Breakdown Cover - RAC £237.97!! WTF
Discussion
Just opened the wife's RAC renewal notice and they are taking the mick.
At £237.97 it's an absolute joke so I'm looking at alternatives.
She's been with the RAC (with me as an additional covered person) for over 40 years and we have probably called them out 4 times in that period.
The latest was only a few months ago when I had a throttle cable snap on my TVR and although I had a spare cable with me, I didn't have any tools. When I called the RAC an automated message told me I had to log the callout via their website unless I was stranded on a motorway. They took 5 hours to come out and the Sub contracted mechanic told me that he had been told he had to fix the car as they didn't have a transporter that my car would go on. If I hadn't had the spare cable I'd have been stuck for at least several more hours.
Anyway, I've discovered that wifey has been paying these stupid membership fees for years, She says she did try and change to Green Flag a couple of years ago but they will only cover cars under 10 years old and our 4 cars are all over 10 years old.
So, what suggestions have you?
I like the RAC for the fact that the person is covered rather then the car so whatever car you are in you should be able to be rescued but other than that feel they are rewarding loyalty with greed.
TLDR: What alternatives to RAC breakdown for cars over 10 years old
At £237.97 it's an absolute joke so I'm looking at alternatives.
She's been with the RAC (with me as an additional covered person) for over 40 years and we have probably called them out 4 times in that period.
The latest was only a few months ago when I had a throttle cable snap on my TVR and although I had a spare cable with me, I didn't have any tools. When I called the RAC an automated message told me I had to log the callout via their website unless I was stranded on a motorway. They took 5 hours to come out and the Sub contracted mechanic told me that he had been told he had to fix the car as they didn't have a transporter that my car would go on. If I hadn't had the spare cable I'd have been stuck for at least several more hours.
Anyway, I've discovered that wifey has been paying these stupid membership fees for years, She says she did try and change to Green Flag a couple of years ago but they will only cover cars under 10 years old and our 4 cars are all over 10 years old.
So, what suggestions have you?
I like the RAC for the fact that the person is covered rather then the car so whatever car you are in you should be able to be rescued but other than that feel they are rewarding loyalty with greed.
TLDR: What alternatives to RAC breakdown for cars over 10 years old
Join Quidco, get money back, swap between rac and aa each year. They're both as crap as eachother regarding recovery times, both of them have managed to pick up my chimaera though so I don't know what the problem there was.
Just looked, paid the AA £86 for relay recovery this year and got £36 back from Quidco.
Just looked, paid the AA £86 for relay recovery this year and got £36 back from Quidco.
Edited by s p a c e m a n on Tuesday 6th July 11:55
chml said:
If you've only called them out 4 times in 40 years then I'd be tempted to just put the premium into a separate pot and dip into that as and when.
My thoughts exactly. Fair enough if you have a shed that breaks down once a month. Otherwise just save the fees into a pot and just use local garages if needs be. 
Upgrade your bank account to a premium account for about £10 a month. It should come with full breakdown cover along with full travel insurance, mobile cover and a whole host of other things. If you have a joint account then both people are covered for breakdown covered for one payment and either one of you can call, plus it includes home start.
If your bank doesn’t do it, create an account with a bank that does, it saves so much money long term.
Edited to add, I’m with Halifax and have called them out 3 times already this year for an 18 year old car. No premium increases, no denial of coming to sort it out etc….AA came out each time.
If your bank doesn’t do it, create an account with a bank that does, it saves so much money long term.
Edited to add, I’m with Halifax and have called them out 3 times already this year for an 18 year old car. No premium increases, no denial of coming to sort it out etc….AA came out each time.
Edited by itz_baseline on Tuesday 6th July 11:59
Opened my AA renewal this year to be met with the same. My insurance was also up for renewal and they were offering comparable breakdown cover for an extra £65 on my premium.
Called AA (been a member for 20 years); “best we can offer is a 5% discount”. Told them to jog on and that I’ll be leaving. Tried guilting me into staying; asked how I can trust the new provider, said what if they don’t come out and instead subcontract it to a local garage/recovery service. Told her that’s exactly what AA had done the last two times I used them, and that worked out fine.
Haven’t had to use the new provider yet (touch wood I won’t have to) but left AA after 20 years with a bit of a sour taste.
Called AA (been a member for 20 years); “best we can offer is a 5% discount”. Told them to jog on and that I’ll be leaving. Tried guilting me into staying; asked how I can trust the new provider, said what if they don’t come out and instead subcontract it to a local garage/recovery service. Told her that’s exactly what AA had done the last two times I used them, and that worked out fine.
Haven’t had to use the new provider yet (touch wood I won’t have to) but left AA after 20 years with a bit of a sour taste.
I've been with the AA for many years, I chose them initially because they had more trailers for motorcycles. (not sure if this is still the case)
This year like every year I had the renewal double in price so yesterday I spent 30 minutes on the phone like I do every year and reduced it from £171.77 down a more palatable £88.54. (Last year I paid £81.52.) That's for relay which is the only bit I'm bothered about. As usual I was told they could reduce the price by adding relay as a complimentary to the roadside cover.
I'm forced to ring them anyway due to the automatic annual renewal thing but it does mean I end up with continued piece of mind and a better price. If you forget and they take your money there is a 14 day cooling off period with a £20 charge.
Any vehicle I'm in or on is covered whether it's mine or someone else's. I tested the service once in 2012 and it was very efficient.
This year like every year I had the renewal double in price so yesterday I spent 30 minutes on the phone like I do every year and reduced it from £171.77 down a more palatable £88.54. (Last year I paid £81.52.) That's for relay which is the only bit I'm bothered about. As usual I was told they could reduce the price by adding relay as a complimentary to the roadside cover.
I'm forced to ring them anyway due to the automatic annual renewal thing but it does mean I end up with continued piece of mind and a better price. If you forget and they take your money there is a 14 day cooling off period with a £20 charge.
Any vehicle I'm in or on is covered whether it's mine or someone else's. I tested the service once in 2012 and it was very efficient.
We have mutual assist INCLUDED with our NFU Mutual insurance, who are also the cheapest insurers I could find. During the lockdown, they extended that to included recovery to any U.K. destination for free (RAC). That ended on 30th June, just gone, so we paid £19-99 to put that on my wife’s car ((£7-83 for the rest of this insurance premium). My car is on extended warranty, so that is already covered. So, check you cannot get assistance with your insurance policy.
itz_baseline said:
Upgrade your bank account to a premium account for about £10 a month. It should come with full breakdown cover along with full travel insurance, mobile cover and a whole host of other things. If you have a joint account then both people are covered for breakdown covered for one payment and either one of you can call, plus it includes home start.
If your bank doesn’t do it, create an account with a bank that does, it saves so much money long term.
Edited to add, I’m with Halifax and have called them out 3 times already this year for an 18 year old car. No premium increases, no denial of coming to sort it out etc….AA came out each time.
Not sure FULL travel insurance is that easy or cheap to get now.If your bank doesn’t do it, create an account with a bank that does, it saves so much money long term.
Edited to add, I’m with Halifax and have called them out 3 times already this year for an 18 year old car. No premium increases, no denial of coming to sort it out etc….AA came out each time.
Edited by itz_baseline on Tuesday 6th July 11:59
+1 for Autoaid, they charge £7.50 a month to cover vehicles over 15 years old. I've only had to call them out once when the fuel pump failed on my old van a couple of years ago but the service was superb, the van was on the back of a low loader within half an hour of me phoning them.
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