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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

,, breakdown cover for 7 year old car

29 replies

The80sweregreat · 27/02/2019 11:34

posting here shamelessly for traffic! ( no pun intended)

was with Green flag but its gone up a lot - some of the ones on the comparison website i have never heard of before, i assumed that RAC and the AA and Green flag were the only people that did breakdown cover! I clearly know nothing.
what do you do for cover, would i be taking a chance on leaving and going elsewhere? I dont travel that far in my car or use it for work, but it is getting old and i do worry about breaking down at night or something. Is it even worth buying?
It has shot up in price over the years!
Do other people bother with this?

OP posts:
thecatsthecats · 27/02/2019 12:45

Can you get it through your bank?

My reward account costs £14/month and includes worldwide travel insurance, AA breakdown cover, phone insurance and home emergency - I've just had someone out for the boiler today! Much better value than buying them separately.

thecatsthecats · 27/02/2019 12:46

Oh, and I have used the AA cover once in my years of having it... But BOY did I need it.

Michaelbaubles · 27/02/2019 12:48

You can get RAC cover using Tesco Clubcard points (worth 3x face value) or there are always good cashback deals - check TopCashback or Quidco. I always have it but it doesn’t cost very much in the great scheme of things when you get cash back.

Trillis · 27/02/2019 12:59

I use britannia rescue. It's good value if there are two of you in the family that need it. We pay £120 a year for both of us, for their full bells and whistles cover (they also have cheaper options), in whatever car each of us are travelling in. So if a friend is giving you a lift somewhere and they break down, you can call out britannia rescue on your policy as you are in the car. However the single person policy wasn't much cheaper than adding the second adult on, so if there's only you who needs it there are probably better options. I've been with them for years and had them out a few times. They aren't the quickest - normally 1-2 hours for me - but they've been good when they arrived.

Justamemory · 27/02/2019 12:59

I get breakdown cover with my car insurance. I think it worked out about £30 or thereabouts for the year. My car is about 15 years old and definitely needed. For the record, I've always gotten breakdown cover with my insurance, and on the many occasions I've called them they've been really good

GottaGoGottaGo · 27/02/2019 13:05

Britannia Rescue used to be brilliant for breakdown cover, think they are owned by LV now though but still worth checking out.

Original poster
The80sweregreat · 27/02/2019 13:14

Thank you everyone! It's gone up a lot since I took it out two years ago.
Compare the market had people I'd never heard of before.

OP posts:
TheSpottedZebra · 27/02/2019 13:16

Asda breakdown? £75 pa I think.

Gingerkittykat · 27/02/2019 13:16

I use the AA, I've got a new car now but in all my years of driving bangers they were great.

I found their call out times are excellent in my area (central Scotland) compared to the RAC who take hours.

I did have cover for a while through my insurance and they wanted to charge £250 for recovery since I was more than 50 miles from home so make sure you read the small print.

1967CJT · 27/02/2019 13:16

Beware of AA Breakdown cover with your bank account. I had this with my bank account and when I came to use it the cover didn't include recovery to home only to a local garage i.e. only basic cover. It then cost me an extra £80 to upgrade to recovery to get my car back home.

TheSpottedZebra · 27/02/2019 13:17

The other thing is haggle hard to get your current provider cheaper.

Mari50 · 27/02/2019 13:20

I get it through my car insurer.

CrispbuttyNo1 · 27/02/2019 13:23

My DP is a breakdown mechanic. He woukd never recommend RAC . He says green flag and brittania are the best to go with. He covers call outs for all the big breakdown companies so knows how they all work. (In rural areas you usually get a sub contracted local garage that comes out to you no matter who you are with). RAC regularly leave people waiting for hours before they pass jobs through, but green flag are much more prompt as are brittania.

Gruffin · 27/02/2019 13:24

GEM motoring. Been with them for years and they’re a lot cheaper than the big companies.

needthisthread · 27/02/2019 13:29

Check your insurer, I usually take breakdown cover with my insurance through direct line

buzzbobbly · 27/02/2019 13:43

Autoaid.

£0 for one person, £40-something for a couple.

Covers you not the car. Very good level of cover.

buzzbobbly · 27/02/2019 13:43
Blush

That should be:
£30 for one person, £40-something for a couple.

Imustbemad00 · 27/02/2019 22:36

I’m with axa. Less than £60 a year, 14 year old car.
Done a comparison quote and just chose one that covered everything, home assist, all the other stuff.
Make sure you don’t pick one that has a limit on call outs though. Just in case.

lavalamped · 27/02/2019 22:42

AA are good. Not sure if it's all memberships or the gold one (when you're a member longer) but you get 20% off some restaurants and other discounts, so my £65 annual membership pays for itself. Again might be the gold cover but I get free key insurance (think you have to register). If you're happy with your current membership it's worth calling them to cancel and they'll probably reduce the price to keep you. That's what the AA did with me, I've had mine over 10 years and it's hardly increased

Vinorosso74 · 27/02/2019 22:43

When we got our renewal quote through from Green Flag it had gone up a lot. We'd been with them for 8 years without claiming. I did an online quote as a new customer and it was half the price. This was along with looking at RAC, AA etc. Anyway, I rang Green Flag and got the renewal at the same price as a new customer. Might be worth a try??

reallybadidea · 27/02/2019 22:44

Autoaid have been absolutely fantastic whenever we've used them. Complete bargain.

Claredogmum · 28/02/2019 11:26

DP is a mechanic and rates AA the highest. Might cost a wee bitty more but he says well worth it.

missmouse101 · 28/02/2019 11:31

Always go through a cash back website for this sort of thing! Topcashback is the best.

Notthatsimple · 28/02/2019 11:50

I purchased and have used the “ones you’ve never heard of” and they’ve been just as good as when I’ve used AA and Green Flag (GF came with a bank account and I used it in Europe! Good lord that was useful!).

I’ve just done a little count in my head, and I think I’ve used breakdown cover 7 or 8 times. I need to get more reliable cars...

BarbaraofSevillle · 28/02/2019 11:54

Another vote for Autoaid, although not sure what the age of the car has to do with it, they don't ask anything about your car.

No idea why people pay two or three times the price or more from the AA or RAC.

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