To ask what you do when your car breaks down?

[SplunkPostGres]

Posting for traffic and not really an AIBU, but need advice and Google isn’t helping.

My car won’t drive. Last drove it on Thursday evening for a journey of approx 4 hours total and now the back wheel seems locked. ABS light on with ESC and tyre pressure flashing.

I’ve got Roadside Assistance which covers home breakdown and a manufacturer technician will come out tomorrow to look at it.

Assuming it needs to go to the garage, what do you do then? Would you hire a car from Avis etc or ....

I’ve never had this happen before, only been driving for 5 years and never had any issues. Where I’ve needed to service etc, then there’s been a courtesy available.

I live on my own in a rural village, with my six year old son. So keeping mobile is a must. Public transport is limited at the best of times, let alone with the cv restricted timetables.

Sorry to post an AIBU but I’ve no real experience of this and no one really to ask other than team at work, which may look a bit useless their manager asking what to do if your car breaks down.

Personally I try to manage without or by using public transport. But if you can afford a hire car then do that.
It kind of depends how long the car will be in.

Look at what type of cover you have - some cover a hire car, some don't. The garage may have a car you can borrow but I'd be sure they have one available before you get the car taken there.

Breakdown cover, that is.

I either borrow DHs and he goes to work on the train or I hire a very basic one, usually Europcar as they are the cheapest, quite local and pretty efficient
Never use public transport

Ask the garage if they have a courtesy car?

Call my dad to sort it but that doesnt help you (and makes me realise how useless I am!)

I hire a car until it’s fixed

Can't the garage fix it (you get a taxi there and back to pick the car up) then manage without a car for a few days (assuming you are not working at the mo and are home-schooling your child at home?)

Brake stuck on? If you rock backwards and forwards it should come off.

Id wait until the garage has given me a timescale to fix it then make plans with full facts

I have a courtesy car included in my breakdown cover. I get it for free via my garage so long as I go to them for MOT/service each year.

You might find rental rates are low as that encourages people to take them.

Courtesy car from the garage is your best bet - with the added advantage that it's then in the garages best interests to do the repair quickly.

My garage usually lend me a car, but there's no guarantee they'd have one available.

If they didn't, and we were working normally, I'd have to hire one as I'm an essential car user.

I feel really useless in that I’d never considered what I should do if this happens.

Luckily I’ve put aside money each month for servicing, tyres, MOT etc so that’s there to dip into and also savings. I guess I just assumed that as it’s really low mileage, less than 20,000 miles and only bought from the garage last year under an approved, used purchase that I wouldn’t have to think about it breaking down.

This is one of those times that it sucks to be an independent woman, and I just wish I could hand this over to my Dad/husband/brother/other male relative to sort this out. I feel useless saying that but it’s hard being responsible everything by yourself.

Has the tyre on the locked wheel got air in it?

Just ask the garage about the courtesy car.
Have you googled the problem......lots of these things can be something simple.
I hate cars....I spend huge amounts of my time driving them.
I dream that one day I will be a grown up and not have a bungee cord holding my exhaust on or have to turn the radion up to drown out the new rattling sound its making!

I either borrow a car or hire one if there's no courtesy option if I can't just use a taxi, depends how long it is going to take and where I need to go in that time.

I looked at hire car prices the last time mine chucked it. Extortionate.

Ended up just getting a taxi home and taking a days emergency annual leave. Got the bus up that night to collect it once repairs were done.

I think it’s the brake stuck, as it’s happened previously but I’ve been able to get the car going. This time the back wheel won’t move at all, and is now accompanied by warning lights on the ABS system. May be a mixture of long periods of not being used due to lockdown, and calliper rusting. My previous car suffered from rusting on the callipers and I think it’s due to the damp, coastal location which causes increased rusting. I was just about to head out on another 4 hour journey (contact handover), so I guess I should just be grateful that it happened at home.

The brake caliper stuck on the rear of my car. The symptoms were a bad smell from the wheel and it got very hot.

I call DH, or if he isn't around, my parents. I know

I can hire a car here for £15-20 per day, once it was actually £12 so taxis make no sense

@SplunkPostGres

This is one of those times that it sucks to be an independent woman, and I just wish I could hand this over to my Dad/husband/brother/other male relative to sort this out.

You not knowing what to do has nothing to do with being an independent woman 🤔

Wait for what the garage says tomorrow
Do you have the contract / warranty post purchase?
Decide whether you need a car
What’s in your car insurance...

None of these should require a pair of balls 😔😔

I borrow a car from the garage, or just live without it and cycle/walk.
The garage are always really helpful, and if its just the brake caliper then its a quick job. My car had a seized caliper at Christmas and they turned it round in a day