Call me a pessimist...

[MrHankey]

but i am driving to Wales this weekend, and just to scare myself i thought i would have a quick look in the technical section of the forum. Sure enough the anxiety pangs soon appeared (should i maybe take the wife's Avensis instead? etc etc). Anyway to get to the point i was thinking that getting some kind of breakdown cover might be a good idea so i went to the autotrader website where they do a comparison of lots of different breakdown services. Unfortunately i had forgotten that i am not only lazy but also quite thick and the nineteen or so different quotes seem to vary in price from £35 to £269 with what looks like varying degrees of cover, thereby confusing me considerably. So rather than reading through all 19 different policies i thought it might be quicker to ask you lot which breakdown service you use and how much it costs (oh and whether its any good). Quick poll? Basically i just want someone to fix my surf if it breaks down or give me their recovery vehicle to drive around in until they have fixed it.

[marky]

you want it to get you home not to the nearest garage mate. ive been to cornwall from manchester & back in my 2.4 nonstop just makesure youve checked the oil & water like you would do on any other trip. I tow my caravan all over the place with no problems so calm down.
The 2.4 SURF IS A GOOD MOTOR.

[TAZMAN]

but i am driving to Wales this weekend, and just to scare myself i thought i would have a quick look in the technical section of the forum. Sure enough the anxiety pangs soon appeared (should i maybe take the wife's Avensis instead? etc etc). Anyway to get to the point i was thinking that getting some kind of breakdown cover might be a good idea so i went to the autotrader website where they do a comparison of lots of different breakdown services. Unfortunately i had forgotten that i am not only lazy but also quite thick and the nineteen or so different quotes seem to vary in price from £35 to £269 with what looks like varying degrees of cover, thereby confusing me considerably. So rather than reading through all 19 different policies i thought it might be quicker to ask you lot which breakdown service you use and how much it costs (oh and whether its any good). Quick poll? Basically i just want someone to fix my surf if it breaks down or give me their recovery vehicle to drive around in until they have fixed it.

Hi Bill.

Personally, I use and recommend the RAC. I have the standard cover which includes the wife, £25 no call out discount, roadside, recovery, at home and includes the both of us as passengers in any other vehicle. So far they have been called by my wife once when her car battery gave up in the evening and was there within 15mins. She was back on the road again within 10 mins and was advised to buy a new one asap. The total for a year was less than £100.00p when I started it, but I'm sure theres cheaper options out there, and at the end of the day you get what you pay for. You can join online aswell if you prefer.

[MrHankey]

<--- slaps himself around a bit and calms down

Its going in for a service / cam belt change and (hopefully) air con fix 2morrow so hopefully everything should be fine, but i know my luck and it will be a miracle if the head doesnt crack or the clutch explodes or my autobox oil cooler (whatever that is) decides to switch to manual oil heating <--- slaps self again. No no - you are right it will be fine, and what the hell? I hear the Welsh people love us English folks so if anything goes wrong i can expect hoards of people stopping to help out!

[Cockney Surfer]

greenflag !

comes as a package with our insurance company.
good price - good service.

used on 3 occasions for various bits and bobs, good quick service.

forgot to mention, the cars they mended DISCOVERY ! AND RANGE ROVER !

craig

[Greebo]

Its going in for a service / cam belt change and (hopefully) air con fix 2morrow so hopefully everything should be fine, but i know my luck and it will be a miracle if the head doesnt crack or the clutch explodes or my autobox oil cooler (whatever that is) decides to switch to manual oil heating <--- slaps self again. No no - you are right it will be fine, and what the hell? I hear the Welsh people love us English folks so if anything goes wrong i can expect hoards of people stopping to help out!

[marky]

A QUOTE FROM MR HANKEY.
You bought a surf at a bargain price knowing of the head problem & your still moaning. Calm Down dear its not a commercial.


Well i did it!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally took the plunge today and bought myself the most beautiful surf in the world (well i would say that wouldnt i?) "1993 Toyota Hilux Surf 2.4 Turbo
Diesel Auto, 1993, K reg. 44000 miles, wide body, MoT September 2004, tax July 2004, very good tyres and exhaust, full electrics, excellent condition" and for once the ad was true to form - have been looking for about 2 months for one that wasnt "a bit dodgy" or "fresh import" (which seems to be short for "really tatty and buy it as you see it"). A bit of a shock when i got there tho - the milage wasnt 44000 it was 41500! Original floor mats, original spare wheel - buttons seem to have never been pressed, and it drives like it just wants to headbutt every BMW it sees! I am soooo happy with it i cant get the stupid cheesy grin off my face. The real bonus came when i asked the (incredibly nice) bloke whether it had any overheating probs and he said "no, well erm actually not while ive had it but i have to admit that the guy i bought it off had to have the head gasket replaced - is that a problem?" I just wanted to weep with joy!In my defence i was very honest with him and told him it was the best surf i had seen and was a bargain at £3750. So - what have i learned? I have most definately learned to ignore most of the "trade" ads on autotrader, as they invariably answer all questions relating to the condition of the car as "its mint" and when you get there they are more "minty" than "mint". I have also learned that rather than go with my natural born instinct to buy the first thing that looks good and may make women think my penis is huge, it really pays to do the research and look around for a decent deal - many thanks to this forum for helping with that - am now proud to be a proper "member"!

[sumo]

If you can join the csma (civil service motoring association www.csma.uk.com ) my wife works for BT and she joined. We get cheap recovery and roadside assistance from Brittania Rescue (their pretty good and fast) plus as we have a 4x4 we also get to go play in the mud with them 3 or 4 times a year at a reduced rate.

sumo.

[Koi]

If you can join the csma (civil service motoring association www.csma.uk.com ) my wife works for BT and she joined. We get cheap recovery and roadside assistance from Brittania Rescue (their pretty good and fast) plus as we have a 4x4 we also get to go play in the mud with them 3 or 4 times a year at a reduced rate.

sumo.

I am with the RAC, personal cover for whole family me, wife, son & daughter. covers breakdown, tow home/onward journey, pays for hotel (can't remember the full details on that) for 1 night I think. Hire car for two days if they can't fix ours at the roadside, personal cover, so even if it isn't my car and I am only a passenger it covers breakdown in that car, so basically covers any one of us what ever car we are in.
Think its about £200ish a year, worth it for me, peace of mind that the son & daughter are covered just in case.
Daughter used it last year, explained she was on her own and breakdown truck with her in 20 mins.
Used it myself couple of years ago, motor packed up (van i had) RAC came to my work. Couldn't fix it, took car home for me, delivered hire car to work and collected it from house two days later.

[Damian]

I have no complaints about Britannia, I got cheap rates through Unison though. I've heard that the caravan club not only do a good deal on motor, (and 'van) insurance but breakdown service as well.

Damian.

[Dolph]

I'm a member of the AA and they're really good however I've only ever had to use them once for my Surf (dead battery).

Plus if it makes you feel better I play all the time in a band which means constant journeys to gigs in London with a Surf full of drums and I've never had one problem.

Have faith!

[Pete]

I'm with the RAC, Roadside and recovery. When my head went they arrived within 30 mins, but then had to wait about another 90 mins for a recovery waggon. Surfs too heavy for them to tow, and they dont have their own recovery waggons, they sub contract it to local garages. The one that turned up was an oily old banger, filthy inside, but it got me home (luckily only a few miles). I would go with the AA. They have nice new shiny clean recovery waggons. If I'd have been smartly dressed or had the wife and kids with me, I wouldn't have got in, it was that oily inside. As someone has already said, you get what you pay for!!!

Pete

[MrHankey]

Thanks all

have had a look at both the RAC and the AA and it looks like if you pay a bit more with the AA you get a better level of cover so think i will go with them. Hopefully wont have to use them tho!

[andy]

Not sure if the others do this,but I get free 72 hour european recovery with the AA.

[nogginthenog]

free recovery in europe with the AA?
damn-just paid a 25 quid pemium to top up my tesco rescue package to euro cover and forgot the wife was AA!