Breakdown Services - Advice
Discussion
On Tuesday I am to collect my dream ... An S2 (really 1.25, not even 1.5) - and yes - I've had sleepness nights!
Anyhow, I was wondering what advice anyone had with regard to the AA/RAC/Green Flag, etc, etc organisations ...
Are they all pretty much the same, or is there one that stands out from the others (with excellent TVR knowledge (Ford excluded), etc).
Many thanks in advance,
K
Anyhow, I was wondering what advice anyone had with regard to the AA/RAC/Green Flag, etc, etc organisations ...
Are they all pretty much the same, or is there one that stands out from the others (with excellent TVR knowledge (Ford excluded), etc).
Many thanks in advance,
K
I'm with the RAC through my insurer, and for some reason ended up on their fleet scheme. (With my fleet of two cars...)
Anyway, while they don't have specialist knowlegde, they've always been very quick to respond and have recovered me a number of times without quibble and been happy to drop me off at home, and my car at a dealer.
As such, I'm very happy with their service, and accept the fact that with a specialist car (the tiv) and a very complex car (BMW 730i), I can't expect them to be able to do much by the roadside.
There hasn't been the slightest hint of "if we have to come out again, we'll charge you extra", just sympathy from the people in the control centre!
Anyway, while they don't have specialist knowlegde, they've always been very quick to respond and have recovered me a number of times without quibble and been happy to drop me off at home, and my car at a dealer.
As such, I'm very happy with their service, and accept the fact that with a specialist car (the tiv) and a very complex car (BMW 730i), I can't expect them to be able to do much by the roadside.
There hasn't been the slightest hint of "if we have to come out again, we'll charge you extra", just sympathy from the people in the control centre!
For the AA:
1) They put an alternator in my Caterham for 34 quid fitted, plus the VAT. Caterham quoted me 180 ex labour and VAT.
2) A patrol without a part the car needed came back later (after I'd sourced it) to fit it.
3) They gave me 250 quid last year. Offer no longer applies as they are no longer a mutual society or whatever, but jolly nice of them all the same ;-)
4) Their vans don't look like police vehicles (the RAC have too many orange stripes on the back of theirs).
5) Anyone who wears a brown jumper with shoulder patches deserves your custom!!!
I have only met one arsey-ish one, and even he fixed the car to an okay degree.
Yeah, the AA are okay in my opinion.
Domster
PS You will need to join 24 hours before you pick the car up. This is to prevent 'fraud', ie people like a mate of mine with a Griffith who tried joining as it was stuck on the side of the road!!! The AA said, sure you can join, but you have to pay a call out fee then join the next day at full price.
Edited by domster on Thursday 6th December 14:12
1) They put an alternator in my Caterham for 34 quid fitted, plus the VAT. Caterham quoted me 180 ex labour and VAT.
2) A patrol without a part the car needed came back later (after I'd sourced it) to fit it.
3) They gave me 250 quid last year. Offer no longer applies as they are no longer a mutual society or whatever, but jolly nice of them all the same ;-)
4) Their vans don't look like police vehicles (the RAC have too many orange stripes on the back of theirs).
5) Anyone who wears a brown jumper with shoulder patches deserves your custom!!!
I have only met one arsey-ish one, and even he fixed the car to an okay degree.
Yeah, the AA are okay in my opinion.
Domster
PS You will need to join 24 hours before you pick the car up. This is to prevent 'fraud', ie people like a mate of mine with a Griffith who tried joining as it was stuck on the side of the road!!! The AA said, sure you can join, but you have to pay a call out fee then join the next day at full price.
Edited by domster on Thursday 6th December 14:12
I've called the AA out twice (cancelled one of the callouts after a bit of lateral thinking). 8pm central london weekday was going to take them about 1.5 hours to respond. Other time I broke down in the middle of Normandy (in the middle of nowhere). They arranged a local bloke to come check out the car. About 1.5 hours from first call to arrival which is pretty good, and the bloke was top (retired rally driver). Got me back to the tunnel on a truck. This is where the AA's organisational skills fell apart. Was supposed to be met by an AA truck at Folkestone. No one there. Called them again, took them two hours to show up. Turned up in a van. Bloke looked at car and said it needed a truck (no shit? just been across half of France on the back of a truck). Took another two or three hours for the truck to turn up.
Speaking to the AA van driver (good bloke, seemed competent, not his fault HQ were being dim) it seemed the AA were a bit logistically screwed. They had bought and taken delivery of a new fleet of swanky vans (VWs I think) that have a hydraulically extending trailer/tow-bar arrangement. Looked great. Drive up as a normal van ... press button ... arm extends, trailer drops onto road, put front of the knackered car onto the trailer and off you go. Except you don't because it doesn't f*cking work. The towed cars fishtail and the towing arm going back to the van catches the car and rips bits off it on the corners. How they failed to test this properly God only knows. This was back in August so maybe they've sorted something out now.
Speaking to the AA van driver (good bloke, seemed competent, not his fault HQ were being dim) it seemed the AA were a bit logistically screwed. They had bought and taken delivery of a new fleet of swanky vans (VWs I think) that have a hydraulically extending trailer/tow-bar arrangement. Looked great. Drive up as a normal van ... press button ... arm extends, trailer drops onto road, put front of the knackered car onto the trailer and off you go. Except you don't because it doesn't f*cking work. The towed cars fishtail and the towing arm going back to the van catches the car and rips bits off it on the corners. How they failed to test this properly God only knows. This was back in August so maybe they've sorted something out now.
The AA will take you 'all the way' (oo-er) if they can. An AA guy that ferried me home once with a flatbed was telling me how he'd taken a lone woman all the way to Scotland from Birmingham when her car broke down.
However, he did tell me that they have really strict tacho/timecard rules, and that they have to take a break at specified times. This could mean you get transferred to another patrol half way thru a long journey, espesh if he is nearing the end of his shift.
He was also telling me how the bureaucracy wound him up... he got a bollocking for taking the girl to Scotland as he missed his lunch break. I work thru lunch, get a pat on the back from the boss and eat a big dinner... he works thru lunch and nearly gets a P45. Apparently they may not be insured if they fall asleep or whatever, after having missed a break.
This red tape could have been what caused the unfortunate 'stranded girlf' incident below.
Domster
PS: Some patrols are real jobsworths. One claimed he'd be uninsured if he towed me as my N-reg Rover (second car!) wasn't roadworthy... the tyres were legal - but only just - and he wouldn't take the risk. Bit of a jobsworth, but at least he was polite about it.
If he'd have saluted me I'd have let him off entirely ;-)
Also, now met two women patrols - they really knew their stuff and would have shocked any bloke down the pub with their car knowledge. They didn't look too good in the brown jumpers though, and neither would have worried Kate Moss on the catwalk.
Edited by domster on Thursday 6th December 17:46
However, he did tell me that they have really strict tacho/timecard rules, and that they have to take a break at specified times. This could mean you get transferred to another patrol half way thru a long journey, espesh if he is nearing the end of his shift.
He was also telling me how the bureaucracy wound him up... he got a bollocking for taking the girl to Scotland as he missed his lunch break. I work thru lunch, get a pat on the back from the boss and eat a big dinner... he works thru lunch and nearly gets a P45. Apparently they may not be insured if they fall asleep or whatever, after having missed a break.
This red tape could have been what caused the unfortunate 'stranded girlf' incident below.
Domster
PS: Some patrols are real jobsworths. One claimed he'd be uninsured if he towed me as my N-reg Rover (second car!) wasn't roadworthy... the tyres were legal - but only just - and he wouldn't take the risk. Bit of a jobsworth, but at least he was polite about it.
If he'd have saluted me I'd have let him off entirely ;-)
Also, now met two women patrols - they really knew their stuff and would have shocked any bloke down the pub with their car knowledge. They didn't look too good in the brown jumpers though, and neither would have worried Kate Moss on the catwalk.
Edited by domster on Thursday 6th December 17:46
I have to say that I've had several encounters with raodside recovery bods and found them all to be generally cr#p.
Generally low technical knowledge and really only any use as a towing service. For example; friend of mine breaks the propshaft in his Stag, tells the girl at the call centre that he'll need a tow truck / low loader etc and they send a van first off to 'fix it' after a 2 hour wait. He then has to wait another 2 hours for the tow-truck to arrive.
2nd example; A friend that was visiting overnight couldn't get his car started in the morning No probs he says I'm in the AA. They send chap round who diagnoses a broken cam gear and to possibly take the plugs out and put them in the oven to get them going. After he'd gone we found it to be a dodgy fuel pump connection.
Go for the cheapest that offer roadside recovery and don't expect much else.
Matt
Generally low technical knowledge and really only any use as a towing service. For example; friend of mine breaks the propshaft in his Stag, tells the girl at the call centre that he'll need a tow truck / low loader etc and they send a van first off to 'fix it' after a 2 hour wait. He then has to wait another 2 hours for the tow-truck to arrive.
2nd example; A friend that was visiting overnight couldn't get his car started in the morning No probs he says I'm in the AA. They send chap round who diagnoses a broken cam gear and to possibly take the plugs out and put them in the oven to get them going. After he'd gone we found it to be a dodgy fuel pump connection.
Go for the cheapest that offer roadside recovery and don't expect much else.
Matt
As I said above, I've had generally good encounters. With the TVR, I've always recommended they send a low-loader, and they have. When the BMW ground to a halt recently, a van turned up and painstakingly diagnosed it to the (frighteningly expensive) fuel pump. He went as far as getting the fuel pipe off the injector rails (no small feat) and checking for fuel supply, buzzing out lots of electrics and so on.
Subsequently, I was irritated as all hell that BMW charged me 30 quid to "diagnose the fault" when I'd already assured them, as had the RAC chap, that it really was the fuel pump.
Perhaps it is just luck of the draw, and I've been lucky? Lots?
My experiences with the Triple-A in America were less heartening however. Alternator died in the Audi 200 quattro I was driving. I think four seperate trucks arrived before they managed to comprehend that towing a four wheel drive car on one of those front wheel lift trucks was just going to get messy...
Edited by Marshy on Saturday 8th December 02:05
Subsequently, I was irritated as all hell that BMW charged me 30 quid to "diagnose the fault" when I'd already assured them, as had the RAC chap, that it really was the fuel pump.
Perhaps it is just luck of the draw, and I've been lucky? Lots?
My experiences with the Triple-A in America were less heartening however. Alternator died in the Audi 200 quattro I was driving. I think four seperate trucks arrived before they managed to comprehend that towing a four wheel drive car on one of those front wheel lift trucks was just going to get messy...
Edited by Marshy on Saturday 8th December 02:05
The AA are good. I got sick when I was in Aberdeen touring on a motorcycle and they recovered me and my wife to Bristol in one trip. The RAC are usually good but I had an incident where I snapped a chain on a bike, told them that unless they bring a new chain they will have to recover it but they turned up (after 2 hours) in a normal van to have a look then drove off when he saw the chain was snapped! The recovery bloke turned up 2 hours later, put the bike on the back then asked me where I wanted to go. When I said Bristol he said F**k off, the cup finals on in an hour! I was a bit shocked but the best deal I could get was that he would buy a new part and fit it FOC in the morning if I signed the recovery chit. In the absence of a better offer I agreed and he drove off saying he would see me on the same motorway roundabout at 11 in the morning (It was 2am by now). When he had gone my pillion pointed out we had nowhere to stay and we were freezing. Suddenly an American chap pulled up and took us in, gave us a shower, food, beer and a spliff. God bless America. The RAC are cheaper though!
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