AAA Membership

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32wildbilly
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AAA Membership

Post by 32wildbilly » Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:51 pm

Good or not?
Never gonna make you cry...

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gnat
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Re: AAA Membership

Post by gnat » 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.

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32wildbilly
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Re: AAA Membership

Post by 32wildbilly » Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:52 pm

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.
Never gonna make you cry...

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gnat
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Re: AAA Membership

Post by gnat » Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:02 pm

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.

Kalashnikov
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Re: AAA Membership

Post by Kalashnikov » Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:06 pm

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.

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DTMiller
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Re: AAA Membership

Post by DTMiller » Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:23 pm

I pay like $10/year for roadside assistance through State farm and it includes the RV so I'm good.
2002 Guards Red Targa, Fister exhaust, H&R Sport Springs, semisolid motor mounts
1997 MX-5 track car
Friday at the Track, Chin Trackdays, SCCA WDCR Novice Classroom Instructor, SCDA, Audi Club Potomac, TrackDaze HPDE Instructor
June 16, 2017 Funland GoKart Champion (6:13 p.m. main event)
Willing to risk life for track time

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FRUNKenstein
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Re: AAA Membership

Post by FRUNKenstein » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:27 pm

Like DT, I have roadside assistance on my car insurance policy (USAA). Costs like $1 per month.
www.kansascityautomuseum.com
Current:
2002 996TT X50, Guards Red
1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
1988 BMW 325i Cabriolet, Alpin Weiss
1987 Bertone X1/9, Verde Chiaro
Gone but not forgotten: 1975 914 2.0, Laguna Blue; 1999 996 C4 Aerokit Black; 1990 964 C2 Guards Red; 2006 955S Arctic Silver

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Hatchetf15
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Re: AAA Membership

Post by Hatchetf15 » Sat Aug 24, 2019 6:45 am

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.

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5chn3ll
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Re: AAA Membership

Post by 5chn3ll » Mon Aug 26, 2019 12:55 pm

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.

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

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