The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: ZiziPB on January 22, 2015, 07:06:26 AM
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I am considering whether to buy AAA membership, primarily for its roadside assistance. What do you say? Do you have it? Do you view it as a worthwhile protection?
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I've had AAA for umpteen years, but I'm debating whether to keep it or whether to move to AARP's roadside assistance, which "starts at" $48.95/year.
In the past, we have more than made up the annual membership fee in hotel and rental car discounts. But now I rent cars through Costco and we don't stay in hotels as much as we used to, so...
For my husband and me, it's $118/year.
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I don't use the discounts on it and it would strictly be for the road side assistance. I checked with my car insurance though and it was cheaper to add road side assistance through them than it was to get a AAA membership so we just went with that. We have progressive car insurance btw.
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I have had it in the past and its has always easily paid for itself in roadside assistance. Even better, it is much easier to get roadside assistance during peak demand times when you have a membership and it saves you in situations where you don't have the right form of payment.
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My wife has had it since she was a teenager and driving junky cars. She added me to her plan when we got married. I think we pay something like $113 for it (we're 1 step up from the base level). Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery). I have never had to call for myself. I'm guessing the math probably says we'd be better off just paying the random tow truck driver the market rate as we need their services, but in the grand scheme of things, the piece of mind it gives my wife while driving around with two small kids means we're not getting rid of some 'roadside assistance' coverage, so I don't sweat the $10/month.
Overall, when we've had to interact with them, they provide excellent customer service. The police had to tow her car out of an intersection when a pothole gave her a flat and AAA couldn't get there soon enough due to the weather, and we had no issues getting reimbursed from AAA for the towing charge. My wife uses them for their travel agency service for vacations as well. We've used the AAA discount on stuff very rarely, since we usually are able to find better discounts via other methods.
I know a lot of car insurance policies have a 'roadside assistance' option for a small upcharge. Next AAA renewal time, I am going to compare what my insurance offers vs. what I'm paying for AAA.
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I used to but haven't for a few years, and I don't own anything newer than 30 years old. I did not use it that often and I've found as I get older I have far less patience to deal with, rely on, and wait for other people who are generally unreliable, over-promising and under-delivering while charging extortionate rates. It's cheaper, easier, and faster for me to just deal with any issues that arise myself. Driving older vehicles means they're more simple and reliable so breakdowns are few and far between. When something breaks on a simple vehicle it typically falls into one of two categories, minor and won't leave you stranded or minor and can be fixed quickly with basic hand tools or swapping a low cost part off the shelf at any parts store. I consider AAA and other roadside services frivolous luxury. Just one more thing that guy always complaining about money but "has a guy" for everything and never seems to do much himself is paying for.. For those who use the discounts on things they would purchase anyway, then it's more like gaming CC rewards with a little bit of free insurance.
it saves you in situations where you don't have the right form of payment.
It's not hard to ensure you always have a few hundred in cash, debit card, at least two credit cards. Carry checks too if you're worried but I've never encountered a person that wouldn't take cash or a machine that wouldn't take a credit card (2 or more for if stripe won't read). Always prepared, never inconvenienced.
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I've had it for years. I have used it a few times over the years. It can be used in situations that are not quite so obvious. My favorite use was when I was in a wedding party and the groom locked his keys in his running rental car. I called AAA even though it was not my car and they sent someone out. He had us sign something saying he was not responsible for any damage and within a few seconds had the car unlocked (shoved something down in the door) with no damage at no charge. We had one relieved groom and made it to the wedding on time!
I have a AAA VISA credit card (has since been sold to Bank of America to whom I now send the payments). I've had it so long they have now increased my credit limit to somewhere around 50k even though I have never carried a balance. They send me some "convenience" checks every couple of weeks that I promptly toss. I used this card strictly to buy gas and get a small rebate for each gas purchases as a credit issued on the card. Once per year I get a voucher for $75 that can be applied to the annual dues for a AAA membership. Has worked out pretty well for us for a long time. Don't know if you can still get a AAA credit card but I'm hanging on to mine as long as I can.
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I've had it for years. I have used it a few times over the years. It can be used in situations that are not quite so obvious. My favorite use was when I was in a wedding party and the groom locked his keys in his running rental car. I called AAA even though it was not my car and they sent someone out. He had us sign something saying he was not responsible for any damage and within a few seconds had the car unlocked (shoved something down in the door) with no damage at no charge. We had one relieved groom and made it to the wedding on time!
Did something similar to this when I was younger at a hockey tournament. AAA is OK - was a better deal in our spendier days. Still have to remember to ask for the discount to get any value out of that. If you have AAA, make sure and review your insurance to be sure you're not paying for roadside assistance with that.
Fun fact - a while back, I was the programmer for a major insurance company that set up the interface with our vendor for our brand spanking new roadside assistance service 800 number. That is still one of the more universally recognizable projects I've ever worked on, so it still gets featured prominently on the resume.
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I have been in situations where I needed roadside assistance/tow trucks 5 times in 34 years of driving. (3 of them have been the same old British car, so the real answer here might be "don't drive old British cars.") My last tow cost me about $80, so let's call that $400 in today's dollars.
Using that, my annual cost is $11.76. Your actual costs may vary.
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I used to have AAA many years ago, but only ever used the roadside assistance part of it, so cancelled it and just got the roadside assistance through my car insurance. It is prorated depending on the age of your vehicle (at least with GEICO) and I currently pay under $20 a year to cover both my 2 year old and husband's 11 year old vehicles.
I would not be without the coverage just because I live in a large metro area, and I've been stranded at least a dozen times over the last 10 years (countless flats, dead batteries, fuel pump went out TWICE, serpentine belt pully froze and popped the belt...lots of fun) and most of those happen on the freaking freeway or feeders where I'm not getting out and changing a flat in speeding traffic, so the fact that someone else will do it and or tow me to a safe place to do so is more than worth it to me. But not at AAA prices.
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I like the peace of mind of having roadside assistance though thankfully I don't need to use it often. That said, when I realized that USAA offered the same thing along with car insurance, I priced it out and USAA was less than half the cost of AAA. I switched 5+ years ago and have never looked back.
AAA is like a bad ex-boyfriend though and continually sends me letters in the mail letting me know "Your subscription has expired!". Yes, it has expired. It's time to move on!
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Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery).
Jumper cables - $20
Teach wife to change tire - $free (or is that "priceless"?)
My favorite use was when I was in a wedding party and the groom locked his keys in his running rental car. I called AAA even though it was not my car and they sent someone out. He had us sign something saying he was not responsible for any damage and within a few seconds had the car unlocked (shoved something down in the door) with no damage at no charge.
Slim jim - $10
or Set of Slim Jim and other unlocking tools - $20-$30
or Coat hanger (or other rigid wire) - $free
I locked my keys in my car once, and the inconvenience of wandering around in the freezing cold looking for a rigid piece of wire that I could bend into a tool to unlock was enough that I never did it again. Similar to leaving the headlights on and finding someone to give a jump... These are things you only do once and are valuable lessons learned at a very low cost.
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Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery).
Jumper cables - $20
Teach wife to change tire - $free (or is that "priceless"?)
I am with Frankies Girl on this - I am not getting out of the car and changing a flat in speeding traffic on a highway! I am generally pretty self-sufficient but I will gladly pay for someone else to handle this for me ;-)
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Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery).
Jumper cables - $20
Teach wife to change tire - $free (or is that "priceless"?)
I am with Frankies Girl on this - I am not getting out of the car and changing a flat in speeding traffic on a highway! I am generally pretty self-sufficient but I will gladly pay for someone else to handle this for me ;-)
Ditto
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Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery).
Jumper cables - $20
Teach wife to change tire - $free (or is that "priceless"?)
I am with Frankies Girl on this - I am not getting out of the car and changing a flat in speeding traffic on a highway! I am generally pretty self-sufficient but I will gladly pay for someone else to handle this for me ;-)
Ditto
I'm not trolling here... this is a real question: How many flats have you actually had on busy highways? I've had one in 34 driving years. I just carefully drove on that flat until I was in a safe area. Yes, a risk of damaging wheel/tire -- but weighed against getting smacked I found it acceptable risk. (Tire/wheel were undamaged, btw.)
I'm not saying "OMG, DON'T PAY FOR IT!" ... just ... saying to weigh the expenses of both options here and how often you have used it.
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My credit card offers a roadside assistance benefit. I don't recall the exact details offhand, but the per-incident cost was cheap enough that I decided I didn't need something like AAA, based on how rarely I expect to use it.
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I've been a AAA member continuously since 2006, before that as well but not continuously. The one reason I still pay for their service over other options is that they will tow me home where I do my own repair.
Most other services I've looked into will only take you to a service facility, which is a non-starter for me. AAA will take me home or to a parts place at my option. My newest vehicle is 27 years old so occasionally (maybe once a year) I get a ride home.
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I've only had AAA for a five years and we generally ask for it for Christmas from inlaws that want to get us something. I am either a really awful driver (definitely probable - good thing I'm an excellent cook) or very unlucky. I've been towed out of my driveway at least 4 times because we lived on a hill and when it snowed, I would get stuck and hubs seemed to always be away traveling. I finally got a 4 wheel drive vehicle when the Focus died.
We've used it when we couldn't change the flat tire. It was -10 outside and the tire wouldn't budge and my poor husband was freezing trying to do it. We've used it on vacation when we locked keys in the car.
Our insurance coverage is cheaper, but it covers the car not the person like AAA. It might be an unnecessary expense, but my experience/bad luck has made it worth it for us.
I do realize if I relied less on the car and more on the bike, this is a moot point.
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I don't use the discounts on it and it would strictly be for the road side assistance. I checked with my car insurance though and it was cheaper to add road side assistance through them than it was to get a AAA membership so we just went with that. We have progressive car insurance btw.
This. It adds just $5 to our 6-month premiums. Used it for the first time recently for a dead battery. Quick service and absolutely no issue. Makes life easier now that we are a 1 car family. Well worth the $10/yr. =)
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I'd say it's worth it for the peace of mind. I've had it for ages and wouldn't want to be without. The discounts can be substantial and are a nice bonus.
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If you've ever had to spend time at a Southern Calif DMV, it's the best $80 you'll ever spend.
I would never not have AAA....it's saved my ass plenty of times. Then again, I drive a truck with over 500,000 miles on it. ;)
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My grandparents buy it for all their kids and grandkids. We've surprisingly used it a lot, so I'd probably buy it now, despite being against most forms of insurance. I never use the discount.
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Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery).
Jumper cables - $20
Teach wife to change tire - $free (or is that "priceless"?)
I am with Frankies Girl on this - I am not getting out of the car and changing a flat in speeding traffic on a highway! I am generally pretty self-sufficient but I will gladly pay for someone else to handle this for me ;-)
Ditto
I'm not trolling here... this is a real question: How many flats have you actually had on busy highways? I've had one in 34 driving years. I just carefully drove on that flat until I was in a safe area. Yes, a risk of damaging wheel/tire -- but weighed against getting smacked I found it acceptable risk. (Tire/wheel were undamaged, btw.)
I'm not saying "OMG, DON'T PAY FOR IT!" ... just ... saying to weigh the expenses of both options here and how often you have used it.
I've never had a flat on a busy highway, but I would be happy to have help changing the tire if I was in that situation. I spend about $5/year on roadside assistance through my insurance company. I use it about every 5 years (usually when my car breaks down), so I'm happy with the cost ($25/tow).
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Thank you all for helpful input. For those with roadside assistance through their insurance company - is that full roadside assistance including flat tire, locked keys, fuel delivery, dead battery, etc.? I just checked with my insurance company and all they offer is towing coverage in the event the car has to be towed (and it turns out that I already have that). I got a special offer from AAA which is under $40 for a year so I think I'll go with that.
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Thank you all for helpful input. For those with roadside assistance through their insurance company - is that full roadside assistance including flat tire, locked keys, fuel delivery, dead battery, etc.? I just checked with my insurance company and all they offer is towing coverage in the event the car has to be towed (and it turns out that I already have that). I got a special offer from AAA which is under $40 for a year so I think I'll go with that.
I've used it when had to tow for a bad fuel pump, used it to change a dead battery, used it when I ran out of gas on a motorcycle, used it for a tow when the security system broke, used for a motorcycle tow, and a few others I'm forgetting.
Never had the flat tire, but have used many of the other roadside assistance benefits.
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From State Farm's website:
Emergency Road Service provides towing and labor services when your vehicle becomes disabled.
If You Need
Mechanical labor at the place of breakdown
Towing your vehicle to a repair facility
Pulling your vehicle out of a location where it is stuck
Delivery of gas or oil
Assistance with changing a tire or a jumpstart
Locksmith services
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I've used GEICO's for dead battery, costs $12/yr. On highways in SoCal, there are tow trucks that patrol and will stop and help you free of charge if you need to change a flat on a busy highway or get into an accident. There's no need for AAA.
But, the real reason not to get AAA is because the difference between the $12/yr insurance version and the $80-$100 AAA membership is used mostly to do pro-car lobbying to the government - to keep gas taxes low, and spend money on car infrastructure and not on bike or public transit upgrades. If that's where you want your dollars to go, that's fine, but it certainly goes against the ethos of this place.
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After some further digging, it turns out that my car is still under warranty through the end of November 2015 (I thought it ended already and that's why I was considering other options), which comes with full roadside assistance. So I will wait until the warranty ends before doing anything. Good thing I checked!!!
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FYI on Geico. I just tried to add roadside assistance and got this:
Emergency Road Service is only available if at least one vehicle on your policy carries Comprehensive, Collision, and Emergency Road Service coverage.
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I'm a proud 16 year member of AAA and have always had the basic service. The only times I've ever had flats or dead batteries have been when I'm a dozen miles away from a potential DIY fix (and have you ever tried to lug a car battery a few miles on foot?)
A benefit I've not seen anyone mention: with AAA you are covered as a driver AND as a passenger. So if you're equally Mustachian friend's beater dies, your AAA coverage will cover their towing, jump start, tire change, etc, if you're riding along.
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I have roadside assistance for about $2 per month on my car insurance. I think of AAA as being the place you used to go to get road maps and traveler's checks - back in the days before GPS and ATM cards.
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We've never had it. I think in the past 16 years, we've needed a tow twice, but I could be mis-remembering one from when I was a kid. We change our own tires. We carry nice long, thick jumper cables in the doughnut hole with the spare. Our present car is the first one we've had in the 2000s - it's practically brand new - 2003. We've pretty much always had something 10-15 years old. Vegas was bad for us for flats (you're lucky rebelspy), but knock wood, we've never had one in seven years in Canada.
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Yes.
Yes.
And frankly, it's only gotten better over the years -- faster response times, etc.
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Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery).
Jumper cables - $20
Teach wife to change tire - $free (or is that "priceless"?)
I am with Frankies Girl on this - I am not getting out of the car and changing a flat in speeding traffic on a highway! I am generally pretty self-sufficient but I will gladly pay for someone else to handle this for me ;-)
Ditto
I'm not trolling here... this is a real question: How many flats have you actually had on busy highways? I've had one in 34 driving years. I just carefully drove on that flat until I was in a safe area. Yes, a risk of damaging wheel/tire -- but weighed against getting smacked I found it acceptable risk. (Tire/wheel were undamaged, btw.)
I'm not saying "OMG, DON'T PAY FOR IT!" ... just ... saying to weigh the expenses of both options here and how often you have used it.
The reason I won't change my own car tire is that I'm pretty sure I'm not strong enough to get the lug nuts off. I've watched my freakishly strong DH change a tire and even he really struggles when the tire was originally put on at a shop (where they use air tools). I'm not under any illusions about my own strength . . .
That being said, I carried BCAA (BC's equivalent) for years before cancelling this year. I realized I'd "benefitted" from the low usage discount for several years and since I now primarily bike I can't see needing $90 worth of roadside assistance this year. Yes, that's the base price.
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My folks always had AAA growing up, for the discounts (Hotels and Entertainment) the detailed travel maps (Triptiks-which are now obsolete thanks to mapquest) the and the occasional lock out and tow (we handled our own tires and jumps). When my wife and I were first married we got it and with our junky Ford Taurus, I am sure we got at least 5 tows out of the deal. I used to rush around more than I do now, and had a few lockouts as well. We haven't had it since I started going hardcore after FIRE but I keep an old card in my wallet and if something happens you can call, activate your membership, hang up and call back in with a service request. Got this nice tip from my frugal mom!
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I use a better alternative called Better World Club. Same service as AAA, which I had long ago, but more socially aligned with my values. Wife got two flats at the same time a month ago, so we used the tow service.
Here are the differences compared with AAA from their website:
BWC is NOT part of the Highway Lobby -- the conglomerate of automobile, oil, tire, and cement interests that advocates for more and larger road building and against the development of infrastructure and safety protections for other modes of transportation, including mass transit, bicycling, and walking. AAA is part of the Highway Lobby.
BWC supports state efforts to regulate automobile emissions as we face the challenges of Climate Change.
BWC consistently supports the funding and development of bike lanes. National and Regional AAAs have fought against bike lanes and public transit funding. Changes in AAA suport have been inconsistent.
BWC supports the use of highway tax dollars used to fund mass transit development and maintenance.
BWC supports a broad enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.
BWC Donates 1% of our yearly revenue to environmental cleanup and advocacy. AAA does not.
BWC created the first and only nationwide, 24/7 bicycle roadside assistance program. AAA has bicycle roadside assistance only in certain cities and states.
BWC maintains a carbon-neutral headquarters and fleet service program. AAA does not.
BWC stands against Corporate Personhood. We are a company of individuals, well caffeinated from the finest, sustainably-farmed coffee grounds, roasted locally and delivered by bicycle courier.
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Yes, I have had it for years, and have no plans to drop it. It is great when you have a breakdown while traveling.
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Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery).
Jumper cables - $20
Teach wife to change tire - $free (or is that "priceless"?)
It is mostly the safety issue. Do I want my wife and small kids wandering around a parking lot begging folks for a jump? Will I be able to cover my groin quickly enough when I suggest that she change a tire on the side of a freeway in the rain?
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I actually just renewed the local equivalent. It's $87 a year, as opposed to paying ~$200 for the tow.
My last car needed to be towed a few times, twice in a month when it overheated, and once when the clutch died. Also called them out when the tyre was going flat and the damn tyre shop had tightened the wheels on with an air spanner, so I couldn't remove them.
IMO it's worthwhile on a cheap beater.
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100% worth it. If I am lucky enough to break down in an area with cell service, of course.
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I do have AAA and have for about 15 years. They are also our insurance company for auto, home and umbrella so one membership has to go with the other. I wouldn't be without it. I am not physically able to change a tire. I think it is worth it.
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Thank you all for helpful input. For those with roadside assistance through their insurance company - is that full roadside assistance including flat tire, locked keys, fuel delivery, dead battery, etc.? I just checked with my insurance company and all they offer is towing coverage in the event the car has to be towed (and it turns out that I already have that). I got a special offer from AAA which is under $40 for a year so I think I'll go with that.
Ours is through Progressive and seems to be similar benefits to AAA - locked keys, dead battery, ran out of gas, need a tow. (The tow coverage is maybe 10 miles? Not huge, but enough for most purposes.) We can use it up to 6 times per year. It does limit the coverage to our car, so if we're in another car we don't have those benefits. But tough to beat for the price - $10/yr. Our previous insurance co (SafeCo) had a similar roadside assistance program that we paid into (again, something like $5/6 months) but never needed to use.
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We've never had AAA. Our auto insurance offers full roadside assistance for $1/month. Our car dealer also provides it while the car is in warranty. We don't do long distance auto trips, but if we did, trip planning can now be done online.
AAA will be going the way of Blockbuster Video unless it can figure out how to reinvent itself.
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Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery).
Jumper cables - $20
Teach wife to change tire - $free (or is that "priceless"?)
I am with Frankies Girl on this - I am not getting out of the car and changing a flat in speeding traffic on a highway! I am generally pretty self-sufficient but I will gladly pay for someone else to handle this for me ;-)
Ditto
I'm not trolling here... this is a real question: How many flats have you actually had on busy highways? I've had one in 34 driving years. I just carefully drove on that flat until I was in a safe area. Yes, a risk of damaging wheel/tire -- but weighed against getting smacked I found it acceptable risk. (Tire/wheel were undamaged, btw.)
I'm not saying "OMG, DON'T PAY FOR IT!" ... just ... saying to weigh the expenses of both options here and how often you have used it.
Once
I was 17. I was driving to swim practice, wearing a swimsuit of course. Lots of stories in the news about people having recently been killed at the side of the highway. I didn't think a 17 yo female wearing a swimsuit trying to change a tire on the side of the San Diego freeway (not small) at 5 or 5:30AM (swim practice was before school) was a good idea. So...I drove on it till I got to base where swim practice was that year, figuring I'd deal with it then. I think it was the next exit anyways, so not that much farther. My parents were out of town that day - I think my mom was up in LA where my dad was stationed at the time captaining a ship (or maybe they were up SF) and I had no cell phone in those days to call them anyways. (What the hell? I couldn't remember the name of the actual town in LA where Chase was actually stationed, so I googled - and just learned it got changed just two years after my dad left to San Diego. Dad commuted back & forth for two years so as not to move us from SD!) Sorry, back to story. My dad was a CG officer. Rather than saluting the car as normal and waving me on the guy looked at me. Looked at the tire. Looked at me. Walked back to look at the tire more. I hopped out then, and it was worse that I had thought. The tires was absolutely shredded, and in ribbons. He told me to drive to a spot. He called a buddy to take his spot in the guard house and changed the tire for me. (I'm sure the guy had a good story afterwards of the dumbass Captain's daughter to share with his buddies, but I was pretty happy he took the impetuous to do that.)
Afterwards my parents said if I ever felt unsafe, which they said they could see me feeling that way in that situation, I should of course not get out, so they wanted me to know they weren't upset at all - but, just for future, if the rims were fine they could have replaced the tire for free with the warranty program on the tires, but they needed to pay to replace the tire since it wasn't.
But no, I do not have AAA and have managed generally to be fine otherwise for 19 years. Once a friend called AAA for me when my key broke in my trunk lock. A story of friends using AAA+ while I was nearby (e.g. on a kayaking trip the tires were slashed on a car, although I wasn't with that sub-group that day - ironically the AAA truck that drove them back caught fire when dropping them off), but even if you count that one, a membership wouldn't have paid off. Oh, and the timing belt went on an ex's car while we were on the on ramp to a highway. He may have had AAA.
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I've had CAA (the Canadian equivalent) for over ten years and have used it many times, and every time I saved much more than the annual fee. Once, my car broke down on a deserted highway in the middle of the night and in the middle of nowhere near the border of Alberta and the NWT, and the nearest garage was in Peace River, 200 miles south. CAA covered the towing, which I think would have amounted to over $800 in those necks of the wood. I used it numerous times in Yellowknife to get a battery boost when it is -40 and I forgot to plug it the night before, a tow to the garage when the power steering hose blew on the coldest day of the winter, or to get unstuck from a snowbank. I would never go on a road trip without it. The membership also gives me a substantial discount on my car and home and condo insurance.
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I have towing insurance added to my car insurance, It is about $10 a year - much less than AAA. It even covered the outrageous towing and storage fees when my car was recovered after being stolen. I suspect someone with a reliable car could do the math and decide it is cheaper to self-insure.
No maps or magazine with this approach, though. In the days before GPS, I appreciated the maps which were acquired from the friend with a AAA car.
I think Gizmo is right about the future of AAA. I bet the average AAA member is 60 years old.
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It's not hard to ensure you always have a few hundred in cash, debit card, at least two credit cards. Carry checks too if you're worried but I've never encountered a person that wouldn't take cash or a machine that wouldn't take a credit card (2 or more for if stripe won't read). Always prepared, never inconvenienced.
I haven't used credit cards in many years. Cheques aren't accepted here in car breakdown situations. I use a debit card most often, but often that isn't accepted for getting into a locked car or for rural calls, which is where most of my situations take place. I don't carry enough cash all the time to cover a $180 tow to the next town over. Or to get a key programmed for my car when the originals are in a suitcase that the airline never bothered to load on my flights. The ATM hasn't been working when I locked myself out of the car at Walmart. So for me, the AAA membership provided me with a safety net when the payment form I had available wasn't going to work in the circumstances, as well as for the emergency itself.
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Several long distance tows, dead battery and flat tire. I haven't done the math to see if we saved money, but in the moment, it's really great to just have it taken care of and not have that unexpected expense.
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I use a better alternative called Better World Club. Same service as AAA, which I had long ago, but more socially aligned with my values. Wife got two flats at the same time a month ago, so we used the tow service.
Not totally the same; they will not take you to your home (like if you do your own repairs as I do), but only to a repair facility.
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We have it. We also have AAA auto insurance and we got an extra discount for being AAA members already. The auto insurance is super cheap. Totally worth it!
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I'm a proud 16 year member of AAA and have always had the basic service. The only times I've ever had flats or dead batteries have been when I'm a dozen miles away from a potential DIY fix (and have you ever tried to lug a car battery a few miles on foot?)
A benefit I've not seen anyone mention: with AAA you are covered as a driver AND as a passenger. So if you're equally Mustachian friend's beater dies, your AAA coverage will cover their towing, jump start, tire change, etc, if you're riding along.
Why was your spare tire miles away? Get a manual transmission car and then you jump start it anywhere.
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We've never had AAA. Our auto insurance offers full roadside assistance for $1/month. Our car dealer also provides it while the car is in warranty. We don't do long distance auto trips, but if we did, trip planning can now be done online.
AAA will be going the way of Blockbuster Video unless it can figure out how to reinvent itself.
I'm going to disagree with you here. Do you realize they are also a huge insurance company, travel planner etc with great rates and service too? The towing insurance is just a part of the company.
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Over the last 10 years, I think she has called them like 4 times for roadside assistance (3 flats, 1 dead battery).
Jumper cables - $20
Teach wife to change tire - $free (or is that "priceless"?)
I am with Frankies Girl on this - I am not getting out of the car and changing a flat in speeding traffic on a highway! I am generally pretty self-sufficient but I will gladly pay for someone else to handle this for me ;-)
Ditto
I'm not trolling here... this is a real question: How many flats have you actually had on busy highways? I've had one in 34 driving years. I just carefully drove on that flat until I was in a safe area. Yes, a risk of damaging wheel/tire -- but weighed against getting smacked I found it acceptable risk. (Tire/wheel were undamaged, btw.)
I'm not saying "OMG, DON'T PAY FOR IT!" ... just ... saying to weigh the expenses of both options here and how often you have used it.
Once, in a certain number of years of driving. :-)
I had, not a flat, but a true blowout at speed on a busy interstate in traffic. Believe me, controlling the spin and getting the car to the shoulder were much more exciting than changing the tire on that shoulder, but I did both myself.
I've never carried any roadside assistance. I've needed a tow I think twice in a situation other than someone else hitting me in an accident (thus their insurance was on the hook for the tow eventually). One cost me $80 (broken timing belt, so the tow was the least of my worries), and for the other, my husband came and loaded the car on our trailer and took it home.
I keep belts and a spare tire in the car, and that fixes most problems. I'm also not strong enough to break loose machined-on lug nuts by hand (petite woman), but a foot on the "down" side and a pull on the "up" side will do it.
A dead battery will not cause a car to die if it's already running, and alternators don't die that fast in my experience - I have had a number of them die over the years, and the charge light comes on, but you've got 20-30 miles on the battery. Usually, though, there's an intermittent stage where the charge light is on sometimes; this is the proper time to troubleshoot and fix.
In cases of a dead battery in a parked car, jumper cables generally work, but for those who are hesitant to ask for a jump, one of these will start the car, or for that matter put air in a tire, for half the cost of AAA for a year:
http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-J5C09-Starter-Built-Compressor/dp/B002X6VXL4/ref=lp_318336011_1_1/183-3836447-8138013?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1422015886&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-J5C09-Starter-Built-Compressor/dp/B002X6VXL4/ref=lp_318336011_1_1/183-3836447-8138013?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1422015886&sr=1-1)
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Had it for years and let it cancel after never using it. A few days later wife locked keys in the car at the gas station. It cost more than the membership. Purchased it again and have never looked back.
I've used it to tow cars home, ran out of gas once in the middle of nowhere PA, used it when a friends car broke... Lots of help with limited expense. Also, I use AAA Insurance for home and cars... They've saved me a ton of money.
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I've had it for years and have used it several times. I've been very happy with the service they provide. I've used the discounts enough that the cost for the service has been pretty much a wash. My mechanic gives a 10% discount on labor and Payless Shoes, where I get dance shoes and tights for my kids, also gives 10%.
For us, it's worth it for the peace of mind.
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I have had a membership since I started driving. At 26, my parents still put me on their plan as a gift because they think it is so helpful. I drive older cars and have had to use it on several occasions. The tow service is also really great.
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Pro tip: if you just want it for roadside assistance.... Wait until you breakdown!
Then call up, renew/get a membership and they will send the tow truck. I discovered this accidentally when my car broke down and it turned out my membership had lapsed. Since then I went 4 years without one until I broke down and voila renewed it again.
Also don't fall for the "premium" membership which tows over 5 miles (10 miles?) if you breakdown more than 10 miles from anywhere basic AAA will tow you 5 miles OR to the nearest service station, even if that is like 40 miles away. Premium would only help if you wanted to get towed to a specific service station that is far away, the closest is always available.
I've possibly had too much experience with AAA and breakdowns! :)
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We've never had AAA. Our auto insurance offers full roadside assistance for $1/month. Our car dealer also provides it while the car is in warranty. We don't do long distance auto trips, but if we did, trip planning can now be done online.
AAA will be going the way of Blockbuster Video unless it can figure out how to reinvent itself.
I'm going to disagree with you here. Do you realize they are also a huge insurance company, travel planner etc with great rates and service too? The towing insurance is just a part of the company.
In Alberta, they also act as a registry agent for renewing car and drivers' licenses and paying traffic tickets,and they are really active in drivers' ed (for seniors and winter driving, not just for people learning the first time). They are very big here.
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Pro tip: if you just want it for roadside assistance.... Wait until you breakdown!
Then call up, renew/get a membership and they will send the tow truck. I discovered this accidentally when my car broke down and it turned out my membership had lapsed. Since then I went 4 years without one until I broke down and voila renewed it again.
Also don't fall for the "premium" membership which tows over 5 miles (10 miles?) if you breakdown more than 10 miles from anywhere basic AAA will tow you 5 miles OR to the nearest service station, even if that is like 40 miles away. Premium would only help if you wanted to get towed to a specific service station that is far away, the closest is always available.
I've possibly had too much experience with AAA and breakdowns! :)
That is dead wrong. There is a waiting period before the service goes into effect (I believe it's 7 days), precisely to stop people from not getting a membership, and then calling from the side of the road in an emergency. So if your car is broke down in your driveway, or at work, and you can afford to let it sit for 7 days then this plan would be fine. Otherwise it won't work. Not sure how you pulled it off.
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I'm also not strong enough to break loose machined-on lug nuts by hand (petite woman), but a foot on the "down" side and a pull on the "up" side will do it.
You just need a longer wrench. I'm not being snarky here. Leverage is everything. Start with an 18 inch breaker bar and a socket. If that isn't enough, you can slide a pipe over the bar and turn it into more foot-lbs than the bolt itself is designed to handle.
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I'm also not strong enough to break loose machined-on lug nuts by hand (petite woman), but a foot on the "down" side and a pull on the "up" side will do it.
You just need a longer wrench. I'm not being snarky here. Leverage is everything. Start with an 18 inch breaker bar and a socket. If that isn't enough, you can slide a pipe over the bar and turn it into more foot-lbs than the bolt itself is designed to handle.
Actually, the foot-pounds on the bolt is why I'm always careful to have the hand pulling up rather than just stomping/ jumping on it, which will work at least once. :-)
But you make a good point; I'm not getting younger. It wouldn't be a bad idea to put in a pipe for just such occasions (talking about using an X-style tire iron here rather than a socket wrench with or without breaker bar - with which I stand no chance at all).
Off topic: do they call breakers "cheater bars" everywhere or just here?
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I'm also not strong enough to break loose machined-on lug nuts by hand (petite woman), but a foot on the "down" side and a pull on the "up" side will do it.
You just need a longer wrench. I'm not being snarky here. Leverage is everything. Start with an 18 inch breaker bar and a socket. If that isn't enough, you can slide a pipe over the bar and turn it into more foot-lbs than the bolt itself is designed to handle.
This. A pipe small enough to fit inside any trunk and you will have the leverage to remove any lug nut no matter how tightly it is put on.
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Off topic: do they call breakers "cheater bars" everywhere or just here?
It probably varies... but I always called the pipe I put over the breaker bar "the cheater".
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I have it and it is worth it to me. I have a 1982 VW camping van the needs at least one tow yearly:-) The membership cost is far less than the tow charges.
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I use a better alternative called Better World Club. Same service as AAA, which I had long ago, but more socially aligned with my values. Wife got two flats at the same time a month ago, so we used the tow service.
Here are the differences compared with AAA from their website:
BWC is NOT part of the Highway Lobby -- the conglomerate of automobile, oil, tire, and cement interests that advocates for more and larger road building and against the development of infrastructure and safety protections for other modes of transportation, including mass transit, bicycling, and walking. AAA is part of the Highway Lobby.
BWC supports state efforts to regulate automobile emissions as we face the challenges of Climate Change.
BWC consistently supports the funding and development of bike lanes. National and Regional AAAs have fought against bike lanes and public transit funding. Changes in AAA suport have been inconsistent.
BWC supports the use of highway tax dollars used to fund mass transit development and maintenance.
BWC supports a broad enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.
BWC Donates 1% of our yearly revenue to environmental cleanup and advocacy. AAA does not.
BWC created the first and only nationwide, 24/7 bicycle roadside assistance program. AAA has bicycle roadside assistance only in certain cities and states.
BWC maintains a carbon-neutral headquarters and fleet service program. AAA does not.
BWC stands against Corporate Personhood. We are a company of individuals, well caffeinated from the finest, sustainably-farmed coffee grounds, roasted locally and delivered by bicycle courier.
Well said. My feeling is a lot of people who have AAA membership don't understand all the harm AAA lobbying does to their neighborhood in the form of opposing bike infrastructure and transit spending. Nearly every good thing happening for cyclists in my area is opposed by AAA.
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I don't have AAA now, but when I did I took advantage of their free trip books and maps.
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I am surprised by the number of people here who have AAA. In the five years I have been taking care of my own car, I would have only used it three, maybe four, times.
1. Locked my keys in my car once - paid someone $40 to come out and open it. Less than half the cost of AAA for that year.
2. DH ran out of gas while driving my car and his car. (and I was with him both times and it was before we were married). Once we walked to a gas station, once we knocked on someone's door and got a gallon of their lawn mower gas. He has not done it again, going on four years. I think he learned his lesson.
3. Car did not start at work - dead battery. Got a jump from a coworker - wouldn't have called AAA then even if I had it, as that would have taken much longer.
So why pay $100+ per year for something I rarely use? I don't have new cars either - before my car was totaled in an accident (not my fault) it was nine years old with 162,000. My DH's truck is 13 years old.
We just take care of our cars and generally replace the batteries before they died, replace the tires before they get a flat, etc. I know things still happen, but it should be infrequent enough to not warrant the service. And, nearly all of the discounts can be obtained another way - I get such good rental rates through my alma mater's alumni association, even the rental car attendant was surprised.
Note: If you are paying $1/month through your car insurance, I get that, and I think that is a great deal.
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I'm a proud 16 year member of AAA and have always had the basic service. The only times I've ever had flats or dead batteries have been when I'm a dozen miles away from a potential DIY fix (and have you ever tried to lug a car battery a few miles on foot?)
A benefit I've not seen anyone mention: with AAA you are covered as a driver AND as a passenger. So if you're equally Mustachian friend's beater dies, your AAA coverage will cover their towing, jump start, tire change, etc, if you're riding along.
Why was your spare tire miles away? Get a manual transmission car and then you jump start it anywhere.
I'd inherited a car from my older sisters. At some point along the way, one of them had used the spare and managed to lose it outside a college apartment because they were too lazy to put it back in the stow-away area on the car.
But you bring up an excellent point that I didn't think of - here in Florida, the climate dry-rots rubber quite a bit faster than the rest of the US. It would super suck to be driving on a 10 year old spare tire only to have it blow out too. :-) Hence, I'll be keeping my AAA.
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Pro tip: if you just want it for roadside assistance.... Wait until you breakdown!
Then call up, renew/get a membership and they will send the tow truck. I discovered this accidentally when my car broke down and it turned out my membership had lapsed. Since then I went 4 years without one until I broke down and voila renewed it again.
Also don't fall for the "premium" membership which tows over 5 miles (10 miles?) if you breakdown more than 10 miles from anywhere basic AAA will tow you 5 miles OR to the nearest service station, even if that is like 40 miles away. Premium would only help if you wanted to get towed to a specific service station that is far away, the closest is always available.
I've possibly had too much experience with AAA and breakdowns! :)
That is dead wrong. There is a waiting period before the service goes into effect (I believe it's 7 days), precisely to stop people from not getting a membership, and then calling from the side of the road in an emergency. So if your car is broke down in your driveway, or at work, and you can afford to let it sit for 7 days then this plan would be fine. Otherwise it won't work. Not sure how you pulled it off.
I have done the exact same thing -- renewed lapsed service when I needed the roadside assistance. Maybe you're only allowed to do it if you're renewing vs. getting a completely new membership?
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Pro tip: if you just want it for roadside assistance.... Wait until you breakdown!
Then call up, renew/get a membership and they will send the tow truck. I discovered this accidentally when my car broke down and it turned out my membership had lapsed. Since then I went 4 years without one until I broke down and voila renewed it again.
Also don't fall for the "premium" membership which tows over 5 miles (10 miles?) if you breakdown more than 10 miles from anywhere basic AAA will tow you 5 miles OR to the nearest service station, even if that is like 40 miles away. Premium would only help if you wanted to get towed to a specific service station that is far away, the closest is always available.
I've possibly had too much experience with AAA and breakdowns! :)
That is dead wrong. There is a waiting period before the service goes into effect (I believe it's 7 days), precisely to stop people from not getting a membership, and then calling from the side of the road in an emergency. So if your car is broke down in your driveway, or at work, and you can afford to let it sit for 7 days then this plan would be fine. Otherwise it won't work. Not sure how you pulled it off.
I have done the exact same thing -- renewed lapsed service when I needed the roadside assistance. Maybe you're only allowed to do it if you're renewing vs. getting a completely new membership?
Perhaps. I could also have been fed incorrect information. It seemed to make sense though.
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I well make up the 47$ or so in car rental and hotel discounts.
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I well make up the 47$ or so in car rental and hotel discounts.
This, I use the discount for hotels and others and I like the peace of mind.
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We've got the high-end AAA towing service, so we don't manage to make it pay for itself each year. However, I do road rallyes out in BFE, in old cars that spare parts are not so easily found, so I want the long range towing. 1 phone number to call no matter what when you're totally out of your home area is very nice. I've been broken down without AAA before. Trying to find someone to call that can lookup a towing place, etc, is very awkward.
If you just tool around in town or on certain high traffic long distance routes, I can see doing without it though.
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Pro tip: if you just want it for roadside assistance.... Wait until you breakdown!
Then call up, renew/get a membership and they will send the tow truck. I discovered this accidentally when my car broke down and it turned out my membership had lapsed. Since then I went 4 years without one until I broke down and voila renewed it again.
Also don't fall for the "premium" membership which tows over 5 miles (10 miles?) if you breakdown more than 10 miles from anywhere basic AAA will tow you 5 miles OR to the nearest service station, even if that is like 40 miles away. Premium would only help if you wanted to get towed to a specific service station that is far away, the closest is always available.
I've possibly had too much experience with AAA and breakdowns! :)
That is dead wrong. There is a waiting period before the service goes into effect (I believe it's 7 days), precisely to stop people from not getting a membership, and then calling from the side of the road in an emergency. So if your car is broke down in your driveway, or at work, and you can afford to let it sit for 7 days then this plan would be fine. Otherwise it won't work. Not sure how you pulled it off.
I have done the exact same thing -- renewed lapsed service when I needed the roadside assistance. Maybe you're only allowed to do it if you're renewing vs. getting a completely new membership?
Perhaps. I could also have been fed incorrect information. It seemed to make sense though.
I should add that it had lapsed very recently -- like within the week of when I needed it. And my dad had to upgrade it to the premium plan that tows over 250 miles. That might have altered the situation.
A brake line ruptured and I rear ended someone very lightly, causing zero damage or injuries; it was actually a foreign photographer in a rental and all he did was take pictures of the cars & my insurance info -- said he'd only use them if the rental company noticed the damage and we never heard anything about it again. Got lucky there! Of course, I was two states away from home heading to visit a friend in Philly for the weekend and got stranded at night in New Jersey for like 8 hours waiting for AAA & then my cousin (who also luckily lives in Philly) to get off of work and come pick me up. I'm female, was 21, and very very grateful for the AAA driver who went out of his way to wait around for a local cop to pick me up and bring me to the station so I wasn't waiting for my cousin outside a closed gas station after midnight. Car got towed home to CT, and dad replaced all the brake lines himself. It was cheaper to renew and upgrade the membership than it would have been to pay for a tow out of pocket and have a shop do the work in NJ. Plus I'm pretty sure my dad just didn't trust me to get the right stuff done at the shop.
I was also very grateful for AAA when I blew a tire at night (like 10 pm) on the highway driving my little sister's car and had no idea how to change it (apparently foreign cars are different? -- plus it turns out the spare didn't actually match the car; she'd only owned it for a few months at that point and it was close enough that no one had bothered to actually check). A state cop showed up and forced me to drive a mile on the flat and get off the highway at the closest exit, which happened to be the worst part of town in the small city I ended up in. He didn't know the area and just left me there (22 at this point, alone, female). I didn't realize how sketchy of an area it was -- I knew it wasn't great and that I should have told the cop hell no, but he was cranky and intimidating, so ultimately I went along with it and wasn't all that worried. After calling my parents and attempting to change the tire multiple times on my own, I called AAA -- the guy was local and told me to get my ass back in the car and lock the doors to wait for him. While I was waiting, a city cop showed up and thought I was waiting for a drug deal. He was livid at the state cop after I explained things and proceeded to park his car next to mine and wait for AAA with me. The AAA guy ended up needing to call another AAA guy with an actual tow truck because of the incorrect spare tire situation. As they loaded the car up they were in disbelief at the state cop who'd made me sit alone at night in this area of town.
All I can say is that the few times I have used AAA, I have been incredibly, immensely grateful for their services and employees. And that I realize this sounds like I'm selling their product, lol. I don't know if we even have it anymore, but I'm driving a much newer car now (2010, 43k miles) and have gotten a bit more mature -- I like to think I'd be able to handle that state cop these days :)
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Either folks have had car issues and needed assistance or they haven't. Those who have will try to plan for that possibility in the future. Those who haven't don't tend to see the need. In my experience, the need for AAA/roadside assists are highly correlated with the age/experience of the person, the annual miles driven, the average age of one's cars, the availability of family/friends to help, the resourcefulness of the driver, familiarity with cars/issues, and general risk tolerance. If any or many of these factors are lacking, then the person tends to buy insurance for assurance.
One-car family, distant relatives, dislike for calling on friends, dislike with dealing with car issues on the fly, and frequent business travel--all of this pretty much makes roadside assistance a given for us. And we save on hotels 3-4 times as well as 6-8 train trips annually. I include AAA as an expense when figuring the "how much do I save by not owning a second car."
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I kind of don't get the point of AAA. Sure, I've had tons of flats over the years. I know how to change a tire, and I carry a spare. Doesn't EVERYBODY? That's part of drivers' ed.
11 years ago, I locked my key in my car (didn't have a spare key) so I called a locksmith. Ever since then, I've had a spare set.
I've had the car battery die, but I have jumper cables. Somebody's always willing to give a jump.
And even if I had a complete breakdown, somebody would always be willing to pick me up, and I could arrange a tow truck.
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I kind of don't get the point of AAA. Sure, I've had tons of flats over the years. I know how to change a tire, and I carry a spare. Doesn't EVERYBODY? That's part of drivers' ed.
11 years ago, I locked my key in my car (didn't have a spare key) so I called a locksmith. Ever since then, I've had a spare set.
I've had the car battery die, but I have jumper cables. Somebody's always willing to give a jump.
And even if I had a complete breakdown, somebody would always be willing to pick me up, and I could arrange a tow truck.
Are you being contrarian, or do you want someone to explain the point of AAA to you?
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I kind of don't get the point of AAA. Sure, I've had tons of flats over the years. I know how to change a tire, and I carry a spare. Doesn't EVERYBODY? That's part of drivers' ed.
11 years ago, I locked my key in my car (didn't have a spare key) so I called a locksmith. Ever since then, I've had a spare set.
I've had the car battery die, but I have jumper cables. Somebody's always willing to give a jump.
And even if I had a complete breakdown, somebody would always be willing to pick me up, and I could arrange a tow truck.
I'll bite; the point is that one year of membership is often cheaper than a tow base rate. 100 or 200 mile for "free" is very nice when your rig breaks down (not just a flat but an engine or other system failure) 100 miles from home.
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When I really needed AAA--car broke down in a blizzard in a dangerous part of IN--they did not come. The police sent a tow truck, and that tow truck guy saved our butts.
Needles to say, we have not bothered to use AAA service in many years and have done just fine.