Motoring Discussion > Which breakdown service?	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: MD	Replies: 27

New Wed 20 Jan 16 18:01   Which breakdown service? - MD

NOW. Just got the AA renewal and as usual they take the Pee out of existing customers. The website has changed again from the simple tick boxes. They must spend ££££ trying to confuse people. Anyway I don't want Gold, Silver, Titanium or some other membership. Just a simple service at a reasonable price. Any offers... Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 20 Jan 16 at 19:03 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 18:38   Which breakdown service? - Robin O'Reliant

I renewed mine today. The quote was for £197.50 (Myself and Mrs O'R, Home start, Relay and key replacement), so a quick peruse on t'internet threw up an offer of £129 from the RAC for new members. Quoting that to the AA brought theirs down to £138 which I accepted. That's cheaper than the £156 I paid last year. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 18:42   Which breakdown service? - mikeyb

>> I renewed mine today. The quote was for £197.50 (Myself and Mrs O'R, Home start, >> Relay and key replacement), so a quick peruse on t'internet threw up an offer of >> £129 from the RAC for new members. Quoting that to the AA brought theirs down >> to £138 which I accepted. That's cheaper than the £156 I paid last year. >> If that's the going rate then Ill renew the Lexus assist at £120 for me and Mrs B - covers us for any car we are in plus full European cover Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 18:52   Which breakdown service? - Crankcase

The Volvo comes with Volvo Assist, which offers the same cover, mikeyb, and it gets renewed for free when you have a main dealer service. I'm surprised Lexus want to charge money for it. Long time since I was running Lexuses but I thought they did it for free in the service price back then. If they've changed it they're being a spot tight if you ask me, for a "premium" brand. Edit, actually mine only covers the Volvo, so not quite as good. Last edited by: Crankcase on Wed 20 Jan 16 at 18:52 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 19:00   Which breakdown service? - Bromptonaut

Britannia, albeit with a discount for CSMA membership is best value for us - two cars, full cover including foreign and personal. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 19:09   Which breakdown service? - mikeyb

>> being a spot tight if you ask me, for a "premium" brand. >> Servicing is expensive and so far the "service" from 2 dealers has not been great -maybe I've just been unlucky, but the perception of fantastic customer service is not living up to the reality. TBH if it wasn't for the warranty and hybrid extension then I'd probably not bother with the dealer Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 19:13   Which breakdown service? - Crankcase

I had to shop about for a dealer that was special. Cambridge back then were OK, but I ended up going up to Norwich, who were really really good, both for price and attention to detail and, I'm afraid, pampering. But that was seven or eight years ago and everything has no doubt changed. It certainly paid me to shop around though, even with the extra distance. We just made a day of it. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 19:08   Which breakdown service? - MD

key replacement is not even shown on ours. Joint cover. Relay. Roadside, Home start. Plus all the 'Free' stuff. £245.13 on renewal. Paid £176.00 last year which I thought then was too expensive. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 19:15   Which breakdown service? - Aretas

Bought RAC life cover for £80 around 1974. Used it twice - about 30 years ago my wife ran out of petrol and 2 years ago the Audi had an electronics failure. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 19:45   Which breakdown service? - Stuartli

I used the RAC when it could be combined with my VW extended warranty, which worked out at a very reasonable cost, but decided to change when VW (Mondial backed) switched to the AA. I came across: www.qdosbreakdown.co.uk/ and on my second year with them although never called on its service to date. Very reasonable charges as the website will confirm. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 19:49   Which breakdown service? - Zero

>> I used the RAC when it could be combined with my VW extended warranty, which >> worked out at a very reasonable cost, but decided to change when VW (Mondial backed) >> switched to the AA. >> >> I came across: >> >> www.qdosbreakdown.co.uk/ >> >> and on my second year with them although never called on its service to date. >> Very reasonable charges as the website will confirm. I've decided to use KNOWUN for my buildings and contents insurance, not had a cause to use them yet, but the charges are lower than low. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 20:49   Which breakdown service? - Robin O'Reliant

>> >> >> I came across: >> >> www.qdosbreakdown.co.uk/ >> >> and on my second year with them although never called on its service to date. >> Very reasonable charges as the website will confirm. >> >> Does not cover vehicles over 16 years old. That's age discrimination for you :-( Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 20:03   Which breakdown service? - tyrednemotional

...where cover is available with the insurance it is well worthwhile considering. Mine is a £79 add-on for UK Recovery (Inc. Roadside Assist) for personal cover for myself and SWMBO in any car. I've chosen to limit the cover at that, but home assistance and hire car is only another £12. (Because of the size, this doesn't cover the motorhome motorcaravan campervan, and I also cover this with the insurance. The pan-European cover for this is only £60 - provided by RAC - so it rather reveals the potential mark-up) Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 20:49   Which breakdown service? - legacylad

I pay Autoaid £42.50. Last year was £39. No idea what it includes but it's cheap and hopefully they get me home. Been with them for years, and obviously never needed it. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 20 Jan 16 21:46   Which breakdown service? - MD

>> I pay Autoaid £42.50. Last year was £39. No idea what it includes but it's >> cheap and hopefully they get me home. Been with them for years, and obviously never >> needed it. >> Keep the Bob Marley and it's likely you never will. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 03:30   Which breakdown service? - Pat

We use Autoaid too LL with the same figure for last year and this years renewal too. If you rarely break down it seems the sensible choice to me. Pat Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 07:00   Which breakdown service? - nice but dim

Start Rescue here, seemed to be on the Car Mechanics list of known ones. £31 auto renew including a 10% annual discount. Includes a relay home service. Never used them yet in 3 years. Kept getting tired on the AA £150+ renew prices which I always knocked down to £90 (inc relay) Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 07:12   Which breakdown service? - Falkirk Bairn

Autoaid Offer @ £57+ last year but it gave some 18 months cover - which seemed cheap. I had been with GEM but their premium seemed to climb steeply over a couple of years heading towards £90+. It is some 20 years since I needed to be rescued from the side of the road - mind you I have bought Japanese cars for 21 years (Honda, Mazda & Nissan - coincidence???) with the exception of a C Class in 1997 which was a poor buy. Honda Franchised Servicing gives you some form of cover for the next 12 months but not the full coverage of Autoaid/Gem etc.. Maybe I could save the £43 / year BUT in the bigger picture of motoring costs it is maybe a comfort to know there is someone at the end of a phone. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 11:44   Which breakdown service? - SmileyNially

Another vote for Autoaid from me. Used them a few times. They use a third party recovery agent, always within the hour and Autoaid helpline are very helpful. The last couple of times I've used them - Waterpump went and then also Coolant pipe broke. They didn't ask me to pay and reclaim. Seems they are trialing getting rid of that part of the set-up. Hopefully the price won't go up as a result! Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 12:46   Which breakdown service? - movilogo

>> They didn't ask me to pay and reclaim. That's a news to me! Have them for many years but never had to claim. Recently got a bundled 1-yr roadside assistance from Kia as part of deal. Will switch to AutoAid again when that expires. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 12:51   Which breakdown service? - VxFan

Every year come renewal time the RAC up my renewal price by £20 to £30 from the previous year. Every year I phone them and ask why, to be then told they can do it for the same price as last year! Why do all these companies try it on with their existing customers? Do they think we're daft or something. It's the same with any service provider it would seem. We've become a nation of hagglers. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 13:01   Which breakdown service? - Alanovich

How much for the gourd? Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 13:24   Which breakdown service? - VxFan

>> gourd? What's one of them? Anyway, I think we settled on a figure of something like £78. Home & roadside recovery, onward journey, accident care, motor legal care, etc. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 13:28   Which breakdown service? - TheManWithNoName

I'd recommend Green Flag simply because I've never had to use them! Wife and I are covered as a driver or passenger in any vehicle. Don't even have to be the owner. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 14:54   Which breakdown service? - Mr. Ecs

GEM Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 17:33   Which breakdown service? - bathtub tom

>> Another vote for Autoaid from me. And I. Only used them once, for a gearbox failure, but like Ronseal, they did exactly what they said. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 21 Jan 16 21:24   Which breakdown service? - Boxsterboy

Our Ford garage throws in free Europe wide breakdown service with the service for the S-Max, and as the last service was only £99, I reckon that is pretty good value! Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 22 Jan 16 00:13   Which breakdown service? - Stuartli

>>.. I reckon that is pretty good value!>> An understatement if ever there was one...:-) Reply to this message | Report message