roadside assistance

[dave1h]

hi all,

need to get breakdown cover for me and the family. which is best AA or RAC

any1 had good or bad expierances with either

thanks dave....

 

[xerxes]

I've used both over the years.

I had one bad experience with the RAC. They came out to my non-running engine, couldn't work out how to fix it, and recovered me to my garage. My garage later called me to say that in the course of trying to fix the ignition system, the RAC man had shorted the ECU and destroyed it. It cost the best part of five hundred pounds to replace and finish the repair. They gave me a letter to send on to the RAC; the RAC wouldn't compensate me one penny.

So the original fitter made a mistake; anyone can make a mistake. But the organisation that can't deliver decent customer service, for the sake of what to them is a small amount of money, doesn't deserve to be recommended. If they had dealt with me fairly, I would have recommended them to anyone. As they failed to do so, I let people know they let me down.

There is plenty of competition in breakdown cover nowadays.

 

[bongos]

I've been with the RAC for four years and on the whole they have been excellent (apart from one breakdown when I had to wait three and a half hours). I've had more than my fair share of breakdowns in that time (about 12 between the two cars ) and excepting the long wait above they have been really good.

A metal piece on the clutch pedal snapped on my golf last week and they were out in 10 minutes. Although they couldn't fix it then and there (he spent 40 minutes trying to get a temporary fix) I still got towed to my local garage.

I've just renewed my cover with the RAC and they still seem to be cheaper than the AA too (although other breakdown firms may be cheaper).

 

[^neo^]

If your car needs to go on the back of a truck, the RAC use contractors as they don't run a fleet of flatbed lorries like the AA.
AA all the way for me

 

[noseall]

AA for me.

 

[Stivino]

I'm with the AA too. However, I can't help wondering what's the point of sending an alcoholic when my car breaks down.

 

[noseall]

i needed the AA on saturday.

my recent purchase, a 05 reg'd passat saloon broke down. the starter motor packed up!

prior to the passat i had an 18 yr old Honda that never let us down.

it was 10yrs old when i bought it.

the AA took 12 minutes to arrive, bump started the car via a tow, and we were home maybe 30 mins behind schedule.

 

[Ossy]

I've had some good experiences with the RAC, once being recovered from an accident in London in someone else's car and being returned to Southampton in the wee hours.

The other was not long ago, when my dodgy battery had gone flat when I left the ignition on, which then proceeded to activate the alarm/immobiliser for which I have never had a remote or pin code. Chap spent the best part of an hour or more stripping fascia panels off the dashboard to locate the second earth wire for the alarm control. He even put them all back on nice and neat. When he finised he even plugged in his fault finder and cleared all the engine management warnings. I fully expected just a tow to the nearest motor spark but got a great service.

 

[pompeyal]

Yeah I had a bad experience of you with a smart arsed reply, thanks..