RAC towing costs - WTF!
Discussion
My starter motor decided to pack up this morning (high pitched squeal/whizz and engine not turning over). It has been doing this intermittently for the last couple of weeks but today it is having none of it. I have called TVR power as they are probably the closes TVR garage to me now that I trust to work on my car (Telford based) plus they have the starters in stock at £170.
I called the RAC (which have towed my car form home twice in the past to Horizon Motorsport before they closed) only to be told they will now only tow/transport a car for 10 miles maximum. I have one of the top level memberships and have never had this problem in the past.
Apparently it has always been in the small print but now they have decided to enforce the policy. The problem with this for TVR owners is that as they do not have a RAC approved TVR repair centre within 10 miles of my house (not many people do) they will not move my car without charging.
I am waiting for a call back from the RAC to discover the cost but for now I am pretty pissed off. What is the point of RAC membership if they will not transport your car (as no TVR centres within 10 miles) after a breakdown? Thank god it didn’t happen while I was driving – I would have been stuck on the side of a duel cartridge way until the RAC refusing to move my car until I hand over extra (and as of yet undisclosed) sums of money.
Pretty pissed off right now.
I called the RAC (which have towed my car form home twice in the past to Horizon Motorsport before they closed) only to be told they will now only tow/transport a car for 10 miles maximum. I have one of the top level memberships and have never had this problem in the past.
Apparently it has always been in the small print but now they have decided to enforce the policy. The problem with this for TVR owners is that as they do not have a RAC approved TVR repair centre within 10 miles of my house (not many people do) they will not move my car without charging.
I am waiting for a call back from the RAC to discover the cost but for now I am pretty pissed off. What is the point of RAC membership if they will not transport your car (as no TVR centres within 10 miles) after a breakdown? Thank god it didn’t happen while I was driving – I would have been stuck on the side of a duel cartridge way until the RAC refusing to move my car until I hand over extra (and as of yet undisclosed) sums of money.
Pretty pissed off right now.
I sold a car ages ago as a breaker as engine had gone pop, the buyer knew this and said he would collect.
the cheeky bugger came to my house (from manchester to south wales) paid me my money. phoned the RAC and told them his timing belt has just snapped on a weekend break to s.wales and could they come and sort it out. The Rac came and as far as i know they trailered the car home all the way to manchester.
this towing malarky is it because your at the home so they limit the miles they will take you. I'm with AA and if i break down miles away from home I want the car brought back there as part of my membership fee. if the AA or RAC wont do this then i will cancel my membership end of.
keep us posted on what you find out
the cheeky bugger came to my house (from manchester to south wales) paid me my money. phoned the RAC and told them his timing belt has just snapped on a weekend break to s.wales and could they come and sort it out. The Rac came and as far as i know they trailered the car home all the way to manchester.
this towing malarky is it because your at the home so they limit the miles they will take you. I'm with AA and if i break down miles away from home I want the car brought back there as part of my membership fee. if the AA or RAC wont do this then i will cancel my membership end of.
keep us posted on what you find out
cupra20v.t said:
this towing malarky is it because your at the home so they limit the miles they will take you. I'm with AA and if i break down miles away from home I want the car brought back there as part of my membership fee. if the AA or RAC wont do this then i will cancel my membership end of.
keep us posted on what you find out
I think it could just be new policy (or implemented policy as part of the current financial climate?), yes my car is at home but I have never had a problem in the past (last call out about 10 months ago maybe). It seems this guy was not at home (on a trip to Scotland) and he suffered the same issue (dated Feb 09 and even posted on the RAC forums):keep us posted on what you find out
Towing costs
It seems this is now the case - I have been doing some google'ing and from the 8th December 2008 new T&C are imposed.
Page 7: Roadside assistance to repair your vehicle including a tow for up to 10 miles from the Breakdown, and taxi fares for the 20 miles from the garage if your vehicle cannot be fixed.
Page 8: You are liable to pay towage costs for the entire distance if you wish to be taken to a destination further than 10 miles from where you have broken down.
Page 11: If we are unable to repair the vehicle within a reasonable time, or if repairs are unwise, we will transport the Vehicle to a destination of your choice within 10 miles. If you have no preferred destination, we will take the vehicle to a nearby garage.
So it looks like that is how the RAC operate now. What happened to all that we will tow you anywhere, continue your journey, put you in a hotel, lend you a car speak they used to sell the policy over the last few years?
Another one that could catch some owners out is this clause on page 10:
In respect of Roadside only cover, the vehicle must be no more than 10 years old at the start of the policy.
Anyone with a 1998 or older Cerbera?
For anyone interested here is the full t&c:
Link to full t&C
I think I will take a look at the AA's next.
Page 7: Roadside assistance to repair your vehicle including a tow for up to 10 miles from the Breakdown, and taxi fares for the 20 miles from the garage if your vehicle cannot be fixed.
Page 8: You are liable to pay towage costs for the entire distance if you wish to be taken to a destination further than 10 miles from where you have broken down.
Page 11: If we are unable to repair the vehicle within a reasonable time, or if repairs are unwise, we will transport the Vehicle to a destination of your choice within 10 miles. If you have no preferred destination, we will take the vehicle to a nearby garage.
So it looks like that is how the RAC operate now. What happened to all that we will tow you anywhere, continue your journey, put you in a hotel, lend you a car speak they used to sell the policy over the last few years?
Another one that could catch some owners out is this clause on page 10:
In respect of Roadside only cover, the vehicle must be no more than 10 years old at the start of the policy.
Anyone with a 1998 or older Cerbera?
For anyone interested here is the full t&c:
Link to full t&C
I think I will take a look at the AA's next.
I'm RAC and have been for 25 years if this is true then I think I'll be looking to take my joint and expensive all bells and whistles membership elsewhere. Any recommendations, not keen on AA tbh, what was the one TC et al where on about that provided great coverage for the various euro trips 
Well I think the AA is slightly better - but only if you have Relay cover:
For Roadside Assistance cover:
Page 9: If, following a breakdown, a patrol or appointed agent cannot fix Your Vehicle within a reasonable time, it, together with the driver and up to a maximum of seven passengers, will be taken to the AA’s choice of relevant local repairer or to a local destination of Your choice, provided it is no further;
Home start is the same as roadside assistance but they will come out if you are within 1/4 mile of your house.
Relay cover looks more promising, page 10:
Relay provides recovery of Your Vehicle, together with the driver and up to a maximum of seven passengers to any single destination of Your choice on the UK mainland or in Northern Ireland (see also General Terms & Conditions, clause 1g, page 13).
but the very next clause states:
What is not covered:
If you join already requiring Relay and the AA is prepared to provide Relay assistance for the breakdown concerned then, in addition to charging an increased premium, the AA is entitled to limit the relevant recovery under Relay to the maximum mileage notified at the time the request for the relevant assistance was made and to charge for any recovery provided in excess of that mileage;
So I guess you need relay day one.
Full t&c
For Roadside Assistance cover:
Page 9: If, following a breakdown, a patrol or appointed agent cannot fix Your Vehicle within a reasonable time, it, together with the driver and up to a maximum of seven passengers, will be taken to the AA’s choice of relevant local repairer or to a local destination of Your choice, provided it is no further;
Home start is the same as roadside assistance but they will come out if you are within 1/4 mile of your house.
Relay cover looks more promising, page 10:
Relay provides recovery of Your Vehicle, together with the driver and up to a maximum of seven passengers to any single destination of Your choice on the UK mainland or in Northern Ireland (see also General Terms & Conditions, clause 1g, page 13).
but the very next clause states:
What is not covered:
If you join already requiring Relay and the AA is prepared to provide Relay assistance for the breakdown concerned then, in addition to charging an increased premium, the AA is entitled to limit the relevant recovery under Relay to the maximum mileage notified at the time the request for the relevant assistance was made and to charge for any recovery provided in excess of that mileage;
So I guess you need relay day one.
Full t&c
TimJM said:
What happened to all that we will tow you anywhere, continue your journey, put you in a hotel, lend you a car speak they used to sell the policy over the last few years?
If you only pay for "Roadside" membership then you get a fix or ten mile tow. If you pay for "Recovery" membership then you get this lot:RAC PDF i just downloaded from their site said:
Recovery
– Recovery is available in the Territory.
– Recovery is only available to members who already subscribe to our Roadside service.
– We will provide the following service if we cannot get your vehicle repaired locally within a
reasonable time:
– Transportation of your vehicle to your home or a single address anywhere else in the Territory.
– Transport for you and up to seven passengers to the above chosen destination (If there are more
than five people this may require two separate vehicles. An adult from the covered vehicle must
accompany any children).
– The above Recovery service is also available should you be taken ill and cannot continue your
journey as you have no passengers who can drive the vehicle. You will need to produce some
form of medical certificate for this (In these cases, we will provide service at our discretion).
What is not covered:
– Breakdowns within a quarter of a mile of your home or place where the vehicle is usually kept
– The use of the recovery service as a way to avoid repair costs.
– Recovery must be arranged at the time of breakdown and cannot be requested later.
– Unless specifically included in the Recovery cover described above, all matters excluded under
Roadside.
– Recovery is available in the Territory.
– Recovery is only available to members who already subscribe to our Roadside service.
– We will provide the following service if we cannot get your vehicle repaired locally within a
reasonable time:
– Transportation of your vehicle to your home or a single address anywhere else in the Territory.
– Transport for you and up to seven passengers to the above chosen destination (If there are more
than five people this may require two separate vehicles. An adult from the covered vehicle must
accompany any children).
– The above Recovery service is also available should you be taken ill and cannot continue your
journey as you have no passengers who can drive the vehicle. You will need to produce some
form of medical certificate for this (In these cases, we will provide service at our discretion).
What is not covered:
– Breakdowns within a quarter of a mile of your home or place where the vehicle is usually kept
– The use of the recovery service as a way to avoid repair costs.
– Recovery must be arranged at the time of breakdown and cannot be requested later.
– Unless specifically included in the Recovery cover described above, all matters excluded under
Roadside.
I definitely have recovery, the membership card clearly states it. Is it the at home term that is my issue:
What is not covered:
– Breakdowns within a quarter of a mile of your home or place where the vehicle is usually kept.
I will wait to hear what the RAC say.
The lane outside my house is 1/2 a mile long and virtually all down hill...
What is not covered:
– Breakdowns within a quarter of a mile of your home or place where the vehicle is usually kept.
I will wait to hear what the RAC say.
The lane outside my house is 1/2 a mile long and virtually all down hill...mickk said:
Ive just checked AA and there is no mention of mileage when recovering a vehicle, i think i got a good deal 3 vehicles, the Cerb, Voyager and Fiesta full home start,relay recovery and breakdown warranty for £250
The RAC wanted £200 just for breakdown and recovery
I paid £125 for my RAC membership which covers any my vehicles apart from the armoured stuff.Which i use a heavy recovery firm for.If this is now the RAC,s policy then i will not be renewing.The RAC wanted £200 just for breakdown and recovery
If true, this is a shame. I've had very good service from them in the past, they have even recovered the car home, let me make arrangements, then flat-bed her 'on' to the garage later that week. Mind, I was genuinely broken down in my own car miles from home on a Sunday.
I do hope this isn't a reaction to the piss-takers. If so, surely there must have been other ways?
I do hope this isn't a reaction to the piss-takers. If so, surely there must have been other ways?
k me !! No wonder everyone's premiums have gone up Seriously though i've been whith the RAC since 2002 and am due to renew at the end of the month. I usually pay just over £150 for me my sister and my mother to have roadside, recovery and Onward Travel. For the second year my renewal has been over £200 and they have sent me two membership cards out (4 in total) and last year when i called them up they knocked one of me off the membership (or said they had) to reduce the cost. How can i be a member twice? Lol! Has anyone else had this problem? So i'm just about the renew again but i'm saying if i cant get it for about £150 i'll go elsewhere. Dose anyone think that £200 is a fair price and that i should stay whith them? That onward travel is pretty good. They pay for a hire a car for me for 3 days if my car breaks down and has to be recovered either home or to a garage. It really helps if you only have one working car and need to get to work and back. Gives you 3 days to fix it or sort out other transport. I've used them quite a bit in the past due to the type of cars i drive and how i drive them. I've gotta say the guy that came out to the Cerbera was spot on! Even compression tested all six cylinders though after the third one was down he knew he couldn't fix it at the side of the road. He called for a flat bed to recover me home then carried on checking them and even said do i want to start stripping it down now? Lol! He let the other half sit in the cab of his recovery truck and left the engine running and heater on for her and then went out of service so she could stay warm untill the flat bed arrived! Hats off to him! For that recovery alone i'm tempted to stay whith them.
Back to the original post. Do you have the home start on there? I never bothered whith that one as i'm never really at home when anything happens and if it did i'd just take a different car. However if you were on your way somewhere at the time then they should really take you to your destination, be it any garage of your choice! 
But now you've already called them you may be a bit stuck?
But now you've already called them you may be a bit stuck?Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff