AAA Plus worth it over AAA Basic?

[jeromedawg]

Hey all,

My wife got a free upgrade/trial for the year, last year, to AAA Plus from our usual Basic. We found ourselves having to tow our Rav4 to my mechanic's shop (12 miles away) so it came in handy. But it's also one of those things where getting a car towed is few and far between. We had to tow it because the alternator died and so it was safe in our garage (it's not like we were broken down on the side of the road).

That said, having that 100 miles of towing is great but that's a huge jump from 7 miles. I wish they had a "Basic+" level where you could get 50-60miles instead and not have to pay a lot more. As it is, if we were to renew our membership it would cost around $132 for AAA Plus (because both my wife and I are registered with cards). If we renewed under Basic it would be $80~

Do you guys think it's worth the extra $50 for the added benefits (really the standouts are the 100 miles of towing as well as free fuel w/ fuel delivery and also free passport photos... although we already have our passports lol).

https://www.aaa.com/aaa/066/web/compare-membership-levels.html

[Metalcat]

Not sure if this is the same with AAA, but the phone operator at CAA literally told me not to bother maintaining a membership because if I had an emergency, I could always just call and register at that time.

[IslandFiGirl]

I have towing through my car insurance, I can't remember how much it is but it's paid for itself many times over.  Maybe that's cheaper than AAA?

[jeromedawg]

I have towing through my car insurance, I can't remember how much it is but it's paid for itself many times over.  Maybe that's cheaper than AAA?

Thanks! I think when we have multiple cars and multiple drivers, it increases the costs exponentially. It ends up costing $44/year through our current insurance (Geico) to add their emergency road assistance. The AAA Plus level adds $52/year but is still slightly more comprehensive (I think with the fuel delivery as well as not restricting you to specific vehicles - with AAA I could be in someone else's car and if we broke down could utilize the benefit to have them towed). On the other hand, Geico has no restrictions on towing mileage *in general* in the case that you have it towed to your nearest mechanic or home; whatever's closest (this wasn't super clear to me but she was saying that if you are 5 miles from the nearest 'in-network' mechanic and you choose to be taken back home 20 miles away instead, you'd pay for 15 miles of towing... I think it's more a 'convenience' factor in that case)

[ketchup]

I have the double premium super fancypants version of AAA since that's what it takes to comfort my GF that drives long distances for work often.  It means she's OK with us driving "older" cars (currently a 2001 and a 2010, though the 2010 just replaced our 2005 that kicked the bucket).  At least it does mostly pay for itself in AAA discounts (mostly hotels and some rental cars).

Honestly, it's only "worth it" if you're 100+ miles from home often enough for it to matter.  And you can still get a longer tow, you just need to pay $3-4/mi, and if you're in a situation where you'd consider paying that... it's probably worth paying that.

[jeromedawg]

I have towing through my car insurance, I can't remember how much it is but it's paid for itself many times over.  Maybe that's cheaper than AAA?

Thanks! I think when we have multiple cars and multiple drivers, it increases the costs exponentially. It ends up costing $44/year through our current insurance (Geico) to add their emergency road assistance. The AAA Plus level adds $52/year but is still slightly more comprehensive (I think with the fuel delivery as well as not restricting you to specific vehicles - with AAA I could be in someone else's car and if we broke down could utilize the benefit to have them towed). On the other hand, Geico has no restrictions on towing mileage *in general* in the case that you have it towed to your nearest mechanic or home; whatever's closest (this wasn't super clear to me but she was saying that if you are 5 miles from the nearest 'in-network' mechanic and you choose to be taken back home 20 miles away instead, you'd pay for 15 miles of towing... I think it's more a 'convenience' factor in that case)

Ok so I clarified the last part with Geico just now. Basically, the # of miles they will tow you *is* limited and it's based on the next nearest dealership of whatever car you're driving. So if we're driving the Toyota 50-75 miles away from home and there's a crappy Toyota dealership down the street (1-2 miles away) then we'll be constrained to either taking it there or to any other (probably crappy as well) mechanic in the same radius. The *other* thing that makes it less palatable is that Geico constrains the # of tows to one per car per disablement. So if my alternator goes out and I'm stranded and just want to get home (rather than dropping off at the nearest dealership in Compton, for example) because it's late at night and I'm in Compton, they'll tow me home but I'll have to pay for the difference in mileage between the dealership and home AND I'll have used up my 1 tow allotted for that one disablement... hmmm, doesn't sound *nearly* as good as the 100 miles of towing through AAA Plus for just $8 more

[jeromedawg]

I have the double premium super fancypants version of AAA since that's what it takes to comfort my GF that drives long distances for work often.  It means she's OK with us driving "older" cars (currently a 2001 and a 2010, though the 2010 just replaced our 2005 that kicked the bucket).  At least it does mostly pay for itself in AAA discounts (mostly hotels and some rental cars).

Honestly, it's only "worth it" if you're 100+ miles from home often enough for it to matter.  And you can still get a longer tow, you just need to pay $3-4/mi, and if you're in a situation where you'd consider paying that... it's probably worth paying that.

Good point on driving around the older cars - ours are from 2008 and 2009. The Rav4 was bought new but I got the Mazda CX9 at a steep discount from my brother not long ago. The "sweet spot" for taking advantage of the 100 miles of towing, IMHO, is if you live *within* 100 miles of where you are often commuting (and your mechanic is also within that same radius), because if you break down you'll have the flexibility to get it back home and or to your mechanic.

[frugalnacho]

Not sure if this is the same with AAA, but the phone operator at CAA literally told me not to bother maintaining a membership because if I had an emergency, I could always just call and register at that time.

You can't do that for AAA.  There is a 7 day waiting period after you sign up before you can utilize the towing service, specifically to stop people from just signing up the minute they need it.  Otherwise who would ever maintain a membership?

I also added the emergency service onto my auto insurance.  I don't remember the price, but it was very reasonable and a small fraction of the price of a AAA membership.

[Metalcat]

Not sure if this is the same with AAA, but the phone operator at CAA literally told me not to bother maintaining a membership because if I had an emergency, I could always just call and register at that time.

You can't do that for AAA.  There is a 7 day waiting period after you sign up before you can utilize the towing service, specifically to stop people from just signing up the minute they need it.  Otherwise who would ever maintain a membership?

I also added the emergency service onto my auto insurance.  I don't remember the price, but it was very reasonable and a small fraction of the price of a AAA membership.

Lame

[ketchup]

I have the double premium super fancypants version of AAA since that's what it takes to comfort my GF that drives long distances for work often.  It means she's OK with us driving "older" cars (currently a 2001 and a 2010, though the 2010 just replaced our 2005 that kicked the bucket).  At least it does mostly pay for itself in AAA discounts (mostly hotels and some rental cars).

Honestly, it's only "worth it" if you're 100+ miles from home often enough for it to matter.  And you can still get a longer tow, you just need to pay $3-4/mi, and if you're in a situation where you'd consider paying that... it's probably worth paying that.

Good point on driving around the older cars - ours are from 2008 and 2009. The Rav4 was bought new but I got the Mazda CX9 at a steep discount from my brother not long ago. The "sweet spot" for taking advantage of the 100 miles of towing, IMHO, is if you live *within* 100 miles of where you are often commuting (and your mechanic is also within that same radius), because if you break down you'll have the flexibility to get it back home and or to your mechanic.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure ours offers one 200 miles tow per year.  She routinely will drive 300-400 miles from home so that made her more comfortable with it.

[aloevera]

My car insurance roadside assistance is MUCH cheaper than AAA. Like $6 every 6 months or something like that. I dropped AAA long ago.

[jeromedawg]

My car insurance roadside assistance is MUCH cheaper than AAA. Like $6 every 6 months or something like that. I dropped AAA long ago.

Who are you insured through? Also, is the coverage the same? I explained earlier that at least with Geico they base the towing mileage amount on where the nearest dealership of your make is at the time you break down. But if the cost of the roadside assistance is significantly less, then its probably worth dropping. In my case, the difference is negligible. So it really comes down to whether or not I think we should have 100 miles of towing coverage versus 7.

[frugalnacho]

My car insurance roadside assistance is MUCH cheaper than AAA. Like $6 every 6 months or something like that. I dropped AAA long ago.

Who are you insured through? Also, is the coverage the same? I explained earlier that at least with Geico they base the towing mileage amount on where the nearest dealership of your make is at the time you break down. But if the cost of the roadside assistance is significantly less, then its probably worth dropping. In my case, the difference is negligible. So it really comes down to whether or not I think we should have 100 miles of towing coverage versus 7.

I just checked my policy.  We have progressive.  The roadside assistance is $5 per vehicle per 6 month period.  It's not quite as good as AAA, but for the price difference it's a much better value IMO.  This offers a 15 mile towing radius, which is plenty under most circumstances.  If I'm in a weird situation where I get stranded much further from home I should be able to afford to pay out of pocket with all these years of savings from not paying for a AAA membership.

https://www.progressive.com/claims/roadside-assistance/

[ontheway2]

I had the roadside assistance through my insurance, and it was about $3/month.  I was gifted AAA for Christmas from my dad last year, and the discounts have been really helpful, especially since I'm not paying the premium :) I started the AAA discounts around the same time I lost military discounts, and the discounts have been the same or better

[aloevera]

Also Progressive.

AAA takes forever to come in my area, which is why I initially looked at other options.  It used to be the best choice, last time it was like 4 hours (!) - in summer, not even raining.

Here's Progressive's coverage: https://www.progressive.com/claims/roadside-assistance/

First 15 miles free, more included if no shops in that radius. All the other stuff is included - flat, jump, lockout, etc.

[Cb1234567]

Hi. We recently switched from AAA to GoodSam. It was less expensive for multiple drivers, and we wanted the trailer coverage. Also, GoodSam didn’t limit the number of tows and had better mileage option.

I prefer to keep it separate from my auto insurance, because we use it a lot.

[jeromedawg]

Hi. We recently switched from AAA to GoodSam. It was less expensive for multiple drivers, and we wanted the trailer coverage. Also, GoodSam didn’t limit the number of tows and had better mileage option.

I prefer to keep it separate from my auto insurance, because we use it a lot.

Is GoodSam limited to RV/rec vehicles? I just looked it up and it seems that way...unless they have an option for regular/standard vehicles too? EDIT: NM it looks like they have coverage plans for standard autos too... interesting. Although, the other thing I like a lot about AAA is the fact that many offer limited DMV services - IMHO that is another huge plus: not having to go to the actual DMV and wait (even with an appointment) but even bigger than that: there are more AAA offices that are much closer to us versus the nearest DMVs.

[aloevera]

Although, the other thing I like a lot about AAA is the fact that many offer limited DMV services - IMHO that is another huge plus: not having to go to the actual DMV and wait (even with an appointment) but even bigger than that: there are more AAA offices that are much closer to us versus the nearest DMVs.

Is that for emergency road service members only? While I do not subscribe to AAA road service anymore, my car insurance is through a AAA agent and I got my international DL from them last year.

[jeromedawg]

Although, the other thing I like a lot about AAA is the fact that many offer limited DMV services - IMHO that is another huge plus: not having to go to the actual DMV and wait (even with an appointment) but even bigger than that: there are more AAA offices that are much closer to us versus the nearest DMVs.

Is that for emergency road service members only? While I do not subscribe to AAA road service anymore, my car insurance is through a AAA agent and I got my international DL from them last year.

I wouldn't be surprised if insurance through AAA affords you the benefit of DMV services too.