I know this is a well-worn path, but my breakdown cover is up for renewal. I'm currently with 'Autonational Rescue' and cover for two cars is about £85 PA. Checked with 'breakdown-direct' (link on right of page) and they quote about the same (for b/down and recovery, but excluding homestart).
Does anyone have any other suggestions? Anyone tried the Guild of Experience Motorists (GEM) breakdown plan? It looks good value, but its a pay-and-then-claim system.
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Which? magazine did a review/survey of the main ones quite a few months ago and if I remember correctly the AA came out head and shoulders above the others.
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Ian D is correct. I have just checked thru the Which report and for the first time in 15 years Britannia Rescue was not in top place and they recommend that one should switch to the AA. In particular the AA are best at fixing faults at the roadside. Others turn out a bit quicker but can't fix so many problems when they get there. You may be able to see the article in your local library, they sometimes have Which in the reference section.
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Sorry, New Year error! Which recommend that you should switch to the AA, not Britannia Rescue recommending it! Happy New Year to you all!
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I've been with Autonational Breakdown for several years now with their Autoaid service, not the Autonational Recovery service, which is dearer. I'm not sure if they market the Autoaid any more but they always renew it ok. It's a pay and claim system and my dearly beloved has used it 2 or 3 times. The truck turned up quickly each time and recovered the vehicle. The claim form arrived the next day and payment was received within the week with no quibbles so we're pleased with the service. It covers the person, not the vehicle, for accident or breakdown. They send out the nearest local truck, usually the same one used by most of the other services.
The best bit is the premium, £28 last year for myself and spouse.
In addition, my main vehicle (Subaru Legacy) is insured with Mercedes Insurance. They were by far the cheapest when I had a Jeep and I kept with them when my wife wrote off the jeep. As part of the insurance you get Mercedes Assistance which is run by the RAC. Only used them once, when the jeep was pranged, again local guy turned up quickly, a good service.
Incidentally, the insurance claim was well handled. They took the main details over the phone at the time of the incident and that was it. No claim form to fill in. Just had to sign a letter confirming the details. The assessor came, offered the figure I had in my head, cheque by the end of the week. Painless. Why can't it always be like this?
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For details of autoaid you may find the following useful :-
www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?new...5,
JohnL
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Its worth checking if your bank have any special plans for their customers. My own HSBC do what is called a breakdown plan which covers not only full comprehensive breakdown including foreign, home, recovery and other benefits (Green Flag) but also cover matters not related to motoring.
These include emergency home repairs including plumbing, gas or electric failure emergency accommodation, vermin and so on.
They also provide the cost of taking legal proceedings against another party in many cases and actually provide a solicitor to act for you and not just advice as many of these schemes simply do.
Well worth checking if a package is more economical than stand alone cover.
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You may find this thread helpful. I have never had to put GEM to the test on the 7 year old Synergie or the year old C3 (or the 3 year old Suzuki Bandit for that matter).
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=14463&...e
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Regrettably I have nothing but bad experience of the AA, admittedly I wasn't the member on either occasion when help was needed and the first incident was in the late 1980's when we ended up having to wait about 5 hours.
I've subsequently been with Britannia and more recently the RAC. Both have proved very good, turning up within 40 minutes even at peak times and on a Saturday morning too.
Recent experience of my parents with the AA is that they are currently also very good and reasonably prompt. Perhaps the service you get is down to luck - how busy the organisation you belong to are at the time when you ring, and it may also depend on how "simple" the problem with your vehicle is.
At present I am with the RAC for cost reasons - I shop at Tesco and can join/renew with clubcard points - about £32 of vouchers IIRC for full cover excluding home start for self and spouse, which would normally cost about £150.
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my dad says he pay insurance for car accident & breakdown & warranty. also for house contents & building & travel & medical & life. he pay for over 30 years and he thinks total cost exceed £20000 or may be £30000. he dont know exact number. but he never claim at all. so he lose a lot of money for peace of mind.
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Yes, but sometimes it's worth it. I pay about £250 a year to the RAC for 4 family cars -mine, wife, son daughter. When my daughter broke down on the motorway one busy Friday night in Feb - dark raining etc she rang me and the RAC. Since she was only about 20 mins from home I set off thinking she may be alone for hours but when I got there the RAC bloke was already there and had fixed her car. £250 is a lot and I also curse when I get the bill - but its about a fiver a week - a packet of fags? a bottle of wine? two or three pints of bitter? It's worth it!
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I use Grenn Flag ( Now Direct Line ) My wife and I are covered ina ny vehicle whilst my daughter is covered under the same policy but only in her own car. Costs me £112 total. My youngest Son was on the policy and had several call outs with quick responses but they were take me home type calls. Regards Peter
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I used GEM for a year and will use them again. When I once needed them after I tested the battery capacity for a week with map lights, they attended within 10 minutes of me making a call to their free phone number! excellent service and amazing value.
I filled in a form and they sent a cheque by return.
I have only stopped using them as my breakdown cover is now standard with my Footman James Insurance policy (including european travel).
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v0n - I think you'll find that the 'big three' will also charge for recovery after an accident. There was much in the biking press about this a couple of years ago. They say that you can claim off your insurance - which is not much help if you're TPF&T.
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