RAC.... Not as good as they claim to be ??

[SGHOM]

Or are they?? Jury's out on this one :sigh:

I gave someone a lift the other day to his broken down car, he just left it in a layby & got a taxi.
His front spring had snapped, so the car needed recovering. He rang the RAC & told them what had happened, & that it was un drivable.

Their promise is to be there within 30 mins. The operator told Alan it would be within 75 mins? ....... All credit to them, they arrived within 10 mins !!

A quick look at the car, & he said " yep ...... It need towing" err?? No sh!t batman !!

2 hours later..... The recovery truck turned up!

Is this efficient service by the RAC.... Or just false promises??

[Kryton]

AA are quite shocking aswell. I had a car catch fire once & then wouldn't turn off (thank you Clifford - remote start). I rang them & explained what happened & 45 minutes later a man with a van turns up to inform me that he won't be able to get it going (even though I had already told them), they then sent a van with a lift on the back & then said that this would be no good due to my 4wd & can only flat tow up to 15 miles max. I then had to waitfor a flat bed to turn up! great organisation there! Never had any issues withRAC or Green Flag though

[Atik]

When my rad blew up recently, I called the AA (I only have roadside assist as part of my bank account) and they came out to me in about 20 minutes, with a flatbed as I specifically told them it was 4WD and needed a flatbed. Then had to pay the extra to upgrade to full recovery and pay the additional mileage over the maximum 50 miles thats allowable! Cost me £160 in all to get home. Cant fault the service I had though.

[JTG]

AA have always been good for me.

[pedro]

Dare I say it...... Ive never broken down so I really wouldnt know.......

[elnevio]

Not had a problem with the AA in all the years I've been with them.

When I called them in December with the broken diff, I told them it needed a flatbed - and that's what turned up!

[Nick Mann]

Mine has needed flatbedding twice in the last five years - both gearbox failures. The first time they sent a flatbed as I told them that's what I needed. The second time they sent a van to check I needed a flatbed. The guy driving the van was quite apologetic about having to second guess my diagnosis, he said that flatbeds had been requested when they weren't needed so now they try and send a van first to double check.

On the whole, I can't complain about the service the RAC have given me.

[Kryton]

I think its probably more down to the individual mechanic + how busy they are rather than the company but I would still rate green flag from my experiance especially for full cover through tescos for s0 quid! Bargain

[c0xxy]

a green flag mechanic sprayed a can and bit of easy start into my mates old diesel clio because it was struggling to start. it never did and when he got another mechanic to look at it, the guy laughed and said he might aswell bin the car!

[BillHardy]

:mexicanwav I had cover thru my Ins for 60 quid with my Nissan Patrol towing a trailer with 3.5 ton on,broke down and they arrived in about 1 hour,took me and the Patrol on the flatbed and towed the trailer to my customer to unload then brought me back from Hincklety to Arbroath and the driver said they would be charging my breakdown provider 750 quid for the job.


Best 60 quid I ever spent

[Turbo_Steve]

Hi there!

- Can I have a flat bed to take me to a subaru specialist in Warwickshire, please?
- What's the problem with the vehicle, please, sir?
- The Gearbox casing has shattered and the propshaft is lying on the ground
- Okay, sir, we'll send a mechanic out to you now
- No, A mechanic is going to be no use: the gearbox has shattered.
- I don't think it has, sir: gearboxes are part of the engine, they don't shatter.
- Did you really just say that? Out loud? I don't want a mechanic.....I want a flat bed! Bits are hanging off the car: Unless the mechanic has a spare gearbox, prop mount and possibly prop shaft cos it looks a bit mangled, then what?
- It sounds to me like a clutch problem. Mechanic is on his way.
=click-


Mechanic arrived in an hour and, to his credit said "whoa! Flatbed time for you!" and left.

Flatbed arrived 3hrs later. Finally got home at 0400am.

And I had to pay for the flatbed as I didn't have recovery.

So for £75 a year, I get what? Patronised?

Needless to say, I am no longer a member of any recovery service. When I have needed recovering, I use the internets on my phone to list a few local recovery firms, and then phone them up and ask for a price.

So far, it's worked out cheaper than paying for the AA for 10 years.

[Spirit]

Have full AA cover (top plan) via my bank account (costs £17 a month for this plus Worldwide holiday insurance, two mobiles insured etc etc). Had to use them a couple of times and no complaints really.

Wouldn't be without cover purely in case Shaz is out on her own and breaks down.

[chris g]

Well when I 'broke down' in Germany on a Ring Road a flat bed arrived within minutes and after prompt loading - no foolishness trying to sort the car - the car was removed

I had to sign my soul away, give them the shirt off my back and promise them my future earnings for all eternity...

Final cost to me.....




NOTHING - Thank you AA Ins







And best money I ever spent - on ADAC recovery

[White Lightning]

Yep, I think I will be going with ADAC this year purely so that I have cover at the Ring also. We don't have any recovery cover at the moment but did use to have AA and could never really fault their service.

[Johnny_Cashed]

The only time I've used the AA they were fine. Granted I didn't need a flatbed, but turned up reasonably quickly and towed me home. Would rather not have the stress of trying to arrange a collection while I'm turned the air blue with curses.