Your first time getting recovery
Discussion
So last week on friday evening I hit something in my car (drove over it) and it cracked my exhaust. Took it to kwik fit on monday for a free exhaust check and they confirmed I need a new centre part of exhaust. After trying to force a sale I said no and drove away. Took a video of the crack and showed my mechanic yesterday (Wednesday) . Asked if he could weld some metal over it which he refused to because he said it's rusted so will just blow holes in it. He told me to get it replaced asap but I wanted to make the exhaust last another week. Went to work today and first off my 2004 yaris 1.0 started sounding like the smiley transits (banana engines that the ice cream van uses). That's when I thought my exhaust is on its last threads and I need to get it changed. 5 minutes later my car sounds like a Lamborghini and I can hear the exhaust bopping up and down, hiting my car and the road. Pulled over straight away. Quick look under my car and i was horrified haha. Arranged recovery to my mechanic, got my dad to get the exhaust part and got it fixed quick. Learnt my lesson to fix issues asap and that's the first time I got recovered. Been driving for 5 months.
I'll add some pictures and videos of what happened
What's your first time being recovered? Would be great to hear
I'll add some pictures and videos of what happened
What's your first time being recovered? Would be great to hear
Only been recovered once and that was on my bike. Easter Sunday ride. Clutch went five miles in.
Thankfully they didn’t take long to turn up.
Actually that’s a lie. Also recovered when I worked at Tesco. Coolant leak I think. Didn’t mind that as I got paid to sit at the side of the road and had less work to do.
Thankfully they didn’t take long to turn up.
Actually that’s a lie. Also recovered when I worked at Tesco. Coolant leak I think. Didn’t mind that as I got paid to sit at the side of the road and had less work to do.
LosingGrip said:
Only been recovered once and that was on my bike. Easter Sunday ride. Clutch went five miles in.
Thankfully they didn’t take long to turn up.
Actually that’s a lie. Also recovered when I worked at Tesco. Coolant leak I think. Didn’t mind that as I got paid to sit at the side of the road and had less work to do.
Lol I got paid as well whilst broken down, I deliver for Amazon and just loaded my car up. Shouldn't have bothered if I knew haha. But even then I lost money with the recovery fees! Makes me want a transitThankfully they didn’t take long to turn up.
Actually that’s a lie. Also recovered when I worked at Tesco. Coolant leak I think. Didn’t mind that as I got paid to sit at the side of the road and had less work to do.
Long and confusing story but it is nice when the planets align
and there is a happy ending.
We gave my son some money to get himself a half decent car instead of the economical but s
te shed he was using at the time. He was wondering about insurance costs as his work situation at the time was a bit uncertain, when he got a quote he was pleasantly surprised at the low price to change, so instead of having to wait until the end of the month, he could get his latest purchase on the road
and he took them up on their offer of discounted breakdown cover.
This was the weekend, just by coincidence the following Friday it was my day off, I got an unexpected call from him, he was angry and upset that he had broken his 'new' car and needed help. I reminded him about his breakdown cover and he perked up a bit and rang them.
Like I said the job he had at the time was not going well and a day off would have been another step closer to the inevitable. I set off to help him thinking there would be the usual long wait for the recovery, so perhaps he could take my car to get to work and I would wait with his and worry about meeting up later. Driving down the long straight country road I could see orange flashing lights,
when I got there it was the recovery van with his stricken car loaded up and they were actually waiting for me
The recovery guy was based just down the road and the call had come in just as he was logging on for the day.
Stricken car taken home, son delivered to work only mildly late, a hunt around a few breakers for me that day, replacement part bought, son collected from work later, part fitted and he was back on the road.
and there is a happy ending.We gave my son some money to get himself a half decent car instead of the economical but s
te shed he was using at the time. He was wondering about insurance costs as his work situation at the time was a bit uncertain, when he got a quote he was pleasantly surprised at the low price to change, so instead of having to wait until the end of the month, he could get his latest purchase on the road and he took them up on their offer of discounted breakdown cover.This was the weekend, just by coincidence the following Friday it was my day off, I got an unexpected call from him, he was angry and upset that he had broken his 'new' car and needed help. I reminded him about his breakdown cover and he perked up a bit and rang them.
Like I said the job he had at the time was not going well and a day off would have been another step closer to the inevitable. I set off to help him thinking there would be the usual long wait for the recovery, so perhaps he could take my car to get to work and I would wait with his and worry about meeting up later. Driving down the long straight country road I could see orange flashing lights,
when I got there it was the recovery van with his stricken car loaded up and they were actually waiting for me The recovery guy was based just down the road and the call had come in just as he was logging on for the day.Stricken car taken home, son delivered to work only mildly late, a hunt around a few breakers for me that day, replacement part bought, son collected from work later, part fitted and he was back on the road.
Only happened once for me, broke down in the middle of a high street in a mk2 Golf gti on a friday night. Had to wait ages for the AA, who eventually turned up and said I would have to wait for a low loader to come and pick it up. I knew full well that
A. A low loader would have taken forever to get there
And
B. There was no way that car was going on it without the bumper coming off!
It took forever but I eventually managed to persuade him to tow me instead, got about half way back and the horn (which had never worked) suddenly came on and stayed on! Poor bugger thought I had had a heart attack and died with my head on the steering wheel
A. A low loader would have taken forever to get there
And
B. There was no way that car was going on it without the bumper coming off!
It took forever but I eventually managed to persuade him to tow me instead, got about half way back and the horn (which had never worked) suddenly came on and stayed on! Poor bugger thought I had had a heart attack and died with my head on the steering wheel
I think I've been on a low loader seven times...
Put a car into a fence just outside Compton Martin
In a works van went into the back of another car on a roundabout in Gloucester, cracked the radiator so couldn't drive back to Yate, written warning for that one
Again in a works van, seized the diff whilst on a dodgy housing estate at the arse end of Newport - with a van full of parcels, it was like a Day of the Dead scene...
Put MrsPB's 205 into the side of a 7 Series that turned right across us, at about 35mph. Wrote off both cars
Throttle cable snapped on my Punto Sporting - the only thing that ever went wrong with it in 63,000 miles
Part of the gear linkage broke on the 928, stranding me in second gear on a wickedly hot day, on the wrong side of Sydney
Clutch fork snapped on my last Liberty because I put it up for sale
But that first one was a pain, cos it was my Mum's car, that she'd bought only 2 months previous to replace a car that had been stolen. The car stopped with its arse in the road, at around 10.30pm on windy road with no street lights. Some friends pull up soon after and I tell them to try to make sure other cars can slow down.
The first car they stop is the owner of the fence.
The second car they stop is the local copper, off duty...
Car drove out of the ditch, but that was it. AA dude who collected confirmed black ice on the corner, which was handy of him, because I was going to have a job explaining it otherwise.
Put a car into a fence just outside Compton Martin
In a works van went into the back of another car on a roundabout in Gloucester, cracked the radiator so couldn't drive back to Yate, written warning for that one
Again in a works van, seized the diff whilst on a dodgy housing estate at the arse end of Newport - with a van full of parcels, it was like a Day of the Dead scene...
Put MrsPB's 205 into the side of a 7 Series that turned right across us, at about 35mph. Wrote off both cars
Throttle cable snapped on my Punto Sporting - the only thing that ever went wrong with it in 63,000 miles
Part of the gear linkage broke on the 928, stranding me in second gear on a wickedly hot day, on the wrong side of Sydney
Clutch fork snapped on my last Liberty because I put it up for sale
But that first one was a pain, cos it was my Mum's car, that she'd bought only 2 months previous to replace a car that had been stolen. The car stopped with its arse in the road, at around 10.30pm on windy road with no street lights. Some friends pull up soon after and I tell them to try to make sure other cars can slow down.
The first car they stop is the owner of the fence.
The second car they stop is the local copper, off duty...
Car drove out of the ditch, but that was it. AA dude who collected confirmed black ice on the corner, which was handy of him, because I was going to have a job explaining it otherwise.
Edited by PomBstard on Friday 16th April 07:07
First time was a flat tyre believe it or not... Puncture and no spare wheel at the time (car didn't have one, but the can of gunk but did have was useless too).
Second time was the water pump failing in a car. By the time they turned up the car was cold and I probably could have driven it to the garage....
Second time was the water pump failing in a car. By the time they turned up the car was cold and I probably could have driven it to the garage....
Edited by MikeM6 on Friday 16th April 07:38
Been with the AA since 99 and I stead to think how much I've paid, but despite that and the numerous questionable buys that have come and gone, I've only been recovered three times.
First way back in early 2000's when my Cavalier Turbo decided to reject its head gasket during a random drive in the Scottish borders. Recovered back to my place if work late one Friday night then the recovery driver dropped me off at the pub.
Next was an A6 diesel, four up and fully laden and en route to the MBK world cup. Seized it's alternator pulley on the A9 at Dalwhinnie, threw belt which took out the timing belt. Recovered back to Perth to drop the guys off at their car then recovered home on my own with it.
Last time was about 10yrs ago, diesel Volvo that stripped it's diesel pump belt en route back from Wales. Recovered home from Blackpool by a nutter in an old, rattly and seriously uncomfortable Mitsubishi Canter thing... it was horrendous!
Had a few "attends" too but they were all road side bodges... split water pipe on an old Cavalier then said Cavalier Turbo sheared a bottom arm in Glencoe but an AA patrol went to Fort William, got an arm and fitted it at the roadside in the rain. Gave him a few quid for his efforts for that one!
First way back in early 2000's when my Cavalier Turbo decided to reject its head gasket during a random drive in the Scottish borders. Recovered back to my place if work late one Friday night then the recovery driver dropped me off at the pub.
Next was an A6 diesel, four up and fully laden and en route to the MBK world cup. Seized it's alternator pulley on the A9 at Dalwhinnie, threw belt which took out the timing belt. Recovered back to Perth to drop the guys off at their car then recovered home on my own with it.
Last time was about 10yrs ago, diesel Volvo that stripped it's diesel pump belt en route back from Wales. Recovered home from Blackpool by a nutter in an old, rattly and seriously uncomfortable Mitsubishi Canter thing... it was horrendous!
Had a few "attends" too but they were all road side bodges... split water pipe on an old Cavalier then said Cavalier Turbo sheared a bottom arm in Glencoe but an AA patrol went to Fort William, got an arm and fitted it at the roadside in the rain. Gave him a few quid for his efforts for that one!
So far in about 12 years of owning cars I've never been recovered (touch wood). I've had the AA out to a supermarket carpark to free up a drum brake which seized on but then I made it home under my own power. I've also had the RAC fix a couple of things at home but so far never needed a tow truck. My mothers cars during my youth on the other hand, more times than I can count, the crowning achievement being 5 AA callouts on one holiday, three of them being the same bloke 
.
I've also had a bit of exhaust fall off my first car though, I wondered why the bloke behind was flashing me then he got out at a traffic light, came to my window and informed me that my backbox was hanging off making sparks along the road. I yanked it off, chucked it in the boot and carried on with my rather long journey to university.
.I've also had a bit of exhaust fall off my first car though, I wondered why the bloke behind was flashing me then he got out at a traffic light, came to my window and informed me that my backbox was hanging off making sparks along the road. I yanked it off, chucked it in the boot and carried on with my rather long journey to university.
Never been recovered and only broken down once in nearly 50 years of motoring.
There you go I’ve probably cursed myself now.
My daughter broke down and had recovery free with her bank account (I think). However it was only recovery to the nearest garage rather than home or to a garage of her choice which is a lesson on checking the t&c’s of anything similar.
My first time being recovered was due to something very similar. Exhaust split and the back part dropped and hit the floors like yours, but it stuck in the road and actually pushed the back of the car up and pushed the rear wheels off the ground. It was a FWD little pug 106 gti and I was going pretty quick at the time.... the rear bunny hopped down the road, I was absolutely crapping myself, had no idea what had happened..... AA came out and put it in reverse to put it on the ground , snapped it off and then put me on the flat bed. Shame it was before camera phones
I’ve also been recovered twice in my b6 Audi A4 , mostly due to coil packs and misfires.... twice in my xc90 volvo recently... various warning messages about steering and anti skid awd messages that didn’t really give me confidence driving it on the motorway.... .. and once in a brand new a4 due to throttle body
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I’ve also been recovered twice in my b6 Audi A4 , mostly due to coil packs and misfires.... twice in my xc90 volvo recently... various warning messages about steering and anti skid awd messages that didn’t really give me confidence driving it on the motorway.... .. and once in a brand new a4 due to throttle body
[url]Edited by oldaudi on Friday 16th April 07:57
For me it was like many posters - snapped exhaust.
In my case it was a Mk.1 Punto while I was on the motorway, and it snapped at a joint in the downpipe so it ran like crap and sounded ridiculously loud, and the exhaust was dragging on the ground as it went. The RAC guy suggested I should've driven home 45 miles with it like that!
In my case it was a Mk.1 Punto while I was on the motorway, and it snapped at a joint in the downpipe so it ran like crap and sounded ridiculously loud, and the exhaust was dragging on the ground as it went. The RAC guy suggested I should've driven home 45 miles with it like that!
First, and I think just about only time I’ve needed rescued, was in the late 80s when my dear 1968 Midget decided to lose all its oil and seize the engine, eastbound on the M4, conveniently between the slip roads at Heston. Nice AA man arrived and decided rather than wait for Relay, he would tow me behind his van. What following was a slightly alarming journey 5 feet behind his van, along the elevated section, round the Chiswick roundabout, and back out to home in Maidenhead. I doubt they would do that today.
First time of many, was in my first car. Fiesta 1.1 with 4 gears. Due to a new job I’d spent a fair amount of time going from Reading to Kent on the motorway... not what the little 4 speed Fiesta was made for. Also being 18 I didn’t drive it with much mechanical sympathy, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise when in L3 I got a puff of smoke out the back followed by complete loss of power.
This was at rush hour so getting over to the hard shoulder was a twitchy bum moment as all I could do was dip the clutch and hope I had the momentum to get there.
RAC called out via the emergency phone (pre-mobiles). On arrival he started poking about under the bonnet, and then one by one removed the spark plugs. Removal of one of them revealed burrs of metal stuck to the end. “Yea, your car is fked mate” Turned out that a piston ring had disintegrated.
Several other call outs since. The clutch going to the floor in a Mondeo. A mystery electrical fault on the same Mondeo that turned out to be a relay that isn’t on the wiring map. A jumped timing chain on a 325tds. And most recent a split diesel filter housing on my V70.
I think it’s fair to say I’ve had my monies worth over the years.
This was at rush hour so getting over to the hard shoulder was a twitchy bum moment as all I could do was dip the clutch and hope I had the momentum to get there.
RAC called out via the emergency phone (pre-mobiles). On arrival he started poking about under the bonnet, and then one by one removed the spark plugs. Removal of one of them revealed burrs of metal stuck to the end. “Yea, your car is f
ked mate” Turned out that a piston ring had disintegrated. Several other call outs since. The clutch going to the floor in a Mondeo. A mystery electrical fault on the same Mondeo that turned out to be a relay that isn’t on the wiring map. A jumped timing chain on a 325tds. And most recent a split diesel filter housing on my V70.
I think it’s fair to say I’ve had my monies worth over the years.
Back in 2002.
I was moving house and it finally was the last trip to the new home.
Car was a 220 Turbo Coupé, fully loaded (well... didn't take much...), half way I pull away from a traffic light, 1st gear, second gear and suddenly revs go up, but car doesn't accelerate.
Pull out of gear, pull back in second gear, nasty noise, nothing happens...
Blown differential
at 15 mph
Oh, yeah, of course it was late in the evening and was raining.
I was moving house and it finally was the last trip to the new home.
Car was a 220 Turbo Coupé, fully loaded (well... didn't take much...), half way I pull away from a traffic light, 1st gear, second gear and suddenly revs go up, but car doesn't accelerate.
Pull out of gear, pull back in second gear, nasty noise, nothing happens...
Blown differential
at 15 mph
Oh, yeah, of course it was late in the evening and was raining.
Down sized to a Renault Megane Coupe with 59k on the clock to save money (from BMW 330ci) - saving to move out.
3 days later got caught speeding (first and only ticket touch wood)
About a month later I scraped a low bollard in a car park that was below the window line (literally invisible) writing the car off if I had claimed
A week after that, the cambelt snapped - Schedule was 60k / 10 years. Car was 10 years old on 61k I think. Forged service history was supposedly done at the prior service.
3 days later got caught speeding (first and only ticket touch wood)
About a month later I scraped a low bollard in a car park that was below the window line (literally invisible) writing the car off if I had claimed
A week after that, the cambelt snapped - Schedule was 60k / 10 years. Car was 10 years old on 61k I think. Forged service history was supposedly done at the prior service.
A few times in 35 years of driving, mainly normal stuff.
Although another was more shocking when the wheel fell off my car which happened around 3 years ago! I had just bought brand new alloys from a well respected specialist or so I thought at the time. Luckily, I had just pulled off the motorway and was driving along a slip road when the wheel fell off at 6am in the morning. I knew when I was driving along the motorway that something wasn't quite right, could hear a strange sound. Never in a million years thought it would be the wheel. I was going to take to my local Indy that day to have it checked over but obviously didn't make it. Called the recovery truck and they told me I had been very lucky not to have been in a serious accident as ALL the wheel nuts were loose! My first thought was thinking that the wheel specialist hadn't tightened the nuts. I got straight on the phone to him as soon as he opened that day. His first reaction said it all, guilty as he didn't even say "no chance of me doing that" he was very quiet and listening to everything I was saying. I said I was going to be coming in to see him. I didn't have breakdown cover at the time so it was £170 to collect the car from the recovery site. They had managed to get the wheel back on using some spare nuts they had and tightened the rest up. I drove over to the wheel specialist and said this is your fault. I now have a bill for £170 recovery, £1250 to repair the damage to the wing as the wheel hut it as it came off and a damaged wheel. He paid out in full as I challenged him to show me his CCTV of the workshop as I knew he had cameras and this would easily verify if he had tightened the nuts properly after lowering the car from the ramps. He still kept saying he didn't understand how it could happen. The other thing for me is he never said remember to check the wheel nuts after a few miles or in a few days, that would have covered him. I never felt right driving that car for a while so decided to sell it.
Moral of the story is always check your wheel nuts after the wheel has been off for new tyres or change of alloys, never assume its been tightened properly. Mistakes can happen, thankfully no one was hurt.
Although another was more shocking when the wheel fell off my car which happened around 3 years ago! I had just bought brand new alloys from a well respected specialist or so I thought at the time. Luckily, I had just pulled off the motorway and was driving along a slip road when the wheel fell off at 6am in the morning. I knew when I was driving along the motorway that something wasn't quite right, could hear a strange sound. Never in a million years thought it would be the wheel. I was going to take to my local Indy that day to have it checked over but obviously didn't make it. Called the recovery truck and they told me I had been very lucky not to have been in a serious accident as ALL the wheel nuts were loose! My first thought was thinking that the wheel specialist hadn't tightened the nuts. I got straight on the phone to him as soon as he opened that day. His first reaction said it all, guilty as he didn't even say "no chance of me doing that" he was very quiet and listening to everything I was saying. I said I was going to be coming in to see him. I didn't have breakdown cover at the time so it was £170 to collect the car from the recovery site. They had managed to get the wheel back on using some spare nuts they had and tightened the rest up. I drove over to the wheel specialist and said this is your fault. I now have a bill for £170 recovery, £1250 to repair the damage to the wing as the wheel hut it as it came off and a damaged wheel. He paid out in full as I challenged him to show me his CCTV of the workshop as I knew he had cameras and this would easily verify if he had tightened the nuts properly after lowering the car from the ramps. He still kept saying he didn't understand how it could happen. The other thing for me is he never said remember to check the wheel nuts after a few miles or in a few days, that would have covered him. I never felt right driving that car for a while so decided to sell it.
Moral of the story is always check your wheel nuts after the wheel has been off for new tyres or change of alloys, never assume its been tightened properly. Mistakes can happen, thankfully no one was hurt.
First time I had a car recovered was when I came off the A55 in North Wales in heavy snow. Ended up at the bottom of an embankment. which was a couple of hundred feet lower than the road. The car didn't look too bad with just a crushed NS front wing and to the surprise of the two blokes who stopped to see if I was OK I didn't suffer any injuries.
A colleague picked me up to give me a lift home and we stopped off a the nearest SOS phone so I could tell the Highways Agency (or whatever the equivalent was then) about the accident and that I would arrange recovery the following day. As it happens the accident had already been reported and the police had been looking for me and the car. It was a white car and in the snow pretty much impossible to see.
So the next day I ring the AA and they send out one of their sub contractors to collect me from work and take a look at it. It turns out that it can't be recovered by using a winch and requires a crane. At the time the AA would recover you from an accident under your membership if the recovery truck could recover it. A bit of luck comes my way however. The recovery bloke turns out to be the boss of the local recovery firm who have a contract with the Highways Agency to recover HGV's so they have a crane which s easily up to the job. They have a job to recover an artic further up the road that day who had pretty much done the same thing as me. Because the recovery is non local and I will travel with the car the contractor gets paid loads of money by the AA. So for £100 cash my car gets lifted back on the road by a massive mobile crane.
As it turns out although the bodywork damage wasn't that bad the rear subframe had been twisted so it was a bit of a bigger repair bill than I originally thought.
A colleague picked me up to give me a lift home and we stopped off a the nearest SOS phone so I could tell the Highways Agency (or whatever the equivalent was then) about the accident and that I would arrange recovery the following day. As it happens the accident had already been reported and the police had been looking for me and the car. It was a white car and in the snow pretty much impossible to see.
So the next day I ring the AA and they send out one of their sub contractors to collect me from work and take a look at it. It turns out that it can't be recovered by using a winch and requires a crane. At the time the AA would recover you from an accident under your membership if the recovery truck could recover it. A bit of luck comes my way however. The recovery bloke turns out to be the boss of the local recovery firm who have a contract with the Highways Agency to recover HGV's so they have a crane which s easily up to the job. They have a job to recover an artic further up the road that day who had pretty much done the same thing as me. Because the recovery is non local and I will travel with the car the contractor gets paid loads of money by the AA. So for £100 cash my car gets lifted back on the road by a massive mobile crane.
As it turns out although the bodywork damage wasn't that bad the rear subframe had been twisted so it was a bit of a bigger repair bill than I originally thought.
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