Boiler cover - is it worth it and who to get it from?

[tim.....]

if you're using them regularly what you need is a new car , not AA membership

tim

[Adrian]

Or just to maintain the car that you've actually got.

I think I've used breakdown cover three times in the last five years - a recently fitted CV joint came free (after making noise for a couple of days), a (tatty-looking) radiator hose split, and an alternator (that I was in denial about being on the way out) died. Before that, a clutch slave (that'd been leaking for a while) failed, and a head gasket (again, in denial) let go.

The only common factor? All of them were _utterly_ foreseeable and preventable.

[charles]

Interestingly, I have found the complete opposite. Last time I needed help was in a 9 month old vehicle when a sensor failed and the engine refused to run. A "recall notice" had just been issued, but not reached me. Time before, in a 3 yo car which wouldn't come out of reverse gear. Faulty weld in the selector mechanism inside the gear box. Actually, this involved 2 call outs, because the garage, having unstuck it, couldn't find any fault the first time and I carried on driving happily for another 3 months.

[Bob Eager]

The last time I called the RAC out was because I'd had the rear window smashed on my car, on a Saturday evening. No lockup to put it in, pubs still to chuck out, and it was raining hard. No prospect of a repair before Monday (in the event, it was Tuesday).

RAC came and took it to secure storage, then took it to the glass place on the Monday.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Quite. But then if you never need them why pay out the considerable cost for membership? No reason why you can't just get a local breakdown service if ever needed. After all, that's what most of these organisations use these days. Not a motorbike and sidecar anymore.

[ARW]

Regularly or frequently

or

frequently but irregular?

[ARW]

What considerable cost?

My annual breakdown cover (which will get my van back to wherever I want in the UK should it break down) costs me

1. Less than a days wage
2. About the same as filling the van up with a full tank of fuel
3. Less than I spend on scratch cards for the girlfiends lad
4. Less than I spend on sex toys for the girlfriend.
5. About the same as a meal in a good restaurant with the gf (OK that includes the alcohol)
6. And now tyre prices have dropped - less than two new budget tyres for the van.
7. About a third of the vehicle tax for my van

[Huge]

Not my idea of a good restaurant. The last meal I had in a good restaurant cost £450 for 2 people.

[stuart noble]

Let's hope the other person was paying

[ARW]

Or the Mistress was worth it:-)

[Huge]

No, I was. The other person was my wife.

Oh, and it was worth every penny.

[stuart noble]

"The four most overrated things in life are champagne, lobster, anal sex and picnics." Christopher Hitchens.

I've had some very enjoyable picnics