AA vs RAC vs Green Flag

[frank]

Looking to join a Car breakdown company as the car is starting to show it's age a bit and mainly for the wife's peace of mind when she is out and about in it. Just looking to cover one car and me and the missus,

Been looking at the AA, RAC or Green Flag any one of these three worse or better than the other ?

Personal recommendations based on experience with either of them would really be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[gumbo-67]

AA were great for my Daughter and my Son when they needed them.. i moved from another company that was via the insurance company as it was any old bloke sent out and i wasn't happy with that.

 

[AshleyC]

I toggle between the aa and rac each year due to them stiffing over existing members with renewal costs. Didn't look into green flag too much, don't they have a limited recovery radius or something?

 

[neil_g]

never had bother with RAC

 

[Spuff]

I toggle between the aa and rac each year due to them stiffing over existing members with renewal costs. Didn't look into green flag too much, don't they have a limited recovery radius or something?

Agree with this. They're both owned by private equity firms these days and try to wring as much out of you as possible with add-on products and hiked annual renewals.

See what the best cashback deal is on Quidco and go for the cheapest product from each that will conveniently get you moving again if you breakdown. Then as essexash says, swap in a year's time when they start messing you around with silly renewals.

 

[neil_g]

i dont think our RAC went up much if anything this year

 

[srichards]

A lot of them have small print that can render them useless. If you have the any car cover check whether there is an age limit or cover limit on a breakdown.

Many also prevent you from being recovered to a garage of your choice and you being returned home. If the garage is too far away you can't have both so you either get stuck with a non working car at home or at a garage with no way home. If you need a specialist garage then this is a problem but if you happen to be fortunate to have a decent one within a reasonable distance of home it's not a problem.

Onward travel can have restrictions that make it useless.

Recovery limits are on some of them unless you make sure you have the national recovery option.

Home start options can also limit choice of garage. My normal garage is over 40 miles away so that often causes problems even though they are covering a car which you cannot just take to some grease monkey nearby without risk of it being screwed up.

No one seems to offer a proper recovery service which caters for those of us with rare cars that can't go just to any old garage. I can't nominate the garage either so that it is always taken there. If the breakdown companies would allow that it would make life much easier.

 

[JonathanRyan]

Don't get Green Flag.

They don't have any vans - they just call a local garage. If they say they can make it to you in 30 minutes then they get the job. Obviously, they have a pretty big incentive to lie. And that's how I was nearly late for a wedding once..........

AA/RAC - whichever is cheaper. Usually the one you didn't use last time.

 

[neil_g]

A lot of them have small print that can render them useless. If you have the any car cover check whether there is an age limit or cover limit on a breakdown.

Many also prevent you from being recovered to a garage of your choice and you being returned home. If the garage is too far away you can't have both so you either get stuck with a non working car at home or at a garage with no way home. If you need a specialist garage then this is a problem but if you happen to be fortunate to have a decent one within a reasonable distance of home it's not a problem.

Onward travel can have restrictions that make it useless.

Recovery limits are on some of them unless you make sure you have the national recovery option.

Home start options can also limit choice of garage. My normal garage is over 40 miles away so that often causes problems even though they are covering a car which you cannot just take to some grease monkey nearby without risk of it being screwed up.

No one seems to offer a proper recovery service which caters for those of us with rare cars that can't go just to any old garage. I can't nominate the garage either so that it is always taken there. If the breakdown companies would allow that it would make life much easier.

RAC have recovered me from Dartford and Devon to Bournemouth, no quibbles

 

[viv1969]

I'm in the AA through Bank cover, but I upgrade for a few extra quid.
I can use them 8 times a year.
I'm covered, not the car so it doesn't matter what car I'm driving (and yes, I've tested this).
I don't have home start.
I can nominate a garage or be returned to my home.
Thought I might need them on the M25 last Friday when I was shunted, but no

 

[Dave *]

I toggle between the aa and rac each year due to them stiffing over existing members with renewal costs. Didn't look into green flag too much, don't they have a limited recovery radius or something?

same here, check them at renewal and go with the cheapest, always between AA and RAC though, Green Flag use franchise mechanics in some places and I have heard of some poor experiences with that.

A lot of them have small print that can render them useless. If you have the any car cover check whether there is an age limit or cover limit on a breakdown.

I take out the personal cover, so I'm covered in any car rather than the car itself being covered. Slightly more expensive but it gives more peace of mind.

 

[srichards]

Also if you have a 4wd vehicle they can be a pain too as they will want to send out a suspended tow if they can't fix it which would wreck a lot of 4wd systems. Some will then want to charge you EXTRA to use a flatbed even though it clearly states your vehicle is 4wd. Had that argument with greenflag a few times.

I don't know if AA/RAC are as arsey about 4wd vehicles and try and charge extra but Greenflag certainly tried it on.

 

[Shine On]

Don't get Green Flag.

They don't have any vans - they just call a local garage. If they say they can make it to you in 30 minutes then they get the job. Obviously, they have a pretty big incentive to lie. And that's how I was nearly late for a wedding once..........

AA/RAC - whichever is cheaper. Usually the one you didn't use last time.

That's not quite true, there is a limited number of dedicated Green Flag vehicles, although they tend to be vans that try to get you mobile rather than any recovery vehicles.

That said, I went with Green Flag for 2 years because they were significantly cheaper than the others and didn't penalise me for having a small van (AA said I'd need their commercial policy at over £600!). However, the couple of times we had to use them was massive trauma, and finding out where you've saved the money when you most need help wasn't a pleasant experience.

Thankfully the AA have now changed their policy terms and I can cover my Caddy van with a regular Personal policy. Their infrastructure is second to none, and I'd have a lot more confidence in relying on them when the chips were down.

 

[neil_g]

Also if you have a 4wd vehicle they can be a pain too as they will want to send out a suspended tow if they can't fix it which would wreck a lot of 4wd systems. Some will then want to charge you EXTRA to use a flatbed even though it clearly states your vehicle is 4wd. Had that argument with greenflag a few times.

I don't know if AA/RAC are as arsey about 4wd vehicles and try and charge extra but Greenflag certainly tried it on.

ive always had a flatbed with RAC and that was for a FWD and a RWD car

 

[wontolla]

No one seems to offer a proper recovery service which caters for those of us with rare cars that can't go just to any old garage. I can't nominate the garage either so that it is always taken there. If the breakdown companies would allow that it would make life much easier.

Suz, I was recovered by the RAC a couple of weeks ago and they took me to my local back street garage that has looked after my cars for the last 30 odd years. No problems at all, the driver just asked where I would like him to drop it and then dropped me at home! First class in my book.
Was with the AA because of a special offer last year (insurance) but this year the recovery was more than double, so went with the RAC instead.
This year who knows? As mentioned before, it looks like it will be better (cheaper) to swap each year.

And I had a flatbed truck too.

 

[Dave *]

That's not quite true, there is a limited number of dedicated Green Flag vehicles, although they tend to be vans that try to get you mobile rather than any recovery vehicles.

It's true in my experience, that's what I alluded to in my first post. I know of a few instances of a dirty mechanic in an old Transit arriving an hour later and being totally useless.

Not sure how out of date that experience is though, no one I know has used Green Flag in years.

 

[JonathanRyan]

That's not quite true, there is a limited number of dedicated Green Flag vehicles, although they tend to be vans that try to get you mobile rather than any recovery vehicles.

Interesting - I didn't know that. Thanks.

I still won't ever use them since "that incident" though

TBH all breakdown firms discriminate against me because I'm male and don't often have kids in the car. I just make sure I have high vis, a few quid and a Kindle with me

RAC got a breakdown truck to me in France for a flat tyre because of a tedious law that won't let you change your own tyre. They even offered to pay for another ticket if we missed our ferry. That was nice of them.

 

[Shine On]

I know they have their own vans because a chap attended in one when my wife ripped a tyre off my car on a freezing winter night. I was an hour away driving home, put a call into them and at first they said they be there within 30 minutes. Lone female, in a black car, on an unlit national speed limit country road, just after a bend. A horrid situation, which after 25 minutes (I'm driving at a pace to get to collect our son by this point, which is where she'd been going), they ring to ask if my wife has ID on her. I call my wife who said no, she'd not taken her handbag as she was just going to collect out boy. I relayed that to Green Flag who then said that despite it being my car, which was specifically registered on the policy (i.e. it covered my vehicles, not us personally), if my wife couldn't produce ID they would charge us £110 call out and as it stood they'd called off the recovery driver! Short version, I went loopy, they reinstated the call out and the chap got to my wife and about 30 seconds before I did. He turned up in a fully liveried Green Flag Transit van and was a decent bloke, but said he had no record of the first call out and thinks control we're just stalling for time. Whatever the reason, it left a very bitter taste in our mouths.

The other time I called them out was an electrical problem and they sent some random scruffy low loader with a driver who looked (and smelt) like something from a Madmax film.

 

[munch]

Been with the RAC for 30 years. On the few times I had to call them out (mainly when driving other peoples vehicles) they have always been fine.

They took a 3.5 Tonne van from just South of Glasgow to Oban overnight once. No problems.

 

[Spuff]

Thought I might need them on the M25 last Friday when I was shunted, but no

I'm pretty sure if you'd called them for a shunt they wouldn't be interested. Breakdowns only, not accidents.

 

[Tigger.ufo]

I'm pretty sure if you'd called them for a shunt they wouldn't be interested. Breakdowns only, not accidents.

I have been recovered twice by the RAC following accidents.



Heather

 

[Suvv]

I have been with Britannia Rescue for a few years now. Good service and no problems. I had a home start call out once and they could not fix it, they phoned the local Ford garage to find out when it could be booked in. They then returned with a transporter on that day to take the car to the Ford garage.
You get a substantial discount if you belong to the CSMA - open to anyone who is or was a Civil Servant/Post Office/BT etc.

 

[Nod]

When I wrote off my Landy a few years ago, the AA picked me up but charged me. Insurance paid the bill though.

AA low loadered us off the M4 to the services a couple of months back then again from Bath to home when a camshaft position sensor was playing up in HER old MX-5 (typically, the only time it let us down was on the way to be traded in! Still got a good deal on the trade despite being honest with the garage. Fitted a new sensor so the person who collected it shouldn't have broken down on his way home.)

Many MANY years ago, the RAC man who dropped off my Frogeye Sprite was running it off his truck with the door open. Shame he forgot the pillar...

 

[Lynton]

good and bad with all.

Have you checked if your insurer offers cover - usually through AA or RAC. I am with NFU Mutual and for the full RAC package as an add on to the car insurance it's £34.99 for the year. Standalone I believe thats around £110-£120 or so?

Worth looking at?

 

[omens]

I'm with RAC and pay for the option below european cover. A few years ago, my car (whilst still in warranty) broke down. Managed to get into a supermarket car park. Rang them and we did our supermarket shopping. By the time we had got to the car, they were arriving. Towed the car to the dealers, dealt with the service dept, and dropped us off home. Can't complain. Also got a hire car from them (onward travel), which was Europcar. Never needed to use them since *touch wood*

 

[Gremlin]

I've used Autonational for many years now and never had a problem, they have recovered cars involved in accident 3 times without any quibbles

 

[Gary Coyle]

Don't get Green Flag.

They don't have any vans - they just call a local garage.

What utter rubbish, there are a fleet of 6 parked on my street every single day at various times for driver changeover, my neighbour drives one of them and rotates with several other mechanics in the same Van, the other vans also have several drivers each rotating shifts.

Funnily enough though whenever we have needed the service we have always been sent a vehicle from Stoneywood garage about 4 miles away, we actually have Green Flag but paid through Churchill Insurance.

 

[fracster]

Green Flag, nobody else will cover the motorhome.

 

[Mank]

I'm with the RAC pretty much because we get a good deal with all the family as the old man has been with them for donkeys years.

I've used them a couple of times too. First time was when the clutch slave cylinder went leaving Santa Pod and the guy made me wait for well over an hour (its was already 9pm) while he got his mate to check photos online to see if I'd been down the strip or not. When he finally realised I hadn't he called for someone else to tow me away, the other guy was really nice.

2nd time my engine went on the way back from Oxford, late night again sat in the services for over 2 hours. The guy was decent though and towed me home no problems.

3rd time car died on me in the middle of Tesco's car park, right in the middle of the road and no spaces anywhere near by. So I was stuck, told RAC this and I had angry people shouting at me for being in the way of a busy car park, still took over an hour to come (and it was FREEZING!!)

I found out talking to the guy RAC had changed how they operate and they'd changed to the few guys operating in a larger area rather than the small towns (so rather than covering Barnsley/Rotherham they were now covering the whole of South/West Yorkshire) so longer call outs. The guy wasn't too happy about it either. But I don't know if they've changed that policy or if it was just round me. But it didn't help me for sure! Overall everytime I've been waiting a few hours for the call out. But they did save my arse as I wouldn't have liked to find my own way home at those times of day or places.

 

[Dave *]

What utter rubbish, there are a fleet of 6 parked on my street every single day at various times for driver changeover, my neighbour drives one of them and rotates with several other mechanics in the same Van, the other vans also have several drivers each rotating shifts.

Funnily enough though whenever we have needed the service we have always been sent a vehicle from Stoneywood garage about 4 miles away, we actually have Green Flag but paid through Churchill Insurance.

The entire country's Green Flag vans must be parked up around yours .

 

[neil_g]

good and bad with all.

Have you checked if your insurer offers cover - usually through AA or RAC. I am with NFU Mutual and for the full RAC package as an add on to the car insurance it's £34.99 for the year. Standalone I believe thats around £110-£120 or so?

Worth looking at?

Watch that though, the bank and insurance deals often have clauses. On the tv adverts read some of the small print that comes up, normally it says there if the advert states a particular service and its excluded on a subsidised deal.

 

[onomatopoeia]

I don't know if AA/RAC are as arsey about 4wd vehicles and try and charge extra but Greenflag certainly tried it on.

I've always been recovered on a flatbed by the AA (or appointed contractor if one of their own vehicles wasn't available). Never on a suspended tow - never even needed to ask, in fact.

An insurance company tried to sell me green flag with my policy a couple of times, I told them I had a 40something year old Hillman Imp and a 20+ year old 4wd VW camper as well as the more modern vehicle I was insuring and they said "oh, you're better off sticking with the AA then"

 

[rjbell]

Do they priorities jobs? My partner left the lights on and flattened the battery. It was her fault and all but RAC said they would be 3 and a half hours! Stuck in a car with a hungry tired baby i wasn't at all happy with them and will never use them again. Luckaly her dad managed to get it going and cancelled the RAC callout.

 

[viv1969]

Do they priorities jobs? My partner left the lights on and flattened the battery. It was her fault and all but RAC said they would be 3 and a half hours! Stuck in a car with a hungry tired baby i wasn't at all happy with them and will never use them again. Luckaly her dad managed to get it going and cancelled the RAC callout.

Whenever I've had to call the AA, before they even ask about the car they have asked if I am alone, if I have any kids in the car, and if I feel safe; and on one occassion I had a call back from them to check on me about every ten minutes.

 

[Nod]

Ditto when my wife had to call the AA from the M4. Asked if she was alone (she wasn't) and got to us ASAP. Mainly because they try to clear people off the hard shoulder. The driver would have taken us to our destination but ran out of driving hours so needed a break (H&S). 2nd callout that day got us home in one hit then the driver went to a pickup at the local services.
Both drivers were very pleasant and professional, as was the mechanic who did the diagnostic check at the services while between calls. Typically, it was a Sunday afternoon so he couldn't get the part needed otherwise we could have got home under our own steam! (Turned out to be a 5 minute job to change the sensor and that includes finding the correct tool [10mm spanner] and putting it away!)

 

[Russ77]

I'm currently with RAC and they've been good on the 3 or so occasions I've had to use them.

I moved from the AA about 9 years ago..... Car broke down, the guy suspected it was the fuel pump so he towed me home. The next day the car started first time, took it to a local garage and they said they couldn't find a problem but didn't want to inspect the fuel pump as they needed to remove the fuel tank and I was pretty much full at the time.

About a week later I drove to the shops about 1/2 mile away and the car wouldn't start. Called the AA who attended quickly but because it "appeared" to be a repeat failure they wanted £60 to tow me home! To add insult to injury..... the first time I was recovered the guy had cross-threaded the towing eye and it sheard off when I tried to remove it so I was left to get my car towed home without a front towing eye!

Needless to say AA Customer Service had some strongly worded emails to deal with but ultimately I got fobbed off with their T&Cs so I cancelled my policy and went with RAC.

I know technically it was a "repeat failure" but the fact their first recovery guy only suspected a fuel pump failure, it started and drove fine for a week AND a garage couldn't find any problems, I think I took all reasonable measures to ensure everything was in working order.

 

[tdodd]

We've been with the RAC for the last few years because we can pay with Tesco Clubcard vouchers. The exchange rate is not as good as the 4X multiplier for some things such as days out, but I'd rather be paying £58 in vouchers than £150 odd (or whatever it is) in real money.

I had to call them out twice within the space of a month last year with a seized fuel pump, both times needing recovery back home. The first time the guy did his very best to get me going again, but it was not to be. The second time it was recovery from the off since I knew the car would be unlikely to make it home even if it could be started again. Service on both occasions was polite and helpful. Response time was a bit sluggish, but not horrific.

 

[Spuff]

I have been recovered twice by the RAC following accidents.



Heather

The RAC exclusions include: .

RAC Membership does not cover:
– Attendance following a road traffic accident.
However, as part of Our Accident Care service,
for an additional charge, We can Recover Your
Vehicle following a road traffic accident. You
may be entitled to recover these costs from
Your motor insurer but this will be subject to the
terms and conditions of Your motor insurance
policy.

The AA have a similar exclusion. Maybe the patrol drivers have some discretion or is your cover through a business/lease company?

 

[flow]

Always had good service from the AA patrols but, so annoying that they try to increase the premium by at least 50% every year. A quick phonecall usually gets you a big discount but pretty underhand tactics if you ask me

 

[onomatopoeia]

The AA have a similar exclusion. Maybe the patrol drivers have some discretion or is your cover through a business/lease company?

They haven't always had said exclusion, I got recovered from Essex to Bristol following an accident in Jan 2000 and they didn't say anything about charging me.