European Single Trip Breakdown Cover

[V8 Disco]

Hi - I'm planning to take the car over to France in November and want to get competitively priced cover in case of breakdown. I only take the car abroad once in a while, so annual cover is not worthwhile - so what I need is single trip cover.

My daily drive is an '03 Accord - the most reliable car I have ever owned, so I am mostly interested in covering the cost of repatriating the car in case of a major fault (especially as I am only away for three days, so next to no chance of effecting a major repair before my return date)

Any recommendations?

Cheers.

[llewop]

V8 Disco said:

Hi - I'm planning to take the car over to France in November and want to get competitively priced cover in case of breakdown. I only take the car abroad once in a while, so annual cover is not worthwhile - so what I need is single trip cover.

My daily drive is an '03 Accord - the most reliable car I have ever owned, so I am mostly interested in covering the cost of repatriating the car in case of a major fault (especially as I am only away for three days, so next to no chance of effecting a major repair before my return date)

Any recommendations?

Cheers.

I've used the AA Euro cover before - had to use it once when we had problems coming back up through France. Have to say it worked great - operators speak English to you and French (or whatever) to the garage/recovery or whatevr you're dealing with. After not too much of a delay they'd arranged us a hire car, the car to be shipped back and even things like a taxi picking us up from the Ferry once we got to Portsmouth (only needed to get as far as Fareham: less than 10 miles). Even claimed back the unused part of the ferry fare for the car that didn't come back with us! Car was brought back within a week or so and fixed.

Overall felt it was good value and worth having - not sure what it costs these days as I've not needed it for a couple of years.

[Smiler.]

Make sure the policy covers you for the crossing. My mate had an awesome policy which would get his bike to the port & collect on the other side. He would have to load it onto the boat & back off the other side.

Useless.

[Bluebarge]

usual suspects - AA/RAC, Direct Line, EuropAssistance. Plus whoever you booked your crossing with may offer deals on breakdown insurance - I know Eurotunnel do.

[V8 Disco]

Thanks for the suggestions - reading some of the policy details (the AA one specifically) there's a carefully worded clause around repatriation costs. I want to be as sure as possible that if the car becomes immobile as a result of breakdown, it will be bought back to the UK for me to arrange the repair - particularly as I travel out on Saturday and back on Monday, hence no time for parts to be delivered, let alone repairs to be carried out.

As far as cover while crossing, I am going Eurotunnel, so should not be an issue - although I gather they will not allow a car to be pushed/towed onto the train, so in case of a breakdown I guess the car would be heading off to the ferry.

Cheers again for the replies.