breakdown cover - hitting a pot hole... Are you covered?
Discussion
well it depends on who you are with!
Interesting conversations with the AA and the RAC...
coming home the other night we came across a car on a dangerous bend. She had hit a pot hole and damaged the wheel and tyre badley. No spare wheel on the Mini.
It got me thinking... I have been with the AA for years so I asked them the simple question...
"If I hit a pot hole with my car and it damages the wheel and tyre, will you recover me and the car home? The car does not come with a spare wheel."
The AA said no, they class it as an accident and you would be covered under your car insurance.
The RAC said no problem, we will recover you.
so bear this in mind when your renew your breakdown cover, especially with the state of the roads!
Interesting conversations with the AA and the RAC...
coming home the other night we came across a car on a dangerous bend. She had hit a pot hole and damaged the wheel and tyre badley. No spare wheel on the Mini.
It got me thinking... I have been with the AA for years so I asked them the simple question...
"If I hit a pot hole with my car and it damages the wheel and tyre, will you recover me and the car home? The car does not come with a spare wheel."
The AA said no, they class it as an accident and you would be covered under your car insurance.
The RAC said no problem, we will recover you.
so bear this in mind when your renew your breakdown cover, especially with the state of the roads!
The RAC recovered me after I took the sidewall out of a tyre on a pothole, though they patrol did say something about being careful how you report it to the call centre.
A pothole puncture is really no different to a puncture from a nail - the car has driven over something in the road which shouldn't be there and the tyre has gone down. It certainly shouldn't be classified as an accident, though as with any insurance its worth checking the small print.
What they won't cover is damage to the tyre caused by driver error - if you clip a kerb on a corner for example as that is a minor accident.
A pothole puncture is really no different to a puncture from a nail - the car has driven over something in the road which shouldn't be there and the tyre has gone down. It certainly shouldn't be classified as an accident, though as with any insurance its worth checking the small print.
What they won't cover is damage to the tyre caused by driver error - if you clip a kerb on a corner for example as that is a minor accident.
Not a damaged wheel but I had a similar incident years ago.
driving along and hit a pothole so deep that I bottomed the car out and cracked the sump resulting in oil leaking out. Called the AA, told them the situation only to be told that it was classed as a "road accident" and that I would not be recovered. I argued that there was no accident and that it was the state of the road condition that caused the damage. They wouldn't have it. had to call a private recovery service to get home
driving along and hit a pothole so deep that I bottomed the car out and cracked the sump resulting in oil leaking out. Called the AA, told them the situation only to be told that it was classed as a "road accident" and that I would not be recovered. I argued that there was no accident and that it was the state of the road condition that caused the damage. They wouldn't have it. had to call a private recovery service to get home
STe_rsv4 said:
Not a damaged wheel but I had a similar incident years ago.
driving along and hit a pothole so deep that I bottomed the car out and cracked the sump resulting in oil leaking out. Called the AA, told them the situation only to be told that it was classed as a "road accident" and that I would not be recovered. I argued that there was no accident and that it was the state of the road condition that caused the damage. They wouldn't have it. had to call a private recovery service to get home
this is why I will use the RAC or green Flag in future...driving along and hit a pothole so deep that I bottomed the car out and cracked the sump resulting in oil leaking out. Called the AA, told them the situation only to be told that it was classed as a "road accident" and that I would not be recovered. I argued that there was no accident and that it was the state of the road condition that caused the damage. They wouldn't have it. had to call a private recovery service to get home
they are no quibble...
sixor8 said:
Your car insurance, if it is one of the 'budget' fully comp policies may also not recover after an accident,
Can you say which insurer won't recover your undrivable vehicle following an accident, if you have comp cover? I'm not aware of any insurer that doesn't cover that, even the cheapo ones. SkodaIan said:
The RAC recovered me after I took the sidewall out of a tyre on a pothole, though they patrol did say something about being careful how you report it to the call centre.
A pothole puncture is really no different to a puncture from a nail - the car has driven over something in the road which shouldn't be there and the tyre has gone down. It certainly shouldn't be classified as an accident, though as with any insurance its worth checking the small print.
What they won't cover is damage to the tyre caused by driver error - if you clip a kerb on a corner for example as that is a minor accident.
I hit a kerb when going through one of those traffic calming things and took out two tyres. The AA came out, removed the two wheels, took me and them to Kwik Fit to get new tyres, then drove me back and fitted the wheels.A pothole puncture is really no different to a puncture from a nail - the car has driven over something in the road which shouldn't be there and the tyre has gone down. It certainly shouldn't be classified as an accident, though as with any insurance its worth checking the small print.
What they won't cover is damage to the tyre caused by driver error - if you clip a kerb on a corner for example as that is a minor accident.
buzzer said:
this is why I will use the RAC or green Flag in future...
they are no quibble...
I wouldn't trust RAC on that front, they wouldn't recover my daughter last night after she clipped a kerb and took at the front tyre - and track rod end I found when I got to her. they are no quibble...
I'm currently with the AA but after this incident last night going to look at other options, given the state of the roads the most likely thing to take one of as out is a pothole or the like.
Going to check out green flag or britannia, anyone got actual experience with them?
Edited by Sk00p on Monday 27th January 10:07
Sk00p said:
buzzer said:
this is why I will use the RAC or green Flag in future...
they are no quibble...
I wouldn't trust RAC on that front, they wouldn't recover my daughter last night after she clipped a kerb and took at the front tyre - and track rod end I found when I got to her. they are no quibble...
I'm currently with the AA but after this incident last night going to look at other options, given the state of the roads the most likely thing to take one of as out is a pothole or the like.
Going to check out green flag or britannia, anyone got actual experience with them?
Edited by Sk00p on Monday 27th January 10:07
Bottom line; us motorists suffer the consequences, they turn a profit.
Police State said:
The AA used to be a decent outfit before the yanks bought them and have since sweated the assets... eg: cut their costs, which has meant cutting elements of the service. The RAC are no better and between them as the 'major brands' within that segment they have for the last few years been conducting a kind of inverse 'arms race' where they seem to compete on removing/adjusting their service to suit their costs.
Bottom line; us motorists suffer the consequences, they turn a profit.
To be fair - I suspect most people look online and buy the cheapest, so they need to keep control of their costs.Bottom line; us motorists suffer the consequences, they turn a profit.
Yes - business make profit, that kind of the point.
Autoaid would have come out to me after suffering a blowout on a pothole, but I never had a spare wheel and never had any foam, so they wouldn’t. They would however arrange for a tyre co. to come out at my expense. I declined and sorted it the next day as I managed to get home by other means.
buzzer said:
STe_rsv4 said:
Not a damaged wheel but I had a similar incident years ago.
driving along and hit a pothole so deep that I bottomed the car out and cracked the sump resulting in oil leaking out. Called the AA, told them the situation only to be told that it was classed as a "road accident" and that I would not be recovered. I argued that there was no accident and that it was the state of the road condition that caused the damage. They wouldn't have it. had to call a private recovery service to get home
this is why I will use the RAC or green Flag in future...driving along and hit a pothole so deep that I bottomed the car out and cracked the sump resulting in oil leaking out. Called the AA, told them the situation only to be told that it was classed as a "road accident" and that I would not be recovered. I argued that there was no accident and that it was the state of the road condition that caused the damage. They wouldn't have it. had to call a private recovery service to get home
they are no quibble...
Eventually putting them onto the police who had turned up convinced them to attend.
Once they guy turned up he sorted it very quickly with no fuss. I couldn't change it myself as with no wheel, the normal jack wouldn't fit under anywhere...
To be fair to them, I complained, got an apology and was refunded about half of my premium.
But my lesson from this is, don't tell them any details on the phone - "Flat tyre" "Engine stopped" etc is about the limit of it. The patrols themselves have always been competent and done their best - with both AA and RAC we have only ever been let down by the back office stuff.
Similar thing along time ago. I caught a stone and similar in my caterham and it managed to hit the sump. Oil everywhere. Spoke to the breakdown co and they said accident, not our problem. Argued the point and eventually they agreed to let the roadside patrol adjudicate. He was very happy to order a wagon to transport it, no suggestion of it not being covered.
Again I'd say be as vague as possible to avoid the arguments.
Again I'd say be as vague as possible to avoid the arguments.
In years gone buy I had used the RAC to recover me when I crashed and the car wasn't drive-able and also when I smashed the sump on a cats eye, it was some time after that they changed policy to not recover after a collision so went with the AA as they were cheaper, never classed wrecking a tyre on a kerb or pothole would fit in the collision category though.
Seems I need to look again though, point taken from above to keep the detail as thin as possible when calling
Seems I need to look again though, point taken from above to keep the detail as thin as possible when calling
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