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

[xtriple]

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....

AA do exactly the same thing and it really bloody annoys me. Every year I consider sacking them off but they beg and plead and reduce the price so I stay.

[Taff]

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)

 

clear winner, here. Just spoken to them, no restriction on vehicle age or annual mileage. The vehicle must be serviced every 12 months (they are happy to accept home servicing as long as receipts for parts are made available for audit if requested.

 

snipped from their website:-

 

The Platinum Plus Policy includes:

* Home Assistance

* Local and National Recovery options

* Hotel Accommodation

* Up to 72 hours Car Hire

* Running Out of Fuel Cover

* Lost Keys Cover (provided by KeyBack)

 

£57 a year.

[wuvvum]

AA are expensive but have been good for me so far - they send out proper mechanics who actually know what a carburettor is, and had the Innocenti fixed and on my way within 20 minutes when it broke down a few weeks ago.  They're usually fairly accurate with their ETAs too. 

 

They've pissed me off a couple of times - once when I broke down on a bike on the A127 and ran out of credit before the call was finished, so they didn't send anyone.  This would have been understandable, except that they had my membership number, my location, my vehicle reg, and the only bit of the call that was left was the standard safety spiel about exiting your vehicle by the nearside doors (yeah, cheers luv, I'll be sure to get out of the nearside door of my GS500, GR9 advice).  I hung around for 45 minutes before I realised they weren't coming, then had to wander off across some fields and borrow a phone off a pikey to call them again.

 

The other time was when the water pump seized on the Range Rover.  I called them and told them the water pump had seized and I needed a tow home.  They sent out a chap in a Vivaro, who took two minutes to confirm that, yes, the water pump had seized and I needed a tow home - by something bigger than a Vivaro.  It then took another hour and a half for a contractor to get to me - on Asda car park in Norwich, so not exactly out in the sticks.

 

Having said that, I was with the RAC for a year when I ran out of "lives" with the AA, and the one time I broke down (snapped prop on a 635CSi), they took three and a half hours to get to me on the Norwich ring road (and then sent out a subcontractor who swore blind that the clutch had gone).

 

I don't think any of them are perfect, but the AA have been mostly OK for me, and I've used them quite a lot...

[Slartibartfast]

I've been with both RAC and Green Flag and unfortunately in my short driving time I've had to make extensive use of both. See username for more details.

First car insured with RAC was a 98 Megane. Never mechanically let me down but the headlight-left-on bonger was broken and so I flattened the battery a comical number of times. Towards the end of its life the bonnet catch on one side had become very sticky and then eventually broke, RAC chap had to jack the car up and start it from underneath on one occasion. Was impressed with his resourcefulness. Never had any problem with their level of service.

 

When switching to a Ford Tourneo I had to switch insurance providers, and as the breakdown cover was bundled I switched to Green Flag instead. They rarely use their own patrols, tending mostly to contract out to local firms. Still, can't really complain.

 

Incident 1: clutch death at the bottom of the M25 before even getting the vehicle home after taking ownership. Had only taken insurance policy out that morning. Breakdown cover did not technically cover me for recovery to my home within the first 24 hours, but as I was not advised of this on the phone they elected to recover me home anyway quite a fair distance and did not charge me the >£100 it should have cost.

Incident 2: stranded on the side of the A3 due to undetermined mechanical shenanigns causing engine to cut out. Again, was recovered home late at night despite them sending the wrong sort of vehicle (they sent a standard size van which was about the same size as the Tourneo). Somehow the guy managed to get it on the fold-out towing thing. Hilariously dangerous, I still have flashbacks. But I got home.

Incident 3: catastophic turbo failure not far from Warwick while en route to Birmingham. Car was full (Nine fine folks in all). Cover technically only covered six passengers. Again, late at night. Said to person on phone that I realised that we were only covered for six passengers, and I was quite prepared to get myself a taxi (from Warwick to Brum ... yeek) but if they could perhaps send a larger vehicle I'd be very grateful. They sent three separate vehicles all told and got us all to our destination. I'd say they went above and beyond.

 

I certainly got my money's worth.

 

That said, I would advise against getting cover bundled with your insurance. If for some reason you cancel your insurance (e.g. sell or scrap the car) then the cover goes with it and you get no refund if you've used the cover already.

[brickwall]

Start Rescue..although I haven't had to use them. I was with Autonational before and they were very good.

[outlaw118]

AA here too....just.

 

like everyone has said, beware the Autorenew, and the minute the letter hits the doormat, get on the interweb - Moneysupermarket et al, and do some research. AA still labour under the impression that the general public are idiots and can't be arsed to do their homework.

This year when the renewal came in it was +£75 since last year, despite not having called them out; remember it's personal membership too, so they couldn't even use the excuse that Mrs_Outlaw's Fiesta is a year older, and THAT SPANISH BASTARD was due to implode! Like Mr Vulgalour I rang them, and despite the nice lady's best efforts, I told them I don't want key cover, or hire cars, or blah blah, and that RAC could cover me to a required level for £60 less. So that's what I paid.

 

Experience-wise, pretty good to be fair, not had to call them much - the last time was on holiday this year when TSB decided to ditch it's exhaust in Ilfracoombe High Street. They were there within 20 minutes,k couple of bolts and some native swearing, I was on my way 15 minutes later. Previous to that was a breakdown on the M25, in my Escort, they sent a recovery truck within 30 minutes, who towed me off the motorway, and then I waited an hour for a man in a van. Still, diagnosed the problem, on my way quickly. He followed me home too, just to make sure it didn't shit itself again.

 

However, Ma and Pa_Outlaw had a poor experience, their newly purchased Fusion flattened it's battery while visiting an aunt. The fan was cutting in, and staying on. AA sent a contractor, Dynes, who stuck a jump-pack on it and fried it's ECU. Well, accidents happen and all that. The car was relayed back to Dagenham Motors in Kent, and thats where the real problem started - ie, who was going to pay. It went to and fro for an unneccearily long time, causing much agg. In my view the AA or Dynes should have paid for the ECU and the fan thing was covered under warranty, but Dagenham motors sent them a bill for over £1500. twats.

[New POD]

Broke down on the M57 this very morning at 5:40 am and the RAC sent a firm from the Wirral who arrived with recovery truck, but no attempt to fix the snapped alternator/water pump belt. Arrived at 6:58 am It was pitch black windy and raining. Nice.

[Barry Cade]

T'other side to all this. Everyone expects priority, a fully equipped breakdown truck that can handle everything from a CX on it's knees to a LWB Daily overloaded from a beer run to France. A fully time served mechanic with a magic box full of specialist diagnostic tools and fresh as a daisy not having been called out after 14 hours on the road. 1 truck to take you from Cornwall to Ullapool whilst you snore in the back, forgetting about driver hours and the fact the driver has to turn around and get home to his wife and kids himself...

 

The more you drive down prices, the less gets invested in staff and equipment, the less motivated the man to help you out, and you end up getting shite service. Would you run a business where you need an 80 grand truck,tools, insurance,specialist clothing,communication systems and fuel and get woken up at 2 am to go out in the pissing rain and howling gales to change an offside wheel on the inside lane of the M20 for 40 quid from the big shareholder driven firm who take a month to pay the little guy, and argue,even then.

 

You gets what you pay for... If these firms didn't exist, work out the cost of getting your local dealer to send a man out to provide this service. £100+ per hour for the man just for a start. 8am-5pm.

 

Someone else's blog, who has been in the industry for a long,long time...

 

"

After last month once again dealing with poor rates and trying to elaborate a little on how things could be improved, I have had one or two encouraging conversations with work providers, but as yet we have not seen any £ signs.  Despite some criticism I still hold the view that anybody arriving from another world would never know that there are six or seven groups of people supposed to be looking after us and are still doing nothing. 

After discussing the poor rate of remuneration, another situation has now arisen which in many ways is far more serious, and that is the unavailability of staff willing to work in the Breakdown and Recovery Industry. 

I have recently had first-hand experience of this when I had three members of staff go off on longish-term sick and, despite spending hundreds of pounds on advertising, I got absolutely no response, even before I mentioned the poor rate of pay.  Checking our records, when we last advertised for Breakdown staff in 2006 we had 44 applicants for one job and were, quite frankly, spoilt for choice before we selected somebody who has stayed with us ever since.  The need for a Driver’s CPCC does not help as in past years Breakdown staff would come from Workshop staff fed up with fitting the likes of brake pipes to old cars, etc.

But now the smooth transition of a day or two on the road as a taster is gone, reinforcing the point that Roadside Assistance and Local Recovery should never have been in the CPCC Mode (main work not driving, etc.)

 

So what, I ask, is the real reason for people not wanting to work in our Industry.  It is undoubtedly the money that we have to play with and also, by and large, the job is vast and varied.  

But I think the real answer came when I was talking to a friend of mine who is the Senior  Orthopaedic Surgeon at a large hospital and who is also involved with the British Medical Council.  He told me they put out a comprehensive questionnaire to 20,000 trainee doctors.  The questions were vast and various: he did not go into too much detail but he did challenge me to guess the answer to the following question.  “What do you think will be the worst job you will have to do when you are a qualified doctor?†

He went on to explain that he expected some of the answers to be telling people they are going to die; or have cancer; or their child is going to die.  But no: the universal answer to this question was: “Having to work weekends.†

I was so taken aback I spilled my fish and chips; and then I thought, what chance do we stand when these are people who will earn £40,000 to £100,000 a year, when my staff are lucky to earn around £25,000.

 

So the reason we cannot get any staff is undoubtedly people do not want to work nights and weekends.  I think nights after 10 o’clock in particular are a real cause for concern.  I am told, hopefully accurately, that the AA and RAC have no trouble getting patrols because they can go to bed each night.  But worse news for us is the big trend in society of people not putting job satisfaction first before other things like short working week and too much time off and not to mention that work must be sitting at a computer terminal. 

I love to go back and re-visit the old times, but in those days people had a passion for the job which I think still remains with many of us but is definitely disappearing with the new generation.  Just like the old GP who would get up in the middle of the night and go to an ill patient living miles away and then going back to bed.

 

Some months ago I remember seeing an initiative by ERRI and, I think, some Government Departments to try to get more people into our Industry.  It would be touch and go whether America lands a man on Mars before we can attract new staff to help with our work.  Fifteen years ago our Breakdown staff were earning one-and-a-half to twice what a mechanic was getting in a Main Dealer.  So that was quite an incentive to do the job: we all know now it is the other way round. 

I don’t want to go on like a cracked record but before we can start to get people we are going to have to be paid the rate to allow us to correctly remunerate people working unsociable hours. 

I have not yet mentioned the working conditions, which however good they are now at 3 a.m. it will never be as good as a doctor attending a patient in an upstairs bedroom of a centrally heated house. 

So, like last month’s explanation of rates, this one is well out of our hands and back in the hands of work providers.  If they want us to be present looking after their members, not next week or the week after but in the future, they are going to have to provide some sort of contribution to the future or for many Operators there won’t be one. "

[320touring]

I was with RAC. full bells and whistles for her and I was 27 a month.

 

jacked it in.

 

took it out again due to impending cx collection -17 a month! Put it straight to the test:)

[oldcars]

Im with Freeway i think, its arranged with my insurance. They have been great, recovering me home from Middlesburgh once. Epic collection not. 

[Joey spud]

I have worked for the Orange mob for nearly 15 years and the industry has changed massively.

Some Breakdown cover is virtually given away with insurance deals and bank accounts it is in my opinion is totally devalued,basic cover for £27.99 pays for a patrol to attend 365 days a year 24/7 that is peanuts.

 

Yes there are stories of mega fuck ups and shite service,things do go wrong,people fuck up its called life.

Moving forward there is a shortage of guys wanting to do the job basic 40hr money isn't much better than a dealer tech can earn doing a 40 hr week in a nice heated workshop.

We have had over a hundred patrols quit this year and cant recruit the right guys to replace them,its dangerous out on the side of the roads in all hours,there are some total bellends driving around.

 

Then you have the owners both us and the yellow lot have share holders to keep happy with us its the Yanks who are greed driven and they want the tills ringing non stop so as well as trying to fix stuff you are constantly trying to reach unrealistic sales targets with the threat of action plans if you dont keep your figures in the green.

 

As for recommending a provider,no idea see if you can get it through your bank account just make sure it has full recovery entitlement and not just a ten mile tow.

[Stroller133]

Is it really the consumers driving rates down? I suspect it's the insurance company's or call management type people. Until this year we had 10 years without a call out, usually paying about £100 a year for roadside, recovery & at home, always on a promotional deal where "list price" was £150 - 180. In any event if i'd saved my £1000 how many times could I have called out a firm direct to attend scene and either spend an hour fixing the car or taking it 20 miles home?

 

I nearly didn't bother this year, over the previous 10 years there was once when an alternator failed and we left the car in a pub car park and went back ourselves and a couple of non starts at home, both battery failures, that I sorted myself. Luckily I went with Start rescue and have needed them twice, both times I would never of got it sorted on my own, one timing chain failure the other a 150A starter fuse. Still suspect that each event would have cost less than £550.

[mat_the_cat]

T'other side to all this. Everyone expects priority, a fully equipped breakdown truck that can handle everything from a CX on it's knees to a LWB Daily overloaded from a beer run to France. A fully time served mechanic with a magic box full of specialist diagnostic tools and fresh as a daisy not having been called out after 14 hours on the road. 1 truck to take you from Cornwall to Ullapool whilst you snore in the back, forgetting about driver hours and the fact the driver has to turn around and get home to his wife and kids himself...

 

The more you drive down prices, the less gets invested in staff and equipment, the less motivated the man to help you out, and you end up getting shite service.

 

Very good points. Trouble is, do you ever know whether you are paying more for a better service, or just making more profit for the shareholders...?

 

I'd be interested in a scheme (which may already exist) where you pay a basic membership fee, and then pay a reduced flat rate (i.e. less than cost - say £50) for any call outs. That way the person who rarely uses the cover saves money, the recovery firm would find it easier to budget and you'd get less people disabling their car to save petrol on a long journey home... I've even heard stories of people hammering the brake pipes flat to make the brakes stick on!

[andrew e]

I don't envy any roadside patrol really, the £ to death ratio can't make good reading. 13/14 years ago I was servicing generators of all sizes, but my firm had a contract powering the Gatso's sat inside the contra flow on the M25. Trust me joing the motorway in a Transit without a turbo (but full pikey 180 SWB dream spec) from a standstill was bad enough, but working bent double in generator canopies feet from truckers hammering past was awfull - the other fitters used to solvent clean the oil and fuel filters and stick "next service in 400 hours sticker" on, stupidly I serviced them properly.

 

I liked the job generally (went to some really obscure places, still have far to many 11mm spanners!) but that contract I hated, eventually it was the job that led me to having the traditional stand off barney and emptying my tools from the van moment

[ian&mary]

ADAC - they're German so you have to ring Germany but they speak good technical English and they'll recover just about anything from just about anywhere which is why I went with them - ie if the '56 Caddy breaks down in Switzerland towing a caravan they'll get us back to the UK.

V popular with campervanners, costs us €80 a year.

Only used them once when the turbo ate itself on the M25 at midnight and no problems (they send the AA/RAC for UK breakdowns).

[Taff]

clear winner, here. Just spoken to them, no restriction on vehicle age or annual mileage. The vehicle must be serviced every 12 months (they are happy to accept home servicing as long as receipts for parts are made available for audit if requested.

 

snipped from their website:-

 

The Platinum Plus Policy includes:

* Home Assistance

* Local and National Recovery options

* Hotel Accommodation

* Up to 72 hours Car Hire

* Running Out of Fuel Cover

* Lost Keys Cover (provided by KeyBack)

 

£57 a year.

 

bad form to quote yourself, but I have been looking at this again.

 

Auto Aid, full cover, me or my vehicle (except the Galaxie) £41 per annum. This is a pay and claim system though.

RAC, Roadside, Recovery & At Home, 2 cars (F & X) £127 per annum reduced to £67 per annum using Quidco. not pay and claim

 

Anyone used AutoAid? It looks a clear winner but the "allure" of a big name company is appealing, although based on the last 12 months, I wouldn't have had cause to ring them

[J-Rod]

Been with the AA for years - had pretty much solid service apart from two occasions, one where the guy just could not be bothered having to deal with an 18 year old and his 106 (he said "yeah, it's broken but I need to be at a meeting so see ya..." and left) and the other was when the clutch went on my Bravo one night and an angry mute came out to assist. Dumped me at home and then left again without a word. Didn't even bother to confirm that it was the clutch (though it was painfully obvious). Had to call them again the next morning to sort getting it to a garage. 

 

All that was tempered by the chap who came out to sort the alternator on the Bini. Turned up, diagnosed it, got it started, ran it round to his usual garage in the area, all sorted. Couldn't have been more helpful. He did seem quite grateful not to be changing a tyre on the side of the A1 on what was a cold and wet day. 

[doobietoo]

Another vote for the AA here purely because they cover me not the car so if MrsD or I are ever stuck whether in our own car or someone elses we can get home...

[Taff]

Auto Aid. No age limit on the car, me and my spouse covered on any car we use for a year

 

 

 

AutoAid Breakdown wide-ranging cover includes:

 

Roadside assistance

We will arrange help at the scene of the breakdown and will arrange and reimburse any call-out fees and labour charges needed to start your car.

Car and passenger recovery service to any UK destination

If your car can’t be repaired at the scene of the breakdown, we will arrange and reimburse any reasonable cost of taking the car, you and up to 5 passengers from the place where the car has broken down to any UK destination of your choice.

Home breakdowns

If your breakdown occurs at your home, we will arrange help and reimburse any call-out fees and labour charges needed to start the vehicle. If the car can’t be repaired quickly at the scene of the breakdown, we will reimburse the reasonable cost of taking the car to the nearest available garage. The maximum reimbursement under this benefit is ONLY £65.

Emergency travel or overnight accommodation

If, following a breakdown occurring more than 25 miles from home, your car can't be repaired at the roadside or at a garage during the same day and is not recovered to your home or destination, we will refund the cost of onward travel arrangements or the cost of one night’s accommodation for you and up to 5 passengers in a hotel near to where the vehicle has broken down†.

Cover for caravans and small trailers

If your vehicle breaks down, any attached caravan or small trailer will be entitled to the same service as the vehicle as long as it's attached to the vehicle by a standard 50 millimetre (2 inch) towing coupling.

Cover for theft and vandalism

If your car is stolen and recovered, or can’t be driven as a result of damage caused by vandalism, we will refund the cost of taking the vehicle to your home address or to a repairer of your choice.

Message service

If you’ve had a breakdown and help is arranged by the Rescue Control Centre, they can contact your family or colleagues to let them know about the breakdown.

All for just £41 a year!

How does AutoAid breakdown cover work?

 

 

 

online reviews were ok, so why not? The £20 saved will go towards some coke & hookers

[anonymous user]

Auto Aid. No age limit on the car, me and my spouse covered on any car we use for a year

 

 

 

 

online reviews were ok, so why not? The £20 saved will go towards some coke & hookers

Do they know how often you change your car spouse?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I've been with the RAC for 30 years , for the last few years we've paid using Tesco Clubcard points and have full ,breakdown,recovery and onward travel etc for me,Mrs and daughters . We've more than had our money's worth ,one way or another every year.

Last Saturday ,my youngest's Arosa was misfiring, I was working so she called the RAC from a drive through Starbucks- the patrol arrived in 15 mins, diagnosed a dodgy lead, fitted one from his box, plugged in his laptop switched off the EML and checked all the fluids etc. basically a service for fuck all

My Mrs had met up with her and was so impressed she bought him a coffee, she wouldn't have done that for me.

 

Apart from that this year I had my BMW recovered 150 miles when the camchain snapped, I was taken home with the car then they moved it to a garage the next morning,you can't argue with the service or value of proper breakdown cover.