Hi there,
My car has just passed its 16th birthday and is no longer allowed breakdown cover with my current provider - I rang them up:
they said, up to 15 years was fine,
I said, it's sixteen years so I'll have to cancel then
they said, in the uk it doesn't matter, it can be 40 years old, we thought you meant Europe
I said, it doesn't make any distinction in the policy doc?
They said, trust us it's true
I said, can you email me that?
They said, we're too busy today, how about next week?
Anyway, I've lost faith in them now.
I'm covering one car for 2 people and want homecover and certainty that they'll come when I call - just peace of mind really
I've looked up Europ Assistance, and they're £59 for an all-in comprehensive policy. It seems reallly good and £20 cheaper.
Has anybody here used them? Are they any good?
I know there are some cheaper ones, and ones that say reclaim the money but I've never heard of the brand names - and I think I've heard of these Europ people
Any thoughts?
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Something here recently about cover with ADAC, Europe wide, for 75 euros. I think the problem may be joining via a German language website. Try a forum search for "ADAC".
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Search result includes
Andy B. I've taken a look at www.adac.de and got some info in English at the "Join ADAC" button. It seems to be around only ?40 for one person and ?65 for a couple for one year's breakdown cover anywhere in Europe inc. the UK.
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ADAC interests me a lot - the trouble is that my knowledge of German (especially Terms & Conditions) is ...er...um...just a little weak. Can anybody help here?
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Thank you,
I had a look at that link before posting - I don't know though - the website is a bit tricky to navigate (sans German!) - I'd worry I hadn't got the full gist of the policy - even though it seems really good value
I saw someone elese recommended Morethan - but they quoted 'more than' I was hoping to pay!
I'm curious about Europ Assistance though - the website seems a bit lame / or beautifully simple - depending on your point of view!!
But the policy seems good value - I was just hoping to find a happy customer -
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Just realised - I've been saying Europ Assistance - the company is Quoteline Direct - selling a Europ Assistance policy - Duh!!
I've never heard of Quoteline Direct either! So if anyone else has any inside info - that would be helpful
Oddly, they say they will cover any car up to 20 years old - whereas the Europ Assistance website says up to 15 years old
I'm sure it's just a different product/re-packaging thing
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That Europe Assistance policy does look pretty cheap.
Britannia Rescue get pretty good reviews, but they look a bit dear unless you qualify for a discount (by way of union etc membership, or being in the CSMA). I think I paid about £70 for their comprehensive policy.
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I had the same prob with mine,after some research the best deal I found was the AA.I was after recovery only however.It surprised me as I would have thought the bill for the thousands of extras in their ads would have bumped it up,as well as sending me letters to inform me 'I have AA friend' (for god's sake).
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This outfit does not seem to specify any age restriction: www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/index.htm
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Thanks everybody,
I like the look of Britannia but I don't think I can stretch to the cost.
Autoaid and all of the other 'We Reimburse You...' schemes seem really good value apart from on the "Home Assistance" side of things.
I've used breakdown cover 3 times - once by the road and twice at home.
The 'reimburse' schemes all set a maximum amount (ie £45) for 'homestart' and I wonder if this is because they know this is what people mainly call them out for so you can knock down the price of the 'Roadside Breakdown' side of your product as long as you cap the amount you pay on the 'Homestart' side of the business.
What I mean is, the 'Reimburse' companies are not cheap because you're saving them admin by paying the repairer and claiming it back, they're cheap because they put a cap on the 'most frequently used' element of breakdown cover.
Given that I would 'most likely' use them for 'homestart' then they start to look like not such a great deal.
I'd like to use a company outside of the usual suspects - competition is healthy and all that - and they've all got lots of customers already
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Autonational Rescue.
They're the same company as AutoAid and cover the car, not the individual. The first car is I believe £63 and the second on the policy is £31.50 for the full works (i.e., including home start, recovery, roadside assistance, hire car and accommodation if necessary) and although you can pick and choose your level of cover, it is barely any cheaper to do so.
I'm with them, have used them three times and they've always responded promptly and been fast and fair.
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I think the £45 cap on Auto Aid's homestart is probably fair enough and will cover all the typical minor breakdown situations (flat battery, loose connection, failed fuel pump diagnosis). I guess its designed to stop people using the service for major repairs. Remember that breakdown services are not 'repair services' they are there to deal with simple and cheap fixes to get you going - anything bigger and they take you to a garage.
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