rac near useless

[pills12]

hi everyone had a puncture in my clk front tyre deflated while driving only had car for 1 month got spare out to find different size bolts needed so cant fit it call freind who pumped the tyre up for me but it bulged on the back so called rac explained situtation and asked for a lorry to transport me 2 hours later the rac patrol man arrived in his transit van looked at the problem told me if i wanted a lorry i would have to get one at my cost all he could do was swap wheels around so forced to drive 8 miles home at very slow speed luckily tyre blew out about 500 yards from home have ow got some bolts to fit spare and had a new tyre fitted just shows recovery will not be given even if you pay for it

 

[Meldrew2]

AA just as useless. My car was broken into a few years ago, by some scroat who stole the sat nav. I got back to the airport hotel to discover problem, broken side window, couldn't see to drive.

Couldn't get the window replaced, AA wouldn't recover home. Ended up staying in Coventry until a window glass was finally located the next day.

(But a big thumbs up to hotel manager who wouldn't take a penny for the room and even breakfast - top man!)

 

[MBManInKen]

Can/Will you change my wheel/tyre?

Sounds reasonable to me. If someone can't be bothered to carry a spare in workable condition, why would RAC have to cover the costs of a flatbed??

Also, you might find this link useful...

 

[ringway]

I find the RAC to absolutlely Brilliant.

I have several cars and was able to add our LWB Sprinter to the policy for a mere £10!

They have loaded the 23ft Sprinter on to a truck many times in the last few years due to the famous unfixable Cryptronic Gearbox.

I have had countless flat battery call-outs with my little-used Omega also.

I do pay the top premium of around £100 per year but it is a small price to pay for such fantastic service.

Faultless in my opinion.

 

[pills12]

i pay over £100 for family membership dont mean a thing when you need them

 

[pills12]

yes i thought i had a good spare didnt think to check on wheel bolt as for reasonable charge was told it would cost at least £150 for the 8 miles not very reasonable to me

 

[para alpha]

yes i thought i had a good spare didnt think to check on wheel bolt as for reasonable charge was told it would cost at least £150 for the 8 miles not very reasonable to me

I quite agree to a point. I have had dealings with these clowns on three occasions... It was involving my brothers 306. It was an intermittent problem, so it was difficult to diagnose, but not if they had one brain cell between them. My brother always called them, then me. I would arrive and then they would. He would then show them his card and take my car because of work commitments. Now, I asked them to plug it into their diagnostics machine to see if it's a recorded fault code. They ignored me and looked at me like I was some sort of ball bag and always said "where do you want me to take it" (I'll tell you where you can take it you ba$tard) so I asked him to take the car to my house. It got to a point where it wouldn't even start. I called out a specialist who within 5 Minuets diagnosed the problem as a dead ECU. He said that if they had been bothered to connect the car to the machine they would have found the problem. Needless to say, my brother has made other arrangements. My advice to you would be don't use them...

 

[pills12]

yes the freind that pumped it up for me is a full time mechanic told me i should not drive as was liable to blow out even at very slow speeds but the clowns know better

 

[stevesey]

Another victim of the steel spare wheel + so second set of bolts should be in the boot with the spare (seen a couple of threads about this before). Easily missed if you've come across the scenario before - isn't this how Terry Wogan got caught out last year (presumably in a newish merc where the bolts shouldn't have been awol).

If you have paid for Nationwide Recovery (and not just Roadside Assistance) then it is reasonable to expect it in this case (especially if this is a new car to you and you were unaware of the different bolts so didn't contribute to the situation).

I've always had excellent service from the AA, many moons ago used then to recovery a car I'd put in a ditch, which I wouldn't really expect to be covered - maybe these days they wouldn't be so oblidging.

 

[st13phil]

Another victim of the steel spare wheel + so second set of bolts should be in the boot with the spare (seen a couple of threads about this before). Easily missed if you've come across the scenario before - isn't this how Terry Wogan got caught out last year (presumably in a newish merc where the bolts shouldn't have been awol).

Hmmm... My W204 has a steel spacesaver spare and there are no extra bolts in the toolkit, and no mention in the handbook of using different bolts when fitting the spacesaver spare. Have MB chaged how they do things on the latest cars?

 

[Deleted member 11979]

I have always found the RAC to be fantastic, especially when broken down in our Volvo blocking half the inside lane of a dual carraige way, boy was I glad to see them, £100 quid very well spent!

When I had my W210 they came out to me 4 times in three months, terrific value and always polite and friendly.

 

[recycled]

My steel spare wheel is the same size as my alloy wheels. i have a set of bolts in the boot ,that look the same size as the ones on the car to me. Normally i just use the ones i take out to fit in the spare nothing bad so far, touch wood

 

[crockers]

Have free RAC (part of my bank arrangements) - were great when my wife ran her battery flat ....but then I could have jumped started her myself but it was raining..

 

[robert.saunders]

What would the RAC have done if you had no spare tyre at all in the vehicle?

 

[dnoyce]

Hmmm... My W204 has a steel spacesaver spare and there are no extra bolts in the toolkit, and no mention in the handbook of using different bolts when fitting the spacesaver spare. Have MB chaged how they do things on the latest cars?

Yes, you now use the same bolts. Well I did last week without problem.

 

[SpikeUK]

On two particular occasions the RAC have performed brilliantly - repairing my cars at the roadside when I had considered it virtually impossible.
I don't have any issues with this particular organisation, but the "4th emergency service" were once quite happy to leave me stranded on a small-print technicality...... and lost my custom as a result.

 

[pills12]

i asked customer service that and got no reply guy just mumbled to himself

 

[neilrr]

pills,

Have you given up punctuating for Lent?

It makes it hard work to read your opening post.

 

[Smiley]

Another victim of the steel spare wheel + so second set of bolts should be in the boot with the spare (seen a couple of threads about this before). Easily missed if you've come across the scenario before - isn't this how Terry Wogan got caught out last year (presumably in a newish merc where the bolts shouldn't have been awol).

If you have paid for Nationwide Recovery (and not just Roadside Assistance) then it is reasonable to expect it in this case (especially if this is a new car to you and you were unaware of the different bolts so didn't contribute to the situation).

I've always had excellent service from the AA, many moons ago used then to recovery a car I'd put in a ditch, which I wouldn't really expect to be covered - maybe these days they wouldn't be so oblidging.

You are right the AA would not even show up today - if you tell them it is an accident they will not come out and help - at all.

 

[pills12]

yes punctuation never my strong point sorry