AAA auto club

[bob haller]

I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their s ervice etc till now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy one van....

wait time on hold both times overa hour and a half..... finally got my ques tions answered by stopping by one of their stores for lack of a better term . one time they never answered when i finally gave up .

I complained loudly about the rotten service. was told all the AAAsare now owned and managed from california. where they consolidated all their teleph one call centers. unfortunately they arent able to answer calls from pennsy lvania in a timely fashion. they are attempting to move their phone help ba ck to pennsylvania

what is wrong with america? service is non existent, college grads in suits give the orders how to cut costs while they enjoy all the perks.

in triple aaas case a rep promised me someone would call me back.

not only did they never call me back they tell me theres no way to complain .....

no address no phone number andmany levels you cant get thru to complain

[Don Y]

Service is still available. But, you often have to pay dearly for it!

We recently purchased a vehicle. Talking with friends/colleagues, *many* recommended Lexus. Almost universally, their reason was "The service is excellent!" Folks mentioned the "free" loaner car while yours is being serviced. Or, that they get a little gift on their birthday. Or, that they are greeted by name. Or,

Of course, from my cynical perspective, the service is also EXPENSIVE! Apparently, *they* don't consider expense in their "assessment" of the "brand". I aim for "it just works!"

I do an oil change for ~$25 and 30 minutes of my time. Having the dealer do it will cost me $60 and almost 2 hours of my time: 20 minutes to drop the car off; a few minutes to talk to the service rep and pick up keys for a "loaner"; 20 minutes to get home; then repeat this to return to pick up *my* car when it is ready.

What *I* look for in a vehicle is not *needing* service. If everything is just routine maintenance, then I can predict the TCO at the time of the sale. I know how many hassles I am likely to have to face in the future. If "things tend to break", then the fact that the dealer recognizes me and knows my name when I drive up is NOT an asset! I want him to look at me and wonder "where have I seen this guy, before?" not, "Hey! Welcome BACK!"

Look them up in D&B and send a letter to their CEO. I've heard that each written complaint a firm receives is seen as representative of hundreds (thousands?) of folks who have similar sentiments but weren't motivated enough to put their thoughts to paper.

Cancel/don't renew your membership. Share your experience with others. Post an entry in a blog, facebook, etc.

[Stormin Mormon]

Got to be some alternative service that does towing?

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

. .

[Gordon Shumway]

You need to buy from a different dealer.

My BMW dealer will bring the loaner, usually a brand new BMW, and drive my car back for whatever service I have scheduled. Then when the service is completed they will bring my car back to me and pick up their loaner. My BMW is now 10 years old and I live about 30 miles from the dealership and I always get excellent service from them.

My wife's Mercedes is 2 years old and that dealer will do the same thing for her car too. That dealer is in the same town as my BMW dealer.

[Don Y]

If I want to drive 120 miles to the next metropolitan area, I could possibly get a dealer with different policies. OTOH, I don't think he'll be willing to drive the 120 miles each way to pick up my vehicle for service. And, *I* surely won't be interested in driving those 120 miles -- both to drop off and pick up!

[gfretwell]

There you go. I have had AAA since 1967 and it never occurred to me to call them about a title issue. I mostly use them to get good paper maps (remember those?) and I have had one road service call in the last 20 years.

[DerbyDad03]

On Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 11:17:29 PM UTC-4, [e-mail] wrot e:

r service etc till now..........

gmy one van....

uestions answered by stopping by one of their stores for lack of a better t erm. one time they never answered when i finally gave up .

That was my first reaction. What does AAA have to do with titles?

I have 6 family members covered under my AAA membership. I have 2 daughters away at college and 2 boy out-of-my-state. They all have older vehicles. W e've always had older vehicles. I'm paying for peace of mind.

I feel I have gotten my money's worth over the years. Mostly tows, but also some paper maps just for pre-trip reviews. My GPS and phone are my drive-t ime navigation tools, but I like to look for alternatives to the main route s. Sometime I program my way-points based on the AAA info so my nav tools t ake me on the route I want to go.

I renew the kid's memberships every year and wrap up their cards as a Chris tmas present.

[DerbyDad03]

Teach me something:

What title related questions did you go to AAA with?

I've been a member for decades and never once considered asking them a title related question. Please enlighten me.

[gfretwell]

I have not embraced GPS/Nav yet. It is certainly not what I want on vacation. Some of the most interesting things we have found were because we were "lost". I prefer a paper map so we can get an overview of where we are and look for things we might want to see. Google Earth is the new technology we use the most. We are mostly old school using travel books and paper maps.

Businesses change so much that if you don't buy the updates every year, your nav is not going to be right that often. It is pretty discouraging to drive to a place that is out of business.

[tony944]

Why didn't you call or talk to DMV triple AAA don't have anything to do with "Titles"

I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their service etc till now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy one van....

wait time on hold both times overa hour and a half..... finally got my questions answered by stopping by one of their stores for lack of a better term. one time they never answered when i finally gave up .

I complained loudly about the rotten service. was told all the AAAsare now owned and managed from california. where they consolidated all their telephone call centers. unfortunately they arent able to answer calls from pennsylvania in a timely fashion. they are attempting to move their phone help back to pennsylvania

what is wrong with america? service is non existent, college grads in suits give the orders how to cut costs while they enjoy all the perks.

in triple aaas case a rep promised me someone would call me back.

not only did they never call me back they tell me theres no way to complain.....

no address no phone number andmany levels you cant get thru to complain

[Ralph Mowery]

Garmin and maybes others (never looked at other GPS) have lifetime maps updates now when you buy the GPS. I had an older Garmin that did not have the lifetime maps. It would have cost me almost as much for the maps as it did for a new unit,so I found a new one on line that was listed as refurbished for about $ 115. It is warrented for 1 year and looks like it is factory new.

I think you can update them 4 times a year for free.

[Ralph Mowery]

North Carolina does it backwards now. You pay the yearly County tax on the vehicle when you get your tag renewed. They make sure to get the tax before you get a tag or title.

[Scott Lurndal]

The california AAA offices were sort of extensions of the state DMV; various tasks could be done at AAA without waiting in line at the DMV (e.g. registration of new vehicles, plate renewals, vanity plates, release of liability, etc.)

[Dean Hoffman]

My idea of a good day is to hop on my motorcycle and ride aimlessly. I decide arbitrarily which way to go when I hit an intersection. The hysterical markers are worth a look too. A sign outside Greeley, NE says it's home to about 450 friendly folks and three old grouches.

[Tekkie®]

tony944 posted for all of us...

Yes they do. That WAS one of the "services", overnight to DMV. Sadly I have to agree with Bob on this issue.

Wife had her drivers license stolen (later found) AAA couldn't/wouldn't do any thing unless we went to an office about 50 miles away. Bleep that. Went to tag service and out 15 minutes later. Received with 7 days from DMV. Licenses are digital so the state must print them.

Went to sell a car; bleep can't find title. AAA person was out of office three times. Never returned calls. Went to same title place and had new title in several days. They have to check encumbrances.

Paid slightly more than AAA but got the service.

We even know the office manager and complained but got no satisfaction.

Keep it only for the road service aspect, I used to do AAA road service in an earlier time and obligated to provide service. They used to stick up for their customers because one time I miscalculated the tow mileage and had to give the overage back-only fair...

Now they only want to be a travel agent and sell cruises.

[Doug Miller]

bob haller wrote in news:d7cb4e0a-c03e-42f9-aac2- [e-mail]:

now..........

Would've made a lot more sense to call your local Dept. of Motor Vehicles branch...

[Don Y]

ROTFLMAO! Perhaps *your* DMV is more "consumer friendly" than most of those that I've dealt with over the last several decades! I'd imagine a long wait on the phone -- followed by a dubious answer (with no "guarantee" of accuracy... sort of like calling the IRS!)

[DerbyDad03]

On Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11:27:43 AM UTC-4, [e-mail] wrote :

lso some paper maps just for pre-trip reviews. My GPS and phone are my driv e-time navigation tools, but I like to look for alternatives to the main ro utes. Sometime I program my way-points based on the AAA info so my nav tool s take me on the route I want to go

That's not an issue with Google navigation on a smart phone. No updates nee ded. In fact, not only don't I have to worry about a business being out of business, I often don't even have to worry about them being closed for the day. For example, I just searched for a Grainger location in another state. Before even showing me the route, Google displayed the following message:

Your destination may be closed when you arrive. Open today: 7:00AM - 5:00PM Estimated arrival at 2:16AM

I'm guessing your paper maps can't do that. ;-)

Now, a major difference between Google Navigation and my GPS is that I can tell my GPS to avoid highways so that it will guide me on the scenic route, which I often like to do. I can't do that with Google (or at least I can't get it to do that) I plan to look for a smart phone app that has that feat ure. Once I have that app, I won't need my GPS anymore.

[DerbyDad03]

eir service etc till

ingmy one van....

My local DMV office is very "consumer friendly" and my recent title/registr ation questions asked via the main DMV phone number for my region were answ ered accurately and efficiently. Granted, getting through was tough at time s. The hold times weren't long because you simply are told to call back lat er. Actually, that's even more frustrating, because I can sit in my office and work while on hold, hanging up whenever I want. It's more annoying to h ave to keep calling back.

However, the local office is pretty good. I have registered 2 used vehicles in the past few months. In each case, there was a problem with the paperwo rk (sort of my fault). In one case I had to get a different Bill Of Sale wh ich was going to take me a few hours. The nice lady at the counter gave me a rain check so that I wouldn't have to wait on the main line once I had th e paperwork. I could get a window number immediately. The second time I nee ded a different insurance card, but my agent's office didn't open for anoth er 20 minutes. The (different) nice lady gave me the fax number of that DMV office, told me to call my agent and have her fax it to the DMV and then c ome right back to her window, "don't wait in any lines." I was in and out i n a matter of minutes, even though the line was out of the door.

I grew up in NYC, so I know what a brutal DMV experience feels like. Unfrie ndly, unhelpful employees, long customer lines, hot crowded offices. It's n ot like that where I live now.

[gfretwell]

Like I said earlier, they are honest and just do these things at the tax collector, because that is what all of that auto stuff is, a tax. Our tax collector is actually pretty good tho. I have had some strange title issues here with boats and they made it very painless ... in one trip. Most mundane things can be done completely online. Once you get a paper less title, there is not any real reason to even go up there and all they really want is the money. They take Visa/MC/Amex on the web site.