My two cars total over 500k miles. Relatively speaking, I haven’t needed to use them much over the years, but AAA Plus pays for itself if I do need them.
yup on 3rd year of AAA, also have progressive roadside on top in case i use all 4 incidents of AAA(aaa doesn’t have to be vehicle specific so i can “loan” my aaa to friends/coworkers")
I’ve rarely needed it, but it actually dropped my insurance by just shy of the amount (comes out to be less than a dollar when it’s all said and done), and I certainly appreciated when I needed it.
@simplersimon in 26 years w AAA no car insurance co (at least 3 of them I can remember) ever mentioned a discount because we are AAA. Sounds like one of those “you have to ask, we aren’t going to tell you” things. Or who is your insurance with?
@mollama I’m don’t think it’s a discount for AAA, I think most auto insurance included a roadside assistance plan. If you remove that, you’d save a few dollars.
My Hyundai came with 5 years roadside assistance. My insurance has a roadside assistance option. Used it once, but it only covers a 25 mile tow. Not really useful if you break down on the highway. Just know that in the city, it’s great. But you’re more likely to be able to either flag someone to help or to have your mechanic tow it in. On the interstate, 25 miles won’t help. You’ll be out of pocket any extra over those 25 miles. That said, it was better than nothing, and they knew a local tow service to call. I had no idea on who was good or close when I’m 400 miles from home. Just know that it’s not as much as you think it is.
@narfcake@Pantheist,
I wasn’t trying to devalue AAA. I was noting that we often have “free” roadside assistance (some credit cards offer it as a perk) already in place, with the caveat that theres a reason it’s “free”. Just like the “lifetime” warranties on $10 items. If the replacement/upgrade cost is $10 (or less in the future), you can see why a lifetime warranty is “free” or “included”.
That’s why car manufacturers offer roadside assistance (i.e. 25 miles) to the nearest dealer as part of their warranty. They would eat the tow anyway if it was under warranty, so making it “free” with the car is a no-brainer.
Years back when I was with Allstate, they offered roadside assistance with insurance too. Coverage was 5 miles. I kept my AAA membership.
Side note: My main reason for dropping Allstate was they wanted to automatically total out my wagon instead of repairing it after I was rear ended. I was fine with used parts (much much much cheaper), but they wouldn’t listen. The other party’s insurance, State Farm, said “as long as you’re okay with it”. That dropped the repair bill over $900.
I used to be a member of AAA, back when I did a lot more road trips. I got my money’s worth in maps and tour books. Even now, as I discovered last year, in large portions of the country there are places without cell phone data coverage, and paper maps and lists of motels and attractions are useful things, especially if you don’t like to travel set routes and aren’t always sure where you are going. Cell phones and GPS units aren’t so hot at looking at the big picture, either.
I used the roadside assistance a few times. Twice on road trips, once in Miami Beach and once in Crescent City, California, I locked the keys in my rental car (just got distracted unpacking at the motels), and AAA sent someone to get my keys out (true story: both were rented Sebring convertibles. Yes, the tops were up both times).
I also got a couple of jump starts and once got towed to a garage when I had changed my tire and then the spare died (use those covers for rear gate mounted spares, folks).
Now I don’t have time to travel as much, and my primary car is a fleet vehicle which includes roadside assistance (I pay monthly for personal use), so I’ve let my membership lapse.
I always got the upgrade, since the tow range on the base membership isn’t too useful if you are in the middle of Nevada or wherever.
I think my car insurance company comes with some sort of roadside assistance service. Never had to use it so I’m not sure how good it is. Also, since it’s a new car still under warranty, I have a manufacture service for roadside assistance too. No need for a third company to cover it too.
@cengland0 My car insurance has this. I recently tried to help my nephew who had AAA. On hold forever and expensive for extra miles to get the car back to near his home. Finally hung up and helped him call his insurance company. Was covered and quick.
I have roadside assistance through Verizon, and it is great. I have used it many times over the years, with zero problems. It is about $50 a year, which seems reasonable, I have not checked AAA’s price in years.
As a kid I remember those gold foil AAA oval stickers arriving in the mail. Never had an interest in sticking them on anything. But I remember them. Good marketing?
We tried AAA many years ago and dropped it due to non-use and a bet that the annual fees over several years times the likelihood we’d use it was more expensive than going without and paying full boat to tow… or calling customer service at one of our credit cards where they didn’t pay the tow fee, but had tow companies on call.
Our most recent AAA experience was this summer when we bought a AAA International Travel Debit card. What a horrible experience. The idiots behind the AAA counter entered our data incorrectly (they were reading it off my driver’s license). It took two weeks to get the error sorted out since the bad data was the security check info their bank-partner requires to manage the card. Their bank-partner customer service said it happens all the time with AAA.
… and they charged you a 10 buck fee to reload the card over the Internet but no fee if you reloaded it in their office!?! Had to cost more to process money manually at their office than to handle it completely electronically.
I’ve had AAA for close to 20 years. Some years I don’t use it and sometimes it saves me big bucks. My sister and I started a return trip from NYC to Wisconsin. She had road side assistance from her insurance company. We had a blow out just as we left NYC onto the New Jersey Turnpike. We sat for 4 hours while her roadside assistant claimed to try to get to us. They finally said it was to dangerous to come to where we were and left it at that. I called AAA and they were there and had us back on the road in 45. I’ve also had a couple over 100 mile tows. It’s worth it to buy the plus.
Back when we always had a clunker, AAA was a must. Later years we went with roadside assistance from our auto insurance companies but have forgotten about it when emergencies arise. Just checked my policy, seems I forgot that I opted out again. My memory is breaking down, not my car!
@callow make sure you know what the max tow limits are. The insurance is to get you to the nearest gas station, not a mechanic. Mine is 25 miles. I wouldn’t be surprised if they can increase that range along with an increase in price.
My American Express card comes with it. Free towing, plus they will contact the State Highway Patrol for me (if needed) and will stay on the line to basically keep me company if I’m worried or alone. They’ve treated me every well, plus I like their Customer Service Fraud Detection Ninjas.
@smilingjack My mother-in-law was once complaining about the cost of insurance in general saying how she never used it.
Her son (my husband), reminded her of the long term health care insurance that kept her solvent when his dad was in residential care for three years and eight months (he never went home).
Yup. Like Brian tells folks we have insurance hoping we never need it.
I used to have it, but dropped it after they sold me a new battery, then complained about having to come and jump it (after the third time in a year). Plus the basic rate had increased to 72.00+. The only times I usually used it was for flat tires. Decided that convenience wasn’t worth it.
I have AAA Plus and I use it a few times per year - it’s saved my ass several times, not to mention helping out friends who have given me rides/I’ve roadtripped with.
I have roadside assistance through auto insurance. Really only used it once when I came back from a trip and my battery was dead at the airport long-term parking lot. I tried using a battery pack to jump it, tried flagging someone down and jumping with cables, tried having airport staff jump with their special jumper cables. Completely dead.
Auto insurance paid for a service station to bring me a new battery and install it. I had to pay the service station for the battery. I could have taken the shuttle back to the airport, then taken a cab or uber to a parts store to get a battery and install it myself, but I would have to pay for transportation…a bit of a coin-toss because I did have to wait quite awhile and I was SO ready to go home.
For all those with “roadside assistance” plans through either a credit card, your auto insurance, or your auto manufacturer or dealer warranties and extended warranties:
Make sure you know what the max tow limits are. The basic insurance is to get you to the nearest gas station, not a mechanic or even a dealer. Mine is 25 miles (via car insurance). I wouldn’t be surprised if they can increase that range along with an increase in price.
If you have multiple coverages, know which is best for your situation, should you need it.
I get the sense that an older car and highway travel favors plans more like AAA’s than the free or low-cost plans from credid cards or auto insurance or car manufacturers.
There are tires with blowout protection/insurance, but they are often only offered by the tire store you bought the tires from. They know you’re not going to have a blowout that just happens to be within 10-25 miles of the store (or one in the franchise), so it’s a low-risk profit maker. They probably just buy secondary RA coverage themselves and pocket the profit.
I’ve had AAA Plus for…13 years now.
my parents buy it for my birthday every year…
they’ve (AAA) made a fair amount off me, my cars have been in good enough shape…so far… can’t really remember the last time I used it for MY car.
now my buddy’s clapped out POS?('s)
I’ve had several of them towed over the years…
once from his grandma’s trailer to his parents trailer.(about 40 mi)
once from the house his parents had just moved out of to our apt (about 50 mi).
that one had been parked in the grass.
over winter, into spring.
in Ohio.
50 Ft from a River.
it was well sunk into the mud.
AAA had to winch it out.
the land lord stopped by mid-winch (ostensibly to check on the water level in the back yard), and and flipped out b/c of the ruts, and channels being created by the winch pulling the car THROUGH the mud.(their lease was up the next day, we just needed to get the car off the property)
AAA plus covered the winch and the tow back to “civilization”. no additional cost to me.
then the car sat in front our apt for a few more months until… i think…his dad came down and fixed it… or got it running and traded him another junker for it… or something…
this was 13 yrs ago… and not long before i moved out, and back home for $$ reasons…
he wouldn’t remember much either, that was a round the time he started having seizures and they found a brain tumor(pre-cancer) and had it removed…he has Huge gaps in what memories he can easily access for the 5 or 6 years before then.
We have it, but didn’t use it the last time we had a chance to. It was after the Escape did a side roll down a hill (then it hit a fence, did a 180° and I landed on Miramar Air Station). So, we were driving the mustang to a lawyer’s office and the tranny went out. AAA would only take it eight miles for free, we’d have to pay for the rest. After doing some research, the tranny place hauled it for nothin’.
Now, we have AAA Plus. Which bumps it up to 100 miles.
My two cars total over 500k miles. Relatively speaking, I haven’t needed to use them much over the years, but AAA Plus pays for itself if I do need them.
yup on 3rd year of AAA, also have progressive roadside on top in case i use all 4 incidents of AAA(aaa doesn’t have to be vehicle specific so i can “loan” my aaa to friends/coworkers")
I’ve rarely needed it, but it actually dropped my insurance by just shy of the amount (comes out to be less than a dollar when it’s all said and done), and I certainly appreciated when I needed it.
@simplersimon in 26 years w AAA no car insurance co (at least 3 of them I can remember) ever mentioned a discount because we are AAA. Sounds like one of those “you have to ask, we aren’t going to tell you” things. Or who is your insurance with?
@mollama I’m don’t think it’s a discount for AAA, I think most auto insurance included a roadside assistance plan. If you remove that, you’d save a few dollars.
My Hyundai came with 5 years roadside assistance. My insurance has a roadside assistance option. Used it once, but it only covers a 25 mile tow. Not really useful if you break down on the highway. Just know that in the city, it’s great. But you’re more likely to be able to either flag someone to help or to have your mechanic tow it in. On the interstate, 25 miles won’t help. You’ll be out of pocket any extra over those 25 miles. That said, it was better than nothing, and they knew a local tow service to call. I had no idea on who was good or close when I’m 400 miles from home. Just know that it’s not as much as you think it is.
@mike808 AAA plus is 200 miles
@Pantheist AAA Plus allows for 100; Premier allows for 200 (for one of the tows; the remaining three are 100).
@narfcake Ah you’re right
@narfcake @Pantheist,
I wasn’t trying to devalue AAA. I was noting that we often have “free” roadside assistance (some credit cards offer it as a perk) already in place, with the caveat that theres a reason it’s “free”. Just like the “lifetime” warranties on $10 items. If the replacement/upgrade cost is $10 (or less in the future), you can see why a lifetime warranty is “free” or “included”.
That’s why car manufacturers offer roadside assistance (i.e. 25 miles) to the nearest dealer as part of their warranty. They would eat the tow anyway if it was under warranty, so making it “free” with the car is a no-brainer.
@mike808 Yeah, I know you weren’t.
Years back when I was with Allstate, they offered roadside assistance with insurance too. Coverage was 5 miles. I kept my AAA membership.
Side note: My main reason for dropping Allstate was they wanted to automatically total out my wagon instead of repairing it after I was rear ended. I was fine with used parts (much much much cheaper), but they wouldn’t listen. The other party’s insurance, State Farm, said “as long as you’re okay with it”. That dropped the repair bill over $900.
I used to be a member of AAA, back when I did a lot more road trips. I got my money’s worth in maps and tour books. Even now, as I discovered last year, in large portions of the country there are places without cell phone data coverage, and paper maps and lists of motels and attractions are useful things, especially if you don’t like to travel set routes and aren’t always sure where you are going. Cell phones and GPS units aren’t so hot at looking at the big picture, either.
I used the roadside assistance a few times. Twice on road trips, once in Miami Beach and once in Crescent City, California, I locked the keys in my rental car (just got distracted unpacking at the motels), and AAA sent someone to get my keys out (true story: both were rented Sebring convertibles. Yes, the tops were up both times).
I also got a couple of jump starts and once got towed to a garage when I had changed my tire and then the spare died (use those covers for rear gate mounted spares, folks).
Now I don’t have time to travel as much, and my primary car is a fleet vehicle which includes roadside assistance (I pay monthly for personal use), so I’ve let my membership lapse.
I always got the upgrade, since the tow range on the base membership isn’t too useful if you are in the middle of Nevada or wherever.
@craigthom
Tether a tablet to your mobile service.
@RedOak still not so hot when looking at, say, alternative routes across a state. When you zoom out enough to see the whole route the detail vanishes.
I’ve been a AAA member for 38 years. Some years I’ve used it a lot. Lately not so much because I can afford better cars.
It’s a must have if you drive experienced vehicles.
I think my car insurance company comes with some sort of roadside assistance service. Never had to use it so I’m not sure how good it is. Also, since it’s a new car still under warranty, I have a manufacture service for roadside assistance too. No need for a third company to cover it too.
@cengland0 My car insurance has this. I recently tried to help my nephew who had AAA. On hold forever and expensive for extra miles to get the car back to near his home. Finally hung up and helped him call his insurance company. Was covered and quick.
@DaveKnowsAll Standard AAA covers up to 7 miles; any additional miles are based on the towing company’s rate.
AAA Plus covers up to 100 miles.
AAA Premier covers up to 200 miles.
There are other benefits with the different levels also.
Are*
I have roadside assistance through Verizon, and it is great. I have used it many times over the years, with zero problems. It is about $50 a year, which seems reasonable, I have not checked AAA’s price in years.
As a kid I remember those gold foil AAA oval stickers arriving in the mail. Never had an interest in sticking them on anything. But I remember them. Good marketing?
We tried AAA many years ago and dropped it due to non-use and a bet that the annual fees over several years times the likelihood we’d use it was more expensive than going without and paying full boat to tow… or calling customer service at one of our credit cards where they didn’t pay the tow fee, but had tow companies on call.
Our most recent AAA experience was this summer when we bought a AAA International Travel Debit card. What a horrible experience. The idiots behind the AAA counter entered our data incorrectly (they were reading it off my driver’s license). It took two weeks to get the error sorted out since the bad data was the security check info their bank-partner requires to manage the card. Their bank-partner customer service said it happens all the time with AAA.
… and they charged you a 10 buck fee to reload the card over the Internet but no fee if you reloaded it in their office!?! Had to cost more to process money manually at their office than to handle it completely electronically.
AAA… stuck in the dark ages.
I’ve had AAA plus since I learned to drive, and I’d say I average 1 long tow a year. Definitely worth it.
I’ve had AAA for close to 20 years. Some years I don’t use it and sometimes it saves me big bucks. My sister and I started a return trip from NYC to Wisconsin. She had road side assistance from her insurance company. We had a blow out just as we left NYC onto the New Jersey Turnpike. We sat for 4 hours while her roadside assistant claimed to try to get to us. They finally said it was to dangerous to come to where we were and left it at that. I called AAA and they were there and had us back on the road in 45. I’ve also had a couple over 100 mile tows. It’s worth it to buy the plus.
Back when we always had a clunker, AAA was a must. Later years we went with roadside assistance from our auto insurance companies but have forgotten about it when emergencies arise. Just checked my policy, seems I forgot that I opted out again. My memory is breaking down, not my car!
@callow make sure you know what the max tow limits are. The insurance is to get you to the nearest gas station, not a mechanic. Mine is 25 miles. I wouldn’t be surprised if they can increase that range along with an increase in price.
My American Express card comes with it. Free towing, plus they will contact the State Highway Patrol for me (if needed) and will stay on the line to basically keep me company if I’m worried or alone. They’ve treated me every well, plus I like their Customer Service Fraud Detection Ninjas.
I need to renew my AAA by sept. I’ve never used it, but we all know if I don’t renew it, I’ll break down on Sept 2nd.
@smilingjack Yep, my renewal is in Sept. and I’m thinking the same thing.
@smilingjack have you considered checking how much road side assistance is from your insurance companY
@smilingjack My mother-in-law was once complaining about the cost of insurance in general saying how she never used it.
Her son (my husband), reminded her of the long term health care insurance that kept her solvent when his dad was in residential care for three years and eight months (he never went home).
Yup. Like Brian tells folks we have insurance hoping we never need it.
I don’t need AAA, I know where my towel is.
I used to have it, but dropped it after they sold me a new battery, then complained about having to come and jump it (after the third time in a year). Plus the basic rate had increased to 72.00+. The only times I usually used it was for flat tires. Decided that convenience wasn’t worth it.
I have AAA Plus and I use it a few times per year - it’s saved my ass several times, not to mention helping out friends who have given me rides/I’ve roadtripped with.
I have roadside assistance through auto insurance. Really only used it once when I came back from a trip and my battery was dead at the airport long-term parking lot. I tried using a battery pack to jump it, tried flagging someone down and jumping with cables, tried having airport staff jump with their special jumper cables. Completely dead.
Auto insurance paid for a service station to bring me a new battery and install it. I had to pay the service station for the battery. I could have taken the shuttle back to the airport, then taken a cab or uber to a parts store to get a battery and install it myself, but I would have to pay for transportation…a bit of a coin-toss because I did have to wait quite awhile and I was SO ready to go home.
For all those with “roadside assistance” plans through either a credit card, your auto insurance, or your auto manufacturer or dealer warranties and extended warranties:
Make sure you know what the max tow limits are. The basic insurance is to get you to the nearest gas station, not a mechanic or even a dealer. Mine is 25 miles (via car insurance). I wouldn’t be surprised if they can increase that range along with an increase in price.
If you have multiple coverages, know which is best for your situation, should you need it.
I get the sense that an older car and highway travel favors plans more like AAA’s than the free or low-cost plans from credid cards or auto insurance or car manufacturers.
There are tires with blowout protection/insurance, but they are often only offered by the tire store you bought the tires from. They know you’re not going to have a blowout that just happens to be within 10-25 miles of the store (or one in the franchise), so it’s a low-risk profit maker. They probably just buy secondary RA coverage themselves and pocket the profit.
I’ve had AAA Plus for…13 years now.
my parents buy it for my birthday every year…
they’ve (AAA) made a fair amount off me, my cars have been in good enough shape…so far… can’t really remember the last time I used it for MY car.
now my buddy’s clapped out POS?('s)
I’ve had several of them towed over the years…
once from his grandma’s trailer to his parents trailer.(about 40 mi)
once from the house his parents had just moved out of to our apt (about 50 mi).
that one had been parked in the grass.
over winter, into spring.
in Ohio.
50 Ft from a River.
it was well sunk into the mud.
AAA had to winch it out.
the land lord stopped by mid-winch (ostensibly to check on the water level in the back yard), and and flipped out b/c of the ruts, and channels being created by the winch pulling the car THROUGH the mud.(their lease was up the next day, we just needed to get the car off the property)
AAA plus covered the winch and the tow back to “civilization”. no additional cost to me.
then the car sat in front our apt for a few more months until… i think…his dad came down and fixed it… or got it running and traded him another junker for it… or something…
this was 13 yrs ago… and not long before i moved out, and back home for $$ reasons…
he wouldn’t remember much either, that was a round the time he started having seizures and they found a brain tumor(pre-cancer) and had it removed…he has Huge gaps in what memories he can easily access for the 5 or 6 years before then.
Wtf? Where is the “no I’m an adult and can fix it myself”
@unksol
https://shirt.woot.com/offers/jack-of-all?ref=meh_com
@unksol Some work isn’t worth doing yourself unless you already do it professionally since the tools are so expensive.
We have it, but didn’t use it the last time we had a chance to. It was after the Escape did a side roll down a hill (then it hit a fence, did a 180° and I landed on Miramar Air Station). So, we were driving the mustang to a lawyer’s office and the tranny went out. AAA would only take it eight miles for free, we’d have to pay for the rest. After doing some research, the tranny place hauled it for nothin’.
Now, we have AAA Plus. Which bumps it up to 100 miles.
AAA is freakin awesome.
I keep the Premier membership and it covers my Jeep and my old RV. They will even bring me 5 Gallons of gas if I call them.