The lovely Mr AA man.

Advantages: quick response, good customer service, good communcation, fix a lot of breakdowns
Disadvantages: some of the deals are quite expensive

...The AA pride themselves on being the UK's "number one breakdown provider". They provide a 24 hour recovery service for their members and there are different levels of cover available. Another claim made by the AA is that they "fix more breakdowns by the roadside than anyone else". I have never bothered with breakdown cover until I moved back home from university with the intention of commuting each day. I realised that if I were to break down on the hour drive to brighton there would probably be no one willing to come and rescue me!! On top of this my brothers car had broken down several times in the country lanes locally and I decided that it was a sign for me to start being sensible! Being a poor student with hardly a penny to my name I did look around at all the various breakdown companies to try and find the best deal. The AA...

ilusvm 17.11.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of AA

THE LONGEST AA RECOVERY IN HISTORY?

Advantages: Extremely efficient. Amazing Cover. Very Good Value
Disadvantages: In my case and circumstances - NONE!

...of purchasing this same cover via their website. In actual fact, when I was running a four year old Vauxhall Omega, I was purchasing just this cover on an individual trip basis; you pay for each day that you are going to be abroad. Under our circumstances that would not have been so clever on this occasion. We would have been in cover, according to the dates, but only just. We were "scheduled" to be out of the country for fifteen days over Christmas and the New Year. On this basis the cover would have cost us £64.80 for that specific period. As with travel insurance, the AA also offers you an annual cover option. In our case, travelling to Poland twice a year, at £115.00, this works out to be the more sensible and economical choice. Naturally it also covers you for any "spur of the moment" long weekends away etc on the other side of the Channel...

RICHADA 29.01.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of AA

AA ....... Absolutely Awful .

Advantages: you decide
Disadvantages: again , draw your own conclusions ...

...Almost exactly a year ago we had occasion to use , for the first time in our five years of membership , the services of the AA . We had been on our way to Portsmouth Passenger Ferry Terminal for our pre booked trip across the Channel to Caen on one of our regular visits to our house in Western Brittany . We were trundling along the A34 in our Ford van , making good time , and looking forward to our trip , when there was a sudden loud bang . The passenger side of the vehicle dropped and my husband lost all control of the vehicle as it slewed sideways out of the centre lane , then across the inside lane and a joining slip road with upcoming traffic . How the lorry coming up to our left managed to miss us , or we him , I will never know , but eventually we came to rest suddenly and jarringly on the soft verge about two thirds...

Janej47 30.01.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of AA

The AA

Advantages: The organisation
Disadvantages: Certain policies of the organisation

..., once again confirming the remarkable cloning process that appears to homogenize the character of AA patrolmen. Just before moving on, my conversation with the remote AA representative proved to be of significance later. She asked me as to the nature of the problem, and on replying that it was 'a clutch problem', she also asked if the pedal had 'gone to the floor' to which I replied in the affirmative. After a brief investigation the patrolman announced that the problem was a broken clutch ratchet and that there was no conceivable roadside repair. Mentioning the antecedents, being unconvinced but also aware that that when this was renewed the clutch and plate were similarly replaced, the reply received was that it is a known problem. 'Please can you take me home'; there was no alternative offered at this point. Being towed on a bar is worse...

caveatemptor123 09.03.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of AA

The AA, The best

Advantages: Value for money, great customer support
Disadvantages: None yet!

...I decided to get myself some roadside cover after my Astra broke down for the third time that month (dodgy battery). I went about the task of comparing The AA and RAC, not easy I'm afraid, I asked work colleagues, looked on ciao and dooyoo and eventually choose The AA as it saved me £1.90 a month in comparison to the RAC, a discount I received due to being with The AA for my car insurance. It seems that both companies have people who rave about them and equal amounts of people who aren't satisfied with either or believe roadside cover is overpriced. Usual format here, I will go through a few basic details and then give you my personal experiences and opinions. Who are they? = The Automobile Association was created in 1905, started by some motoring enthusiast's in London. They put up thousands of roadside safety...

NHilton24 22.02.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of AA

The AA. Less Adverts, Better Service

Advantages: Good breakdown service...
Disadvantages: ... but recently flawed

...I've been a member of the AA for a few years now and up till 2000 I didn’t have to use it much! But from 2000 till the beginning of 2001 was a bad year for me as I broke down about 4 times! Talk about bad luck! Anyway the breakdown cover I have is the Option 200 ROADSIDE + RELAY cover which is jointly used by my brother which means a joint cost of £106 for a year. This covers me for any roadside assistance and in the case of the AA man not being to able to fix my car, it means I can get towed to my final destination or a garage. I think most people have an idea what the AA Breakdown service is all about and what the service offers, so I wont bore you with the details but I would like to share an experience with you which might make you think carefully about joining the AA. I’ve never ever felt dissatisfied...

rayliu 14.11.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of AA

Lost without the AA

Advantages: Fast efficient service
Disadvantages: None

...I have only been a member of the AA for 3 years, longenough however to benefit from their share deal when they were taken over by Centrica, £245 worth of shares are now worth about £335. So for that alone I have ever reason to be thankful to the AA. The benefits of their service became apparent to me after only a week after joining. I found my clutch non responsive on my way home after a long trip. With 4 children in the car everyone was feeling edgy after breaking down. The AA were with us within 20 minutes and had our car going again, sufficiently well to get the car into our local garage the next day, all within 20 minutes of arrival. I was very impressed. I have their roadside assistance, home start and recovery service and I cannot fault it. When my second car's suspension broke they came out and took the car at a time...

jonwhite 21.11.2000 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of AA

Travelling compactly

Advantages: Folds up compactly, bright colours, use as a cot or play pen
Disadvantages: Thin mattress base

...~*~*~INTRODUCTION~*~*~ My mother in law wanted to buy a travel cot when my son was born as she will be looking after him when I go back to work. We looked around on the internet and when she saw the Graco compact she decided that was the one, she loved that it was nice and bright and thought my son would enjoy playing in there as well as sleeping. We ordered it from Kiddicare but unfortunately they have stopped selling it. I have since seen it on Amazon, Halfords and Ebay though for roughly the same prices. ~*~*~FEATURES~*~*~ -Suitable from birth to around 3 years. -It comes in a handy carry case, making it easy for travel. -The travel cot unfolds easily and I actually put it up in a couple of minutes on my first attempt. -The sides are mesh which is nice and soft for wriggly babies banging their heads, also...

ashton08 12.09.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Graco Travel Cot

AA, but definitely not Alcoholics Anonymous!

Advantages: Slick, professional and punctual.
Disadvantages: None!!

...with equipment, its better for someone to come to the house if he cannot start the engine. What made me join in the first place? Well, I was a student in Bristol, and being from London I was a regular driver on the M4. One of my brothers suggested I join the AA since the journey is long and one day something was bound to happen, so join I did. In fact, the AA helped me twice on that route, once when I had too much oil in the car and the police made me come off the motorway, and secondly when it broke down when I was travelling with some friends. The first time the AA fixed the problem, draining the oil from the engine, the second time the clutch had gone, so since I had the Relay option, they towed us back all the way from outer London to Bristol. Imagine the cost if I had not been with them. The annual cost was about £95 at that time, I seem to...

CarolB 18.07.2003 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of AA

AA car insurance, best so far

Advantages: Value for money, Customer service
Disadvantages: None yet

...Cheaper does mean better. I'm 22 years old and have been driving for 4 years, I drive a Vauxhall Astra. I used to be with Tesco car insurance, after two years I decided to shop around using a price comparisons site. The AA popped up as the number one saving, £210 saved on my current policy. I signed up there and then through there online form. Within two day's I had a confirmation letter thanking me for joining and saying I would have my documents arrive within 3 days. The next day all my paper work arrived. This outlined how much my premium would cost for the year, my account number, details of the policy and a list of useful contact numbers. A few months ago I had an accident where I was to blame but no damage was done to my vehicle. I phoned The AA immediately, I got through within 2 minutes and spoke to a very nice...

NHilton24 22.02.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of AA