If you have no breakdown cover, what do you do if you do breakdown?

[Fordian]

Hadn't really occurred to me before, but despite the plethora of breakdown cover providers (who I gather all pool together to send out a convenient local driver), what would you do if you'd forgotten to renew, say, and you broke down somewhere?

Weird as I was talking to my friend about this last week! She was telling me that they'd just bought their daughter a car recently as she's just passed her test and she got warranty with breakdown cover included. Really good one too - no idea on the details but happy to ask.

Maybe breakdown is mostly included in insurance/bank accounts etc? (AXA European failed us dismally a few years back when we had a problem driving through France, the only stand- alone cover we ever bought.)

We had this when we were much younger - we just called the AA, we had to sign up and didn’t get as good a deal as if we’d had it in advance. So we joined them from that date and they came right out and rescued us. So you just join up at that point.

Phone a local breakdown service. Most towns have them and as you say thats who many big firms end up using anyway.

Call my DH!

@ladydiggins maybe the OP is your friend and has inadvertently outted themselves?!

The time I’d forgot to renew mine, and broke down, I called a breakdown company. RAC I think. They came out as an emergency but the cost was more than the annual policy.

Call my DP who is great at fixing things. If he's not close by/can't leave what he's doing within a reasonable timeframe to come sort it/thinks it sounds like he can't fix it then I call the garage, who will come fetch it with a tow truck and leave it with them for fixing while DP picks me up/ I get a taxi home.

Never broken down. Upgrade our car every few years, keep it serviced, never had any major problems that ever need any repairs, only pay for mot and service.

You can still call a breakdown service like RAC, they will just charge top whack. I have had to do this before and they charged me for a yearly membership but with none of the usual discounts you can find if you buy in advance.

Anyone relying on the cover your warranty or insurance chucks in, be careful, my DM got caught out as she thought it gave her national breakdown cover but it didn't, it was only home start. She didn't check 🙄

I've had my money's worth this year with three bloody breakdown, including recovery. £130 a year cover for all three drivers in our household covered in any vehicle, even one we don't own, is VERY worth it IMO.

Interesting! How do you find out who the 'local breakdown cover' is, though, if you're on the side of a road at 10pm?

That’s no guarantee, we’ve only ever had one brand new that. That one had to be recovered at least four times! All our others have been 2-3 years old and had no issues.

I broke down on the m25 around 20 years ago. I was more than an hour away from home, so i called the aa who charged me £300 to join and tow me home. I've always bought breakdown cover since!!!

You can join the aa then and there, costs more of course but as I've saved years of not paying £150 I'm better off!

Google ‘recovery service’ and the place you are… they’ll charge you £50 or so to turn up with a truck and tow you to the nearest garage (or anywhere you choose).

The last time I broke down was a while back now and I was without cover so I joined the AA. Had no time to search elsewhere. The police had pulled over and told me if in an hour’s time I was still there then they would organise for me to be towed off to the services (about a 100yds away) at a cost of £150!

We have breakdown cover but recently my Dad broke down and he doesn't, he had to pay a decent chunk to get someone to come pick the car up. He got breakdown cover the next day. We have ours as part of our bank account fees it's been invaluable.

I broke down recently and despite having RAC cover through insurance paid for a private tow because I was given a wait time of 5 hours. Tow guy I got showed up in 30 mins.

Why wouldn't you have breakdown cover? I used mine most recently (couple of years ago admittedly) when I got a puncture and couldn't get the locking wheel nut to unlock. I've used my AA membership when a passenger in another person's car too.

I can't believe the complacency on here. Breaking down on a lonely road at night is no joke. On a motorway it's positively dangerous. Why would you take the risk to save a few pounds.

Google local breakdown?

I live rurally and breakdown cover is a must have for me and I wouldn't be without it

I have AA i may only use it every couple of years but it's peace of mind to know it's there. Driving the route and distance I do for work I wouldn't not have it.

I've had them out for a flat battery, when I was putting air in my tyres and noticed one was hissing (the pin in the fitting had stuck) I've used it when I've been a passenger in someone else's car.

The recovery companies have become a bit shitty in the last few years and you're waiting hours and hours to be collected with AS and RAC.

I wouldn't use the ones you get free with banks etc as they can usually only take you 25 miles or so.

I have a company car but I previously got gold cover level on my insurance with policy expert and it was included. One time my car leaked its coolant all over the place and couldn't be driven. It happened at a petrol station very close to my work and there was a pickup and trailer. He gave me his number and said to call if my breakdown couldn't cover. So lovely of him but my breakdown cover was perfect and they picked me up within an hour or two. I was at work so there wasn't a rush. I really recommend this as it didn't cost much extra at all but I don't know how many callouts you get.

I used to be with the AA a long time ago and you only get 6 call outs a year. I used them up fairly quickly when I was young and too poor to get a good car.

There is a group on Facebook called recovery city. It's all recovery drivers and you can get a quote on there. It's quite expensive. Something like £120 plus £2 per mile.