I have recently had a renewal for my RAC membership.

I question whether or not I really need such cover as I only use my car locally though sometimes (when kids off school and hubby working) I travel further afield for days out.

I have the most basic cover so that I would at least be taken to a garage for repairs if I couldn't be dealt with at the roadside.

This is now £55 which I would have paid unquestioningly had I not noticed in the conditions that instead of being taken to the garage of my choice, I would now only be taken to a garage within 10 miles. This raises all sorts of issues if I was many miles from home.

I feel somewhat peeved that I have only ever called them out twice in 24 years and the price for me is £55 while if was joining as a new member the cost would be £39.

Should I upgrade to a higher level, even though I only do about 100 miles a week in total? Should I shop around? Anybody recommend a company?

I'm in the AA. It's £70 odd quid for me and my girlfriend on the basic option. I think this covers us to call them out and if they can't fix it, then tow us the the nearest approved garage. I know what you mean about being 100s of miles away but at least in the event you do have someone to call to get you out of the rain and off the motorway. I was in the RAC a few years ago and my bike broke down. I called them out and though a very quick response a realy grumpy old man came and his first words were "Oh I ******* hate bikes, never had any real training on em" Quick to say I was on the phone to the AA the day after. Used AA once (on a different bike) and he was very polite very proffesional and he even took my little bro, who i had pillion home in the van before he had a go at the bike. got it working and even followed me for a few miles just incase.

I am with Brittania, they always offer a good service.

We have the second from top option, which is tow you home at your request and also covers Ireland. It is for myself and the boyfriend and covers the car not the person. That is £95 I think.

Well worth it, as we have used it 3 times in 4/5 years and I dread to think how much hiring a recovery service would had cost.

i am with green flag we once broke down on the m180 going to cleethorpes (cambelt snapped) only to find out we had only the basic cover 5mile tow lukcly my mate could tow us home needless to say we now have full cover you never know when you will need them specially if you break dow on the motoway god forbid i asked the bloke how much it would cost for a tow from scunthorpe back to home adress and he said it would be about £200 so if i was in your shoes get the full cover i know its like paying through the nose but its worth it if you only claim once best regards steve....:cool:

I'm with the AA and have had to call them out twice.

The first time was on my way home from Cambridgeshire. Somthing had broken in my car, (can't remember what) and the AA man came to rescue me. He said that he should tow me to a garage, and I might have to find accomodation for the night (as it was quite late). However, he then decided he could tow me to Halfords, where I bought the part (for about £10) which he fitted on their car park. I was on my way back to Sheffield, and he followed me a few miles to make sure all was well. I was very grateful for his help as obviously finding accomodation for the night would have been expensive and I would have lost a day's pay from work too.

The second time I broke down was in Sheffield, near to a scrap yard. Again a part was broken. The AA man suggested buying a part from the scrapyard, which he fitted. Again saving me money and inconvenience.

As I've had such good service both times, I don't hesitate to pay my membership fee.

I'm with the AA. Personally I can say they have been exceptional on more than one occasion.

Picture this, I had to pick up my brother in law from Manchester airport on new years day. It was around 10pm on the M62 when the wipers packed in.

Now, I called the AA, who asked if there were children with me.
I said yes, my two kids were with me.

I couldn't believe how fast they responded. As it was new years day...

Anyway, they towed us off the hard shoulder and as he couldn't fix the problem there, we were towed home.

Strangely, the kids were loving it..???


Ps I arranged for someone else to pick up my bro-in-law.

i am with the rac and have called them out 3 times in a year! (i now have a new car) one problem was the battery connection had broken and they fixed that and also told me i had a serious oil leak! 2nd time my altanator belt had snapped and he droveme to halfords for the part and fitted it saving me loads on labour at a garage. 3rd time my wheel had seized and they came and loosened it and fixed the problem. every call out was within an hour and i only have the basic :D :clap:

Dad's car is with Greenflag, but touch wood, we haven't had to call them out, so I can hardly comment upon their service.

:)

I was with the AA for many years and on the few occasions I used them had excellent service.
My problem was the membership fee which jumped considerably each year ( last year over 20% increase ).

I decided, rightly or wrongly, that the fee included many services that I personally didn't use - eg insurance, hotel reservations etc that I found cheaper elsewhere anyway so changed to Green Flag.

Touch wood, I've not had to use them yet so am hoping it wasn't the wrong decision, and after reading steevie/d's post will double check my cover. ;)

One point to mention is that the AA cover the person not the car which could work out better if you've the use of more than one car. Either that or when you do go on longer journeys take a passenger who's an AA member. :heyhey:

Well I've decided to renew at the basic level.

I'm still annoyed though that a newcomer gets the same cover nearly £20 cheaper than an existing member :rant:

Originally posted by Mo
Well I've decided to renew at the basic level.

I'm still annoyed though that a newcomer gets the same cover nearly £20 cheaper than an existing member :rant:

you recognise that it's cheaper not to renew but you've done it anyway?

I always phone them, tell them i'm not renewing, and then join again on the website. Although this year i've gone with the AA as it worked out cheaper for the joint option.

Originally posted by Cyclone
you recognise that it's cheaper not to renew but you've done it anyway?



I strongly suspect that there will be a clause preventing you from opting out and rejoining within a specific period of time.

Originally posted by Mo
I strongly suspect that there will be a clause preventing you from opting out and rejoining within a specific period of time.

I just told you that I do it every year. There is no such clause, and it probably wouldn't be legally enforceable if there were.

Originally posted by Cyclone
I just told you that I do it every year.

Shame you didn't tell me that 5 days ago ;)

Originally posted by Mo
Shame you didn't tell me that 5 days ago ;)

sorry. Oh well, you'll know for next year.

Although presuming that you paid by credit card over the phone, you can cancel the service within 14 days at no cost to yourself (as long as you haven't called them out).
Then join again tomorrow over the web (you get a web discount as well as new member discount).

A fairly basic membership of the AA comes with my current account through Lloyds TSB.

Whilst the monthly charge of £7 might seem quite high for a current account (there are other benefits), I soon benefitted from this 'perk' when, having driven through dense fog to York and having arrived in bright sunshine, I left my car lights on overnight. I called Membership Services and had an AA bloke out within the hour. This was within the first month of having upgraded my account, so I felt well pleased with this.

But quite how extensive this cover is I don't know, not without consulting my account information, but I think as far as a 'perk' goes, it's a pretty good idea!

Originally posted by Ousetunes
A fairly basic membership of the AA comes with my current account through Lloyds TSB.

Whilst the monthly charge of £7 might seem quite high for a current account (there are other benefits), I soon benefitted from this 'perk' when, having driven through dense fog to York and having arrived in bright sunshine, I left my car lights on overnight. I called Membership Services and had an AA bloke out within the hour. This was within the first month of having upgraded my account, so I felt well pleased with this.

But quite how extensive this cover is I don't know, not without consulting my account information, but I think as far as a 'perk' goes, it's a pretty good idea!
Get my AA cover "free" with the tsb also.This cover doesn't include homestart,but tell them the car is at the end of your road and they don't question it, used them a few times,so i have had my moneys worth, can't really fault the service either,they ring and send a text when they are on their way, giving you chance to finish your drink, leave the pub and return to your stricken vehicle (after consuming soft drinks naturally):thumbsup:

I always get cover for around £40 per year. I alternate between the AA and RAC each year in order to keep my yearly fee low. :)

Was with Brittannia rescue got the 50% discount. Had a crash approximatley 1.5 miles away from homw the car would drive and the hazard lights worked. It cost me the discount just for them to escort me home with the trucks lights flashing.

I've been a member of the AA for years and I've only ever used them a couple of times.

i use autoaid, £29 for a year, gives recovery to any uk place (go with the aa and you'll be charged £80+ for teh same cover). Employs local garages to come and see you, so the liklihood is that you wont be waining long.
Might you, it's a little fight club, the first rule of auto aid is....
anyway, people can find a phone number on teh internet if they look, but there's no specific website.

Hi all

Im a recovery company based in south yorkshire my fees are very low

My prices are on my website with no hidden costs

thats for those of you that dont have cover

but those of you that dont have it

thanks for looking

I did once call AA out when i was a member for a water pump in my BMW they came within 30 mins towed me to my partners parents house as my house was just that bit to far, (one mile to far)

Also i called them out for a motorbike breakdown, they sent a guy from a local garage who said "motorbikes i havent a clue but i will have a look" needless to say i was not impressed as where i broke down was a biker place and it was packed by the time they got to us it was about empty

Anyway after a nasty phone call to the AA guess what a AA guy turned up. A motorbike expert due to his own hobbies, but the first guy was still having a go and got it running

What i did missout was that the first guy brought a motorbike trailer ( looks positive doesnt it hahaha)

I rode home no problems still to this day the bike runs great

I was an AA member. I was riding along the Buckingham bypass and the chain on my bike broke. (Fortunately it broke as I stopped ata roundabout.) I called the AA.

AA: "How do you know the chain is broken?"
Me: "It's lying on the road behind the bike."
AA: "Oh, we can fix the chain."
Me: (Wishing to stay alive for just a little longer) "No you cannot! It needs a new chain."
AA: "We'll send out a recovery vehicle."

40 Minutes later, along comes an AA vehicle (not capable of recovering the bike)
AA Man: "We needed to see what sort of bike it was"
Me: "I'd already told you that. What part of "1996 Triumph Thunderbird" was so hard to understand? When will the recovery arrive?"
AA Man: "It will be here very soon."

5 hours later a recovery vehicle arrived. The guy driving it said: "I'd gone back to the shop to tidy up and I saw the message from the AA. - Fortunately for you, I'm a biker and I'm feeling in a good mood, otherwise you could've had a really long wait."

He told me that as the AA have their own recovery vehicles (but not many bike recovery vehicles) they only use recovery garages as a 'Last Resort'. Because such garages do most of their trade with other recovery sevices - many of which use them as first choice - AA callouts are treated as very low priority.

It took me 8 hours to get home. That was the end of AA membership.

Then I had recovery service through Norwich Union (before they started driving around in Viva's.) The recovery was provided by the RAC. I was living in Norfolk and I got a flint in a tyre. - Flints are a fairly common hazard between October and February, when the farmers are moving sugar beet around. The sort of flint you are likely to encounter is more like the sort of flint stone-age people used as knves or arrowheads than the sort you will find in a lighter.

I called Norwich Union recovery.

NU Man: "What appears to be the problem?"
Me: "The back tyre appears to be flat, because I've got a flint in it."
NU Man: "Ho Ho! - Well, we can fix that!"
Me: "Not very likely. I can put my thumb in the hole."
NU Man: "Are you sure it was a flint which caused the damage?"

NU man: "Where are you?"
Me: "Rocklands"
NU man: "Where's that?"
Me: On the B1077, about mid-way between Watton and Attleborough."
NU Man: "Where are they?"
Me: "Are you really Norwich Union?"
NU Man: "Yes"
Me: "Where are you?"
NU Man: "Glasgow" (It pays to deal with local firms, doesn't it?

We eventually sorted out where I was - or at least I thought we had - and he promised to send a recovery vehicle. It arrived, 3 hours later. It had taken 3 hours because he sent a vehicle from 3 counties away. Geography seems not to be a strong point with RAC.

I now have ADAC Cover. Valid worldwide, pays to take me, my family and my vehicle home. Covers all travel and incidental bills, covers the whole family in any vehicle we may happen to use.

And costs about £60 a year.

Well as if by magic

I was called out to recover a car for a local company,

the call went something like this

" Hi mate could you recover a Merc for me please from address xxxx"

"yeah no problem what is the problem with the car"

"The owner disconnected the battery shut the boot and it is now locked"

now im thinking merc key???? has a Emergency key in the hand set so off i went

once on site the key wouldnt open the door or boot O GOD i thought so called bloke who called for the recovery

He turned up and i said i could gain entry via the door but damage could be caused but he said no and that a locksmith would be called, Only to doscover the owner had AA cover

So he called the AA after 1 1/2 hour wait AA rang and said they would be 45 minutes

I left........................... already to long as i can get to any recovery in south yorkshire in 60 Minutes

HOURS LATER 20:00 i had a call from the owner to discovery the AA had just got there but they had opened the car

I then went out and collected the car for the owner and took it to a local business for inspection

So AA good for one thing but not for the speed of getting to the job in hand

And by the way im under going Vehicle Entry techinques this year now so i wont have to wait again

Thanks all
The owner then called out the AA to sort it out

This is like any insurance,a waste of money until you need it.

I have the full AA package but on the car not the driver (I only ever have use of my own car) I've called them out twice in the last year.

First one was my alternator went and the car wouldn't start and needed to be towed. They were out within 45 mins (even though I said no rush I'm at home and there is no really emergency as we're not going anywhere) They texted to tell me the engineer was close by and would be only a few minutes. Fantastic service

Second time I was heading to Scotland on my first long drive since passing my test and I came across the snake pass and just in to Glossop when my temp sensor light came on. I thought this was weird as I'd refilled all the fuel etc the night before in preperation for the long drive. Looked under the bonnet and discovered that the lid for the coolant tank had vanished. I obviously hadn't screwed it on properly when I topped it up (although the AA guys said it's not uncommon for the vibrations of the car to sometimes make it come off if it was a bit loose) Again 1 hour they were with me the phone operator also asked did I need her to contact anyone on my behalf to let them know what had happened. The repair guy went to VW for the part fixed it on and refilled the coolant, he then followed me on to the motorway just to make sure I was ok.

Excellent service I'd say def worth the money (with incidently is only £60 for the highest package as I get it with an AA Warranty)