Distance Driving. PItfalls.

Distance Driving. PItfalls.

Author
Discussion

Nevin

Original Poster:

2,999 posts

262 months

Tuesday 30th July 2002
quotequote all
When I get my Cerb I will be looking to drive it from London to Edinburgh a couple of times a year, mainly for the sheer joy of it and so I can show off to mates back home obviously.

I am however very scared about what happens in the event that the car should break down on the way. If you call out the AA or whoever and they can't fix it, do they take it back to a garage near where you live (London), near your destination (Edinburgh) or near where you are, as I don't fancy having to make arrangements separately to move the car halfway across the country.

Are other recovery firms any different?

pbrettle

3,280 posts

284 months

Tuesday 30th July 2002
quotequote all
You can pay for differing levels of service. I am a member of the AA (by no way unique) such that you can get homestart - get you going if it wont start at your home address, relay - get you to where you are going, or home which ever you want, and then simple breakdown assist - get you going again, but if they fail then get you to the nearest specialist who can .....

So in general there shouldnt be a problem. Had to use them once for my Chimaera, and they relayed the car to Offords for fixing. But if you do breakdown on the way they you can get something sorted out, but more importantly what you want - though you do pay for the service..... then again we are only talking a hundred or so quid - not a lot.

Oh, and I am not pushing the AA here, all the majors do it so shop around, it is a competitive market. Check what you get with your insurance - you never know.

Cheers,

Paul

P.S. Statistics say that you are more likely to breakdown when you attempt to start the car, not usually on the move - therefore the minimum should be enough to get you home from wherever you are....

Nevin

Original Poster:

2,999 posts

262 months

Tuesday 30th July 2002
quotequote all
Ta

Basil Brush

5,090 posts

264 months

Tuesday 30th July 2002
quotequote all
As pbrettle says, check what deals you can get through your insurance company. Often works out a lot cheaper than buying direct.

olly

2,174 posts

285 months

Tuesday 30th July 2002
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Also check your warranty ! As part of the "Spirit" Warranty Holdings policy, we got Green Flag free of charge.

(For reference, Green flag have preference on flat beds over RAC & AA. Green flag take up to an hour to get to you with a Flat bed, AA/RAC are allowed to take up to 3 hours !!!!!)

dannylt

1,906 posts

285 months

Tuesday 30th July 2002
quotequote all
Get the best AA policy just in case - otherwise you'll just wish you had. My Cerbie broke it's oil pressure relief spring up north beyond inverness. The AA happily flat bedded it back down to Fernies in Surrey over the course of a couple of days, and got me a hire car instead - was very happy with the service. Was a thunderstorm all the way back down, so quite happy to drive a Skoda with fantastic windscreen wipers and no aquaplaning!

danny

DavidP

371 posts

273 months

Tuesday 30th July 2002
quotequote all
Green Flag have always sorted me out. As mentioned, they are very keen on flat decking and almost never attempt to repair (once had a bloke come out to me with no tool kit at all!!). As they use local contractors, they can guarantee the response times.

They have no problems taking you where ever you want and you get compensation if they take longer than an hour.

>> Edited by DavidP on Tuesday 30th July 16:48