My RAC renewal has come through, £111 for me and the boss. The AA are currently offering the same package, roadside and recovery, for £89 as partners are free under their current offer. I have been very pleased with their service on the very odd occasion when required, but was price checking on moneysavingexpert.com. On this site they mention Autoaid which comes in at £32.50 and includes home as well. The downside is that they use local garages rather than employ their own fleet and you have to pay on the day and then reclaim. I, and more importantly the boss, can live with the downsides. The discussion forum on the site gives positive feedback, I did a forum search but coul d not find any comments but I would be interested to hear of any views from HJers. The saving makes switching worthwhile but of course only if the service is satisfactory. When stuck on the side of a motorway in the pouring rain late at night £80 or so suddenly doesnt seem so much.
Thanks MGs
|
I've been with them for a few years now. Used them a couple of times. The call handling was good and a recovery truck was there within 30 mins. The trucks are usually covered in the logos of most of the recovery organisations, the driver of one said they like to go to Autoaid calls as they get paid immediately. I've always been reimbursed in full within a week. I'd highly recommend them.
You are likely to get a quicker response from the local garage than from a dedicated fleet, as there is always a local garage but the nearest AA or whoever vehicle might be miles away. You also usually get a recovery truck straightaway, useful when you know the fault is a showstopper and have told the controller that yet still get a man with a van who has no hope of getting you going, which happened to me with the RAC many moons ago. A wait of a couple of hours ensued waiting for a recovery truck, but they had met their advertised claim of a response within 'x' minutes as the van had turned up.
|
|
I second the local garage idea.I am with an organisation thru my insurance co.When I had a broken clutch cable a guy turned up in a van.Thought he must be going to fix it on the spot,he opened the back doors and cranked down a spectacle lift and asked me if I wanted home or the garage.
|
|
|
|
Do auto aid tow you on from the breakdown to an adress of your choice as the AA's roadside and relay does. For me doing about 30/40,000 miles a year spread between 3 vehicles the AA has been brilliant.
|
Do auto aid tow you on from the breakdown to an adress of your choice as the AA's roadside and relay does. For me doing about 30/40,000 miles a year spread between 3 vehicles the AA has been brilliant.
I believe so, your destination, home or garage.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have only used them once and found the service to be excellent, with one caveat. The truck arrived within about 45 minutes but when it became apparent that I had not run out of petrol, got a flat battery or a tyre I could not change it was straight onto the back of the truck. The guy explained that they were not a repair service, just a recovery service and anything more complex than any of the above and it was onto the truck. I had thought they were like the AA/RAC in as much s they try to get you going. Anyway, when the car was on the truck I was asked where I wanted to go, which in my case was the main dealer nearest my home, a distance was calculated via recourse to his HQ and payment extracted immediately. Then off we went to the garage. I got my money back in less than a week.
|
|
When my wife broke down with a suspected flat battery in Dec05, they were helpful even though we'd forgotten to renew in November! Paid the £29 over the phone and awaited recovery man. Despite being solo female it took about an hour, but man was helpful (turned out to be flat battery in key fob!!) Paid by card and cheque back from AutoAid in about a week or so. Recommended.
|
Many thanks indeed for the interesting and largely positive replies to my enquiry. I shall be signing up with autoaid very shortly. incidentally I can recommend the money saving site I mentioned, I saved over £120 on my insurance as a result of following the advice given there, and now another £80 or so - so how come I am not rich? Life is full of paradoxes.
Thanks! MGs
|
|
|
|
