That's what insurance is all about. You hope you never have to use it.
AAA or alternative roadside assistance
- Thread starter spk2000
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Nope. I've had a few tows and it was to any place I wanted within the specified distance based on membership type.
Two lockouts, one blown ball joint, one time stuck in the snow.
On average I use my towing 2-3 times a year, and it is not just broke down on the side of the road. I use it as a towing service to move cars around when I cannot get a ride back. Sometimes you have intermittent issues that you cannot "fix" when your car is old, and sometimes you are dealing with old people wanting to do things a certain way and you end up helping them when they are stuck because, they won't listen to you in the first place.
The same number of times my house has burned down in the past 5 years [None] but I still have insurance on it to make it whole. When I do have a roadside issue it’s point, click and sit. My days of changing a flat on the side of the interstate are long gone.
I do kind of worry about using too many tows. There have been reports that some members have been told that membership can be cancelled if towing is used too often.
Personally I miss the old CSAA maps. They were the best in the business.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
None, though I’ve been a AAA member for years.
I got stuck a few years ago when my fuel pump gave out. I was kind of surprised because it wasn't that old and I had installed one of the leading brands, OEM for the car. AAA towed the car home and I replaced the pump myself. Then on another vehicle I had to be towed about 60 miles due to what turned out to be a bad ignition switch. Another tow home and fix it myself scenario.
You are right though that it's not a frequent need, but when it does happen just knowing who to call can be even more important than what the cost of the tow would otherwise be. Also with AAA's best plan up to once a year you get free battery replacement and I've taken advantage of that. All in all, it's cheap insurance for those of us that drive older vehicles. (Though most of the cars I see either being towed or stuck on the side of the road are much newer than mine.)
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