Rac Breakdown Recovery - Any Good?

Non in my experience are any better than each other.

I’ve been let down by both of them badly, just pick the cheapest IME.

I’m switching back to AA as they are cheaper. Some insurance policies give you the option to have breakdown cover don’t they?

My RAC is £49 per Month AA is £40 for the same level of cover. Breakdown, Recovery and Homestart for all the family(4 of us).

 

Never had an issue with RAC, always been reasonable on time taken and no issues. The AA on the other hand left me on a dual carriageway with an 18 month old for 7 hours, then took another 10 hours to get me from just South of London to near Birmingham.

 

At renewal you can usually get a good decrease in cost by telephone negotiating. No difference to insurance really.

 

I dropped RAC as they sub-contracted service to a local recovery company who were useless. Turnout took ages and left me miles from home, after midnight, with 5L fuel.

 

Several times I've add RAC recovery, they turn up without trailer for motorbike. Just to try & start it, then a few more hours go by.. This is after arranging collection & stipulating trailer recovery or flat-bed. As its part of my insurance coverage I can't moan although each breakdown ruins a whole day usally not just several hours.

 

I was with the RAC for 28 years until earlier this year, when my annual premium went from £250 last year to them wanting £380 this year...i did ring them to try and bring the price down a bit but they said they could only reduce it by 5%, i politely told them i was leaving them.

I have subsequently just joined the AA, £20 pcm for the same levels of cover, i have no doubt this will increase incrementally year on year and as soon as it becomes preposterous i will change again.

 

I belong to the RAC and have done for years, I don't especially rate them and in past years when they have needed to rescue me, I have had to wait long periods for anyone to turn up.

Unfortunately, I don't have experience with any of the others to compare it.

 

Am with RAC. 3 vehicles on it. Not called them out. Did with AA & both times were very good. 90 minutes towed recovery both times with car(French).
RAC/AA/Greenflag much the same re price.
Just trying to get 60 day Euro zone 3 cover at the moment. £156 - £500 is what I’m finding

 

Have European family RAC cover as it comes with my Barclays Bank account £15pm. Used it a few times on both car and bike. Whoever has arrived has always been very professional and waiting time can be from an hour to 3 ish. All are subcontracted to nearest available company.

 

I actually broke down a car (just a flat battery) in the RAC Headquarters car park in Almondsbury, when I was working on a contract with them. Gave up waiting in the end and sorted it myself. They, like the AA, are beyond shit. All breakdown companies wanna do is take you money and then do as little as possible.

 

I’ve been with both over the years and they are both rubbish so now I use Auto aid who are lots cheaper, I’ve never needed them but my wife did once and they got the job done.

 

With BeMoto titanium coverage, so it's mainly RAC but if you're in the wilderness. They subcontract to whoever with a flatbed because the touring motorbikes are so heavy.

 

Had issues with both - wont be without cover but worries me if I get stuck with grandkids in car ETC. Start of this year, in freezing conditions friend got stuck about 130miles away from home, they basically got relayed between 3 different trucks. Each would pick them up, do not more than 40-50miles each, then just unload them and sod off with no real info other than another truck is on its way. Ended up taking almost 10 hours to get 130miles. One of the drop off's was a layby, not even a services or any facilities, total let down.

 

I get BDC via my policy with BikeSure. Used once. 6+ hours in total.

First bloke showed up from a subby, saying he’d been asked to come and try to fix it (even though I’d said it was terminal and needed recovery) - I then waited for a few hours more for someone to show up. Sat in full leathers for all that time outside a railway station in 25 degree heat.

I still have the cover but if I broke down within 20 miles of home, I would probably see if a local mate could go to mine to get my van so I could recover it myself!

TBH I don’t think any of them are much good and you get what you get on the day.

That said, my van shed a rear tyre a few years back - the chap on the roadside phone got someone via my van insurance and within 35 mins I was back on the road. I was lucky too and the sidewalls had stayed on, thus saving the wheel and rear quarter!

 

I’d have refused to get out of the truck!

 

Not sure on Wasey friends experience but when I got recovered home there were 2 swaps all due to drivers hours, yeah you could refuse to leave the recovery vehicle however if the drivers hours are out he has no alternative but to drop the car and get going.