Warning about the AA and flat tyres

[dukest 0]

Probably wont apply to many people but just thought I'd warn you in case you dont carry a spare (or one that fits in my case) or a can of Tyreweld.

 

I'm away from home at the moment and realised last night I had a flat tyre - looks like a nail's gone straight in. Thought it would be no problem as I'd call the AA this morning before I wanted to get going and they could take the car or, at worst, me and the tyre to a tyre repair place.

 

No - apparently the terms of the AA state that you must have a serviceable spare tyre for them to come and swap for you or otherwise all they will do is call a Mobile Tyre fitter and let you arrange a replacement tyre from them.

 

Luckily I've found out I'm only half a mile from a repair place so I'm just going to take it off and walk down there with it but I thought my £100/year AA Relay would have got me out of it a bit easier than that.. :?

[davidwort 0]

that's rubbish,

in that case, if you get a flat, remove the fuel pump relay and tell them it won't start :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I cancelled my AA cover because of a similar reason.

 

After hitting a rock on the motorway, which destroyed a wheel and tyre, they very kindly told me that I was not going to be recovered because it was a 'road traffic incident' and therefore the police's responsibility to sort out. They did offer to send a 3rd party recovery truck out to me though, at my expense :?

 

I was safely parked up in a layby, ready for collection. No police intervention, or cones were required. I just needed to be recovered so that I could get to work. Is that too much to ask as a customer of their top service?

 

And in common with all call centre based companies, the renewal price is a lot more than a new customer's price, so all in all, they can shove it.

 

The 4th emergency service, my feckin arse. Yet another layer of red tape and bull schitt more like.

[dukest 0]

that's rubbish,

in that case, if you get a flat, remove the fuel pump relay and tell them it won't start :)

lol, and tell them that I threw out that square plasticky thing that was rolling around the footwell when i got out?!

 

i'm just going to have to get on with making some kind of boot floor/carpet that fits nicely over the spare speedline that I should have been carrying around with me to cope with this situation!

[C488ADO 0]

That's bullshit.....

 

What's going to happen when one of the newer cars which don't actually have spare wheels has a flat? Ok they come with tyre weld but what if that dosenr cut

the mustard??? Then what still no

recovery???

[craigowl 0]

We were with them for decades and never had a problem with them. They once met us on the pier at Ardrossan after cylinder head gasket started to fail on Polo on Isle of Arran and took us and car home to other side of Scotland.

Annual fees expensive though. Because I was fussy about my cars (all new in those days) and spotted problems early, felt I was subsidising those who run about in junk heaps and dont care.

Too big for their boots now?

 

When I retired we joined civil service motoring association outfit at a much lower price. Brittania, IIRC.

When C broke down in High Street due to fuel pump failure, one of their co-operating garages was with me in 20 minutes with trailer, correctly diagnosed fault and took me to local garage I use.

There is better value for money out there. Dont know about tyre problems, though.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

That's ****.....

 

What's going to happen when one of the newer cars which don't actually have spare wheels has a flat? Ok they come with tyre weld but what if that dosenr cut

the mustard??? Then what still no

recovery???

 

Seems that way. My missus's Polo doesn't have a spare wheel, but does have a jack :cuckoo: :lol:

[dukest 0]

That's ****.....

 

What's going to happen when one of the newer cars which don't actually have spare wheels has a flat? Ok they come with tyre weld but what if that dosenr cut

the mustard??? Then what still no

recovery???

 

Seems that way. My missus's Polo doesn't have a spare wheel, but does have a jack :cuckoo: :lol:

 

yes, and I think the mobile tyre fitters that you'll be paying £100 to in those circumstances will happily include free use of their own jack.. :mad2:

[SamG40 0]

I've just cancelled my AA this morning because of the renewal they wanted. Glad I did now. We've gone with the RAC now and used our Tesco clubcard vouchers to pay for it!

[dukest 0]

I guess you are alright if the car doesnt come with a spare, as long as you tell them that and not just that you dont have one..

 

[Cover excludes] any additional charges resulting from Your failure to carry a legal and serviceable spare wheel or tyre, except where this is not provided as manufacturers standard equipment. The AA will endeavour to arrange on your behalf, but will not pay for, assistance from a third party

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Balls, it's in print we're not covered then. Oh well. I can kind of see their point I suppose, but some goodwill might not go amiss? I mean, what if a young lady struggles to loosen the wheelbolts? Not being sexist, but my missus I know would struggle for sure. Are they going to leave her there stranded? Seems a bit harsh to me, but I suppose as with any service, you get people abusing the system.

 

SamG40 - Same here, but my RAC renewal came in at a lot more than the new customer price this year, so I cancelled that too :lol: I did ring them and try and barter them down, but I just got some excuse about existing clients costing them more in paperwork etc etc than new clients. What ever....

[corozin 0]

I've been with the AA for many years now & I thought the requirements to carry a spare/fix kit has always been in the T&C? For most of us it shouldn't be a problem as we have legal spare wheels anyway.

 

That said, there have been changes to the T&C over the years which they never seem to communicate at all until you hit them. In 2006 I had a huuuge argument with them after they started refusing to recover accident damaged cars (they seemed quite happy to leave me stranded 12 miles from anywhere at 10pm at night) and last summer I had another ruckus with them when I attempted to transport my (seized engined) car to the garage and they refused because it had been more than a week since the original breakage.

 

The patrol guys themselves are in contrast absolute soldiers and always helpful. The AA "book of policies" that they make the central calldesk use is rather less successfully managed and communicated.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The patrol guys themselves are in contrast absolute soldiers and always helpful. The AA "book of policies" that they make the central calldesk use is rather less successfully managed and communicated.

 

Definitely agree with that. The few times they've come out to me, the drivers have all been brilliant. And they've also been car enthusiasts themselves, which defo helps.

[bristolbaron 10]

Seems that way. My missus's Polo doesn't have a spare wheel, but does have a jack :cuckoo: :lol:

 

European law :hitler: states that all new vehicles must include a jack.. there is nothing about having to supply a spare wheel though! :roll:

[Craig 0]

its all about reading the small print hey, my dad had an accident in his mustyang and they didnt want to know as it wasnt a breakdown.

 

the public feel that if they stay with a company they get discount etc, i work for a well know insurance company and people always complain about getting cheaper deals as a new customer on the net and theyve been with us for years, a company is out to make a profit at the end of the day, my advice is swap every other year or so, you rarely get any loyalty discount these days, although i try my best as im nice :)

[neuon2003 0]

There is better value for money out there.

 

Indeed. I use AutoAid which is a pay and claim service. Full personal cover for £37 a year http://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/. Gets a good write-up from Moneysavingexpert.com http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/roadside-recovery

[The_Dude 0]

 

SamG40 - Same here, but my RAC renewal came in at a lot more than the new customer price this year, so I cancelled that too :lol: I did ring them and try and barter them down, but I just got some excuse about existing clients costing them more in paperwork etc etc than new clients. What ever....

 

Well guys, I think you're missing the obvious trick which is to cancel your policy when its up for renewal and then become a new customer and avail of the nice low fees. :D

Its also the biggest bullpoop excuse ever as they will already have all your details from the previous year and so it should just be a case of pressing a button instead of filling in lots of new details. W@nkers.

[Jim 1]

I cancelled being a direct customer years ago because of the yearly haggling to get the renewal price down. Have to put up with that schitt for car insurance, contents insurance, etc etc and was sick of doing it with bloody breakdown cover too. Now I just have AA through my bank account which I'm happy with. The price is always the same which is fine with me.

[Critical_Mass 10]

RAC is what you want. Me and my girlfriend went to london for an interview she had. By the time she'd finished the interview it was about dark and i went to pick her up and bring her back to the hotel. On the way back i managed to hit the kerb which i couldnt see and flattened both drivers tyres. But luckily was close enough to hotel to limp it into car park.

 

RAC came out and fitted the spare and instead up letting us sort out the other wheel in the morning, took us both with the other bust wheel to the other side of london at 10pm to get someone he knew to fit a new tyre for us. He didnt have to but went out of his way and duty to go get a new tyre fitted for us..

 

Bravo that man! Always been happy with the RAC and that just enforce my confidence in them to be honest.

[craigowl 0]

Had an RAC guy out to Yaris last year under Toyota owner's cover for 1st year. Impressed by that man, too.

 

Really, over 40 years, the few guys we have seen, whether they have been from AA, RAC or Brittania, have been faultless.

Its gonna be cost of service and Terms and Conditions that are going to always pi$$ us off, IMO.

[stretch. 0]

I work for the 3rd largest breakdown company and I can say,

 

Mayday/Caravan club breakdown Cover, and Santander Bank Account cover is probably 2 of the best levels of cover you can get.

 

Oh and we cover flat tyres regardless of spares, and if you have an accident that hasn't involved damage with a third party.

[WreckedGecko 0]

I have had tyres replaced by the AA in the past. About 5 years ago to be fair, but it was an AA branded van etc.

 

Wonder when they stopped.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I work for the 3rd largest breakdown company and I can say,

 

Mayday/Caravan club breakdown Cover, and Santander Bank Account cover is probably 2 of the best levels of cover you can get.

 

Oh and we cover flat tyres regardless of spares, and if you have an accident that hasn't involved damage with a third party.

 

Which company is this?

[The_Dude 0]

I work for the 3rd largest breakdown company and I can say,

 

Mayday/Caravan club breakdown Cover, and Santander Bank Account cover is probably 2 of the best levels of cover you can get.

 

Oh and we cover flat tyres regardless of spares, and if you have an accident that hasn't involved damage with a third party.

 

Which company is this?

 

I'm guessing Green Flag. :shrug:

[stretch. 0]

That is the one,

 

Also know as Direct Line/Churchill/Tesco/Mayday/Caravan Club/NatWest Assist/ and about umpteen different brands...