Worth getting breakdown recovery insurance for 12 days in France

creedp

Anyone any views on whether its worthwhile getting breakdown recovery insurance for trip to France? Last year I took out cover for E60. Anyone any experience with a breakdown in France? Thanks

It will be worth it should you break down

Del2005

It'll cost a lot more than €60 to get back from France if the car breaks down. The recovery will usually have an English speaking operator as opposed to finding a French recovery company, and you usually never break down in convenient locations or times.


My experience from dropping my bike and shearing off the foot peg and gear selector in the deep South of France means I'd never risk it. I had recovery and called them, in the few hours we where waiting 3 of us where searching the net for bike shops and couldn't find anything. When the recovery wagon arrived we were 5km from a Kawasaki dealership who had the part in stock. Got the foot rest and gear linkage replaced for €50 on top of the around hundred Euro for the recovery saved me riding across France using vice grips as a foot peg and leaving it in 3rd for a thousand km.

TrailerBob

I go to the continent pretty much every year and I wouldn't go without having the breakdown cover. I drive one of the most reliable vehicles on the planet, and it's maintained very well, but the risk is still too great for cheaping out of €60.
Getting your car sorted without it could be serious hassle. Most companies will offer an hour of labour at the roadside to get you up and running before towing too.

batskat

My mate does the continet regularly last ten years typicaly five times a year for periods of one month each time .
No he dont do breakdown recovery solutions .
He leaves several old irish cars over in France with his mate and takes ship over to France as foot passenger .
If he were to break down he would just abondon the car start hitching it so he says .

So far never broke down in bad place and he brings car tools and fixxed any issues every time with the tools .

He explained to me the problem is the AA service in Ireland costs too much they want you to do Irish break down membership and then pay extra for the time in europe and they limit it to three months of the year .
He looked the French or continetal break down recovery solutions and then figured out the average tow is online with French motorways web sites is €200 and probably €300 on the sundays bank holidays .
He figured invest the cash in good tools was better solution and get to keep tools .
Worked for him .
He also says often it is cheaper to fly there and hire the car than to take the irish ship to europe so lately he often does that .

For ireland I copied him only take basic third party insurance buy tools and so far after 10 years saved lots of money and increased my tools for my repairing my own cars .

For girls or young kids hitching can be dodgy so in europe families traveling in cars often take out the insurance for peace of mind .
For the lads with older throw away cars some man up and risk it for a biscuit .

If you avoid the motor ways systems and break down and can find local freindy farmer park the car there and return later with solutions .

It was better in the old days when motorist helped each other but the insurance crowd put the skids on that and without your own tools and abilties your gonna be banjaxed if its not a easy to walk away friom banger you drive .
If car breaks down and you throw it away and you dont weant to hitch it Mega bus is cheap from south France to Paris cost often less than €10 .Get a local train to outside paris fopr another €10 .Hitching from just outside paris to Cherbourg is easy enough in summer time .Cold in winter time

Batskat

Odyssey 2005

For €60 you'd be mad not to. Costs me a hell of a lot more. You are also buying peace of mind.

SpaceTime

Yes, oui absolutely!

It's not a good place to breakdown without it, unless you speak pretty fluent French.

_Brian

If you were travelling alone and had good French id say you could chance it.

Now if your bringing your family and your French isn't the best then I'd say it's worth it.
We've been holidaying in France for 12 years and always get EU breakdown cover.

TrailerBob

No offense batskat, but that's a pretty unique situation your friend is in, and the rest is just plain crazy advice..Anybody going on holiday in their car to France or anywhere else really should have breakdown cover. I know that I could fix most things that could go wrong on mine with the toolkit I carry. Most people aren't like that, and I still get the breakdown cover, in case of a gearbox problem, or the like. For €60??? It's a no brainer

Del2005

batskat wrote: »

My mate does the continet regularly last ten years typicaly five times a year for periods of one month each time .
No he dont do breakdown recovery solutions .
He leaves several old irish cars over in France with his mate and takes ship over to France as foot passenger .
If he were to break down he would just abondon the car start hitching it so he says .

So far never broke down in bad place and he brings car tools and fixxed any issues every time with the tools .

He explained to me the problem is the AA service in Ireland costs too much they want you to do Irish break down membership and then pay extra for the time in europe and they limit it to three months of the year .
He looked the French or continetal break down recovery solutions and then figured out the average tow is online with French motorways web sites is €200 and probably €300 on the sundays bank holidays .
He figured invest the cash in good tools was better solution and get to keep tools .
Worked for him .
He also says often it is cheaper to fly there and hire the car than to take the irish ship to europe so lately he often does that .

For ireland I copied him only take basic third party insurance buy tools and so far after 10 years saved lots of money and increased my tools for my repairing my own cars .

For girls or young kids hitching can be dodgy so in europe families traveling in cars often take out the insurance for peace of mind .
For the lads with older throw away cars some man up and risk it for a biscuit .

If you avoid the motor ways systems and break down and can find local freindy farmer park the car there and return later with solutions .

It was better in the old days when motorist helped each other but the insurance crowd put the skids on that and without your own tools and abilties your gonna be banjaxed if its not a easy to walk away friom banger you drive .
If car breaks down and you throw it away and you dont weant to hitch it Mega bus is cheap from south France to Paris cost often less than €10 .Get a local train to outside paris fopr another €10 .Hitching from just outside paris to Cherbourg is easy enough in summer time .Cold in winter time

Batskat

So he's spent several hundred Euro on cars and more on ferries and he thinks he's saving money The cost of cover is cheaper than any car that can make the journey safely.

How does he manage to keep his cars legal so that if one of his other junkers breaks down he can swap over?

keithclancy

creedp wrote: »

Anyone any views on whether its worthwhile getting breakdown recovery insurance for trip to France? Last year I took out cover for E60. Anyone any experience with a breakdown in France? Thanks

Totally worth it if something goes wrong it can get very expensive.

You find yourself wasting so much time ringing around for quotes and kicking yourself thinking you got ripped off if something goes wrong.

France is one of the worst as well, either:
They refuse to speak English
or
They speak English while greasing their hands with vaseline for the financial surprise sex later