Breakdown cover price

[tadka]

I just want to share this in case some of you like me don’t know it.

It appears that AA and RAC now do a cheaper cover just for your car rather than for you. And it’s half price for new customers (at least with RAC) so no point staying loyal.

I was going to downgrade my cover to the basic one on the RAC’s website as £167 is way too much when I hardly ever leave town these days. So I registered on their website and started looking for the option to change my renewal. There wasn’t one. But there was the option to start a new cover. So I started going through the step and turns out I can get a cover to only include my car. And it’s £40 for a year. But since I did not want to end up with 2 covers I called them instead. We go through all the steps and they tell me it will be £78!!! Turns out the £40 online is for new customers only! After a lot of negotiations and refusals of all kinds of other offers I managed to get a years cover for £40 but of course the renewal next time will be £78. I had no idea this was the case these days with the break down covers but it seems staying loyal is now pointless.

Topic

[dwynnehugh]

I think that staying loyal to any company is a total  mistake these days.  To them loyalty = cash cows to be milked so that ‘new customers’ can have a great deal that is not available for those old and loyal ones.

I seem to think that HMG may now be looking at this and asking if it is ‘fair trading’ by them.  Some years ago Tesco Ins for my car went up, so I looked around and got a cheaper quote (with the same main company that Tesco Ins was with) – so they matched.  The following year it had gone up a fair bit again, so I repeated my search of the previous year – got a cheaper quote and put it again to Tesco but they refused to match on the basis that “we price matched you on the last renewal”.

So with tears flowing from my eyes and wringing out all of my handkerchiefs, we parted company!!

The more you meet people the more you understand why Noah took animals instead of humans

[The Duke]

I usally only take cover when I’m going abroad. I use the compere the market sites, as they bring up far cheaper providers than AA and Rac and I found out that they use aa and Rac. So they are like a reseller

Thr last company I used was called ‘Green’, it was very cheap, for the ewuvialy cover of the big names, and it come with lose of key cover. Which I liked the idea of while in another contry.

But just to be safe we alway take the spare key away with us, the wife keeps one (she doesn’t drive), sue usally puts it with the passports (hidden in hotel etc) just incase I lose mine.

Since I’ve had new cars I’ve never taken out cover. But the current is covered but I’m not sure who with. I should really find that out. It’s a motability car, In wife’s name.

I agree with Dave above, never stick with any company. They always under charge you in year one, and rely on lazeynes to get you in year two.

In all my years of driving I’ve move every year bar one. That was with chaser (French firm) there second year was sightly dear than me moving but by £15 iirc, so I stayed. Usally they shoot up to a hundred or more more expensive.

For the last 15 years my insurance on all my cars had been around £280 every year. Usally year two will be about £400 so I move. I did get a woult in my girls ka out of interest and that was £160 lady year. Cheapest quote I’ve ever had.

[Bob Williams]

Steve wrote:

” But the current is covered but I’m not sure who with. I should really find that out. It’s a motability car, In wife’s name. ”

That would be RSA Steve: all Motability leases are covered by them. I have had to claim 3 times since 1995, and never had a problem with them. They have actually improved their service over the years. When I made my last claim, it was for a rear nearside light lens, victim of my son’s trailer hook, didn’t see it parked in his layby in the dark returning my gson home: their village is pitch black at night. Sorted in 3 days, with a neat little Kia Picanto Auto loan car. Took it up to Nationwide* Grimsby and it was returned to my house on the Friday, loan car taken away. BTW, the lens assembly would have cost me £350 from Hyundai!

Making a claim under older Motability rules, used to mean losing the “Good Condition” payment when exchanging for another car after 3 years. They changed that a few years ago: now, if you return the car in good nick, there is a £250 payment. I use this to put with a bit more for a deposit to get a better model, choosing the one I want and going up the model range or buying extras with it.

*Nationwide has massive body shops across the UK and all claims are directed by Motability/RSA to the one nearest your location. Up to a few years ago, I could take mine to a mate’s local body shop, or any which carried out insurance repairs. Then Motability made a deal with Nationwide, lots of other body shops joined Nationwide and expanded their business.

 

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[The Duke]

Cheers Bob. I need to contact the insurers soon anyway as I’m off to Spain to watch the European Cup final (hopefully Liverpool make it).

For th last year I kept calling my insurer asking about European cover and brexit. They kept saying call back next month we dant have a plan for leaving atm, but as it stood (November I last asked) they said your insurance would be void once you got off the ferry, as is your licence.

Ive already sorted my licence, I got a international licence  (two actually as France is on one and Spain on the other!). I’ve read that now if we leave cars will need a green card. So I’ll have to contact RSA and see where they stand, or rather where I stand.

If u can’t take my car, my BiL said I could take his merc AMG, but that gets about 19to the gallon, whealre as mine gets 30, hopefully 40 on the motorway. I’ve got a petrol now and they ain’t great on fuel.

So I really don’t fancy taking his AMG on a 3000mile drive.. That means less beer tokens. The FiL deisel octavia would be the best, but its ten years old so I wouldnt trust it. That will get 70mpg on the motorway like my old laguna did.

[blacklion1725]

The Nationwide Flex Plus account is paid (£13/pcm = £156 anually). It includes breakdown cover as well as global travel insurance (there are age caveats) and mobile phone insurance. Only mentioning in case people are not aware. You also get 2.5% interest on up to £2,500 sitting in the account which is approx £5-£6 off the monthly premium if you look at it that way. It is also a travel-friendly card. Not for everyone but could suit some.

[The Duke]

Oh shit, I forgot about that, my Halifax ultimate card gives me RAC breakdown, along with phone insurance, and travel insurance. I use the phone and travel, but never the breakdown. It offers other stuff to, but never used any of it.

It’s 15£ a month, but if you put 1500£ through it your not charged. I have a few cards like that, and my wife has the same Halifax  so each month I play the cycling money through the accounts game. I need to close two tbh as I have no need for them bit don’t like closing bank accounts, just incase. So I transfers 2k from one to the other each month just to not get a charge.

My daily card I use is a monzo card. I got it cos it has cheap international rates, so it wa for when I was away, but it’s just so good, real modern banking, I ended up using it more and more. So I use that As my daily and my visa for anything over 100 and visa for fuel ad it lives in my glove box.

It’s in there as more than once over the years, the dutchess had used my card and not put it back in my wallet, and I’ve filled up the car before noticing. Its a good job garage’s give you 24h to return, if you let them know.

So now I have my petrol visa in my car. Its my first and only one, I got it years ago when I was building my credit up, I use it just like a debit card, pay it off evey night when I use it. I thin when I got it it had a 50 limit In about 1998. They keep raising it, but I ain’t spending it. I hate being in debt. Scares thd life out of me. House and business are the only good reasons to get in dent. Not because you want somthing. Save up, and do without. You’ll then cherish it more.

I watched my mother every year get in debt for Xmas, then spend all year paying it off, just to do it again. I just can’t do it.

[Author]

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