Are there any recommendations for decent recovery services - the ones where you get rescued roadside?
Definitely not the RAC, they take a ridiculous amount of time to turn out response vehicles. I got RAC cover free with my Multi, but would always use the AA cover if I also have on any issue. They have way more patrols and recovery vehicles than the RAC clowns. AA for me every time, but never on a renewal - they put the costs up like 50%. I cancel the auto renewal and rejoin a few days later as a new member.
I have just joined Start Rescue and pay £50 for recovery. Several companies would not quote because of the age of the bike. Not called them yet so I can't say what the service is like.
Cheap recovery in my experience has always been just that. When you need 'em, you find out how crap they are. I have sat roadside for 8 hours awaiting rescue in the past, only to be told what I told them, that the vehicle needed recovering, which was another few hours. The very, very, very best I have ever needed was BMW rescue. They had my 3 series recovered and trailered up to be taken home with me waiting maybe ten/fifteen minutes tops of me phoning them when I blew a tyre off the rim on the A1M.
I was going to slag off the RAC but I've been beaten to it! Since I left them, I've been with lots and always found them rubbish. There was one that I got for free with my house insurance (and that may of been "Stop" - "Start" sorry). My main memory wa being outside Bath Railway Station watching the trains going to my station. It was only a flat battery but bumping a Ducati is not easy - the back wheel just skidded rather than turn over the engine - that may of been the one where I got a train home and bought in a battery charger the next day. MY conclision: they are all crap. I would be interested to read a good review of any of them. You've got me started now! How about working at the RAC Centre in Bradley Stoke and discovered a car flat battery as I must of left the parking lights on that morning. So I ring RAC Rescue, "Where are you?". "In the f*c*ing car park!". Still quicker to get my ex to drive out and give me a jump start!
So there you go RC1, the advice is to avoid the RAC the AA and anything cheap. Let me know how get on.
I think that any rescue company that has to make money - like the RAC - is always tempted to cut costs. The obvious place to do this is to cut patrols. My experience, with the RAC, was that most nights, the reception was full of patrol people coming in for coffees and warmth. As soon as you had a cold, frosty night, or rain, the reception would be deserted. So, Mr Straigtht-Out-Of-Uni- CleverDick would tell a spellbound nice-but-dim Management to save money by reducing expensive patrols. Result: they were still not madly busy on a mild night and just left call handlers to manage the irate callers who had been waiting ages on a cold rainy night. Result: Mr CleverDick gets promoted and the drop in membership is glossed over. They make up for their failings by doing deals with car manufacturers and insurance companies to give "free" membership to suckers. As these members haven't paid directly for membership, then they can be f*(ked around with impunity.
Was a AA member right up until they told me they were busy and it would be quicker to remove the battery from my SigOthers car on a car park and charge it at home. Needless to say I haven’t been a member since renewal day.
https://www.rescuemycar.com/ I've been with these for a number of years. Personal membership, and price is based on newest, not oldest vehicle. Far cheaper than the major players, and service has always been spot on when I've needed them, car or bike.
In the interest of balance I’ve received excellent service from the RAC, on 3 occasions with an old car I had, and mediocre service once with a bike (waited 2 hours for them to turn up that time), with the AA I received mediocre service once, it’s luck of the draw as far as I can tell with any of them, do they happen to be busy at the time you call?, do they happen to have a van coincidentally in the area when you call?, we use them so infrequently it’s not possible to form a sensible view really.
A sensible view? It is far more fun to slag off the RAC and AA! Whomever I'm with, I expect instant service no matter where I am. Anything less is just not acceptable! I pay for instant service, don't I? I think that they just need more realistic advertising, showing a stranded motorist counting every blade of grass by the M5 before being called back and told to find a new battery and fit it themself! At least that would be funny!
Having a Ford Focus 1.8 Diesel and two older Ducatis I have had quite a number of recovery experiences. We have been AA members (2 people in the same household) for over 15 years and the annual renewal has not yet been unreasonable. I have RAC with my bike insurance but I normally call the AA first. Before joining the AA, I only had RAC - one good (post accident recovery to my home) and one very poor (they sent a sub-contractor when I broke down on the M25 on a Sunday evening). To be fair to the RAC they did compensate me for the piracy of their subby ("pay me now with your credit card mate or we leave you here"). The only downside with the AA is that they will send the nearest patrol to try to fix the problem and they are not always equipped for bike recovery, which then extends the time frame. Most bike problems will need recovery but they have to try. Regardless of the problem you can always let a tyre down and tell them you have a puncture, not many can fix that and they will immediately authorise recovery.
And you can do that without guilt for they are not honest with you. I remember that when I was stuck by Bath railway station, I kept on getting , " they're be with you soon, they are now the A46". Yes, but thy could be on the A46 100 miles away. If they had been honest, I would of just gone off and got a coffee. But it was all this, "stay by your vehicle we are only minutes away" crap that sent me over the edge after waiting at least an hour. I think that it is all of the crap that they spin you that annoys ne. I'd rather that you just got the honest, "your a man in the shit and we're busy, so you are out lowest priority schmuck with a motorbike in the middle of a city. Go and get a coffee, no, a full-on meal and maybe breakfast before we can be bothered to send a someone who knows nothing about bikes apart from scooping them off the road!".
Top tip, never ever accept the renewal price that they send you through the post, we paid £82 for roadside & recovery for myself/wife/daughter, that was 7 years ago, at the first renewal they wanted £142, I called them and said we’re not renewing, miraculously the price was dropped to £82, same year after year.
I do keep an eye on the renewals, and get quotes from the competition, but as I said, the price has never been severely inflated and was (just) under £150.00 last year.
Yes, definitely worth doing, I’m sure they quoted us over £200 one year!, same with insurance of course, robdogs!, I found out a few years back that my father had used the same insurance company for 30+ years, he was paying over £400, got on compare the market and he paid £182.
A guy at work went down to the south of france on his busa and never made it...mid way down he lost in on a corner and trashed it. Called these guys and the bike was recovered and back at his house before he was....even all the broken bits were on a separate pallet to the bike. Says its the best money he ever spent... https://www.eversure.com/breakdown/
I get cover through my bank .. one of the account perks, but assumed it was car only Never had to use it until the old CBR fried a regulator on the M25 on the way home from buying it . Was recovered within the hour .. took the lad almost as long to get the bike on the dolly , and would have been longer if I hadn’t helped . Still very pleased with the service especially as it’s “free”
