Discussion
So, I just got a call from my housemate, who's alternator has just died on his Discovery 300Tdi. He lives in Southampton and needs to get back to uni (Aberystwyth) tonight, and only made it to the petrol station at the end of his road. Currently unsure if he has Relay with AA, but his dad does, as do I (not sure how we'd negotiate that one...?!).
What's the deal with Relay and taking you places? Will they just pop the Disco on the flatbed and do the 200-odd miles?
What's the deal with Relay and taking you places? Will they just pop the Disco on the flatbed and do the 200-odd miles?
When my sump seal went the AA sent a van out as I had lost most of my oil. (Managed to get off the motorway into the services when the warning light came on, most of my oil ended up on their car park). It couldn't be fixed at the roadside. He put it on a towing dolly, took me home which was about 20miles then headed off to do another 20-25 miles to drop the car off at the garage where I bought it a few weeks before.
Couldn't fault them on their service.
Couldn't fault them on their service.
My experience is - don't accept car is broken. Proceed to break it more by burning the starter motor out by turning engine over for ten minutes solid.
And.
Don't accept car has dangerous intermittent fault. Send off on dangerous 50 mile drive home to save delivery truck brownie points.
Never again.
And.
Don't accept car has dangerous intermittent fault. Send off on dangerous 50 mile drive home to save delivery truck brownie points.
Never again.
I left the AA after one of my front suspension springs disintegrated on a dual carriageway at about 5.30PM on a Saturday. Managed to get it to a lay-by. Only had about 10 miles to drive home
Waited until 7.00pm for the first van. "You could possibly drive it but I seriously wouldn't advise it. We'll get a flat-bed for you".
Waited until 9.15pm when another identical standard van turned up.
AA blokey: "Oh, your suspension spring has disintegrated. You need a flat-bed".
Me: "Yes, I know. That's what the last bloke said."
AA blokey: "We'll get one for you ASAP."
Waited until 10:30pm, when yet another identical van turned up. Sent him on his way pretty quickly.
Was midnight before a flat-bed turned up. I probably could have walked home in 6 1/2 hours.
Waited until 7.00pm for the first van. "You could possibly drive it but I seriously wouldn't advise it. We'll get a flat-bed for you".
Waited until 9.15pm when another identical standard van turned up.
AA blokey: "Oh, your suspension spring has disintegrated. You need a flat-bed".
Me: "Yes, I know. That's what the last bloke said."
AA blokey: "We'll get one for you ASAP."
Waited until 10:30pm, when yet another identical van turned up. Sent him on his way pretty quickly.
Was midnight before a flat-bed turned up. I probably could have walked home in 6 1/2 hours.
ManOpener said:
I left the AA after one of my front suspension springs disintegrated on a dual carriageway at about 5.30PM on a Saturday. Managed to get it to a lay-by. Only had about 10 miles to drive home
Waited until 7.00pm for the first van. "You could possibly drive it but I seriously wouldn't advise it. We'll get a flat-bed for you".
Waited until 9.15pm when another identical standard van turned up.
AA blokey: "Oh, your suspension spring has disintegrated. You need a flat-bed".
Me: "Yes, I know. That's what the last bloke said."
AA blokey: "We'll get one for you ASAP."
Waited until 10:30pm, when yet another identical van turned up. Sent him on his way pretty quickly.
Was midnight before a flat-bed turned up. I probably could have walked home in 6 1/2 hours.
I left after a similar experience, with a broken half-shaft on my MG Midget. They were surprised when I declined their offer of a 15 mile tow home, and it took another 5 hrs for a flatbed to come and collect me.Waited until 7.00pm for the first van. "You could possibly drive it but I seriously wouldn't advise it. We'll get a flat-bed for you".
Waited until 9.15pm when another identical standard van turned up.
AA blokey: "Oh, your suspension spring has disintegrated. You need a flat-bed".
Me: "Yes, I know. That's what the last bloke said."
AA blokey: "We'll get one for you ASAP."
Waited until 10:30pm, when yet another identical van turned up. Sent him on his way pretty quickly.
Was midnight before a flat-bed turned up. I probably could have walked home in 6 1/2 hours.
A friend offered to let an AA man keep his MGB if, as he said he could, he could fix the (hydraulic) clutch by replacing the cable.
The maximum a recovery truck can travel without using a tachograph is 100km from their operating base, hence why they drop you off after a certain distance. In the "old"days before the ruling, we'd taken you on one truck. A pain for the members, but safety comes first as some operators were taking the mick frankly.
If organised properly, I nearly always had a truck ready at the drop point for the next leg of the journey, so to cut down time.
If organised properly, I nearly always had a truck ready at the drop point for the next leg of the journey, so to cut down time.
My last experience was the car dropped a cylinder and started running on 4 200 miles from home in Cumbria.
Diagnosed as a POS or coilpack through process of elimination whilst waiting for the AA, informed him when he turned up, but of course he had to diagnose the car himself
30 minutes later and lots of head-scratching he decided to test the HT leads, after-which the car wasn't running on any cylinders
After an acceptance he didn't understand the car as he couldn't plug his computer in to diagnose it and he'd cocked up and didn't know how to fix it he scampered off to another call whilst i waited for a call-back to arrange a flat-bed. Not impressed.
As luck would have it a friend arrived with the compatible POS units and coil-packs from his urS4 which he'd bought from me a couple of years earlier, and i was back on my way within minutes.
The AA called back a further 2 hours later and couldn't quite understand when i stated i was travelling on the M6 near Coventry
Diagnosed as a POS or coilpack through process of elimination whilst waiting for the AA, informed him when he turned up, but of course he had to diagnose the car himself
30 minutes later and lots of head-scratching he decided to test the HT leads, after-which the car wasn't running on any cylinders
After an acceptance he didn't understand the car as he couldn't plug his computer in to diagnose it and he'd cocked up and didn't know how to fix it he scampered off to another call whilst i waited for a call-back to arrange a flat-bed. Not impressed.
As luck would have it a friend arrived with the compatible POS units and coil-packs from his urS4 which he'd bought from me a couple of years earlier, and i was back on my way within minutes.
The AA called back a further 2 hours later and couldn't quite understand when i stated i was travelling on the M6 near Coventry
Some horror stories here. I must have just been very lucky then, as I've only had good experiences with the AA..always out within an hour and always able to deal very quickly. The one time I had to be recovered it took a further 30mins to get a truck.
I value my AA membership very highly
I value my AA membership very highly
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