Scary car break down experiences

[Brokemycar]

Just got home after a horrible experience.

On a really busy roundabout with 6 exits and clutch died. Kids in the back aged 8 months and 2.5 plus 2 dogs in the boot. Hadn't got my phone as its broke and waiting for replacement. Pitch black and raining. Was sat there ages not knowing what to do. Must have been a good 20 mins before someone behind me realised and stopped to ask if i was ok. He didn't have battery on his phone so was trying flag someone down who could help. Eventually a lovely lovely man stopped, used his phone and then he helped me get the children out of the car and onto the actual roundabout as it was safest place for us. He then stayed with us until RAC arrived. Couldn't think of DHs phone number for him to come get.the kids. It was a truly horrible experience and I'm now sitting here cuddling my babies thinking what if.

Oh op, that must have been frightening. I've had a similar experience but this was before I had kids. After that experience, I learnt my DH's and sisters numbers off by heart and always leave spare change and charger in the car. I'm so glad it's all sorted and well done to that man who helped you out.

I've broken down twice and both in relatively safe ways, and still felt very shaky and tearful when then recovery guy turned up. You definitely deserve some TLC tonight. I have a credit card sized piece of paper with important number in my purse as I usually have that with me - done it ever since my school days when I forgot my dad's work phone number and had to walk home in the rain

You poor thing! What matters most is that you’re all safe.

I once got a flat tyre outside a park where someone had been murdered a few days before. RAC tried to claim I didn’t have cover with them (I did) and refused to come out. Had to crawl 3 miles home on a flat.

Not me but my wife. She was in the middle lane of the motorway in a torrential downpour. She windscreen wiper arm snapped and the windscreen suddenly became covered in rain, she couldn't see through it at all! Somehow she managed to get the car safely to the hard shoulder. Whilst waiting to get through to the breakdown service they were playing 'here comes the sun' during a torrential downpour! She was 6 months pregnant at the time.

My car broke down in nigh on thirty degrees I had 5 month old ds in car, no shade anywhere. RAC were not answering their breakdown lines as 'understaffed' I later learnt! I had enough battery on my phone to call my mum who organised for the local police to rescue us. They were proper furious at the RAC, the police were fab I was very grateful.

My car broke down in an underground car park. It was incredibly awkward as I had to keep going into the closed shopping centre to make phone calls to AA and then get told off by security and running back to my car. Nobody was very sympathetic about it considering I was only 17 at the time. Fortunately the man who came to fix my car was incredibly kind!

Flat tyre at the dead end of a 9 mile long single track road on Harris, when the last time I'd had a flat the wheel was rusted onto the hub and I couldn't get it off.....thankfully this time I managed!

Glad you’re ok, OP

Mine was clutch too, on a start-stop traffic on the M4 - couldn’t get the car in gear, just as I hit my emergency lights button I managed to get it into second gear, luckily it was flat enough and I crawled out into the next exit until it died again in the middle of a town I didn’t know. People were really helpful, I have no idea where all the men came out from to help push the car . I needed to be rescued, DH rescued my passengers and I called a recovery truck. It was awfully scary, I kept thinking what would have happened if I was driving at 70... probably nothing as I wouldn’t have needed to change the gear...

Many years ago I was in a stationary jam on the m25. I had been in the outer lane when all lanes ground to a halt. When we all started to move again, my clutch had gone rather like the OP. All cars started zooming past v fast. Luckily I had a mobile phone (they hadn't been invented for long at that time) so I called the RAC and the police came and towed me onto the hard shoulder to wait. I had 2 young kids in the back of the car and the 30 mins I waited for the police were terrifying especially when I could see how many people were on their phones as they hammered past me.