…..When I open the AA recovery renewal, suck my teeth, check the price online, and save £47 in one phone call, by politely refusing to pay the rather optimistic renewal price.

5 Years on the trot now!

Did you manage to use the phrase “I’m un-employed from Christs sake?”

They are triers – I’m glad I swapped cars and now get AA coverage rolled in for the small premium of using a Honda dealer (tongue is in cheek by the way).

Did you manage to use the phrase “I’m un-employed from Christs sake?”

Nope. I just said ‘I do this every year. Please reduce price to acceptable level” 🙂

I just do the AA / RAC shuffle

I get it with my bank account. £157 a year gets personal whizz-bang RAC cover for me and her and worldwide travel insurance inc. winter sports. Bargain.

I won’t use the RAC, for 3 reasons

The AA cover the PERSON, not the vehicle, and we have 3 vehicles.
The AA are better for motorbikes. They just are.
The RAC once left me stranded for 4-5 hours on the M4 through a combination of pig headedness and ineptitude. I won’t touch them with a barge pole as a result

I get the AA through top cash back, currently £70 back.

£39 per year for you and your spouse: http://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/

I get the AA through top cash back, currently £70 back.

I did that with the RAC last year.

Will be doing it with the AA this year.

My AA story .
Car went bang on motorway . I had recovery so no biggie.
Rang them up ‘Please dont send a van , it needs recovering ‘
Operator says ‘we fix 90% of problems by the roadside ‘
me.- ‘ There is a big hole in the side of the engine with a con rod sticking out of it, Your little van man will not be able to fix it, Just send out recovery’
Operator ” Our policy is to have all breakdowns assesed by an expert”
Hour or so later AA patrolman in a vauxhall bravo thing turns up.
Takes 1 look under bonnet ” Oh thats ****ed , needs to go straight onto a recovery lorry” No sh1t.
2 1/2 hours later Recovery lorry turns up.

To be fair, I can see why they’d insist on that as a policy. I bet every other caller asks for a recovery truck.

I thought your Focus was the perfect car and not capable of having mechanical problems?

PeterPoddy – Member
I won’t use the RAC, for 3 reasons

The AA cover the PERSON, not the vehicle, and we have 3 vehicles.
The AA are better for motorbikes. They just are.
The RAC once left me stranded for 4-5 hours on the M4 through a combination of pig headedness and ineptitude. I won’t touch them with a barge pole as a result

FWIW, our RAC cover is personal, not vehicle specific.

The other two reasons are fair enough.

With the Wife’s Nonda, they give complimentary breakdown cover each year if you service with their stealers.

Yeah my RAC cover is for me not my car (although oddly I have a separate policy for my car as well as it came with it and had already renewed my personal cover a few months before). They seemed pretty harsh on the renewals though, reduced it but wouldn’t price match some of the others, got to the stage she said she’d be happy to cancel my policy and I bottled first :p

FWIW, our RAC cover is personal, not vehicle specific.

Ahh. It must have changed then.

molgrips – Member

I thought your Focus was the perfect car and not capable of having mechanical problems?

Not within the first 6 months – the power steering pump went luckily the AA man knew what had happened and could advise so saved hours getting a mechanic to know what the problem was. However the Triumph Speed Four I had was recovered 3 times due to major failures!

Our RAC policy has always been personal and not vehicle specific for ages.

Our renewal was around £150 but with topback cash it would have worked out to around £90, called them up and got it for eighty odd.

It (RAC) used to be personal but now isn’t. Mine covered persons and vehicles until last year. I had to make the decision last renewal – the amount they quoted was huge, and when I rang up, they basically said you’ve got a level of cover that we no longer offer to new customers, you can either pay it and keep the cover, or go onto one of our standard products and pay a lot less.

I phone up and say “Here’s the price I’d pay as a new member, after the cashback deals, so that’s what I’m prepared to pay for renewal. Don’t mistake this for a negotiation”. Simple and works, no time wasted, arguably slightly rude but then it saves the salesman chap time too so I call it mutually respectful 😉

RAC will sell you either personal or vehicle cover.

I have personal with them, because I’ll be driving one of two cars or riding my motorbike.

But my wife’s car has vehicle cover on it, because she only drives that and it worked out cheaper than a joint personal policy.

Plus good old Quidco.