British motorists please help

[NaokoSmith]

Guys, AA or RAC? Or another motor assistance agency.

(You can imagine me asking for help while stood on the side of the road leaning on a powder blue Jaguar E-type and with my skirt hitched up if you like. As long as it doesn't distract you from my poll.)

I have got a car! Swiss Army Wife has passed on her former Ford to me. HP asked me what it was, and I said a Zetoc and he immediately wrote back laughing to say: Zetek. That made me laugh! I have often corrected his typos but as soon as it's about motor cars you boyzzz are right in there on it.

It is a super MILF mobile, and comes with a little case above the driver door for sunglasses . Swiss has left a pair of slightly scratched Calvin Klein glasses in there for me , for days like today when I happen to have left my Barbour sunglasses at home and amazingly the sun actually is shining.

Don't worry, I am taking it in for a full service next Tuesday. Pore ole lady, her bite is not what it was - the clutch is a bit unpredictable and occasionally I am left sitting at a junction trying to floor the accelerator while going nowhere. I do want to belong to some rescue agency, though, in case I get stuck out somewhere with Piglet and other piglets, and need someone to come and collect us and any surfboards, bicycles, small family pets or other stuff that I intend to carry in the car.

(My mum is Japanese (tends to say 'r' for 'l') so we tell her not to talk about the clutch at dinner parties. )

 

[Weird Harold]

It has been 40 years, or so, since I drove in the UK. I didn't have breakdown coverage then, either.

However, I would suggest you check out http://www.greenflag.com/ as they were the only provider that offered European coverage. I would suggest AA as a second choice based on the association's history.

 

[oggbashan]

The AA is the largest, followed by the RAC and then Green Flag.

All are expensive beyond the basic roadside assistance. If you have an enhanced Bank Account you might find you already have roadside assistance as part of the package - check. I have the RAC basic roadside assistance as part of my account with Barclays BUT I cannot upgrade it to include other services.

I have used the AA for decades. I have roadside, Home Start (for breakdowns at home and within five miles of home not covered by roadside), and Relay which will get me home if they can't get the vehicle going at the roadside.

I recommend getting the three services (or the RAC or Green Flag equivalent). The other services they offer can be very expensive and have exclusions based on the age of the vehicle and whether it has always been serviced by the appropriate main dealer.

Both the AA and RAC sometimes have stands outside supermarkets. Joining there can get an introductory discount. Some societies, trade unions, academic bodies etc. have discount deals with the AA or RAC - but beware! Some of those deals can appear financially attractive but have severe limitations on claims.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

In the US most auto insurance policies, at least those with a Comprehensive component, will include roadside assistance.

Comprehensive is usually the least expensive part of an insurance policy. It also includes a rental car if yours breaks down and can't be repaired except at an auto repair shop.

 

[R. Richard]

I know nothing about UK roadside assistance. However, the UK Zetec engine was usually an inline four cylinder, interference engine. (A 3.5 liter V-8 Formula One engine was also badged as a Ford Zetec. although this is unlikely.)

In an interference engine, if the drive chain that controls the camshaft fails, at least some of the valves go bye-bye (technical term here.) Have the drive chain/timing chain checked and replaced, if and when they have to open up the engine for major repair.

 

[1handslapping]

Mine

comes with my insurance, (but they changed providers between one of the big 3 halfway through last year so I ring the number on the paperwork, only to after 20 minutes messing about getting told it's not with them and to ring provider X to get my coverage)

hopefully they won't do the same next year

 

[snakey123]

I'm with RAC but both AA and RAC are pretty much the same.

 

[beachbum1958]

.....

 

[SamScribble]

Hello Honey

If you have comprehensive insurance, check with your insurer. Many have a friendly-priced add-on. If you [cough, cough] qualify for Saga, that might be worth checking out.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Awww, thanks guys! It sounds like they are all equally awful

beachbum, can't believe they didn't buy you and your wife martinis and champagne for the privilege of laying hands on your cars, never mind being allowed to tow them home. (Love the location! LOL.)

Thanks for the tip, RR, I will write those words down on the back of a shoptill receipt and squint at it while saying something approximating it to the guys in the garage. It is a real nice garage, BTW, where they previously just sorted out a smashed wing mirror on the black beetle I used to drive (it happened while I was parked up and some distance from the car myself ) and talked over with me the extra cost of them getting it painted the same colour as the black beetle (ie black) instead of just doing it and charging me a fortune. I like them because they don't flirt with me and seem actually interested in just getting on with the car service!

I think I might have Green Flag as part of my bank account. I'll phone and find out. I rejected them as I thought they might be too small - like beachbum says, have only one breakdown van for each nation in the UK. But maybe they are OK if they also cover Europe. (Not that I intend to drive the ole lady all through Europe! LOL. Whenever Swiss Army wife went skiiing she took her husband's Mercedes .)

 

[Weird Harold]

I think I might have Green Flag as part of my bank account. I'll phone and find out. I rejected them as I thought they might be too small - like beachbum says, have only one breakdown van for each nation in the UK. But maybe they are OK if they also cover Europe. (Not that I intend to drive the ole lady all through Europe! LOL. Whenever Swiss Army wife went skiiing she took her husband's Mercedes .)

European coverage is extra, and if you're not regularly traveling to the continent it probably isn't worth it. I only mentioned that because Greenflag is the only one that advertised European coverage on their website.

 

[Handley_Page]

I rather think Green Flag may have a few more blokes on the road these days.
After all, they've had a significant advert campaign. . .

 

[oggbashan]

European coverage is extra, and if you're not regularly traveling to the continent it probably isn't worth it. I only mentioned that because Greenflag is the only one that advertised European coverage on their website.

I have short term European cover through the AA because I am a Gold member - whatever that means. It might mean that I have been a member since before most of their roadside people were born.

I also have up to 28 days RAC European cover through my bank account but that is very basic and I think is 'Pay now, recover the charges later'.

Because my Volvos are ancient in AA terms, the limitations on European cover are severe unless I pay them almost as much as the holiday.

The AA and RAC give priority on breakdowns to a woman on her own or travelling with no other adult, but you have to say that when calling them out. It can reduce attendance time significantly.

 

[Weird Harold]

I have short term European cover through the AA because I am a Gold member - whatever that means. It might mean that I have been a member since before most of their roadside people were born.

When I was stationed in East Anglia in the mid-70s I had auto insurance with Lloyds. I could have gotten a short term/one-trip policy rider for European coverage (including breakdown coverage) but taking a vehicle to the continent wasn't as easy then as it is now.

Still, with only a cursory check of coverages for comparison, Greenflag was the only one that advertised European coverage on their website's front page.

I'm sure that most auto-insurance providers can include breakdown coverage, either as a short-term policy rider or permanent coverage -- although probably on a "pay-and-recover" basis.

 

[matriarch]

AA every time.

 

[miloumilou]

Auto Aid

Pop along to Martin Lewis's site, Money Saving Expert.com, and you'll find all you need to know (see Travel and Motoring: breakdown cover).

I use an excellent company named Autoaid (can I post a link here? Not sure but I'll see...) http://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/ and the service (only used twice in ten years or more) has been excellent. You do have to pay up front for towing and repairs, but you claim this back with the receipts. They are very punctual at settling up. For as little as £41 p/a currently (it was £29 when I first joined many years ago) you get as much cover as AA or RAC 5 star.

If you're sensible and keep good records, this really is worth a look.

Good luck.

 

[NaokoSmith]

I use an excellent company named Autoaid ...
If you're sensible and keep good records, this really is worth a look.

Good luck.

Thank you MilouMilou! you are a gentleman (especially being a dog n' all and still helping out a cat such as moi).

I have looked into it in more detail, and to my great surprise I found that my bank account, which is with the Co-operative for political rather than practical reasons, provides exemplary roadside assistance as part of the package!

I tried to take the car out the other day and I couldn't even get the key fob to open the door (cuz of course Swiss Army wife, my friend who sold me the car, had something you can press so the car lights up if you're not sure where you left it when you went shopping). So I had to take a taxi to get Piglet to and from the dentist. Then look into whether I had cover - and the cover with my bank even includes assistance at home, plus roadside recovery and all sorts. It's with the RAC, which I see is the least popular one in this poll, LOL, but after all it's free so I can't complain.

Yes yes, , I had left the parking lights on and as I rarely use the car, it had run the battery right down. Apart from that, and the odd problem with the accelerator when you go from a standing start, the car is running very nicely!

One of my friends suggested I get a thing I could keep in the garage and I attach it to the battery, then I can start it myself if the battery goes flat. Does that sound like a good idea? I don't use the car much so this is possible. Like, the battery went flat again the other day and I had to get a jumpstart from a kindly taxi driver. Now I just turn the engine over for five minutes every morning to make sure, which is a bit of a drag. But I don't want to end up with a hairdo like Mrs. Frankenstein!

 

[Messier82]

Your battery shouldn't go flat even if you haven't used the car for a month. Get a new one, should only be about £30-£50 depending on the model. A car battery should be replaced every three years (according to a friendly local mechanic), though my last car, which I kept for 12 years, only needed one replacement in all that time.

 

[beachbum1958]

.....

 

[Messier82]

I drive a DB5,

... and how many guys on here wish they could say that? Very nice

 

[oggbashan]

...

One of my friends suggested I get a thing I could keep in the garage and I attach it to the battery, then I can start it myself if the battery goes flat. Does that sound like a good idea? I don't use the car much so this is possible. Like, the battery went flat again the other day and I had to get a jumpstart from a kindly taxi driver. Now I just turn the engine over for five minutes every morning to make sure, which is a bit of a drag. But I don't want to end up with a hairdo like Mrs. Frankenstein!

The 'thing' is a battery charger BUT using them on modern cars can be problematic. My more modern Volvo requires me to disconnect the battery in a particular order, apply the battery charger, leave it charging for 24 to 36 hours, disconnect and remove the battery charger and then reconnect the car's battery in a reverse order. Even then it warns that it might interfere with the car's computer, requiring it to be reset by a dealer at a cost of £40 or so.

Modern batteries shouldn't go flat that easily. It sounds as if your battery is beginning to fail (or your alternator is faulty).

The 'cheap' battery chargers are trickle chargers typically delivering 1 to 2 amps an hour. A completely flat battery might need two days on a trickle charger. The expensive ones can wreck your battery unless you know exactly what you are doing.

 

[Handley_Page]

The 'thing' is a battery charger BUT using them on modern cars can be problematic. My more modern Volvo requires me to disconnect the battery in a particular order, apply the battery charger, leave it charging for 24 to 36 hours, disconnect and remove the battery charger and then reconnect the car's battery in a reverse order. Even then it warns that it might interfere with the car's computer, requiring it to be reset by a dealer at a cost of £40 or so.

Modern batteries shouldn't go flat that easily. It sounds as if your battery is beginning to fail (or your alternator is faulty).

The 'cheap' battery chargers are trickle chargers typically delivering 1 to 2 amps an hour. A completely flat battery might need two days on a trickle charger. The expensive ones can wreck your battery unless you know exactly what you are doing.

There are a couple of simple "trickle" chargers which plug into the cigarette lighter socket. They ain't particularly expensive and you can fit and forget them.

There are also small trickle chargers powered by solar energy. !

 

[oggbashan]

There are a couple of simple "trickle" chargers which plug into the cigarette lighter socket. They ain't particularly expensive and you can fit and forget them.

There are also small trickle chargers powered by solar energy. !

The simple plug-in the lighter socket chargers can drain the battery and have very little power even fully charged.

 

[beachbum1958]

.....

 

[redzinger]

My mother has the same flat battery problem as she hardly drives her car nowadays. She tried one of those solar things and it was a total waste. We had to keep borrowing the farm's heavy duty jump starter thing.

We ended up going to Halfords. The boys there tested the battery and charging and didn't find anything wrong. The helpful lad recommended some kind of plug-in thing, and she's been using that since. I'll find out what it was.

I got her an extra 10% off due to my British Cycling discount. I of course cannot drive due to my dodgy hips. I cycle everywhere, as I have no choice. Despite imbeciles trying to kill me on a daily basis.