Which breakdown cover??

[The Mirror Man]

I've been paying £39.76 per month for AA breakdown, relay and parts and labour (max £500 per claim) cover for 2 cars. That adds up to £477.12 per year and £199 of that is the parts and labour cover.

SWMBO's car is a Nissan Quashqi so we probably don't need the parts and labour for that one, it only does 3,000 miles a year.

Mine, on the other hand is a 2004 E270cdt with 180k miles on the clock and I do c15,000 mile a year.

What do you think guys, stick with the AA cover I have, drop the parts and labour or change to another company?

PS: my SCB pump is the original one fitted at the factory when the car was new and I don't like the thought of a £1,000 bill if it packs up.

 

[optimusprime]

I am interested in your post mirror man ..I have this w124 i dont want any spanner man to play a tune on my engine, when they dont know a thing about older cars. I just need it bringing back home . And i can choose then how to get it repaired. So i will be looking in to see what other members have for their car recovery .They wont take cars on over a cirtain age,,.like 10 years old . Well at 28 she wont fit in to that frame

 

[The Mirror Man]

I am interested in your post mirror man ..I have this w124 i dont want any spanner man to play a tune on my engine, when they dont know a thing about older cars. I just need it bringing back home . And i can choose then how to get it repaired. So i will be looking in to see what other members have for their car recovery .They wont take cars on over a cirtain age,,.like 10 years old . Well at 28 she wont fit in to that frame

My E class is over 10 years old, and so were all of my Rover 75s and 1993 LS400: the AA covered then all and I've just had a quote from Green flag. I think you will get cover.

 

[ph47mf]

I am a RAC man, though I have never tried other companies.

I once locked my keys inside a Passat (auto relock, don't ask) and just when I was about to smash the window, they sent a man with a laptop, did some witchcraft to unlock the doors, that was enough to pay for a few more years.

 

[GP801]

I am interested in your post mirror man ..I have this w124 i dont want any spanner man to play a tune on my engine, when they dont know a thing about older cars. I just need it bringing back home . And i can choose then how to get it repaired. So i will be looking in to see what other members have for their car recovery .They wont take cars on over a cirtain age,,.like 10 years old . Well at 28 she wont fit in to that frame

Nationwide Flexaccount might be the solution. £10 per month fee but it includes full European breakdown and recovery with no age limit on the vehicle. Cover is personal too so applies to any vehicle you are travelling in. Fortunately have not needed to use it yet. I understand they use Britannia rescue as service provider.

 

[Ted]

I've just renewed with Green Flag after four years with them.
£66 per year covers myself and her inimitable loveliness in the CLK, the Jeep, and the motorcycle for roadside assistance, Car and passengers recovered to preferred destination, and I'm pretty sure, home start.

Never had to test them on their service, though.

 

[ianw19]

I signed up to GEM Motoring Assist this year after RAC were trying to mug me off.
Seems to get good ratings, although I have not needed them yet.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[The Mirror Man]

I'm very tempted to take out Green Flag or similar, but it's the SCB pump repair cost that could be just around the corner that makes me hesitate. If it goes pop while I have the AA parts and labour cover they will pay the first £500.

 

[Smart320]

Seems worthwhile staying with the AA. If you change then you can be sure the SCB will go!

 

[Tuercas viejas]

This topic begs a question.
How far do you folks roam away from home?
(oh a poet and I didn't know it)

As a wandering Brit for a large part of my life, & keeping up with the age old traditional of the Brit diaspora.
Do you roam far away where there is no real breakdown service? Other than perhaps a local with a bullock cart.

How far would you drive away from the UK and become worried about a break down?

Do you have a fear of a breakdown and what to do?

For me I have driven from Preston to Tehran twice.
Preston to Baghdad. (Three times)
Baghdad to Juba via ferry (Akaba to Port Suez) Once was enough but had a punctured tyre) !
Last one was in an ex Swiss Mil Pinzgauer (Denver to San Miguel de Tucoman) Interesting, 'cos I broke a drive shaft.
Tuercas Viejas

 

[Smart320]

Drove a RAV4 3 door , no aircon, in summer from Portsmouth to Kerkennah, an island off the coast of Tunisia where we have holiday villa. Back 3 months later. Following year drove our new Tunisian registered Landcruiser down to oasis in Sahara then up to Tunis and ferry to France and back to the UK for a months visit. Interestingly as we drove down through Herefordshire we were followed overhead by police helicopter, we assumed our Arabic registration had been noted as we were only 5 miles from SAS headquarters

 

[ph47mf]

before you buy breakdown, use a different address (second house or family's or something) then when you car break down outside your house, they will class it as roadside recovery and you don't have to pay for the home start element, saving you a few quid.

 

[Abb]

before you buy breakdown, use a different address (second house or family's or something) then when you car break down outside your house, they will class it as roadside recovery and you don't have to pay for the home start element, saving you a few quid.

Cheekie....but I like it!

 

[markjay]

The W204 is still covered by Mobilo.... never needed to call them though.

 

[optimusprime]

Thank you, i dont think i will be more than 20 miles out . The advice i had above by Tuercas was to get a local flat bed owner to bring it home . I will do a little research and see how i get on . The car did 300 miles last year bigest trip was for MOT aprox `18 miles Plus 3 car shows at our local meet ...Thank you for all the information given..

 

[JohnBell]

Mercedes cover you for free after every service

https://cars.mercedes-benz.co.uk/ow...st/roadside_assistance_and_rescue_assist.html

 

[The Mirror Man]

Mercedes cover you for free after every service

https://cars.mercedes-benz.co.uk/ow...st/roadside_assistance_and_rescue_assist.html

That's interesting, but will they cough up £500 towards a new SCB pump?

 

[optimusprime]

Mercedes cover you for free after every service

https://cars.mercedes-benz.co.uk/ow...st/roadside_assistance_and_rescue_assist.html

John you need to read your link the car must be new or purchased from them secondhand and not before 1998 .Mine is 28 yers old so dont think that is included even if i have it serviced.

 

[219]

I am interested in your post mirror man ..I have this w124 i dont want any spanner man to play a tune on my engine, when they dont know a thing about older cars. I just need it bringing back home . And i can choose then how to get it repaired. So i will be looking in to see what other members have for their car recovery .They wont take cars on over a cirtain age,,.like 10 years old . Well at 28 she wont fit in to that frame

I've never bothered with breakdown cover .

Got a pal to tow me up to Western Mercedes when my W114 died in Edinburgh in the early 80's - turned out to be the electronic ignition module ( predecessor of EZL ) ; borrowed a dizzy cap from another pal's 260E when the one on my 300TE packed in - that got the car home till I bought a new one the next day . About 10 years later , with the same W124 I had to pay for a recovery 30 miles home after the diff packed in - then sold that car for parts - it didn't owe me anything . About a week into ownership of my R129 , I had to pay for a recovery off the M73 for what turned out to be a dead ignition coil ( aftermarket part ) .

So , in about forty years Mercedes motoring , covering well over a million miles ( routinely doing 50K/annum sometimes more , seldom less ) , I've had four breakdowns , had to pay for two recoveries ( £80 each time ) one garage repair ( couple of hundred ) and fixed the other faults myself .

The one car which cost me dearly was the S203 C270CDI which was always going wrong but never actually broke down at the roadside .


I'd bank that £400/year , it will soon amass into a fund to cover any recoveries/repairs .

 

[daves624]

John you need to read your link the car must be new or purchased from them secondhand and not before 1998 .Mine is 28 yers old so dont think that is included even if i have it serviced.

Doesn't have to be purchased from MB - I got my last car from a BMW dealer. You're fine for the full package if first registered after 1/4/08 and limited service even before that. Renewed after every scheduled service carried out at an MB approved garage, even if you have gone outside the system for previous services.