AAA - Nothing To Think About Right?

Twice when I used AAA I was less than satisfied. Thinking about cancelling.

 

Rear left tire of my delivery van blew up on Garden State on friday.
Called AAA, the tow truck was there in 20 mints.

Thats the only experience I have with them.

 

I have them. with a 308 you sort of need them.

Get the AAA+.
I've only used them thrice for towing (FlatBed). It was worth it.

Did use them once when a friend was locked out of her car. It took their locksmith 20seconds to get in. He never set the alarm off either.

 

all my cars came with roadside assistance better than or equal to what AAA offers. I guess if you own a car without roadside you might need it. Might want to check with lambo, they have to offer something (if audi does they probably do since porsche, vw, and audi are the exact same policy and call center).

 

My 2002 acura came with TLC roadside assistance. I didn't have to use it until about 2 weeks ago when a screw became embedded in a tire and it slowly went flat (thankfully I made it to my driveway). I called the TLC number and then Acura called a local repair shop, which actually wasn't so local, but I didn't care because my car was in my own driveway and not stuck on a highway. The shop called me to let me know someone was coming within the hour. The guy replaced the wheel with my spare (he didn't have the stuff to plug the hole).

Anyway, I was thinking about how long the TLC is valid for since my car is almost 4 years old. The literature I had does NOT say how long TLC is valid. So I called Acura and they said that a "new" acura comes with FOUR years of TLC or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first). I made it under the limit by a month and a half and 11,000 miles.

But now, I'm going to get the car on my wife's AAA policy. She recently called them to replace a wheel with a screw in it. They did the same thing - calling a local repair guy to come and fix it. The guy was quick especially since it was a 4x4 pickup truck wheel he had to remove.

Off the subject, my car got ANOTHER puncture just last week! This time I limped to a gas station where they fixed it quick. Turns out it was a pop RIVET embedded in the tread! How does this stuff get all over the road? My tires must have magnets for this garbage. I didn't know so many people had screws loose!

 

Vik,

Good thread, bro. I recently had to pass by a AAA office for another matter (international drivers license so I could rent a car abroad, which it turns out I didn't need). Was wondering the same thing... Is it worth it? From what I understand, there are two levels of AAA. The "deluxe" (I don't think that's what it's actually called, maybe it's the AAA+ that Clyde was referring to), you can't actually sign up for -- you have to be a regular AAA member for a couple of years. Anyone know if this is true...?

Like Clyde said, for a 308 especially it's good to have a little extra insurance...
Let me know what you ultimately decide, Vik, and what your reasoning is either way.

Cheers,
J.

 

I saved more then the $ 100 gold membership fee (AAA Plus) when I bought glasses at Lens Crafters this year . They have a lot of discounts I did not even know about .
For sure it is a no brainer . What are we talking about ?? Max $ 100 for the gold membership .
I have used them for a tow , flat tire , and a very dead battery charge all of which were for my bands Van . I also had no problem getting service on my fiancee's car
when I was with her.

 

i would get it.

i have had several experiences; all positive with every issue being remedied alongside good customer service

i once used vw roadside assistance and they were no where near as efficient or kind as AAA. they told me it would take roughly two hours to respond to my accident. i immediately called AAA and they sent a truck within 10 minutes.

AAA gives me peace of mind. <shrug> your call.

 

Not true J... its called ""plus" and you simply pay for the upgrade even for a brand new policy. My AAA experience has been varied... sometimes excellent response times, other times my wife was told 1.5 hrs to reach her. Like everything else in life, they are unpredictable, yet I wouldnt be caught without it. Not sure about your case Vik (meaning your need), but it shld be mandatory with older car ownership.

 

Agreed. I was once told to go outside AAA and file for reimbursement as the wait time was 2.5+ hours ....but then it was the dead of winter, single digit temp, and snowing. Just when you need them most.

BTW: I believe my AAA+ membership is under $50/year. One 25mile+ tow covers the cost alone. And there's never a Ferrari dealer/repair shop close by when you need one.

 

the only time I've used them for a problem was when on I95, there was a huge pothole that my wife couldn't avoid... we ended up with 2 flat tires... it was a little late -- say 9pm.... it took 2-3 hours for the wrecker to come... he said he was on his way, but got called away by the state police because there was a huge wreck that happened... very nice guy, btw....

my brother had to use them for an issue as well... seems he was passenger with his girlfriend who, while driving, hit a pothole or something and broke a crossmember. They were near my house which is pretty far off the beaten path... it took about 2-3 hours before AAA came.

So, if you are in a well traveled area and it's not busy, I'm sure response would be better....

There are other benefits, too... like discounts on stuff -- purchases, hotels, tickets to attractions, etc... I've taken advantage of those, too... e.g. $3 discount at Universal studios/ticket... 10% off at some of the stores in the Citywalk @ Universal....

another thing to note is that the coverage that comes with the car (i.e. NOT AAA) covers THE CAR.... AAA covers YOU. So if you're a passenger in someone elses car, you can still use AAA. With the other coverage, it only helps if you have a problem in your own car...

if you buy stuff that has AAA discounts (and aren't too shy to ask if there is a AAA discount), then the savings you get could cover your costs for membership....

 

I think that the quality of service will vary on where you happen to break down. Whn you call AAA they call whatever local tow service or garage is in their network, so it depends on who gets called. AAA really has nothing to do with how you are treated or how fast they show up, they are just referral service.

YMMV.

 

Here's a question, though... Do most of you "trust" your average tow truck operator who gets called out by AAA to tow your Ferrari or Lambo without doing any damage? Is there any magic to it...?

Clyde -- anything special to be aware of with the 308?

 

I think most of the tow truck operators, when they see a Ferrari there, might be too afraid of damaging the car fearing the cost to have to do a repair on it....

note: if not the "average" tow truck operator, then who? Do companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini have their own full time to trucks/operators? I would think that could be a losing proposition... I know of one shop that said the insurance costs associated with being a tow truck operator vs. the amount of work he was getting, was a losing proposition so he sold the tow truck and got out of that business...

 

that's a good point... thanks for bringing that up because that reminded me that I mentioned that to tow truck operators that needed to tow my RX-7...

(once was at Watkin's Glen... after running out of driving skills, the result was my car needing to be towed out to a shop... luckily, the instructor I had owned a shop and had the car towed out to his shop... and having dealt with many low/exotic cars, he knew what he was in for...

the other time was when I needed a motor rebuild on the RX-7 and it wouldn't start any longer... I let the tow truck guy know that 1) I needed a flat bed; and 2) the car was an RX-7 and very low to the ground...)

And in the case when I called AAA when I had the 2 flat tires, I specified to them I needed a flatbed. this was only in a Dodge Neon, so it wasn't low to the ground, but due to special circumstances, I had special needs.

 

This just reminded me of something pertinent!

A long time ago my Supra broke down near Allentown, in the dark. I was with a group of cars so I sent the car home to my local dealer via AAA flatbed and continued on with friends. I went to check on the car the next day, and to my dismay, the drivers front wheel was turned to the left, while the right wheel was cut hard to the right. WTF! I came to realize that the tow operator accidently hooked my tierod in the dark. Dealer quoted me approx $400 bux to repair. I expected the worst when I called the towing company (owner's name was Bubba). To my relief he was extremely apologetic and promptly squared the bill with the dealer so I didnt have to shell out in advance.

Mishaps can always occur, but Bubba took full responsibilty and made sure I was satisfied.

 

haven' t read all the threads but I kinda agree wiht Clyde here...I use AAA- PLUS - free 100 mi flat bed service essential withthe 308...I use them all the time....some extreme things they have done for me...free flat bed tow from e.hampton to vinnie in nj --on a holiday! also the plus gets you free "extraction service" ESSENTIAL IN NYC..why? cause a flat bed cannot fit in teh indoor garages in teh city...so guess what...in the garage the car won't start..valet pretty much killed the car completed grinding away and pumping the gas trying to get it started in a hurry...so AAA send over TWO wreckers...a conventional wheel lift to pull her out of the garage while a jerri-tran flat bed is waiting curbside for her..all free...I felt liek a celebrity and peopel really thoguht that little ferrari 308 qv was worth somthing watchin g allthe commotion...AAA I LUV YAH (sure I have had to wait in the winter sometimes) they are changing the plus service scaling her back so all the above may not now apply