What would you do if it was late at night, and there was smoke pouring out from under the bonnet of your car? You are alone, and there are no other cars about, only the distant lights of a garage forecourt save you from being engulfed in complete darkness?.would you scream? I wouldn?t, and not just because I am brave?I would call The AA.
The AA are now so much more than just a breakdown company, the range of products they offer is vast. They now offer breakdown cover, car, home and travel insurance, loans, a hotel booking service, information service, a wide range of books and travel guides and a brand new and used car buying service, as well as having bought all of the Halford?s service centres and rebranded them all under The AA name. Now that they are owned by Centrica, the company seem to be growing at a rapid rate.
The
membership product which they offer gives you breakdown cover, and on first glance there seems to be so many options that your head starts to spin, but as they all build on each other, they are really simple to understand, and you can choose personal cover (where you are covered no matter what car you are a driver or passenger in), or vehicle based cover (where your car is covered no matter who is driving it).
Option 100 is the most basic level of cover. This covers you more than ¼ mile from your home address, and if the patrol cannot repair your vehicle, then you will be taken to your home address or a garage whichever is nearer.
Option 200 has everything from Option 100, with the added benefit of Relay, which means if the patrol could not repair your vehicle then you and up to 7 passengers will be relayed with your vehicle to any one UK mainland destination.
Option 300 has everything from Option 200, with the added benefit of Homestart, so if you break down at or within ¼ mile of your home address you will be covered. If the patrol cannot repair your vehicle, you will be entitled to a local recovery to a garage.
Option 400 has everything from Option 300 with the added benefit of Relay Plus. In the event that the patrol cannot repair your vehicle, and you invoke the Relay part of your membership, you can then choose to have either a a hire car for 48 hours, overnight accomodation or onward travel.
All of those options can be Personal or Vehicle, and if personal is chosen, you can then choose either single (only named member), joint (member and another person resident at the same address) or family (member, joint member and up to 2 other people resident at the same address aged under 21.) You can choose to pay via a one off payment, or monthly direct debit for which you pay 13.62% interest, and the prices start from £40 for Single Personal Option 100.
I have Option 300 family cover, and my 2 year old daughter is covered even though she does not drive. It means that if she is out in the car with a relative then they are covered if they breakdown.
In the last year I have needed to call the AA out 3 times, and they have always arrived promptly, and repaired my fault, which ranged from cracked radiator to a binded break
The patrols are always friendly, and they have chatted with my wife and I and made us feel very reassured. I would never change companies, because they have been so impressive.
I have also now taken out their new Parts and Labour product for only £48. If I breakdown and I need to be taken to a garage to have the car repaired, I would normally be left with the repair bill, but with this product I am covered for £500 worth of parts and labour, and all I pay is a £25 excess. I can claim 3 times in a year, which I think is excellent value.
The AA have the largest patrol force (3700 at the last count) compared to all of it?s rivals, and the average time to get to you is 35 minutes after you call, which I think is highly impressive, and on the number of occasions I have had to use them they have always arrived within this time. They also repair 80% of vehicles at the roadside, but there has not been one occasion when they have not been able to repair the fault on my car to enable me to carry on my journey.
Just this morning, I have experience a new service, which was the mobiletyre fitting service. I knew I needed 2 new tyres, and I saw a leaflet for this service, so called them, and they were the cheapest by £3, but they also came to my house to fit the tyres taking the hassle out of it all for me. The tyre fitter was friendly and the whole job took less than half an hour.
All of the above facts are backed up by the 2002 JD Power Survey, which ranked The AA in 1st position ahead of the RAC. (Results can be seen at www.jdpower.com), and also more recently the Which magazine survey, which put them streets ahead.
More information on all the products mentioned can be found on the website which is www.theaa.com
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
they sound great! now all i need is a car... Ü Debs
Soho_Black 06.12.2002 00:43
Last time I had to call them out, the patrolman failed to fix my car, and towed me to a garage. He then took me on to where I was going independently so I wouldn't be late. OK, it wasn't far, but it was nice of him!
Advantages: none- I never actually had a breakdown to use the services Disadvantages: they benefit financially if you do not receive your renewal notice
cscullion 23.09.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of AA
Advantages: I passed! Learn in brand new Ford Focus, well trained Instructor, free AA membership for 12 months Disadvantages: cost - you pay for the good service you receive
surfchik27 02.06.2005 (02.06.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of AA Driving School
Nov 30th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
