Emergency Road Service

[steveh2112]

not sure if this is the right place to post this, anyhow

what does everyone do about emergency road service? in the past when i lived in the US, i had AAA. i think i maybe used it once, can't remember.

i'm pretty sure the AAA service covers towing to a service shop, not much else. also, can't find the price on the website.

anyhow, interested to find out what others with older vehicles do about roadside assistance

thx

 

[Almost There]

not sure if this is the right place to post this, anyhow

what does everyone do about emergency road service? in the past when i lived in the US, i had AAA. i think i maybe used it once, can't remember.

i'm pretty sure the AAA service covers towing to a service shop, not much else. also, can't find the price on the website.

anyhow, interested to find out what others with older vehicles do about roadside assistance

thx

It doesn't matter the age of the vehicle, I've always carried roadside assistance. I can't change a tire on my own and I've always driven used vehicles.

I use Paragon Insurance because it covers me both in the states and Canada.

The better CAA only covers 100kms rather than 100 miles and if I'm outside of Canada they want you to find your own tow, pay it and send them the bill for reimbursement. With Paragon they take care of me no matter where I am on the continent.

AAA has several different plans and I noticed their prices weren't on their site too. They want a home zip code to be able to provide you with a quote. Apparently they no longer offer nationwide single pricing.

 

[sisterearth]

I have AAA, pricey, for me, but it follows me to whatever vehicle I am in with 100 miles free tow, tire change, or bring a gallon or two of gas if needed. It has paid for itself in tows. Peace!

 

[Spirituallifetime]

Keep enough money on hand to cover roadside emergencies, towing, repairs, and if necessary to replace your vehicle.

 

[Almost There]

Keep enough money on hand to cover roadside emergencies, towing, repairs, and if necessary to replace your vehicle.

I wholeheartedly agree with keeping enough on hand for repairs and other emergencies. Keeping replacement of vehicle money 'on hand' is way out of most peoples' reach, some of us are able to keep it but have it invested - I don't consider it to be 'on hand' if it's not in your savings account.

As to keeping money on hand for roadside emergencies - that's what a roadside assistance program is for. It's well worth the money IMO. I don't know what current towing charges are around the US but here it's over $2.00 per km. I've had to be towed to my own mechanic a distance of just over 100 kms resulting in a towing fee of over 200 bucks. That's more than my yearly plan fee. Add another fail to start in there and we're talking another $50. or so.

Unless you're never leaving town and can do all your own repairs on the side of the road or have someone on speed dial that is willing to come out in the rain at midnight for you, roadside assistance is worth every penny of the fee.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

AAA on their best plan will tow 100 miles and will come out and put your spare tire on if you have a flat tire. But that is all, they don't pay for tires or repairs. I have found in these times a repair can be more than $1000! If you don't have the money then you need another plan. Get a cheap room and job to earn extra money to get back on the road or maybe the kids are very understanding and will send money. I know not everyone will have enough to replace their vehicle but it would be the ideal situation, as we all know they don't last forever and should be saving for the next vehicle. I have seen a lot of nice RVs and cars abandoned on the road for this very reason, out of money!

I once rented a uhal truck and car trailer to tow a car for $300, that was half of what the tow truck cost.

 

[steveh2112]

thanks all, can someone please tell me the cost of a AAA 1 year membership? also, i'll only be on the road for 6 months anyhow, is there a 6 months or pay by the month option?

thx steve

actually, just found this
http://roadside-assistance-services-review.toptenreviews.com/

 

[Almost There]

thanks all, can someone please tell me the cost of a AAA 1 year membership? also, i'll only be on the road for 6 months anyhow, is there a 6 months or pay by the month option?

thx steve

You might want to email them directly. From what I can tell from their website they will need a US address to give you a quote. It should be the same one that you're going to use for insurance and vehicle title.

And the answer about 6 months, is - probably not. They're counting on the client paying for a year and hopefully not using them at all...

 

[SoulRaven]

Check with your insurance company, I get it for $39/yr through mine.

 

[steveh2112]

here are some interesting ones
https://www.allstatemotorclub.com/a...rshipplans.faces?_adf.ctrl-state=mzjoca97w_14
http://www.goodsamroadside.com/enroll/#
http://calstate.aaa.com/membership/compare-our-membership-levels/compare-our-membership-levels

so they all come in at about $100/year. good sam and allstate offer unlimited towing, AAA is 100 miles (which is probably enough in most cases). still going through the other benefits

 

[sisterearth]

seems like mine is around $75-$100 a year Peace!

 

[LeeRevell]

I have AAA, which I signed up for last year before a long road trip. I neglected to get the 'better' service with the 100 mile towing. That bit me later when my E150 needed towing back to town from another county - I had only five miles free towing. Had to upgrade. They also allow you to put another person on the coverage for a cheap additional charge - so I have my elderly Mother on it, as she sometimes drives short distances in her car.

 

[SoulRaven]

I use AAA, their cheapest plan for me in WA is $56/year. It's definitely paid for itself - I've used it three times int he past 6 months - starter broke completely leaving me dead in an ally, a tire blew out on me on the freeway less than 24 hours after replacing an irreparable flat with the full-sized spare, and there was no second spare....and then a couple days ago had another blowout on the freeway, this time they changed the spare but had to block off a lane of moderately heavy freeway traffic to safely do so - in the middle of the night.

AAA has been good about towing me where I prefer to be towed, if I have a preference, and estimating the additional charge if it's outside the 5 mile radius.

So far no bad experiences, they've done exactly what I need them to do at times when my world is crashing in and have been professional and easy to deal with in my experience.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I went with nationwide insurance's roadside, and like mentioned, it paid for itself already, had a 50 mile tow in the middle of the night and a jumpstart. Tow woulda cost me 100+ probably. Was a pleasant experience both times, considering the circumstances. Worth 3 bucks on my monthly bill.

 

[GotSmart]

$2 a month on my USAA policy.  Everyone needs basic roadside assistance.   :heart:

 

[Almost There]

And for North American wide coverage for us snowbirds I strongly recommend Paragon.

AAA and CAA both have limitations in that while they will pay for services continent wide, they each only have local responders within their own territories. This means that if I had CAA and was stateside needing a tow I would have to find my own tow service, pay them and wait for reimbursement. It's not so much the paying that's a problem, it's being stuck in the middle of nowhere and not knowing who to call.

As well, my coverage is 100 miles not 100 kilometers. It's made a big difference on at least 2 occasions...no overage charges.