AAA roadside service - experiences?

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 10:30 am

Insurers also provide emergency roadside assistance, at a nominal price. I think I pay $30/year or so. I have used GEICO's service with good results--maybe her insurer has something similar? $20 for one year coverage is pretty darn good pricing, that's for sure.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 10:36 am

Steven Carter wrote:

Insurers also provide emergency roadside assistance, at a nominal price. I think I pay $30/year or so. I have used GEICO's service with good results--maybe her insurer has something similar? $20 for one year coverage is pretty darn good pricing, that's for sure.

What exactly does that plan cover? Again one big selling point of AAA is it covers YOU, not a specific vehicle.

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:00 am

for $12/car/year you get a tow to the nearest repair center (I'd have to check for specific distances), lockout/fuel/tire change services up to $100. In contradistinction to AAA, it covers all drivers at no added cost, but coverage is limited to specific vehicles.

http://www.geico.com/getaquote/auto/eme ... d-service/

FWIW, I don't sell insurance, but I do have cars covered by GEICO. I've used their lockout service twice with no probs. I also have roadside service for the Z via Hagerty. Now that Hagerty covers "Modern Classics" I'll probably switch the M Roadster to that policy as well.

Obviously, whichever works is a personal decision. I wonder if a $20 AAA membership would give you the PLUS benefits or just the basic stuff--I presume only the basic.

Frank Catena · **Joined:** Wed Aug 27, 2003 1:08 pm **Posts:** 418

Vincent Keene wrote:

Frank Catena wrote:

Michael is correct, Gold covers towing up to 100 miles. Obviously CMP and Roebling don't make the limit.

It's ironic the number of folks here with memberships ... when I was doing consulting work with them their biggest concern was with the demographics of their typical member. Which they joked was the "blue hair problem".

Frank

Were you working for AAA or a Buick dealer?

It was hard to tell sometimes .. AAA headquarters is in Orlando ... and they held the Auto Club South division in high regard. Auto Club South is based in Tampa. This was a long time ago, late 80s, but the most popular member auto nameplates went Buick, Cadillac, Toyota.

Frank

JamesShort · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:06 am

Steven Carter wrote:

Insurers also provide emergency roadside assistance, at a nominal price. I think I pay $30/year or so. I have used GEICO's service with good results--maybe her insurer has something similar? $20 for one year coverage is pretty darn good pricing, that's for sure.

Remember, the WRX comes with emergency roadside assistance for 3/36k.

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:14 am

That's correct, James. In a similar vein, Art, does her Corolla have Toyota Roadside service? When I bought a CPO Camry a few years back I had the roadside assistance plan on that which would have provided good service but I never had to use it.

http://www.toyotacertified.com/roadside_assistance.html

JamesShort · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:34 am

Ha, I just checked my insurance policy. I have emergency roadside assistance: towing, flat repair, gas......didn't mention locked out etc. It's $8 a year

.

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Am I the only one here without AAA? Then again I have a truck and trailer, which I have used on several occasions. The one time that I was stranded by the 540i with a busted upper coolant hose, I had my neighbor pick me up, drive me to Performance BMW, came back, and fixed the car on the shoulder if I-540, and drove home

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 pm

I don't either. Given the cheaper alternatives via manufacturers and insurance companies as detailed above, I didn't see the need to pay $100/year for me and my wife.

Dustin Fredrickson · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:29 pm

MikeWhitney wrote:

Am I the only one here without AAA? Then again I have a truck and trailer, which I have used on several occasions. The one time that I was stranded by the 540i with a busted upper coolant hose, I had my neighbor pick me up, drive me to Performance BMW, came back, and fixed the car on the shoulder if I-540, and drove home

If it were just me, I would do the same. But my wife and kid run around town in a 215k mile Subaru, and I like the security that AAA provides for them.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:42 pm

In my case I may be 100 miles away riding in someone else's car. What would I do if they didn't have any road side assistance? For instance I was with Ryan and we had his Miata towed once from Cary and once from the AX in Sanford by my AAA.

Like Dustin said if my wife is miles away and shopping with a friend it's good to know she is still covered though her vehickle is sitting at home.

I'm not trying to sell AAA to anyone, just sharing a few examples of how it has helped in my case.

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:56 pm

Dustin, Vincent,

I'm glad AAA works for you within your particular set of circumstances. Please understand I'm not trying to say AAA is not a good option, nor am I trying to convince anyone to or away from one particular choice. The OP asked for other alternatives to AAA, and I added two very good, cost-effective choices. If they don't match a person's needs, that's fine-- choosing AAA is better if it meets someone's needs in a more complete way than alternatives. I find (for my needs) that AAA is redundant and less cost-effective for my personal situation...that's the beauty of the market--many choices for specific cricumstances.

BTW Art, without offending...is your mother at the AARP age-level? Would there be a discount if she was? That's another thing to consider.

Judi Westerfield · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 3:09 pm

One thing I love about my AAA card are the discounts at hotels. Covers the yearly membership fee and then some.

If you do decide to go with AAA, you may be able to get a family membership and then both of you could benefit from the membership. Not sure if the extra expense makes it worth it or not, but worth checking into.

Dustin Fredrickson · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 3:23 pm

Judi Westerfield wrote:

One thing I love about my AAA card are the discounts at hotels. Covers the yearly membership fee and then some.

I forgot to mention this point in my post as well. This is one of the main things that sets AAA apart from the others for me - at $8-15 per night discount, with at least a half dozen hotel nights a year, it covers the costs right there. But for an auto-only plan, I'm sure others are as good. After all, it's all about which tow truck companies they use for their services.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Jan 20, 2010 3:56 pm

We may or may not still actually "need" AAA (at about $100 per year for the Plus version covering two drivers and any car) but we used to use the travel guides, maps, trip planning, discounts, etc. prior to GPS when we traveled out of state a lot for autocrosses. Now, who knows but habits are hard to break . . . especially when our newest car is a 2001 and our trailer can only hold a 1000 lb race car. :wink:

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