RAC are crap! Anyone better?

[NikTheGeek]

Well it turns out the RAC can't recover a Range Rover. To cut a very long story short, they contracted the job out and the first contractor phoned me and said, I kid you not, "Oh, a Range Rover, I can't recover anything that big". After a 3 hour wait, they said "another firm is coming for you, they'll phone you in 10 mins". Nothing.

I broke down at 2pm, finished on the phone withe the RAC at 2:10 and was eventually recovered at 6:55pm. A 5 hour wait. And, the best bit: I was a "priority" because I have 2 young kids in the car!! They could have driven a patrol from one end of the country to another in the time I waited. I could have flown to Spain and back!

And they don't care either. I've complained on the phone, Tweeted and posted on their Facebook page. Not even a phone call back. So I've cancelled my direct debit with them.

So, who do you recommend? Or do you not bother and just risk paying for a tow if you ever need one?

tnx

Nik

P.S Back home. Rad all fixed by ALS in Poole

 

[Saint.V8]

Last September when the L322 (2.7 Tonnes - far heavier and larger than the P38) fuel pump went pop....I joined the RAC that day (£130) and within 40minutes it was on the back of a lorry being taken home......

Previously a few years back when one of my Classics wouldn't start in a shopping centre car park, a friend of mine was with RAC and they phoned them, it was recovered onto a lorry and taken back home within the hour...AND it wasn't the members car they covered it just because the member was a passenger....

I have no complaints with RAC....

 

[NikTheGeek]

I have no complaints with RAC....

I hadn't, I was a member for 20 years! Maybe it's the area. I accept they can't have patrols everywhere - and they clearly don't in Dorset!

 

[DJ Xan]

I got a quote from the AA to recover me home about 100 miles for £285.
Told them to jog on.
Joined RAC and got recovered Xmas day no probs.

 

[dogsbody]

New Year's Eve, P38 on the M4 with a burst hose.
O.K. it wasn't an RAC flat bed but I was out of there within 40 minutes then a young patrol man spent two hours bodging a repair, and finding a load of anti-freeze, that got me to Perth and home again (and for another three months but it's embarrassing to admit that bit).
I've got no complaints about the RAC.

 

[kevwill]

I've got free AA membership with my bank (I say free, I'm sure they get the money out of me somehow). I've used them quite a few times (funny that, being a RR owner!) and always been great, including several trucks home. The only niggly thing is, when you know whats gone wrong yourself and that you need to be towed/trucked home, you always have to wait first for the guy in the smaller van to turn up, tell you what you already know, and then wait for the tow truck.

 

[goonarmy]

The aa are **** too. Id highly recomnd green flag.

 

[gazzab79]

im with aa, never had a problem to be honest, and when i did break down they sent a flat bed straight out to me. took a bout 40 mins.
green flag subcontract a lot because they dont have enough patrols of their own, Think about it, how many of their vans do you see???

 

[matt1295]

i have Asda Breakdown which is Britannia and ive found there service to be great when i hit a badger in an old mondeo mk3 on the way home from blackpool they phoned and kept me updated when and where a petrol man was and even rang me once he was there to confirm he was

and its only £7.50 a month

 

[Bix]

My RR was recovered by Adrian Flux who sub contracted out to a local garage (Cliff Garages http://www.cliffgarage.co.uk/index.html). The flatbed they sent to me was tiny (think it was a Mitsubishi truck middle vehicle in the little photo on their site) but he said it could carry 3.5t on the back. My RR was exactly as wide as the flatbed.

I thinks the guy who came to get you was too lazy to recover.

Photo isn't great but it was taken at about 10 at night in the winter.

 

[matt1295]

I'm from scarborough and all the people at cliff garage are idiots

 

[Bix]

I'm from scarborough and all the people at cliff garage are idiots

I had to give the driver some credit, he was coming from Pickering to collect a crashed car, I was broken down in Snainton, he was told by the garage to bring the bork car to the garage then come back out to me and take me to Pickering.

He used his brain, dumped the bork car in Snainton, took me home then went back to recovering the bork car. He felt it was better to get me home rather than sit in the cold for a further hour or so.

I was a happy camper. I wouldn't use the garage, but heyho.

 

[kevwill]

i have Asda Breakdown which is Britannia and ive found there service to be great when i hit a badger in an old mondeo mk3 on the way home from blackpool they phoned and kept me updated when and where a petrol man was and even rang me once he was there to confirm he was

and its only £7.50 a month

My AA cover doesn't do recovery for badgers.

 

[martynv8]

I've been with RAC since i got the P38 (18 months ago). Not needed them so far although we're taking the Rangie to Dorset next week

 

[crashbox]

Green Flag.

 

[P38guy]

If it's just recovery you need AA all the way IMO. AA TV advert says 98% of cars are fixed at the roadside complete bull****, but second to none for recovery even in Dorset go for the top level of cover around 15 quid per month but don't forget its a P38 we are talking about and at least you will get home to fix it

 

[TCubed]

The only problem I've ever had with the RAC amongst much excellent and welcome help was when my recoverer refused to tow my discovery out of the way of traffic because "you can't tow 4x4's" and had to wait for a lorry. It had a manual transfer box..
Other than that, they've helped on 2 occasions when distributors broke, when I couldn't get a wheel off for lack a wheel nut key (embarrassing), and when I locked my keys in a Clio with the engine on (most embarrassing phone call I've ever made )

 

[Saint.V8]

All Landys can be towed on 4 wheels, just not very far and not to fast.

The L322 can be towed upto 3hours at no more than 30mph without going into Transfer Neutral according to the book (not that I would want to mind)

Not sure on the P38, but I am sure even 30 yards at hand pushing speed will not do any lasting damage!!

 

[jamesmartin]

its only autos have issue with towing but if you put t/box in neutral then you have no issue at all

 

[NikTheGeek]

I've been with RAC since i got the P38 (18 months ago). Not needed them so far although we're taking the Rangie to Dorset next week

ha! That's where I broke down with a split radiator. 5 hours to recover the car. 23 hours to deliver it to the garage to be fixed. So 28 hours they had it before work even started. That was the issue I had. And I know it's not the RAC really, it's the contractor they used, but still...