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AAA Membership

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:51 pm
by 32wildbilly
Good or not?

Re: AAA Membership

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:09 pm
by gnat
Keep the cars in mostly good working order so haven't had to use it much, but it's saved headaches and effort on my part when I have needed it. Over 10 years:

Jumped the 996 after work when no one still around had jumper cables (and neither did I).
Towed my last e30 to my body shop after it dumped it's coolant on the side of the road.
Towed my Escape back to the shop that worked on it after it caught fire driving home.
Jumped the 996 when the battery suddenly died in a parking lot.
Towed the 996 to the shop for it's undead battery incident.
Towed P!g to body shop after the wife gave it a bad nose job.

I think there have been one or two other similar events, but I can't remember for sure.

Most of the time I've been in a place where hanging around for an hour or so for the truck to arrive wasn't a big deal. The e30 (100+ degree day) and P!g (late at night at a bad intersection) events were not pleasant, but that was just a wait time issue.

Re: AAA Membership

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:52 pm
by 32wildbilly
gnat wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:09 pm Keep the cars in mostly good working order so haven't had to use it much, but it's saved headaches and effort on my part when I have needed it. Over 10 years:

Jumped the 996 after work when no one still around had jumper cables (and neither did I).
Towed my last e30 to my body shop after it dumped it's coolant on the side of the road.
Towed my Escape back to the shop that worked on it after it caught fire driving home.
Jumped the 996 when the battery suddenly died in a parking lot.
Towed the 996 to the shop for it's undead battery incident.
Towed P!g to body shop after the wife gave it a bad nose job.

I think there have been one or two other similar events, but I can't remember for sure.

Most of the time I've been in a place where hanging around for an hour or so for the truck to arrive wasn't a big deal. The e30 (100+ degree day) and P!g (late at night at a bad intersection) events were not pleasant, but that was just a wait time issue.
So you would recommend? It is fairly cheap.

Re: AAA Membership

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:02 pm
by gnat
Sorry. Thinking faster than typing again..

Yes I think it's been worthwhile. Just dollar wise I think they have made money on us, but between the cost of a tow and the frustration saved trying to quickly find a reputable tow is worth it for me. There are also AAA discounts just about everywhere that can help offset the price further, but we don't really bother chasing those.

I think we have one of the higher end plans that allows for 100mi tows since Porsche and BMW shops can be few and far between in some areas we are known to drive through.

Re: AAA Membership

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:06 pm
by Kalashnikov
I used the shit out of it with Mercedes, and two 100+ mile towings on Acura. Also, used twice as a drunk taxi, to tow the car and me home after getting tok drunk.

My membership is a massive money loser for them.

Re: AAA Membership

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:23 pm
by DTMiller
I pay like $10/year for roadside assistance through State farm and it includes the RV so I'm good.

Re: AAA Membership

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:27 pm
by FRUNKenstein
Like DT, I have roadside assistance on my car insurance policy (USAA). Costs like $1 per month.

Re: AAA Membership

Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 6:45 am
by Hatchetf15
I use AAA, even though all my policies are with USAA, for several reasons: 1) AAA covers you, while USAA covers policy vehicles. 2) AAA tow response times have been reported as significantly better nationwide. 3) 200 mile tow range (premier) once per year, 100 mile range any time. 4) All the paper maps me and my kids can want!

The $16 a month (for me and wifey) is worth it to me for peace of mind. I live in TN and good P-car repair shops are few and far between (>20 miles). If I lived in CA, PA, GA, FL or NY metro I might find USAA good to go. I know when my wife locks her keys in a car, AAA will get someone to her in a timely manner and I don’t worry as much. Same with flats or accidents. USAA Roadside Assistance may do for you, but, unless you call a USAA rep, good luck getting decent info and answers about the program from the website.

Re: AAA Membership

Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2019 12:55 pm
by 5chn3ll
The two cars I use for daily drivers have a combined age of 43 years - so I keep my membership paid up.

I haven't needed a tow in years, but I will need one the day after I let it lapse.