no mate, no idea what wrong with it, can you just tow me home?

[Taff]

Who is the breakdown firm of choice for us 'shiters? The insurance of the F is up for renewal and last years had breakdown/recovery/homestart included. They have sent a renewal and it hasn't gone up for the incoming year.

 

However, I can get the same level of insurance for £100 less, so if I can get similar cover for the F for less than 100 sheet, that leaves me some more cash for my coke & hookers fund.

 

I will of course do my research but I was mildly curious as to who you are all using as between us, we probably have most base & instances covered.

 

Thanks, Taff

[Matt]

I live dangerously and have none. It wouldn't matter who I go with anyway as there's only one company around here that deals with these things so I may as well just call them direct should it come to it. Such is rural life.

[purplebargeken]

Green Flag have been fine and dandy when needed. PBIS were good for my MGF and being part of a club made it cheaper still. 

[billyboy406v6]

R A C for me, needed a bulb for the car, could not find one local so asked a patrol van that happened to be parked up at the petrol station.He fitted one and just charged for the bulb !

[Stanky]

A vote for First Call from me, they are the cheapest I've been able to find, will cover ANYTHING for the one fixed price and use local companies should the inevitable happen.

 

http://www.firstcallmotorbreakdown.co.uk/

 

I've failed to proceed a few times over the years and they have always been excellent - quick to answer the phone, polite, give you accurate ETAs for the breakdown people. The firms they subcontract to are very good as well. I can't speak highly enough of Boarhunt Garage services who seem to cover southampton to chichester and as high up as about Farnham.

 

Not had cause to use them further afield (yet)

[The Moog]

Currently with AA.

 

1st call out to flat battery took 90min and 2nd took 90 mins for small subcontractor to confirm what I told them, then another 2 hours to be towed home.

 

Think I might change come November.

 

edit: checked first call and they only cover up to 15 years old and is vehicle rather than person

[mercrocker]

I am going to say this again.   I always renew with the AA.   I know, I know, bloody expensive lalalala but they have always done me and my shite proud.    No shit from them for the one year I had to use them five times.   Full knowledge that Mrs Rocker is completely covered whatever happens to her Merc or indeed whatever other shite Mumsnet baby van bollocks she ends up travelling in for that matter.   On the whole, knowledgeable and determined technicians ( I have never had a subcontractor foisted on me by the AA) and I have absolutely no complaints.   In all other matter of life I take the view that fuck it, I wont pay any annual fees I will take it on the chin.  Not when it comes to cars being cars and letting me down when I really have got better shit to be getting on with - I just pay up every year and take the weight off my mind.

 

The ONE year I failed to renew with the AA cos I found cheaper and thought it was a good idea I put a rod through the block on my Zephyr 6 on the M3 and White Flag or Green Onions or whoever the fuck it was sent out a Renault Clio with what looked like a Halfords junior tool kit in the back.   Took six hours to get the bloody thing home with all their fucking about.   I rejoined the AA next day.

 

That is my five penny worth.   Mind you, I drive stuff that can be fixed.  Or dragged.

[barefoot]

I haven't called anyone out for a while, so this year I am with auto aid.

I might as well waste £40 with them as £140 with the RAC.

Fuck knows if they are any use.

[Richard]

Every year I look at the AA renewal price and think "HOW FUCKING MUCH?" and every year I renew with them. I'd probably have been cheaper just paying to be recovered the few times it's been required in the past 21 years but the last time I broke down, less than an hour from home, it would have cost me nearly £400- faced with a quote like that I'd have had to get the scrappie to lift it from where it was.

[chaseracer]

Britannia.

 

Not the cheapest, but haven't failed me yet.  Covers every car I own or travel in, plus same for Domestic Management, plus European cover.  And you get to speak to a cheerful Yorkshire lass when you break down - which is nice when you're blocking the A457 out of Brum...

[Tamworthbay]

I am going to say this again.   I always renew with the AA.   I know, I know, bloody expensive lalalala but they have always done me and my shite proud.    No shit from them for the one year I had to use them five times.   Full knowledge that Mrs Rocker is completely covered whatever happens to her Merc or indeed whatever other shite Mumsnet baby van bollocks she ends up travelling in for that matter.   On the whole, knowledgeable and determined technicians ( I have never had a subcontractor foisted on me by the AA) and I have absolutely no complaints.   In all other matter of life I take the view that fuck it, I wont pay any annual fees I will take it on the chin.  Not when it comes to cars being cars and letting me down when I really have got better shit to be getting on with - I just pay up every year and take the weight off my mind.

 

The ONE year I failed to renew with the AA cos I found cheaper and thought it was a good idea I put a rod through the block on my Zephyr 6 on the M3 and White Flag or Green Onions or whoever the fuck it was sent out a Renault Clio with what looked like a Halfords junior tool kit in the back.   Took six hours to get the bloody thing home with all their fucking about.   I rejoined the AA next day.

 

That is my five penny worth.   Mind you, I drive stuff that can be fixed.  Or dragged.

I have been the RAC for years but ONE year went with the AA. Coming back from France our aged VW spat a spark plug and then ate itself. They dumped us and our rather Ill camper van in a layby next to a busy duel carriageway for over six hours, no toilet, nothing and we had a two year old with us and no food. The 'relay' took over twelve hours to get from ten miles short of the M25 in Kent to Tamworth AND they damaged the van but denied it and wouldn't pay out. They claimed that the layby wasn't next to a duel carriageway but was on a service road, utter BS it had a grass verge between it and the carriageway but was no service road as it was layby not an F'ing road. Different people have different experiences but I would never ever use the AA again.

[taxi paul]

Been with the RAC for twenty odd years now. I pay £26.00 a month and that covers me and my 3 kids ,family cover or something. Its piece of mind I haven't called them out in over five years but son and daughter have used them a bit. Just a thought with my cover it covers the driver ,not car. So if my son went and bought the non starting Volvo , from ebay shite thread and went to collect it. I think he can ring them and say his car is broke and they will recover him home , otherwise known as free delivery service. Terms and conditions apply, not sure if it works cos we haven't tried yet.

[auldford]

I use Britannia myself. Had to call them out a few times in the past and they've always been pretty good.

[fairkens]

Won't use RAC again after they auto renewed my policy without my consent and then refused to refund. Financial ombudsman sorted that out, they still call me trying to get me to take a policy!

[loserone]

Following on from one of the other threads about this, I went with AutoAid for the Kia and the rest of the fleet.

 

Call out took 45 mins on the phone - I'd confirmed in the application that Mrs L1 should be covered, but they hadn't registered the policy since she didn't take my surname when we got married.  Once that was sorted, it was a straightforward call with a local contractor, who didn't charge though they should probably have done.

 

Any car, two people, 41 quid.  No brainer.

[vulgalour]

Another AA member here.  Always argue the price at renewal if you don't want extras and it will be cheaper.  They seem perplexed when all you want is breakdown and get-me-home type cover and don't want the windscreen, key cover, euro cover and all that jazz.

[Craig the Princess]

Another vote for auto aid. Renewal price £42.50 for two people on any car. Also not broken down this year so they are a lucky omen.

 

The LDV is worth First Call who have been very good in our experience.

[Bren]

Never had an issue with the AA.

 

They even recovered my motorcycle when the clutch cable snapped.

[HH-R]

Only used breakdown twice.

 

First was after a nasty crash and now had a Rover that was about three feet shorter than when it left the factory and had no coolant left (burst radiator). I was in shock and had smacked my head off the B pillar so wasn't in the greatest of moods. Remembered that I had breakdown through Natwest Advantage Gold which I think is Green Flag - they sent out a local bloke with a flatbad and he was great, wait didn't seem that long.

 

2nd time was when that shit Panda shat all of its oil out so needed recovering (should have just driven the hateful thing and seized the engine in retrospect) and had AA breakdown, waited more than three hours in the freezing cold for someone to eventually turn up. They sent a (different) local contractor. Was about 1/2 AM before the car got back and the neighbours were furious that they had been woken up (because you choose to break down like), I had called them just after 10 PM. After that got hassled with letters and phonecalls about upgrading to Relay cover. I'm still with them because they gave me a year gratis but nowadays I just take the risk that I'm not gonna break down.

[beko1987]

I keep my jack and socket set in the boot. If that fails to sort the problem there's always a lighter in the centre console...

[Dave_Q]

I use rescuemycar.com, will cover vehicles after 1990, basic cover is sub £20 but has a £40 excess if you call them out.

 

I think I paid about £35 this year which is national recovery with no excess.

 

The first year I had it with the excess I called them out twice, so probs would have been better paying the extra in the first place.

 

They use the same local types as everyone else, and had no issue recovering me from near Kettering back to W.Yorks.

[Forty-two]

Another advocate of the AA. 

 

Broke down on Ashby high street one Sunday evening, AA van came out and we figured the car would need recovery home to Bristol, but we were staying at the in laws that night nearby.  He towed to the in laws, arranged for a forward recovery home for the following morning.

 

It sounds simple but its little bits like this that make the difference when you are stuck with a broken motor. 

[inconsistant]

I generally try to avoid any big name/monopoly type companies and object to the AA and RACs blinkered pro car stance (because roads are for people, not cars yeah?) so we use the ETA (Environmental Transport Association) and by use I mean use rather than belong to.

Twice so far in the 924 this year, and once with the v40 a couple of years ago.

No worse than the AA or green flag I've used in the past, about £100 a year for both cars on a take you home policy. The v40 split a hose in York 300 miles from home so they fixed it.

[mat_the_cat]

I'm with Flux Rescue, which was a pretty cheap add-on to the insurance. Only had to use them the once, and all went as it should. The only point to note was that they accepted my diagnosis of not roadside repairable, and got their contractor to send out a flatbed straight away. Rather than send out a van for them to assess it first.

[SambaS]

AA...and Lancaster Recovery on the Samba Syle for Jack

[Alexg]

I have AA relay. I've been a member for 4 years just before I bought the Allegro. I had to call them out for the very first time last month, when the 2 year old Vx Insignia I was driving broke down...

[sloth]

shiters, if you have a credit cvard, check the terms, most now have recoery bundled in with its benefits.....

[rainagain]

I’ve been with the AA for years, before that I was with the RAC, whilst with the RAC I changed cars from a Clio to a Mk1 Punto and forgot to tell them (my fault I know), my Punto then died thanks to a faulty crank sensor, I called the RAC and they refused to attend unless I paid ~£50 to have the car changed on my policy there and then. I said no way this was shocking and almost as much as the whole policy cost, worst bit was she ended the call with “anything else I can help you withâ€Â, well recovery without a massive charge would be nice.

 

AA since then have been excellent, after the Megane shat its engine I took out the parts and labour cover which was great as it paid for a new alternator and a new battery for it. What I used to do was take out a new policy each year and alternate it in either my name or my OH’s as a new customer each time and claim cash back through quidco. However this year I’ve taken cover out with startrescue.co.uk, only £60 to cover both cars for breakdown and UK wide relay, which is pretty good. Fingers crossed they are ok otherwise its back to the AA.

[EssDeeWon]

My RAC renewal has come through this morning, a jump from £9 p/m to nearly £12

 

As I have the time I am going to call them.........and watch them reduce it again, but this time I might just tell em to FRO, I am fed up with these hyped renewals only to find out they can do it cheaper if you ask....

[Tartan58]

I was with the AA for years and never had to use them but they started taking the piss with their renewals (always managed to beat them down with a phone call before) so changed to Greenflag - would not recommend!!

 

Had to call them out back in January when the Octavia died (stupid little engine sensor failure causing the engine management to shut the car down - modenrz iz shite etc...) leaving me, my wife and our 6 month old twins on the side of a busy dual carriageway with no hard shoulder with temperatures around zero - explained our situation to the operator stressing that we were in a dangerous location with children and it still took them almost 2 hours to get someone to us (ended up being towed by the police to the next services). This was the Edinburgh Bypass not exactly the middle of nowhere.

 

Now I don't know if the AA/RAC would be any better but naivety I'd like to think they would be.

 

Recently took out AA cover again (despite still having 6 months of greenflag cover to run) as I wasn't prepared to take another risk especially if the wife and boys were in the car without me there.

 

Check out the deals available, I got the full package (roadside, relay, homestart, onward travel etc.) for something like £25 for a year...here's how:

 

AA Price £150

Quidco cashback £50

AA were also offering £75 fuel card

 

Can't argue with that!

 

So now we're covered by both, if we have a breakdown again I'm tempted to call them both out and see who gets there first - better still to tell them that I've also called the other and see how much they want my business next year!

Knowing my luck they'd probably both assume the other would come and I'd end up sitting there forever!