To wonder if car breakdown is even worth it if you’ve been driving for years and never broken down?

[MyHeartyBlueShaker]

I’ve had breakdown cover for ages, but in all my years of driving, I’ve never actually needed it. It feels like I’m just throwing money away for something that might never happen.

I get that it’s supposed to be a safety net but at what point does it become pointless? If you keep your car well-maintained and don’t drive an old banger, is breakdown cover really necessary or is it just another unnecessary expense?

Would love to hear other people’s thoughts - do you have it and has it actually saved you?

We’ve used ours three times in the last two years.

First time, my clutch went completely and the car was stuck on my drive. They came and towed it to my garage for repair.

Second time, my start stop motor went. The car was only 6 years old and in well kept condition so completely unexpected.

The most recent one for us, was in Jan/Feb time, DP was driving home from a late football match (work, not pleasure), and snow began to fall on the journey home. He got stuck on Woodhead Pass on a steep incline. He tried waiting it out a bit hoping it’d pass, but the snow got thicker and heavier. He had to sit in the car all night overnight. That was disappointing but we understood the breakdown company couldn’t risk their staff either in those conditions. The next morning, they came out and recovered the vehicle. He’d never have got it out alone.

After having cars for 18 years, these are our first call ours for our breakdown and I’m glad we didn’t give up on it, especially after the snow saga.

After an unfortunate experience when I first started driving 20 years ago - battery died at the side of the road, I had to ring up RAC and get emergency cover at huge cost - I have had it.

In that time I havent had to use it and often thought about whether I needed it - we do less than 6000 miles a year and the car is relatively young and serviced regularly. That was until last year when our clutch failed at 7pm on the M4.

The RAC man came, confirmed problem and towed us the 100+ miles home- if we had not had the cover I think we would have had to arrange recovery from the side of the mortorway, pay for a local recovery company and probably spend the night in a hotel before arranging onward travel - all no doubt costing considerably more than the annual fee. In the scheme of things £100 or less is worth it for the reassurance.

My advice is to shop around each year - look at the advice on money saving expert and similar to get the best deals and dont be loyal to one company.

Mate of mine thought it was a waste of money and never had it.
Then he broke down on the way to Cornwall.
The nearest garage couldn't fix it and the tow back to South London cost more than the holiday.
It's like all insurance, it's a waste of money until it isn't.

I assure you that when I broke down on the M40 during a snowstorm it was worth it. Or when I stopped in a part of London I didn’t know late one Saturday evening and the car wouldn’t start.

When you need it, you really need it. I’ve never had all the bells and whistles packages, but I wouldn’t be without the standard cover.

I’ve never had breakdown cover in my life (mid 40s now) and I’ve never needed it. The main reason I’ve been stuck on the side of the road has been for a puncture which is easily sorted. Generally, Dh can get the car going enough to get it home or to a garage to be fixed. If ever I needed it, I’d just pay the premium for it, which would still be cheaper than nearly 30 years of breakdown cover.

The thing with insurance is you never need it until you do, then you are pleased you have it.
We used it when travelling on France once, without it the costs of bringing it back would have been prohibitive.
But you will have to work out how much you pay and how much you would pay if you had to call someone out and decide yourself if it's worth it

It’s effective insurance, you pay for it so you don’t have to pay huge expenses. I’ve never used my house insurance, doesn’t mean I’m going cancel it.

We've had breakdown on all 4 of our cars and had never used it on any of them until my little car had 2 breakdowns within 6 months of each other. Each was due to a replacement part being needed (ignition coil and then something else) but they were in the middle of flipping nowhere, after dropping off the dog at his daycare (basically a field!). I was mightily relieved to not have to pay the £400+ cost of recovery.

Your cover should be priced on the basis of the miles that you do. More miles=more expensive cover.

Yep. Would wager that you’ll break down within a week of cancelling 😁

It's not really about you though is it? You can have been driving for fifty years and never broken down - then you borrow your son's elderly car to cross town and - whoops, you need a breakdown truck.

My car is ageing at the same rate as I am, so I have got AA coverage. I do occasional long trips away from home and there's nobody to come out and get me if I break down half way, so while my AA membership might be pricey, it buys me peace of mind that I won't be left somewhere in the dark with a trashed car. At least I know I can get home (I've got the Recover to Home' option).

Yes yes yes definitely worth having
please check you have relay with your cover lots of bank / insurance covers don’t include relay at the moment one company is charging £4.50 per mile to get you home 😳 so it’s worth checking you have the cover you think you have

No! I would never stop ours. It costs less than £80 a year, and we have used it 3 times in the past 3 years. (Didn't use it for 6-7 years prior to that, so it's a good job we didn't cancel it because we hadn't used it for ages!)

We live rurally, and DH works 20 minutes drive from our house, and he travels at night sometimes, and through country lanes, and he can't risk being stranded. I sometimes travel alone too, via country lanes, and lonely roads, and sometimes come back in the dark. Breakdown cover is essential for us. I would never be without it.

We all buy/pay for something that we never use, that's life I'm afraid @MyHeartyBlueShaker Car insurance, home contents insurance, house insurance, (bricks and mortar,) pet insurance, travel insurance, etc. It's batshit to cancel it because you've not used it so far...

.

Bit of an aisde, but when I renewed mine recently it had key loss insurance on it for what seemed to be a really cheap price considering how much the key fobs are.

I hadn't driven my car for over 2 weeks - was over 200 miles away, family emergency. Car less than 3 years old, parked on drive. Went to drive to work on Tuesday morning, flat tyre. Breakdown cover essential.

It's worth it when you need it. Really. Crossing fingers not the best option.

I'd love to know how/where you can find a "cheaper local garage" that are willing and able to do call outs and ad hoc repairs at a moment's notice? Around here, you need to book your car into the garage for a service with 6-8 weeks notice - that both dealerships and local independent garages. Our village garages don't have breakdown trucks so don't "do" call outs at all as they're too busy with pre-booked repair/service work.

My son tried to book an MOT in his city, and he tried about a dozen garages before he found one that could fit him in within a couple of weeks - none had any "turn up and wait" availability - all worked on appointments.

So whilst it's a nice idea to risk it and hope to find a local garage to do a cheap repair, I think these days, you're not going to easily find one!

The problem is the very few times my family has used it we were very very grateful we had it. I think the annual price is still under £100 isn't it? Its worth it for that to me.

I know we have it included with our 5 year service plan and thereafter of we use the main dealer for servicing they give breakdown cover for free. I guess at that point I'll look at the price differential between that and a local servicing garage plus breakdown cost

We also had it free on our previous car through our bank account although we paid a certain sum each month for the account. So it would still involve working out what's best

I would never drive without breakdown cover. Not unless I was driving around with a mechanic as a passenger.

You never know. I used to work in breakdowns and I learned that any vehicle can break down at any time for any reason. Anything can and will happen on those roads. It's dangerous out there so be careful.

I've had two brand new cars breakdown suddenly so I'm very glad I've had it.

I would never be without it. Have had to use it on several occasions over the years.
And even if I hadn't I would be completely convinced that the day after I cancelled it something catastrophic would happen that would cost thousands to recover. Just because that's how things work in my world!

I have had to use our breakdown cover on a 8 week.old car. So the old banger theory is not always true.

Formme I prefer the peace.of mind it gives.

It’s might be OK to not bother with it if you only drive locally and have access to someone who can come and help you quickly.
I’ve had it for 35 years - used for punctures mainly - not old cars.

As a woman driving alone, with poor strength as I age and minimal mechanical skills, I wouldn’t be without it, and I wouldn’t have been without it when I was younger because it gave me confidence to go further afield. No dad, brother or husband to bail me out.

I must have been unlucky - in 8 years of driving I've used it about 5 times! Not old cars for most of them, either. Mine has key cover and puncture cover - both of which I've used previous policies for in the past - and it's about £50 a year, worth every penny to me.

I wouldn’t be without it either, used it plenty of times and it’s a life saver.