Autoaid breakdown cover

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mrnice

mrnice

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Up **** creek.
Hi all, i'm going on a family holiday soon in my 1996 Discovery XS 3.9L V8i LPG and decided to get some breakdown cover, Ive found a company called autoaid that are only £37 a year and seem to have really good feedback, I was wondering if :

1-They cover Discoverys as the say in their terms and conditions "The vehicle – a saloon car, hatchback, estate car,
car derived van, motorcycle or motorised caravan under
2.5 tons gross vehicle weight and with an engine​
capacity of no more than 2500 cc" (my engines bigger and i weigh more than that).

2- If anyones had any experience with them and what they are like, i understand them to be a "pay and claim" service whereby i pay the towtruck/garage etc and then claim it back within 14 days via a claims form, i dont mind that as i plan to keep my credit card on me whilst travelling.

cheers:)
 
it doesnt matter how much they cost - its whether they will be there when yu want them. Personally, I havent heard of them before, but then all of my cars have breakdown cover thru the insurance - it seems to only be abour £25 a year and they aught to know what vehicle you have. You also have the added lever, that if the recovery isnt good, they are likely to loose the insurance too. Might be worth a call to your insurance.
 
I found them on the moneysavingexpert.com website so im quite confident they are reliable enough but it is well worth a phonecall to my insurance company just in case i can get the same deal cheaper.
 
Last edited:
mrnice said:
I found them on martinsmoneysavingtips website so im quite confident they are reliable but it is well worth a phonecall to my insurance company just in case i can get it cheaper.
Click to expand...

if you found it on that site then i'd say that's more than enough reason why NOT to use them

dont think you can beat Greenflag on price or service - there's more than a few threads about coverage on here might be worth a read of them to see what others have said
 
mrnice said:
Hi all, i'm going on a family holiday soon in my 1996 Discovery XS 3.9L V8i LPG and decided to get some breakdown cover, Ive found a company called autoaid that are only £37 a year and seem to have really good feedback, I was wondering if :

1-They cover Discoverys as the say in their terms and conditions "The vehicle – a saloon car, hatchback, estate car,
car derived van, motorcycle or motorised caravan under
2.5 tons gross vehicle weight and with an engine​
capacity of no more than 2500 cc" (my engines bigger and i weigh more than that).

2- If anyones had any experience with them and what they are like, i understand them to be a "pay and claim" service whereby i pay the towtruck/garage etc and then claim it back within 14 days via a claims form, i dont mind that as i plan to keep my credit card on me whilst travelling.

cheers:)
Click to expand...

If your engine is bigger than 2500cc and heavier than 2.5 tons then I would say they wouldn't cover you, what's the point in paying £37 pounds a year for an admin service if you then have to pay upfront to be recovered, there are plenty good recovery companies where for a one of fee you are covered throughout Europe and don't pay any costs upfront if you breakdown.
 
at £37 I would say it is highly unlikely that it will have full relay/recovery cover.

If you are going on holiday it's worth paying the extra £40 for full cover. If it doesn't have relay/recovery and you need towing home you will be looking at £1 a pile to your destination AND BACK plus VAT. You may even be liable for callout charges for additional trucks (can be up to £150 a time) if the guy recovering you isn't on tachograph.
 
mrnice,
forget about the franchise companies join the AA not the cheapest but definitely the better equipped patrols/vehicals. 3.5t's no length/height limits, no pay n claim and when(not if)your landy breaks down I'll take you home.
 
the problem with the AA is that they have massivly reduced the number of "patrol" vehicles - so you could be waiting ages - think this was done as a cost cutting measure after they got brought out

when they do turn up there's a good chance that there'll be a spotty kid driving it, and the first thing he'll do is want to plug his test equipment in

whereas greenflag is a network of little and big garages all over the country, you'll nearly always get a proper mechanic arrive and 9 times out of ten they'll either fix it or be able to tell you exactly what the problem is - and then if needed they will move the vehicle
 
the other cheap way to get either AA or RAC coverage is to spend your Tesco tokens on membership - it then will cost you aproxiamtely a quarter of what it would if paying in real money
 
skidmarks said:
mrnice,
forget about the franchise companies join the AA not the cheapest but definitely the better equipped patrols/vehicals. 3.5t's no length/height limits, no pay n claim and when(not if)your landy breaks down I'll take you home.
Click to expand...


Originally Posted by Sean
the problem with the AA is that they have massivly reduced the number of "patrol" vehicles - so you could be waiting ages - think this was done as a cost cutting measure after they got brought out

when they do turn up there's a good chance that there'll be a spotty kid driving it, and the first thing he'll do is want to plug his test equipment in

whereas greenflag is a network of little and big garages all over the country, you'll nearly always get a proper mechanic arrive and 9 times out of ten they'll either fix it or be able to tell you exactly what the problem is - and then if needed they will move the vehicle
Click to expand...

The AA will also NOT recover you to your chosen destination after an accident without charging you for the privelage.

There is a new breakdown group recently started up called 'rescue service'. They are also along the same lines as green flag.

I use RAC AND greenflag myself. Rescue service is also worth considering.
 
AA on recruitment drive as we speek all fully quallified mechanics.
The private garages will send anyone to you from a mechanic to the tea boy.The standard training for them is to say "Nowt I can do wi that mate ECU fuuked will aft to get a truck" It's the their interest to recover rather than fix because they get paid for checking out initial fault and for the recovery.
 
skidmarks said:
AA on recruitment drive as we speek all fully quallified mechanics.
The private garages will send anyone to you from a mechanic to the tea boy.The standard training for them is to say "Nowt I can do wi that mate ECU fuuked will aft to get a truck" It's the their interest to recover rather than fix because they get paid for checking out initial fault and for the recovery.
Click to expand...

do you work for the AA ?
 
skidmarks said:
AA on recruitment drive as we speek all fully quallified mechanics.
The private garages will send anyone to you from a mechanic to the tea boy.The standard training for them is to say "Nowt I can do wi that mate ECU fuuked will aft to get a truck" It's the their interest to recover rather than fix because they get paid for checking out initial fault and for the recovery.
Click to expand...

So for the record are you saying that the AA DOESN'T use the same sub contractors that you have just slated?:confused::confused::confused:
 
ratty said:
The AA will also NOT recover you to your chosen destination after an accident without charging you for the privelage.

There is a new breakdown group recently started up called 'rescue service'. They are also along the same lines as green flag.

I use RAC AND greenflag myself. Rescue service is also worth considering.
Click to expand...

Very true they will charge you £104 just to a safe location or local tow. which I agree is crap but why not phone your insurance comp they should have their own approved recovery and will sort body shop courtesy car and get your claim moving.
 
ratty said:
So for the record are you saying that the AA DOESN'T use the same sub contractors that you have just slated?:confused::confused::confused:
Click to expand...

Yes they do but thats why they are recruiting to try and cut down on garaging.
It will never be 100% because there is so much work out there and you can always insist on a yellow patrol(if your prepared to wait).
 
skidmarks said:
Very true they will charge you £104 just to a safe location or local tow. which I agree is crap but why not phone your insurance comp they should have their own approved recovery and will sort body shop courtesy car and get your claim moving.
Click to expand...

The insurance companies are not obliged to provide a courtesy car immediately.

Many insurance companies will not provide a courtesy car if yours is a write off.

What happens if you are third party only?

Am I right in saying you work for the AA?

The AA will also not undertake ANY tricky jobs themselves. If you get bogged, lose your keys for your car and it's parked in the top of a multi storey carpark etc the AA will send out subcontractors to do the dirty work.
 
skidmarks said:
Yes they do but thats why they are recruiting to try and cut down on garaging.
It will never be 100% because there is so much work out there and you can always insist on a yellow patrol(if your prepared to wait).
Click to expand...

so while the RAC are over patroled by 150 patrols you are saying that the AA are understaffed?

What is the AA's policy on recovering caravans over 21 ft in length? Last I heard they wouldn't tow them.
 
Sean said:
if you found it on that site then i'd say that's more than enough reason why NOT to use them

dont think you can beat Greenflag on price or service - there's more than a few threads about coverage on here might be worth a read of them to see what others have said
Click to expand...
I agree green flag are very good and keenly priced.
Dave
 
skidmarks said:
Yes I do and can honestly say I will do anything I can to help anyone get fixed or recovered.
Click to expand...

supprise supprise

just for your interest please do a search for the various recovery service threads on here, i bet for every good thing said about the AA you'll find 50 good things said about Greenflag
 
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