Best Breakdown Cover?

cormie

Hi,
I think it's time I got some breakdown cover since I do drive for a living! So all I know of is the AA and then the crowds who only do it if you're with a specific insurance company (axa breakdown assist etc).

Are the AA the only (best?) independent breakdown cover company available to us or are there others trying to compete who offer a better deal?

UK and Europe cover will be required and I don't know if it makes a difference, but I drive a van.

I was offered a package for €500 when I bought my (used) van which included recovery/tow and also gave a warranty on the vehicle itself so this would pay for certain things to get fixed.

I feel pretty confident with my van but don't want to be stuck in some French country road in the middle of nowhere without a word of French but Jim O'Pell (the Irish spelling:D).

Any feedback appreciated:)

keefg

Hi,

I wouldn't use AA myself because of a bad experience with them but depends on what other options available.

How new/old is your vehicle? If it's fairly new maybe you can ask your local main dealer for some sort of European coverage?

As for AA, my car broke down a couple of years ago in Blessingdon(overheating problem), I called AA and waited about 5 hours for someone to come out to me - it was not a nice shiny yellow AA van like you see on the telly.

The guy who turned up was in a wreck of a yoke with Joe Bloggs Recovery stuck on the side, after lifting up the bonnet & 5 seconds of examination he said "Your head gasket is gone, I will take your car to my mates garage to get it fixed, you carry on to Dublin on the bus"

I asked "Where is this garage and how much will it cost?"

"I dunno" he replied "Gimme your mobile number & I will call you in a few days to let you know where to pick your car up from"

"No thank you" I kindly replied :rolleyes: and I just bought a couple of bottles of water from the local shop & stopped a couple of times to top it up until I got it to a mechanic where I worked.

Turns out it was a thermostat prob, not head gasket!!

Maybe I was just unlucky and AA are great, but I did not renew my membership after that incident.

Esel

Ring AA and RAC and ask. Be sure to say you're commercial. Also, check with other courier companies who go to UK and mainland Europe to find out who they use.

cormie

Forgot about the RAC.

Anyone have any experience with the like who give you a 12 month warranty when you buy a new vehicle for 500euro that includes breakdown cover? It's a third party, nothing to do with the place I bough it from.

Esel

Would that cover mainland Europe though?

Stephen

I believe RAC do offer EU-wide coverage - my Honda came with 3 years RAC europe-wide breakdown coverage.

cormie

Seems the AA is the only choice for me outside an Insurance policy. The RAC seem to have stopped providing new customers and have given that job to Hibernian, who seem not to cover commercial vehicles. The rest seem to only cover with an insurance policy

AA will work out at about €240 per annum I think, and then I'll have to pay extra each time I want cover when I'm outside of Ireland and the UK at a minimum of €56. So that's going to cost me at least €300 per year pretty much. I wonder would I be better off just going with a new insurance policy that includes breakdown cover?