RAC Recovery Warning

[Lone Wolf]

Wotcha.

The good ol' RAC.

They wouldn't come out to my because I have a Q registration on one of the trikes.  The RAC call centre person said "I've worked here for 25 years and there's no such thing as a "Q" registration number"   I'd called 'em on a Thursday dinner time regarding a puncture in my front wheel.  The RAC's 25 year veteran wanted to know if it was the offside or the nearside wheel.  I explained that it was a tricycle, with one wheel at the front.  "Impossible - it has to be either the left or the right front wheel" came the knowledgeable reply.   After much to-ing and fro-ing, the said they could not get anyone out until around a quarter to eight in the evening . . . . like over 7 hours time.

In the end, someone went and got me one of those "Finilec" type puncture repair kits, which got me home easily.

As you can imagine - my very next move was to cancel the RAC.

The AA on the other hand have been exactly the opposite.

[Worty]

Up until recently, Autoaid was the best breakdown service I'd been with (recommended by MoneySavingExpert), and had been a member for 15 years or so.  The premium of £80 is for personal cover for me and Sue, meaning cover for us both in ANY vehicle we are riding, driving or passengers in.  On one occasion, the clutch pedal broke on the Octy so was recovered to a garage back home.  The following day, it went again because it wasn't repaired correctly, so was worried they wouldn't recover it under the 'same fault' clause - recovered no question.  I'll be changing this year to another company offering the same cover for £87 as Autoaid are now going to charge a £25 excess for every call out for vehicles over 10 years old!!

Rescuemycar looks good, as does GEM. I've checked with them and they cover ANY vehicle regardless of age under the terms mentioned above.  You can pay a bit more to avoid an excess, but it's still worth it (option not available at Autoaid).  My cover runs out at the end of December so I'll post my experiences.

If you get into trouble around the West Yorkshire area, send me a PM and I'll see what I can do.  That doesn't apply to CB after drinking a couple of crates of beer and finding himself banged up for unruly behaviour.

[RogerSB]

With Hagerty RAC is built in, so you have no choice or go with someone else. Previously I'd been with Carole Nash for several years for my bikes, breakdown & recovery was built in also and provided by AXA Assistance . It seems that's what a lot of insurers do now and with UK and European cover - even if you don't want or need it.

My premium nearly doubled for Carole Nash's 20-21 renewal quote, so I ended up going with Hagerty and was lumbered with the RAC, I hope I never need them - but at least I have it in writing that they're obliged to attend - even if their IT systems can't cope because my bikes are not required to have MOTs. Now I have the ammo to kick up a stink with Hagerty if the RAC refused to help on those grounds.

My car has been insured with LV for many years and you do get a choice whether you want to add breakdown & recovery to the policy (UK only or to include Europe and provided by Britannia Rescue).

Rog.

[Worty]

Do you ever shop around for your car insurance Rog?  I do a full run of the comparison sites each year to get the best prices.  I'm presuming LV offer a competitive premium each year.

I was paying £120 fully comp for our Octy - that went up to £210 this year with no changes.  Apparently, repair costs and write offs have gone up sharply (the former having a significant affect on the latter).

[RogerSB]

I usually check on the comparison sites, but most years my renewal quotes from LV have been less than on comparison sites (for LV). Age is becoming a factor for me now, along with the other things that have happened in the insurance world. Both my wife and I being retired we share the one car and as we both have the maximum ncb we alternate the named driver every 2 years for us both to keep it. This year it was my wife's turn and her premium was less than mine at £400.38. That was £107.50 more than I paid last year - same company and everything the same as before.

As I mentioned my renewal quote was a few pounds more than my wife's for our BMW, so I phoned them to ask why. The explanation given was that all insurance claims have gone up drastically, along with a higher cost of repairs. Also, by law, they have to treat new customers and existing customers the same - so no more discounts. Previously if I felt the cost had gone up too much from the previous year I'd phone up and always got a reduction, on average about 10%, but not anymore.

I do add on some extras such as breakdown, home assist and recovery, full cover for driving in Europe, hire car, additional medical, ncb protection, etc., which does push it up a bit, but then this year we spent several weeks driving in France and the most southern tip of Ireland, so it does give some peace of mind to be covered for most eventualities.

Rog.

[Black Sheep]

Peter James insurance breakdown cover is with the AA. In the last few years, I have used them twice. The head came off a valve on my 1913 Douglas and then the clutch failed on my 1979 Land Rover. Response was pretty quick all things considered. I spoke to real humans and there were no problems at all.

[RogerSB]

I was with Peter James for agreed value on bikes up until 2019 (before that with Footman James) but I had to change to Carole Nash because they wouldn't continue to insure me any longer. I never tick the box for automatic renewal and after filling out several pages for a quote an apology popped up to say sorry. I'd not claimed on either bike or car insurance in 59 years of riding and driving, so I naturally assumed I'd reached their age cut off point (80 today). Maybe, in retrospect, I should have phoned to ask why, but didn't.

Also in my experience with them the phone was always answered quickly and you spoke to someone who knew what they were talking about. Peter James was one of the original partners of Footman James.

Rog.

[berger]

Happy Birthday to you roger , i can only hope you have many more and enjoy your bike for years to come

[Worty]

....... and from me Rog, Happy Birthday   I reckon I'll be fortunate to see 70 and still be in good enough shape to ride, but hey, who knows   Brilliant to see an octogenarian still rattling around (I'm referring to the bikes, of course )

[RogerSB]

Many thanks.

[Rex]

I was with Peter James for agreed value on bikes up until 2019 (before that with Footman James)
Rog.

That's changed relatively recently then. FJ were with the RAC (spit) and when I filled out the proposal with PJ I had to cancel as they were with the RAC too.

[Colsbeeza]

Roger, Now 80 eh? That needs some recognition. I am too far away for a party, but I hope you have (had?) an enjoyable one.
Col

[RogerSB]

Thank you Col.

I just had to put this photo of the card my son and daughter-in-law gave me. (Click to enlarge).

[Worty]

A gallon of petrol - 4.5p, pint of beer 2p.  Compare that to £6.30 and around £4 now.

My late dad once said he'd stop driving when petrol reached £10 per gallon.  We used to think he was insane for suggesting it.  Even when I was a kid, I remember petrol at 68p per gallon, and that was a bit pricey.

Never knew the Pentagon was completed during the war years.

Great card Rog!

[Sav]

All very disconcerting! my RAC membership starts today!