Car breakdown services - plaudits or brickbats

[SpokeyDokey]

Lovely Wife's car's extended warranty period is about to expire and as it has very low miles on it she is not bothering to change it for a while longer. At the same time the breakdown/recovery service provided by the warranty will cease.

I've been trawling the web for info' re who's the best provider etc and I'm getting mixed messages about the various companies offering these services.

Does anyone on here have any comments re the service they have received from whichever company they are with? Particularly with regard to breakdown response time and the ease of dealing with the company concerned.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

My brother has had the misfortune to need his RAC breakdown cover twice recently. On both occasions they turned up within the time period they said they would, and dealt with it as hoped.

My parents were with the AA and it wasn't good on the occasion they needed it, with three callouts, wrong information given to a contractor, an hour and a half waiting on the hard shoulder and further three hours at a motorway services before they finally got recovered.

 

[swee'pea99]

We've been with First Call - much cheaper than 'the usual' - for about 20 years, and the few times we've needed them they've been fine. TBH I think there's a lot of pot luck. The second post on this thread is from someone with 'nothing but praise' for Green Flag - only t'other day a friend was telling me about a 4 hour wait with them. If your wife's car is only just out of warranty, the chances of her needing a callout (without wishing to hex anything) are pretty slim; personally I'd hesitate to pay AA/RAC type rates for a service I'm unlikely to need.

 

[Dirk]

I was with Green Flag for several years. The one and only time I needed them for a breakdown and it took them about 4 hours to respond and a further 4 hours to arrange a pick up.
I'm with Start Rescue now - they can't be any worse and they're cheaper.

 

[Electric_Andy]

AA (10 years ago): 3 out of 4 times I used them they were great. The one time they were not was because they sent a sub-contractor from a local garage who would have been better placed in a zoo.

I'm with Start Rescue now- it's recovery only, no bells or whistles, but is quite cheap (£30/year for motorbike).

Whoever you go with, check the small print and inclusion/exclusion criteria.

 

[screenman]

Green flag have been good for me, the AA useless when a few people I know have needed them over 8 hours to recover my son's Ferrari from a busy single track road.

 

[Spinney]

I'm with rescuemycar.

The only time recently I've called out was for a flat battery, but I was at home and not in a rush to go anywhere so I don't recall how long they took to come. It wasn't more than a couple of hours, though, and I'd told them it wasn't urgent. I think they use local contractors. No probs with the guy that turned up.

If Lovely Wife is on her own and she tells them this, I think many rescue companies will prioritise the call?

My experiences with the AA and RAC are too long ago to be relevant here, I think.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Green flag here as Well ,no probs tho i only called them once and I'd fixed it myself as they arrived.
They only took about 40 mins

 

[Crackle]

They all work the same way. AA and RAC have their own large fleets and systems and the rest, with a few exceptions, outsource to branded independents who all use a centralised breakdown management software written by a bloke down South (really). It's a question of luck as to how busy an area will be when you breakdown. Go for the cheapest is my advice.

 

[Drago]

RAC, sweet as a nut.

AA, I started small claims court proceedings, and they settled a compo package before the court date. Nuff said.

 

[Globalti]

In every town somewhere on an industrial estate there's a Portacabin with a couple of blokes in jobsworth jackets and a flat-bed truck parked outside. When you call your emergency number a national call centre operator looks up the nearest Portacabin to you and phones the jobsworths, who finish their tea, stand up, scratch, break wind then shamble out to the truck, which they drive over to pick you up. I believe only the AA and the RAC actually keep their own trucks. So no matter which service you join, you're going to get the same bloke in a jobsworth jacket and you might just as well find out their direct number and keep that on your phone than pay them for the recovery if you ever do break down, bearing in mind that you haven't paid a premium for the last X years so it's not actually costing you more.

 

[Drago]

I've always had the RAC themselves turn out for me. I miss the old days when they would salute you on the road.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I've always had the RAC themselves turn out for me. I miss the old days when they would salute you on the road.

Gosh, you're older than I thought.

 

[BoldonLad]

I have needed to use a breakdown service three times, in past ten years:

1) Green Flag when BMW3 series engine disintegrated on M11, about 22:00 on New Years Day, no complaints, recovery truck arrived in twenty minutes, took us home (250 miles away), then, came back next day and took car to local BMW dealer

2) Saga Breakdown Service (also Green Flag, I believe), when Motorhome refused to start in Pezanas, France. Mechanic arrived in 30 minutes, got thing started, diagnosed ECU fault (without any electronic equipment), took us to nearby dealer, where he was proved correct. Fixed under warranty. No complaints, unless you count that he only spoke French and Spanish, not unreasonable, since we were in France.

3) AA (as Renault first three years breakdown cover), when Renault Scenic refused to start, after standing unused for four weeks, on our driveway. AA arrived within 30 minutes. Got car started, no problems.

So, in summary, Green Flag and AA have been good for me.

 

[Salad Dodger]

We are with Britannia Rescue, and have been for years. They have always been good.

Our car is named as the main vehicle, so anyone driving it (which in practice means just me or Mrs Salad) can call them out to it. But our cover also extends to any vehicle that we are travelling in, so it covers our campervan, or even a friend's car that we are being driven in. Fortunately, I have never had to put the "passenger cover" to the test........