Car breakdown recovery - which provider?

[I like Skol]

Sorry for posting a non-cycling query on the forum but I would value the opinions/advice of the cyclechat hive mind on this subject.

Haven't bothered with cover for several years now as my wife only drives about 2 miles to work and if I am driving I'm a big boy and can look after myself . That's all about to change as the commute for Mrs Skol is increasing considerably for the next 12 months and will involve some motorways so I need to know if she has a puncture someone will come out and fit the spare for her or bring her and car home if it does let us down.

I/she have a low mileage 10yr old Passat that is well looked after and I have a 21yr old Landrover that is also well cared for as I'm an enthusiast. We're not talking bangernomics here, these are fully serviced and cared for with long term ownership in mind. I just don't run newer cars because I don't see the point in tying up much money in something that at the end of the day is just a utility and a nice expensive car is just a worry when leaving it parked anywhere.

Basically all I want is, in the unlikely event of a breakdown, for the cars to be brought home for me to repair/arrange repair and if Lady Skol has a puncture halfway to work I want someone to fit the spare wheel for her safely.

Who give the best value for money? I'm not looking for cheapest, just want trouble free service at a competitive price.

My first hits suggest RAC will cover 2 x 10yr+ vehicles with recovery to home for £110 and the AA will cover 2 named drivers with the home recovery for £142

If I drop the Landrover cover RAC comes down to a more palatable £65

Am I looking at this the right way or is there a smarter alternative?

 

[snorri]

ETA suits me, but my needs are perhaps simpler than yours.
https://www.eta.co.uk/

 

[Broadside]

I upgraded my bank account and then got AA membership, mobile phone insurance, travel cover etc all through my bank account. It was the most economical way for me to do it.

 

[Profpointy]

I find I end up paying about £100 for recover for one vehicle - currently Greenflag, now upgrades to cover motorbike as well for a bit more.
Got pissed off with the AA's trick of sending a renewal (automatic if you didn't watch out) for double the previous year's premium, then reducing if you phoned 'em up, so changed to someone else who didn't take the piss so much.

 

[dst87]

It depends what else you need, but the service I've had through Nationwide's FlexPlus bank account has been outstanding. I've used the breakdown cover twice and they've been quick and reliable.

Good quality worldwide travel insurance for whole family, mobile phone insurance for the whole family, and european breakdown cover all for £10/mo.

And the service is great from Nationwide too.

EDIT: Also TopCashBack have £78.75 cashback for FlexPlus at the moment, so you could actually get a year of this for only £41.25!

 

[Drago]

RAC. I took legal action ago at the AA and won, where's the few times I've needed the RAC they've turned up promptly and without argument.

 

[potsy]

I use some of my Tesco points to get cover with the RAC, been doing this for years.

 

[Over The Hill]

The motorways all have a breakdown service operating locally that will take you off the road to a local garage.

We run two cars (also about 10 years old generally) and have not had a need for a the AA in about 20 years or more.

So I guess we have saved £2,600

Come to think of it I did have a flat battery on holiday last year and I got the local garage along in about 10 minutes and he charged £20 to jump start the car and check the readings.

I think mobile phone and local garage is about all you need. Cars really don't break down much now.

 

[Drago]

All well and good until you get a flat battery at 3am, of the lock garage is off covering as recovery for the AA or RAC.

 

[Tim Hall]

The motorways all have a breakdown service operating locally that will take you off the road to a local garage.

We run two cars (also about 10 years old generally) and have not had a need for a the AA in about 20 years or more.

So I guess we have saved £2,600

Come to think of it I did have a flat battery on holiday last year and I got the local garage along in about 10 minutes and he charged £20 to jump start the car and check the readings.

I think mobile phone and local garage is about all you need. Cars really don't break down much now.

Except the OP's cars are more than 10 years old, so the "break down much now" bit might not hold water.

 

[nickyboy]

We'd been with AA for years. Personal cover so it handled any car Mrs N or I were in, even as passengers. The price got jacked up on the recent quote so I shopped around. Green Flag were about half the price for same cover so I went with them and added home start

First thing AA did was drop the quote by 30%. When we said no they have offered to "suspend" our membership. What that means is if Green Flag screw up, we can call them and reactivate it as a one-off, no cost service for one day. So we've gone with that. Hopefully Green Flag will be OK (actually, hope I don't have to find out if they're OK or not) but still got AA as a fall back

 

[simon the viking]

I'm on the free 3 years AA with a new car another 12 months to go but after that i'll go back to Start rescue 30 quid a year (3 star membership) .... I was with them for years.... my mum was with RAC and kept auto renewing, she rang me when it got to over £150 (3 months at £50 D/D) and they wouldn't haggle, I got her the start package for the year at just over half 1 months RAC D/D....

All the reviews are good but never had to use them.

 

[Over The Hill]

I'm on the free 3 years AA with a new car another 12 months to go but after that i'll go back to Start rescue 30 quid a year (3 star membership) .... I was with them for years.... my mum was with RAC and kept auto renewing, she rang me when it got to over £150 (3 months at £50 D/D) and they wouldn't haggle, I got her the start package for the year at just over half 1 months RAC D/D....

All the reviews are good but never had to use them.

This is the key point. You go for years and years of paying £150 and not using them.

You can get 24 hour recovery. You have a phone and so can sort this out wherever you are in the country. The local police station will tell you a number to call if all else fails and it is the middle of the night. At worst they charge a years premium generally much less.

30 years ago we had cars that broke down a lot and no means of easily tracking down a garage. Now really that is not the case.

 

[I like Skol]

This is the key point. You go for years and years of paying £150 and not using them.

You can get 24 hour recovery. You have a phone and so can sort this out wherever you are in the country. The local police station will tell you a number to call if all else fails and it is the middle of the night. At worst they charge a years premium generally much less.

30 years ago we had cars that broke down a lot and no means of easily tracking down a garage. Now really that is not the case.

I'm completely with you on this. The numbers are always stacked in favour of the recovery provider and as you say, a recovery every few years is still mostly cheaper than paying a large premium annually. The problem is that when Mrs Skol breaks down on the M62 on a dark, wet, wintry night at 6-7pm and I am at work then I need to know she can pick up the phone and get someone on the way straight away, it's just how highly I value her
I know I am unlikely to need it but that cover is worth it sometimes.

 

[simon the viking]

This is the key point. You go for years and years of paying £150 and not using them.

You can get 24 hour recovery. You have a phone and so can sort this out wherever you are in the country. The local police station will tell you a number to call if all else fails and it is the middle of the night. At worst they charge a years premium generally much less.

30 years ago we had cars that broke down a lot and no means of easily tracking down a garage. Now really that is not the case.

Thats why I found a cheaper provider I feel £30.00 is a good trade off between peace of mind and having something thats never used. A breakdown on motorway would certainly cost more than a £100 for recovery.

And... I've got a car with Renault engine its been fine..... but a 5 year old Kangoo I had with same type engine broke down at least 6 times within the 3 month warranty period... I traded it back to them within 6 months.