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
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Review of AA

THE LONGEST AA RECOVERY IN HISTORY?

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

...! The salesman said that no, he didn't have the number to hand, but that he would get back to me with it as soon as he could. Five minutes later, true to his word the phone rang and I had the AA European Breakdown Assistance number in Germany! Honda Chiswick earned themselves a LOT of loyalty bonus points that evening! As a compete aside here, a spot of "gallows humour" you could say, the salesman had originally called to enthusiastically offer me a test drive in the newly launched Honda Civic, he had just been issued with a new diesel demonstrator. It doesn't sound as funny now, as it did to me there and then in my hospital bed, but my reply was that: "I'd love to, only there is a small problem right now." "Oh, what's that?" "I am, as we speak lying in a Polish hospital bed, I will not be able to walk for three months, you see I broke...

RICHADA 29.01.2006 · Read review
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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
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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
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Review of AA

The AA. Less Adverts, Better Service

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

..., and they have become more stringent against fraudulent claims by non-AA members, but because of this, this sometimes affect the way they treat their genuine members. Whilst I was talking to the first AA guy on the day, he mentioned to me that the AA were more hesitant about towing cars since the takeover. From my case, I think it was evident. I do still very much recommend the AA as a breakdown service and I hope my case was just a one-off, but I just like to point out that the AA wasn’t as good as it use to be and people should shop around more carefully. If anyone else had a bad experience, I would like to know! PS. For all you curious people, the problem in the end was the engine, and VW replaced it under warranty!...

rayliu 14.11.2001 · Read review
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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
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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
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Review of AA

Nice laptop, FAB extended warranty!

Advantages: Good specs, fast, wonderful extended warranties
Disadvantages: Feels a bit flimsy, no indicator lights showing wifi connection, etc.

...This is really more a review of Dell's warranty than of the laptop itself, but as there was no section for such a thing I thought I'd combine the two. The laptop: It's a good little machine with pretty good specs for its price. You can already get more for your money than when we bought it just a few months ago, so check the current offers (make sure to look around the Web site, as I found by clicking on various offers I got the same machine for less) You can also now get a free upgrade to Windows 7 when that comes out later this year. It's fast, cute, and does everything we need. You can get it in a variety of colors, either for free if there is an offer on or for about 30 quid otherwise. Black is free whether an offer is on or not. Also, some have said it's not good for gaming -- that is probably only true if you are a hardcore gamer...

pippy_pop 06.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Dell Inspiron 1545 Laptop

Manufacturer Servicing and warranty

Advantages: repairs paid for
Disadvantages: costs of maintaing your vehicle

...To a consumer, manufacturer servicing and warranty procedures can be a minefield. When buying your new car you hardly give a second thought to servicing it, or even worse, you may have problems and break down. A lot of consumers when buying a car are aware of (as a general rule) a 3 year or 60,000 mile manufacturers warranty. Now this does not mean that all parts are covered for a full three years, this is a very important statement to remember as i see customer after customer who arent aware of this. Items such as clutches/brakes etc, are normally onlt covered for the first year or up to 20,000 miles, the reason being is later on down the line they are classed as a wear and tear item. So please refer to your vehicles handbook and get a clear understanding of what items are covered when trying to make a claim. WIth regards to...

polo_princess 16.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Dealer service and warranty

Does the service negate your warranty!!

Advantages: some but not many
Disadvantages: Expensive

...What is a dealership service and warranty? I suppose to begin with we should look at the service. When you buy a car it's not long before you recieve a letter stating that it is time for your service and can you please arrange for an appointment. Now regardless of what service it is, whether it is your first one or third one the main concern is the cost. As any car driver will know the cost can be quite excessive to say the least. I personally have always had my car serviced at a reliable garage, although there aren't many about. When you purchase a car the dealer always states that you must bring it back to them for a service or it will negate your warranty, is this so! I recently purchased a new car from a Rover dealer and it was a Hyundai Accent. I decided to put it in for a service with my normal garage as...

SARUMAN 23.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Dealer service and warranty