european breakdown cover

[bossingit]

just wondered who you guys used and what level of service/prices are given...we're off to northern france soon and its a def must for us as i have a family and dont really want to end up stranded....ta

[Ian Hulley]

Adrian Flux Rescue recovered us from Brussels 3 or 4 years ago, you can only join when you join/renew your insurance with them and you have to have their insurance as well.

There's info on the terms from ADAC (German AA) in the wiki at the top of the page

Ian

[T'Onion]

RAC , you buy for the time your away .. not cheap

[irishkeet]

ADAC very good value

[Ian Hulley]

ADAC very good value

Ahem ..... https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Breakdown_ADAC There's also a few people had issues when they called them to be fixed or recovered.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

[binka]

I went with the AA LAST year. We went for a long weekend but were only driving 2 of those days so rather than pay for 4 days we took 2 seperate one day policies out which halved the cost.

[Big Boris]

hi all,
we too are at the stage of renweing our breakdown cover ,last year we got covered by ETA for £75 that was european and uk cover for the year ,turns out they lost allot of money on that deal and therefore have re qouted us for £195 for the year ,has anyone else got a better deal than this,weve got a 89 california 1.6 td ,we got a flat battery down in hossegor west coast of france and they sent someone out straight away so a decent service.
?????

[Ralf85]

Greenflag or Britannia Rescue both do a breakdown option that cover the UK and Europe.

[marc123]

I won't go into details at the mo but all i can say is a definite NO for the RAC they ended up costing me a fortune to get my van back from France and it was in a worse state than when i left it with them.

[T'Onion]

Just done the RAC online quote , 20 days travel .... 10% on line discount and 10% RAC member discount ... £140.90 .. "frell" that , so I phoned them .. spoke to a very help gezzer , told him that on Friday the on line quote was less than that .. he requotes me and asked if I was a C&C member .. yes mate ... takes my membership details .. hay pesto .. £82 ....

[marc123]

Rather you than me mate

[T'Onion]

Rather you than me mate

Come on then tell us the story ...

[marc123]

Where do i start ?Ok whilst driving herman down to the south of France I broke down on the motorway,I phoned the RAC to tell them so they arranged a recovery truck to tow me to one of their garages they use (so far so good).When i reached the garage i called them again to ask them what we do next and they informed me they would be sending a taxi to pick me up and take me to a hotel for the night and they would assess the damage to herman and we could go from there (still ok).Then the next day i wake and phone the RAC in Lyon and am informed they have sent Herman to another garage 200km away because the one it was at dosen't know what is wrong (not so good now).They tell me they will supply me a car or a hotel for another night while this other garage assesss the problem so i settle for the hotel,the next day i ring them and am informed the garage haven't had time to look at the van and it could be another 3 days before they will,Fortunately my sister lives in France so i opt now for the car and decide to drive to her house and stay there for the 3 days.After the 3 days i ring the RAC( at my cost) as they haven't got back to me (which they said they would)and they informed me the turbo (which i had just got of off some dealer in the UK another story !) had blown and would cost me in the region of 1200 euro's to fix after much arguing with the RAC about re-patronising my van which they point blank refused as their so called experts valued a mint 1991 westie at £1200 i had to have the butchers of Baghdad fit the new turbo,By now i was getting a little peeved with the RAC as you would imagine,The RAC now informed me the turbo would take a week to fit (fortunately my sister lives in France as they will only supply you a car or some two bob hotel for 20 euro's a night even though you explain the camper is your hotel and car rolled into one and you don't want to be stranded at some French Travel lodge on an industrial estate for your entire holiday.)After the week was up i decided to ring them again as they still weren't capable of ringing me back, they then told me the van was ready to be picked up the following day from some town in central France,so i set off on the 450km drive to get Herman the next morning.When i arrived at the Garage to pick the van up i was told they didn't have time to fix the turbo and it could be another few days before they fix it,So the RAC put me up in some Hotel if you could call it that in some industrial estate for 3 days with no car (as you can imagine i am having a great time )After the 3 days is up i yet again have to ring the RAC to be told the garage have fitted the new turbo at a cost of 1100 euros but the van is still not working and they don't know why after a very heated discussion i am told by the retard at RAC that i will have to pay the Garage the money and take up the argument about it not working with them, as they don't get involved in disputes even though it is them that chose to take it to this garage.After speaking to the garage in broken French out of my phrase book as they now don't speak any English I learn the van is not drivable and i am 1100 euro's lighter,so i get back onto the phone to the RAC who decide they will now re-patriate the van in 2 weeks.After a great journey home on trains,coaches and ferry i wait for the van to come home,after 2 weeks nothing, so again at my cost i ring the nice people at RAC and am told they will send it home when they can (no date)after 4 weeks it arrives on the back of an on-time wagon ( ironic really ),after it has been unloaded i notice the front bumper and the spare wheel cover are smashed where the idiot that loaded it didn't know what he was doing also i was missing my mountain bikes which cost me £1000 each,i phone on-time to tell them about the damage and was told it must have been the French and they can't be held liable for any damage,I phoned the RAC to ask where my bikes where and was told they where still at the garage but they would be returned to me next week.next week came and went so as you could imagine i phoned again and they arrived the following day, again with the ever so helpful ON-TIME but they where covered in oil and had chips on the frames again no one was liable ON-TIME or RAC but i could take it up with the FRENCH at the garage if i wanted to,So 1100 euros on a turbo that dosen't work and £275 phone bill and £140 repair bill on my bikes i am home happy as larry and ready to recommend the great customer service the RAC provide.Bet you wished you never asked

[T'Onion]

No Marc , I'm happy I asked and I thank you for the reply ... I think all the euro break down covers are a lotto , I heard good and now bad reports not just about Rac I might add ..
Good news about you getting the van back though

[johnhyan]

Ok. So this sounds none too good. I have European breakdown cover with my HIC insurance policy on the van (cost £57 for 31 days I think). Anyone had any experience with this ? I am no mechanic and we have 2K to do through France this Summer - knowing my luck I'm going to need help at some point!