Now that the days are longer and the sun is grinning its golden face more frequently, you may be tempted to pack the family into the car, fill the tank with fuel, and head off onto the open road. But whether you’re on a long Sunday drive or a pan-continental trek to some holiday destination, nothing will ruin a trip like the car conking out on the hard shoulder and realising you've no breakdown assistance.
Reasons to Get Breakdown Cover
Should you require breakdown assistance and you're not covered, unless there are any passing charitable mechanics, you'll have to start shelling out cash. The best-case scenario is that you only have to pay a local garage's callout charge and the car is fixed roadside. If this can't be done, you may have to pay to get yourself, any passengers and the car relayed to your destination, and you may also have to stump up the cost of overnight accommodation.
This can be expensive enough if you're in the UK, but costs (and stress) can rise sharply when abroad. The point is that the cost of breakdown cover for a year could be repaid after just one 'miles-from-home' breakdown.
Types of Breakdown Cover
You can buy different levels of car breakdown assistance according to your budget.
Basic Roadside Assistance generally costs around £30-40 a year. In this price range you'll typically only receive assistance if the car breaks down away from home, and if it can't be fixed, a tow plus transport for you and your passengers to a nearby garage (the definition of 'away from home' varies - for example, the AA and RAC define this as over ¼ mile away, whereas some breakdown services state a radius of one mile).
Of course, the more you pay on car breakdown cover, the better the level of service should be. More expensive cover can include such things as:
- Home Recovery - the breakdown service will attend your car if it fails to start in the driveway or near your home (this distance varies, typically between a ¼ mile and a mile);
- The cost of basic repair work at the garage (usually requiring a level of voluntary excess);
- A person-based policy, i.e. policyholders are covered for breakdown no matter who's car they are in, whether driver or passenger;
- Accommodation or use of a car - upgrade with these options and if the car can't be fixed straight away, the breakdown company will put you up in accommodation (if you're stranded far from home) or provide you with a temporary vehicle until your car is back on the road;
- Unlimited roadside labour (some organisations charge extra if roadside mechanical assistance takes more than an hour);
- A higher number of callouts allowed per year (some services limit the number of annual callouts);
- Breakdown, accommodation and repatriation cover for when driving in continental Europe (annual cover available or you can upgrade just for the length of time you're abroad).
Note: When you compare breakdown assistance, always check the policy small print to see what's included in the price.
How to Find Cheap Breakdown Cover
Your options are to contact the breakdown organisations individually, or save time and possibly money by using an online service such as Confused.com, which compares prices from a range of breakdown services.
Popular Reasons for a Breakdown Callout:
- Dead battery
- Flat tyres
- Engine problem
- Lockout (unlikely to be covered by a basic policy so you'll pay extra for this type of callout)
- No fuel (again, this may cost you extra for your breakdown service to ride to the rescue)
- Starter motor problem
Therefore, whether planning a lengthy spring-day drive or a long haul down to the South of France, to reduce the need to call for assistance in the first place, it's a good idea to check the battery is in working order, check all the oil and water levels, test the tyre pressure, and make sure you have a spare.
One final thing to remember is that if your car does chug to a halt, the breakdown service will prioritise your rescue. This means that drivers or passengers who are considered vulnerable (e.g. women drivers on their own, babies in the car etc) will be attended to first. However, as most organisations claim average response times of less than an hour, no driver should be stranded on the verge for too long.
Find Cheap Breakdown Cover
