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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Regularly or frequently

or

frequently but irregular?

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

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

Let's hope the other person was paying

Or the Mistress was worth it:-)

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

Oh, and it was worth every penny.

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

I've had some very enjoyable picnics