If you don't venture away from home much, home start is probably worth it. With the RAC, it applies within a quarter of a mile radius of your home - any closer and you're expected to get out and walk otherwise.
I am (I think, haven't checked if the policy has renewed) with the RAC and they were excellent on the two occasions I needed to use them.
As for which one to go for - I don't think any of the services is noticeably worse than the others; certainly there are horror stories but they all seem to be the exception rather than the rule.
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How about checking your insurance company - mine does a breakdown recovery policy - this may work out reasonable for you if yours does too (or look into it if renewal time is close)
They just call out whoever is nearerst to you when you break down, it may be one of the big names, or it may be a local franchise/garage - doesn't matter so long as they come.
Having said that, I've never had to call on it anyway, so it's only been there for peace of mind.
(seem to see lots more AA vans out and about if that helps any?)
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Which? magazine - an independent, not for profit, no ads. taken organization, published by Consumers Association - recently (November 2002) tested breakdown services and the AA were head and shoulders better than the others - that is RAC, Britannia and Green Flag - on response times, roadside repair rates, performance and satisfaction.
These results were from 18,000 questionnaires sent to Consumers Association members.
Don drbe
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have had to call the AA out several times, and they have been excellent every time - prompt service, they send you text messages to update you on their ETA, and they do a lot more at the roadside than i expected too.
I don't know how the cost compares to the others, but i don't intend to find out, such is my satisfaction with the AA.
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might be a consideration, the reason we stuck with the AA, apart from no complaints about the service, is that you get an AA patrol the vast majority of the time rather than some unknown from whatever garage It just makes me feel a bit safer if its my wife calling them out whhen she's on her own. Dont know what the percentages are of own staff/ garage staff or whatever for the smaller organisations.
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I know that the AA also provide a good back up service with both legal and technical advice, do the other suppliers have similar services or are they just dedicated to recovery?
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Never had breakdown cover before but have just taken out an RAC policy which was on offer when I took out my insurance for an extra £5.50 per month. Now, who's going to tell me that I've just been ripped off?
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Well HF, depending on the extent of the cover, you're either paying interest on that policy at about 50%, or you've had a very good deal. Can't say which though.
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Well reading through the documents the cover sounds pretty good. Not having had it before, I'm not sure what's standard and what isn't, but it seems to cover everything I'd expect it to do.
So I'll satisfy myself with the fact that, for once, perhaps I have finally achieved a good deal!
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Basic cover is about £43 and covers you for roadside repairs only. Then there's home start (within .25 miles of home), recovery (gets you home, rather than just getting your car off the hard shoulder), and European cover - which I doubt very much that you have.
Anything above the basic and you've done fine.
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Cheers David - put as briefly as possible I have:
Roadside repairs;
Towing to nearby garage or a closer one of my choice if cannot be repaired immediately;
Home repairs, plus towing to local garage if cannot be repaired;
Transportation for me, car and passengers to destination of my choice if break down on road and cannot be repaired.
No European cover, you're right.
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Woohoo! HF, you had an excellent deal. Makes up for those wiper blades.
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Wow, fantastic!! Now all I have to do is hope i break down so I can get my money's worth ;)
(Note to car: Not really, dear, not really).
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The one big difference with the AA is they cover YOU, not the car, I believe. So if you are travelling in someone else's car and it breaks down, they'll sort it. I think they're the only ones to do this; all the others, including the RAC, cover the car. Which is perhaps a problem if you're a two car family.
I could be on drugs as I write this (been with the AA since 1983 so may be a tad biased, especially as they give me things like "relay plus" and "home start" for free cos I've been with them so long) but I don't think I am.
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Sorry, you are taking mind altering substances. The upside of this is that it proves you have a mind in the first place.
A lot of companies (e.g., Direct Line) cover only the car, but with the RAC, personal membership is at least available. Mine depends on me, not the car.
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La la la, what pretty elephants. Sorry, will insert blather resist device in appropriate orifice with immediate effect.
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The RAC are doing a deal at the moment, if you buy over the internet then you get £5 discount and joint cover for free, alternatively you can ring;0800029029 and quote DT0221. I did hear a story once that someone broke down called out the AA who started to tow them and then they broke down! So the AA man got out his RAC card but as I said it was a story. In my experience the AA has been fine, I had a very temperemental car which broke down regularly and they never had any problems coming out or towing me home up until the sixth time when you have to start to pay then the car was fine!
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I'm with the RAC....they do a £25.00 per year rebate if you don't call them out in a 12 month period. Not had to call them out for any reason for about 4 years (Clutch cable broke in a colleague's car, lost me £25.00 that year.) If you go to Which on line I think you can access certain reports buck-shee.By the way an RAC card is a good way to get discount in an American Motel (usually 20%) Possibly on the basis that if you are a member you must be a Prince or Lord or something.
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Goodness, two things spring to mind here -
First, is this £25 rebate standard with the RAC? Doesn't mention anything like that on my documents but it's a nice idea.
Second, is it normal for RAC, AA etc to offer discounts when two people are with them instead of just one? Reason for asking is that, having recently taken out my RAC policy, HWMO has just told me he's joining the AA. Bad move?
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