European Breakdown/Recovery
Hi Folks
off to Spain in April for 3 months car/caravan. Have been a life long member of the AA and was wondering if anybody has any experience of using the AA within Europe, I know the club & its members seem to favour Red Pennant but dont particularly want to subscribe to another service.
Look forward to hearing about your experiences.
Happy Christmas to all
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We were insured through Saga who subcontract to AA. When our gearbox failed they recovered car and Caravan to UK from Germany without argument but I learned a few things along the way.
Firstly, there may be restrictions on the overall length of caravan that they will cover. Secondly, you are unlikely to get a replacement tow car with AA. It is just too difficult for them to source a suitable vehicle with the right connections, correct weight etc. I believe Red Pennant will provide one.
So, the lessons are obvious. Read the small print and compare with Red Pennant. I guarantee cover won’t be as comprehensive but you may not wish to pay for that extra cover. Saga/AA was fine for what we needed and being retired we had no necessity or desire to continue our holiday in the face of catastrophic breakdown of our car.
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Some info on French motor ways only French breakdown services are allowed to recover breakdowns .so ring aa first and get a breakdown number. ring for French breakdown services for recovery who will take you to nearest garage . then ring aa again let them speak to break down guy and garage to sort out payments for you
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Hi Rufs,
We have had trouble in the past trying to get cover for long rigs; our Volvo and caravan were too long for the life long RAC I'd had. That was when we started using RP. The thing is, we take out Personal & Breakdown and that cover is far more comprehensive than basic breakdown from other operators. Remember, a lot can go wrong over and above a car breakdown.
We know, because we have had to use it on 3 occasions over the years and I had never gone away in a car more than 3 years old and caravan always serviced annually.
The first time the alternator went on a main piazza in Brechcia early evening, second time was an engine failure on A303 on way to Dover ferry, that was a huge event; my car broke down, brand new replacement car broke down in Southern France and third time we had a caravan blow out on the A10 in France which shredded the tyre and everything inside the wheel arch, like the water pipes and electrics.
So we would not go without RP. But, I do begrudge paying such a wack, especially with a long MH. There is a length penalty on MHs over 8m. I am 8.06 and last year that cost me an extra £211 on my multi-trip. This year we are looking for other ways to get RP cheaper, like a long trip mode instead of multi-trip. But you get what you pay for and we all have the choice!
BillC
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The difference with a Caravan rather than a Motorhome of course is that it is far more likely that the car will break down than the Caravan so in theory you could get another tow vehicle which Red Pennant can provide. Also (again in theory) you may be able to get the Caravan towed to a site whilst the car is repaired. With a Motorhome it would have to be a hotel.
It is well worth thinking through what might happen and what you may want to do. Other things we learned - make sure that you have the policy details with you and the policy number, know how to recharge your phone in an emergency, know how to find out where you are when you break down, know how to top up the credit with pay as you go etc. etc. We broke down at 9 am and it was 5 pm before everything was agreed and we had located a hotel. In fact, we were so lucky that we had a BMW and were towed to a BMW garage who then loaned us a phone and desk. The garage receptionist found us a hotel and took us there. The garage helped us put both car and Caravan in their locked compound. No help from the AA on any of that but we survived!
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We called out the AA years ago when our clutch failed on the autoroute near Vierzon, and everything was handled to our complete satisfaction, incuding when our credit card wouldn't work to pay the final bill. The AA paid and we paid them back when we got home. We were provided with an alternative vehicle - suitable for a family of five with five bikes and camping equipment..............! We continued our holiday and dropped off the loan vehicle when we picked the car up after repairs had been completed.
As said, if you break down on the autoroute, you should call using the roadside phones - that puts you through to the operator who covers that stretch of the autoroute. They will recover you but will ask who your breakdown insurance is with and connect you to a call centre which deals with your calls and routes it through to whichever company you're insured with. It was all handled, in English, with no problems whatsoever.
It is a long time ago, and you will hear good and bad, I'm sure and more recent experiences, but we couldn't fault the AA's handling of our breakdown.
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Rufs, Having had the services of nine repair men plus three doctors and a dentist in the last 45 years around Europe I have some experience of this subject. Whoever one is insured with back home phoning them in the UK will only get the problem sub contracted to Marcel or Jean-Luc on the spot. Are they nearby, are they busy, and are they helpful?
Our own answer has always been not to phone uk, but to get the problem fixed locally, pay for it, and reclaim afterwards. Sometimes it meant a few unplanned days on a campsite, sometimes not. If the repair is in the insurance schedule the insurer will pay, but all insurance schedules vary so read the small print before you buy. And decide how self reliant you are and how tightly you want your hand held.
We have no experience of catastrophic breakdowns but once had a caravan with jammed brakes brought back on a truck while we drove home from hotel to hotel. We once abandoned the entire outfit and flew home when we heard that mother was in hospital - just did it once again and told the insurance company afterwards. And later flew back to retrieve it all.
I have been insured with various different companies but have found all of them scrupulously fair in meeting reasonable claims. But if it's not in the schedule then they won't pay, so read the small print.
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We had to use RP 4 years ago when a French road tanker sideswiped our car (which wasn't a write-off but was unroadworthy).
Very happy with the service RP provided EXCEPT that the replacement car - a BMW 320 Touring provided by some firm in Stuttgart - only had 65kg max noseweight! We only found this out afterwards, when the towing behaviour for our Bailey (noseweight 80kg) was noticed to be poor. Rather than ask for a replacement car (we were on the way home anyway) we just did the best we could to minimize the noseweight and carried on.
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