Breakdown waiting time guess

[95 quid Peugeot]

Got a puncture on the rear. It's a run flat (20")  

I'll buy a beer for the closest to guess pick up time.  I've been with autonet for a decade,  always been spot on really quick turn out, however on ringing them it seems they now outsource to ......RAC 🫣

Breakdown called in 17.50

[barefoot]

18:51

[Asimo]

If it is a runflat, why is it a breakdown?

[95 quid Peugeot]

Apparently they won't recover,  going to be have a look, the call a mobile fitter

[95 quid Peugeot]

This, most odd.   Tyre pressure warning came on pulled over ti check with 1/4 mile

[Zelandeth]

Based purely on my experience with the RAC - around midnight.

[95 quid Peugeot]

I was going for 11 only as I thought they wouldn't be busy

[Rocket88]

1 minute ago, Zelandeth said:

Based purely on my experience with the RAC - around midnight.

2027

[Zelandeth]

2 minutes ago, Rocket88 said:

2027

Well I was going for when they make the first appearance - as in a guy in a van appearing, muttering "that's fucked, will need a fucking wagon." after which you then have to wait around another six hours.

[Low ontime]

No can of glue and tyre air compresser in the car to make it a daylight job? 
 

thought most Audis had that… 

useless for a gaping hole but might get you home if just a regular puncture…

[Cavcraft]

11 minutes ago, Rocket88 said:

2027

I'll go with three minutes later, 20.30.

[hairnet]

runflat

audi

floor it

[rusty_vw_man]

If you are male, by yourself and somewhere they deem safe then you’re low risk. Grim wet night (here at least) and you’ll be waiting for one of their vans with either the ‘universal spare’, puncture repair or one of their mobile tyre fitters…. 

17:50 call in. They don’t believe it is a puncture as you are a moron and clearly can’t be expected to understand technical things like tyres  

18:57 bloke on electric moped appears to verify it is flat 

19:22 confirms tyre is flat, but strangely his tiny top box doesn’t actually contain a spare

19:30 proper help summoned

20:35 something apparently more suitable arrives. 

20:45 for some reason never fully explained they are not actually the right person to deal with it, so they ‘escalate it’

21:00 ‘escalation’ accepted

22:40 a full size lorry recovery wagon arrives. Loads you up in thirty seconds, but can only take you around 28% of the way to wherever it is you want to go. It’s the rules mate, bloody EU. 

23:47 you are dropped at a services/layby 

00:14 you message your loved ones, suspecting you may never get to see any of them again. You consider walking the 60 miles home. 

02:32 after several false hopes your new sub contract driver rocks up, loads you up and takes you home. His wagon has been to the moon twice, and the smell of old fag smoke competes with the smell of feet and BO. It is hotter than the sun as he assumes you must be cold after your night time adventures. His one handed driving whilst texting keeps you alert.

03:56 you arrive home, are off loaded and you are left, strangely awake, sittting on the shitter (it’s been a long evening!) browsing eBay and market place for cars with full size spares. 

04:22 as you drift off to sleep you have a vague thought that the last place you saw your locking wheel nut key was balanced on the top box of that first RAC moped…. You drift off, safe in the knowledge that you’re sure it was put back in the glove box really……

well that’s my experience anyway. Good luck. 

[rusty_vw_man]

For some reason this has popped into my head 

 

[New POD]

If this particular Facebook group is to be believed 26 hours.  They will damage your car, loose 2 of the wheel nuts, and you will eventually see your car again in December. 

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3428921720668193/?ref=share

[stuboy]

the driver left at 1960.................................

[95 quid Peugeot]

2 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

I'll go with three minutes later, 20.30.

Your error of inserting the point between the Zero and the 3 makes you the unexpected winner.

I got an update that they were going to be another 3 hours, and would still be a tyre fitter.

I called a place in Royston near to where I was, they couldn't assist but gave me a company 30 miles away,  however they pitched up 40 mins later, with tyre fitted it and I was away at 8.26. My decade of autonet breakdown has been without issue,  first time since outsourced to RAC..... cluster fuck,  If I was relying on RAC they still wouldn't of pitched up

[Stuew]

My stepdad gave up after 30 hrs, walked to the rail station & got the train home. 
His car  arrived shortly thereafter, Judge in County Court ordered a £3000 refund , subsequently. 
He didn’t renew with RAC.

[Metal Guru]

I’ve actually had the recovery vehicle needing help once. November 1983.

5pm Came out of work. Car (1 year old Fiesta) wouldn’t start.

5.10 Called National Breakdown 

5.45 Van arrives from a local garage.

6.15 Mechanic can’t get it started., arranges recovery

7 pm Recovery lorry turns up , we’re on our way by 7.15.

7.30 pm Approaching Dartford Tunnel ( pre-bridge days), lorry suffers a blow out. Credit to driver for controlling it but narrowly avoided brown underpants.

Driver can’t change the wheel as it’s wedged against a kerb.

8.30 pm Tyre truck turns up. Fitter takes more than an hour and a half to change the wheel due to proximity to kerb.

10pm on the road again, get home at 11pm after dropping the car at a garage at the end of ny road. Whole journey normally took 1 hour.

[comfortablynumb]

I've said before, after an RAC callout, to his car in a dangerous position, MK1 son waited for me to complete a 100 mile journey, go home, strip a lift pump off another engine, get to him, fit it and he drove home 

Still no sign of the RAC, and no callback either, despite repeated calls from him 🤬

Police weren't exactly helpful either 

[Somerset Suffolk]

here's a picture of the RAC control centre M4/M6 interchange Bristol - all the cars in the car park are waiting for recovery ...... 

Edited November 6, 2025 by Somerset Suffolk
being a numpty ...

[Metal Guru]

5 hours ago, Somerset Suffolk said:

here's a picture of the RAC control centre M5/M6 interchange Bristol - all the cars in the car park are waiting for recovery ......

M4/M5. M5/M6 is Walsall.

[busmansholiday]

Mrs BMH's Peugeot broke down at 08:15 on the four lane bit of the M1 between MK and Northampton.

18.00 the RAC dropped her off back home in the people's Republic.

When their renewal came through it had gone up dramatically so I rang them and gave them some "strong" words of advice about their service*. They dropped the renewal by almost 50%. 

Keeping my fingers crossed I don't need them again.

[Somerset Suffolk]

9 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

M4/M5. M5/M6 is Walsall.

yep my bad ! though the RAC don't know the difference ....

[95 quid Peugeot]

As covered by me previously up the thread and in numerous occasions when people were asking for breakdown cover recommendations,  I'd always said autonet had been spot on for the last decade,  now they've been outsourced to the RAC total clusterfuck. The person on the call didn't even know they did autonet policies 

[Somerset Suffolk]

modern life is a bit shit really - still, AI will make everything better .........