As predicted, the AA increased my premium from about £50 to exactly £208.
Some half-hearted negotiation on my part brought this down to around £100.
It's still too dear, and I can't be bothered to discuss it with them any further.
Looking at comparison websites, I see there are several insurance-based policies for around £30.
This is one: www.rescuemycar.com/Breakdown/Car/
The standard of cover looks reasonable: home start, breakdown and recovery.
It's not pay and claim, either.
Any thoughts?
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Some prices here
tinyurl.com/5svkl3o
and Gem recovery reviews, well thought of it seems, here
www.reviewcentre.com/reviews86993.html
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It's not an answer to your question, I know, but I pay a little over £60 for my breakdown cover with Green Flag. The full works, less European cover.
Edits to include link www.greenflag.com/
Last edited by: Clk Sec on Fri 25 Feb 11 at 14:44
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Just like insurance, you never know untill you call them following a breakdown!
MSE forum recommends Autoaid and that is cheapest. But this is pay and then claim service. I have it but not used yet.
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>>>As predicted, the AA increased my premium from about £50 to exactly £208.
For what level of service and number of people/cars??
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...For what level of service and number of people/cars??...
Me as a personal member.
Breakdown, relay, home start and stay mobile, whatever that is.
They knocked £50 off for removing stay mobile, and then another £50 when I said it was still too dear.
The cover I linked to is the rough equivalent of breakdown, relay and home start.
So it's £30-odd against just over £100.
At the moment, I'm inclined to take my chances with the cheaper cover.
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Isn't, or wasn't, Gem closely involved with the IAM? I've always heard good comments about it.
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>>>The cover I linked to is the rough equivalent of breakdown, relay and home start.
I always regard regard home start and the de-luxe luxury hire car/hotel with flowers and chocs on the pillow over the top so have just breakdown & relay. Happy to pay £100ish for that from a major provider. RAC always want £130 until the horse trading starts.... usually end up arund £70 which is fine (two people & any car either is travelling in).
Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 25 Feb 11 at 15:40
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AA £61.50 for the year Roadside & complimentary Home Start.
It's about £66.00 for Roadside i beleive.
Been with them 20+ years.
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GEM Breakdown is associated with GEM - Guild of Experienced Motorists, rather than IAM - Institute of Advanced Motorists.
I've said over the years that the AutoAid pay and claim is reliable in my 26 years experience with them. But when I've had free cover with a new car the AA have been fine, on the very few ocasions (one, actually) I've used them.....but dearer, unless you get a real deal with them.
AutoAid is backed by Equity Red Star in Brentwood, a well established, major insurer. Whenever I've used them, and I have, they've been absolutely fine. They have their own call centre. And they're cheap.
AutoNational Breakdown is the 'AA / RAC equivalent' provided by Equity Red Star and isn't, obviously, pay and claim and uses the same call centre as above. It is competitively priced and offered by other insurers as their own breakdown service under their own name.
If I thought I was driving something newish and/or reliable I'd go AutoAid (and have done for all those years) just for a 'peace of mind back up'. Otherwise I'd go for the cheapest be it AutoNational, GEM or AA, GreenFlag.....you won't know how good they are till you need them and any one of them could let you wait, depending on local circumstances....a bit of a matter of luck, I feel.
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>>GEM Breakdown is associated with GEM - Guild of Experienced Motorists, rather than IAM - Institute of Advanced Motorists.>>
I see the IAM magazine regularly and can recall GEM ads in it - might well have been special offers for IAM members; just had a look at an issue and the only breakdown cover advertiser in it is CTC.
Last edited by: Stuartli on Fri 25 Feb 11 at 17:24
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The Which? best buys for breakdown cover based on likelihood of customer recommendation and customer satisfaction with service are:
Auto Aid - 86%
Brittania Rescue, Gem Motoring Assist and AA - 84%
Saga - 83%
RAC and Autonational - 82%
Greenflag - 78%
Aviva - 77%
Europassist - 73%
More Than - 67%
Auto Aid is pay and claim.
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I used QuotelineDirect @ £59 to include European Cover. It's done by Brittania and recommended by:
www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/roadside-recovery
I have never used them so have no idea if they are any good.
Last edited by: Dulwich Estate on Fri 25 Feb 11 at 17:06
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I have been with Brittania and the one time I needed them the response was good.
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Twice claimed with Britannia and both times outstanding service.
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The AA stuffed me so I told them to get stu>>>>
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Iffy,
Like you I was with the AA but nt happy to pay a samlll fortune.
I've been with Auto Aid now for 4 years premium has only gone up a £1 since I joied and last Nov cost me £37. Covers driver for any car or any age. My policy covers SWMBO and me. I had a troublesome Citroen last year and it toally conked out twice on me. Boyo boy was I glad I joined them.
Auto Aid is brilliant I have total faith in them and they come highly recommended based on my experience.
www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk
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I have pointed out, in another thread, that my Zurich car insurance includes breakdown cover; it can be extended if necessary to suit personal circumstances.
Premium cost last year (fully comprehensive) before changing my Bora was £191 and a few pence.
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Some people use breakdown cover as an alternative to regular maintenance on old bangers. On the other hand, with meticulous maintenance of all my cars, I've only made one claim in over forty years and that was for dirt in the fuel of my Hillman Imp in about 1970.
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>>...I've only made one claim in over forty years ...>>
Which is worthy of commendation. However, it should really be regarded the same as house or car insurance - you never know when you might need it, hope you don't, but are prepared for any eventuality.
Being towed off a motorway for instance must cost a fortune if you don't have breakdown cover.
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I'm in a similar boat to L'esc, never been recovered from breakdown but vehicles recovered twice from write off accidents over the years.
In retrospect i should have self insured breakdown cover, i'd be thousands in pocket.
Course if i do that now i'll end up miles from anywhere with a thoroughly dead car the day after i cancel.
I should look for much cheaper breakdown cover (i'm with Autohome, Northampton), but always found get what you pay for, and invariably find out why it's cheap when you need it...bit like all insurances then.
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I've gone for Autonational, which is £66 for the full monty.
There's an introductory online offer of 15 months for the price of 12.
I was tempted by Auto Aid, but there's a maximum payment of £65 on home start.
That was a slight concern because I can imagine the CC3 could suffer some obscure electrical fault which might need recovering to a dealer.
If that happened, it could easily cost more than £65.
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>>I was tempted by Auto Aid, but there's a maximum payment of £65 on home start.
That killed it stone dead for me, too.
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A young family member got AXA breakdown insurance on the web last year for a very good at home and recovery deal. Unfortunately I can't remember the price, but as I was involved it must have been cheap !!
The car wouldn't start at home last week. An hour later a 10-reg, very smart but non-branded Mercedes van turned up bearing the sign - Emergency Breakdown accompanied by yellow flashing lights on the roof.
10 minutes later, flooding with petrol was diagnosed and it was fixed by removal of the petrol pump fuse while being turned over. The bloke couldn't have spent more than 15 minutes on site in total.
Impressed.
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By chance my RAC renewal arrived today. Self & Mrs F Roadside/Recovery in any car we're in. £149 gross, £81-50 *membership discount* so £67-50 to pay.
They must have read my mind... saves the usual phone call to beat them down.
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Is cheap breakdown cover any good? - Perky Penguin
