Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
AAA membership is more reliable, and your charger won't tow your vehicle.
Hmmmm ... I just on a whim checked the AAA site. Way more expensive than CAA (about $C85 or $US 64) and fewer features and benefits. Maybe not such a good deal after all. Actually, since CAA works everywhere in North America, maybe US residents should choose that instead.
I am a AAA member. Still need to wait for a service call, and I've waited almost an hour at times. It's also a mark every time against a lifetime record. Not sure I'd be allowed to be a CAA member.
I've been out of cell phone range in a remote area where I left the lights on. That was with my wife's car before I understood why the door chime didn't work. I was also back when my now iffy jump starter was a year old and reliable. I had the hood open and everything set up when a park ranger asked if I needed help. Besides, playing Good Samaritan can feel pretty good sometimes. I'll whip out a jump starter for a stranger, but not my AAA card.
Yea, my experience with CAA is vastly different. Free tow of 250 km (150 mi) one time, for example, in the middle of nowhere (tow was to the nearest town).
Looks like you have to have some kind of premium membership with AAA for long tows. Plus CAA is members-based, not vehicle based, so you can use them with a car you don't own or are a passenger in. Discounts on travel insurance, full service Travel Agency with discounts, group life insurance, all kinds of other benefits. Tell them you are going somewhere and they hand you 20 pounds of maps, travel brochures, hotel information, etc. Plus they have bricks-and-mortar locations everywhere ... you can renew your plates or drivers' license there, two minutes, done.
I think the most I ever waited was about 25 minutes. I am not sure it would matter in any case, as they just call the nearest tow company, which is the same thing anyone else would have to do.
I've never had to call for a tow in the US, but I have a friend who had to on the way somewhere near the Hoover Dam, and it was a hassle and expensive (like $200) and not very far distance either. On my 150mi tow they billed CAA less than that, although not much less. He wasn't a CAA/AAA member though, so no idea how that would change it down there.
I used to be a AAA Plus member, which is supposed to provide up to a 100 mile tow. Now my parents added me to their membership, but it's the standard one with a 5 mile tow included. That was adequate the last time I needed a tow, but I was stuck in San Francisco and just needed a tow to a nearby shop less than 2 miles away. Even if it was more than that I don't think the driver would have worried about it. And yes one can get a tow on any vehicle - even as a passenger. However, I wouldn't randomly let a stranger use my AAA membership and account for one tow on my record. There have been people who have been cut off from the towing services after using the service too often.
I really don't want to call in for roadside assistance for something I can do myself. Using a jump starter is actually pretty easy as long as the equipment is working. My issue last weekend was that my equipment was old and marginal, even though it had been charged as well as I could get it a couple of days earlier.
