Breakdown cover question

[mgsmithsky]

Hello
Hoping to get the opinion of those more familiar with the nuts and bolts of what breakdown cover actually does include.
I have complete cover with RAC, which comprises of Roadside Rescue, At Home and Recovery as they term it.
My car is a classic and lately been playing up - it starts ok but once driving, a recurring intermittent fault occurs and the car starts missing and can progress to loosing all power and stopping. It’s like it’s down to two cylinders…
My question is - would/should the breakdown cover I have in place cover it to be trailered to the specialist garage I use 25 miles away?
Thank you in advance

[Captain_Morgan]

There are many different terms & conditions for each policy the best bet would be to read yours & confirm.

[drmotorsport]

Call them and see if they're up for transporting what appears to be a functioning car to get serviced IIRC the RAC small print used to exclude cars over 13 years old from cover in any case.

[mgsmithsky]

Thank you, have read the small print but still uncertain, the policy has no limit on age which is what sold it to me as many do. The car is 29 years old

[Scrump]

I suspect that if you called them with the car at home and asked for it to be taken to the garage because it is likely to breakdown then they will tell you to do one.

If you broke down on the side of the road on the way to the garage and then called them then I suspect they would take the car the rest of the way.

[shakindog]

Call them when it fails to proceed when you are out and about. As then it’s a breakdown
Older stuff can be a pain to sort out.
My advice would be find a local independent with a decent reputation and use them it’ll be cheaper and easier.
As an aside breakdown cover is classed as insurance so can get into the realms of insurance fraud

[Olivergt]

If it starts ok, how far can you get before it starts getting in to trouble?

Once in trouble, how long do you have to wait before it will start ok again?

There are a lot of knowledgeable people here on PH, if you provide the car details, it's quite possible someone on here will be able to help with a diagnosis.

As others have said, if you were to try and drive it to the garage and it broke down on the way, your recovery cover should take it the rest of the way.

What about the garage you want to take it too? Will they collect it? I know there will be a cost involved, but that's all part of the price of running a classic, surely?

[alscar]

Afaik neither the AA or RAC has a maximum age vehicle unless it’s in the small print somewhere.
I have a AA policy which covers homestart , roadside and then recovery to a garage of my choice.
I bought it for my classic Defender and my garage of choice is 28 miles away which appears to be covered from the relay aspect.

[shed driver]

RAC came out for my 1973 P5B Coupe. They trailered it to the storage unit when they didn't have the parts to fix it at the road side.

As far as I can see both the AA and RAC do not have an upper age limit. Finding technians who understand fault finding without plugging in the computer is another thing.

SD.

[mgsmithsky]

Thanks all, appreciate the thoughts and advice. I’ll set off for the garage when next off work see how far I get before calling for help.

[Grumps.]

Don’t they ask for car details when getting quotes for cover?

[alscar]

Grumps. said:

Don’t they ask for car details when getting quotes for cover?

With AA you can buy cover for the driver or passenger or family which covers them in any vehicle.
They have never asked me for any car details.

[mgsmithsky]

I made certain that the age of the car would be covered before taking out the policy. There were a lot that wouldn’t cover anything over I think 12 or 13 years if I recall.

Edited by mgsmithsky on Friday 19th May 18:51

[Grumps.]

alscar said:

With AA you can buy cover for the driver or passenger or family which covers them in any vehicle.
They have never asked me for any car details.

Didn’t realise that.

Thanks

[alscar]

Grumps. said:

Didn’t realise that.

Thanks

[SteveR1979]

drmotorsport said:

Call them and see if they're up for transporting what appears to be a functioning car to get serviced IIRC the RAC small print used to exclude cars over 13 years old from cover in any case.

Nonsense

They recovered my 25 year old TVR a few weeks ago

[Mr.Chips]

A few years ago I was taking my TVR from where I live in East Staffordshire to Track V Road in Clitheroe for a service. I parked up at Keele services northbound to have breakfast and get a paper. When I got back to the car, I noticed a small pool of coolant under the radiator, so I called out the AA. I half expected them to take me to the nearest garage or, at best, the nearest TVR specialist. Not at all, the patrol guy who attended admitted that he would not be able to identify the problem and was more than happy to sort out a Relay truck to take the car to Clitheroe. The relay driver was a real car enthusiast and even wanted a picture of my car to show his son.
In short, I think that if you should happen to break down I would expect that, whichever recovery service you have, will take you to your destination, especially if there are no exemptions mentioned in the terms and conditions.

[Sebring440]

Scrump said:

I suspect that if you called them with the car at home and asked for it to be taken to the garage because it is likely to breakdown then they will tell you to do one.

Scrump said:

If you broke down on the side of the road on the way to the garage and then called them then I suspect they would take the car the rest of the way.

A lot of suspecting there. Any real personal experience of the OP's situation?

[alscar]

Scrump said:

I suspect that if you called them with the car at home and asked for it to be taken to the garage because it is likely to breakdown then they will tell you to do one.

If you broke down on the side of the road on the way to the garage and then called them then I suspect they would take the car the rest of the way.

Except if the car breakdowns at home and the RAC or whomever cannot fix it they will ask you where would you like it taken and then do so - you wouldn’t ask first for a lift.
May not be a seamless transfer until they then send out for a recovery truck though although if at home not the end of the world.