I need to get some car breakdown cover and just wondering who everyone else is with and have you had any good/bad experiences with them? Greenflag seem to have the best deal so far.....?

We are with RAC.  Found these to be the cheapest for us.  We are covered for everything including homestart, recovery, relay.  Just not covered for european travel.  It covers myself and OH which means we can be in any car.  (Some companies only covers you in your car only).  Its £160 per year, payable in 4 instalments.  You can get cheaper levels of cover, depending on what you actually want.  We've had no problems with them and we use them regularly (at least 3 times a year!!)

THanks, i didnt know you could pay in instalments either. :)

Very impressed with the AA.  Had a puncture  once whilst on a very dark stretch of motorway.  The said they would be there in 20 mins.  On the dot of 20 mins they arrived.  Very pleasant man who got me on my way very quickly as he was concerned about the dogs being on the hard shoulder for too long.

Must admit, we did initially chose the RAC to be able to pay in some form of instalments rather than one lump sum! :D (have been with them for 10 years now).  The 4 payments are in consecutive months though but still it makes it easier! :D

It's worth checking your bank account and insurance details. I found I was paying out money to be an AA member when my account manager pointed out that I got it free as a perk of the account! The van is covered as a perk of the insurance (Having said that, I probably pay for it in the long run - getting cynical in my old age ;))

I have found the AA excellent the few times I have had to use them, always fast and capable (and the last one who came out was extremely fit :o )

LOL :D

I always think an important consideration for those people that show or drive around the country with their dogs should be a. are the dogs allowed in the recovery vehicle if your car is being towed and b. will they tow you directly home.

I'd be interested in anyone elses experiences of different organisations on these points. A few years ago I was at Birmingham show at Perry Barr when my van broke down and was unrepairable. I was with the AA and had relay so they agreed to tow us home to just outside Edinburgh. The journey was a nightmare though, the first man was lovely, let the dogs travel in the back of the recovery vehicle with us but he only took us to Manchester. We were offloaded at a service station there and had to wait 3 hours for someone to collect us. The next r.v. arrived but he wouldn't allow the dogs to travel with us - they had to stay in my van which ordinarily would be fine, but he already had a car on his truck and my van was perched on the end, on quite a slope and I was really worried about the dogs. He took us to Gretna where we again unloaded and had to wait for someone else. The last r. vehicle was a privately owned one, with three seats up front and no room for the dogs but at least the bit where the van was sitting was flat. All in all the journey took just under 12 hours. A friend of ours broke down a few weeks later and was towed all the way home on one lorry, with the dogs beside her but this was the RAC.

Britannia Rescue has been rated the best in lots of independant surveys They are owned by The CSMA(Civil Service Motoring Assocition)so have no share holders to make profits for & you get a special deal if you qualify for CSMA membership(not restricted to Civil Servants) It is the onlyNation privately owned Rescue Service in the UK

We are with Britannia Rescue and so far cannot fault them.  They use local recovery garages so therefore they know the area that you are in when needing to be rescued.

Sue

I like the AA and have found whatever I am quoted by any other company for the same cover they will match if you ask :)

I use my Tesco Clubcard vouchers to pay for RAC cover for me and hubs, think it was £36 in clubcard vouchers or £120 of my British Pounds

***touches wood......have not had to use them as yet tho****

with the rac 5 in the family full cover £35 pounds each for the year

had a very bad time with the AA left on the A3 for 5 hour tow me off try to fix it then the car broke down again 8 mile up the road again had to way 2 hours for relay.

my car was broken into in dec  and it would not start the rac were there with in 10 mins

Interesting this has come up now as my renewal with the AA is soon.  I'm sure when I spoke to an RAC man at Staffs County Show last summer he told me that now if you & your car needs rescuing due to vandal damage, the AA won't come out as it's no longer covered by them?  I've not yet asked the AA if this is true or just sales speel of the RAC, anyone else know?

I have to say that although the AA seems expensive, the few times I've had to call them they've been brilliant.

Haven't a clue re AA re the vandalism but I know Britannia do as an ex colleague called them out when his car was damaged & they got him home.

Im with the AA- used them loads of times and cant complain

get a quote from Green Flag, they used to be National Breakdown, been with them for years and they are great. we got it through the insurance company as a reduced rate add on to the policy.
Chris
just re-read post ooops you already spoke to them.

Well if the RAC cover is anything like their autoglass company I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole

europe assistance do full cover for about £60 a year but you have to pay upfront.

I personally find it easier to do it through my insurance company, that way I won't forget to renew it each year :rolleyes:

I'm with green flag too, it's an add on with Direct Line insurance.  Can't fault them.  Have had reason to call them out quite a few times over the last few years and they have always been very quick and efficient.  I used to belong to AA, but on the few times I needed them the wait was soooo long.....  I believe the advantage with green flag is that they call on the nearest participating garage/repair vehicles, rather than having their own (like the AA and RAC), which means the wait time tends to be a lot less.

Thanks everyone, I ended up going with Green Flag as for what you got, they worked out the cheapest and ive also heard from other people that they have found them really good :)