart, but up here we don't get an man in an RAC van but a contracted local[ish] garage.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Every year with the AA I have to ring them and they drop the price.

I stopped dealing with them when they refused to turn out to 'indoors, on her own with a flat battery in a SWB Transit. "Too big, we don't cover them". It was news to me, but even so, the size of it was irrelevant to a jump start. Now we use the breakdown service offerred free with the vehicle insurance through RH. Never had a problem, even with a French breakdown or the bike with a puncture.

 

[armalites]

I stopped dealing with them when they refused to turn out to 'indoors, on her own with a flat battery in a SWB Transit. "Too big, we don't cover them". It was news to me, but even so, the size of it was irrelevant to a jump start. Now we use the breakdown service offerred free with the vehicle insurance through RH. Never had a problem, even with a French breakdown or the bike with a puncture.

That's weird, their website clearly states any vehicle/van up to 3.5 GW. The only size restriction listed is 8ft 3in wide but I have found a reference that says maximum length of 5.5m. None of the above would apply to a SWB Transit unless it had some unusual weight rating.