66 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk
THEINSURERS
ULTIMATE GUIDETO
BUYINGACAR
MEMBERSranktheAAfifth,agoodresultfor
theUK’slargestprovider.Theysaynoother
firmkeepsyoubetter-informed,whilebuying
coveriseasyandgoodvalueformoney.With
themajorityofbreakdownsbeingattended
towithinanhour,andalargeproportionof
faultspermanentlyfixedbytheroadside,AA
customersarehappy.Thefirmsaysitfixes
eightoutoftenvehiclesbytheroad,butour
readershavethispeggedat70percent.
5. AA 87.72% CATEGORIES RATINGS
“Iwaskeptinformedof
whentheengineerwould
arriveateverystage.When
hegotthere,heoffered
everypossibleservice;
Iwasveryimpressed.”
25 1
OWNER’S
VIEW
Arrived within an hour?65.6% Topresult of callout: Permanent fix44.8%
Ease of purchase
Keeping youinformed
Speed of recovery
Ability to fix the fault
Friendliness&helpfulness
General presentation
Value formoney
Yourtoprated
breakdownservices
Having help aphone call away when you’re stuck at the roadside offers peace
of mind to motorists. Youtell us which companies arebest if youbreak down
ITmaybealegalrequirement
totakeoutcarinsurance,
butthereisnosuchmandatefor
breakdowncover,whichisarguably
aformofinsuranceinitself.
Whileyoucouldbankonyour
carnotbreakingdowninthefirst
place,orjustsignupwithafirm
shouldthishappen,findinggood
coverisatime-consumingprocess,
andit’stoughtodowhenyou’re
strandedattheroadside.
However,evenifyoudoyour
homeworkandbuyinadvance,
thisisaproductthatisalltoo
oftenboughtandthenforgotten
about;ultimatelyyou’llonlyfind
outhowgoodtheserviceisifyou
havetocallonyourchosen
companyinyourhourofneed.
UnlessyoureadDriverPower,
thatis.We’veaskedthousands
ofreadersabouttheirexperiences
with25breakdownfirms,andthe
fivedetailedoverthesepages
representthebestofthebest.
Hugo Griffiths
[email protected]
@hugo_griffiths
BREAKDOWN PROVIDERS 25 to 6
Howlongdidittakethebreakdown
providertoarriveatyourvehicle?
Lessthan30minutes 17.7%
30minutestoonehour 43.2%
Onetotwohours26.6%
Twotothreehours8.2%
Morethan3hours4.3%
BREAKDOWNScanbedangerousand
unnerving,particularlyifyoucometoa
grindinghaltonasingle-carriagewayroad,
oramotorwaywithnohardshoulder.
Thesoonerabreakdowntruckgetsto
you,thebetter.Notonlywillthetechnician
hopefullygetyouonyourwayquickly, but
thepresenceofahighlyvisiblevanwith
flashingamberlightsshouldmakeyousafer.
It’sgoodnewsthatmostofyoureport
thatyourbreakdownfirmsarrivewithinthe
hourwhencalledupon,whilealmostafifth
sayaroadsidetechnicianarrivedwithinjust
30minutes.Thebadnewsisalmost40per
centofrespondentshadtowaitmorethan
anhour,whileafranklyunacceptableone
ineightwerestrandedfortwoormorehours.
25 2gether
24 Adrian Flux
23 24-7Home Rescue
22 Asda
21 First Call
20 Admiral
19 Autohome Assistance
18 Rescue My Car
17 AXA
16 Aviva
15 Churchill
14 Swinton
13 Saga
12 Breakdown Assist
11 Autonational Rescue
10 Direct Line
9Hastings Direct
8National Breakdown
7Start Rescue
6RAC
BREAKDOWN DATA
Reasonforchoosingprovider
Price48.7%
Goodserviceinthepast 19.6%
Usedtheminthepast 18.9%
Rangeofservices16.5%
Theyofferdiscountsfor
loyaltyornocall-outfees 7.7%
Recommendation 14.6%
Reputation 22.0%
Itcamefreewithanotherservice(e.g.bank/
creditcard,insurancepolicy) 12.4%
ItcamefreewhenIboughtthecar6.9%
Other 4.6%
PRICE,unsurprisingly,isamajormotivator
forchoosingaroadsiderescuecompany,
butmorethanhalfofallbuyersweredrawn
totheirfirmforanotherreason.
Almost40percentofcustomerssaida
previousexperiencewiththeircurrentrescue
firmpromptedtheirdecision,whileoverafifth
weredrawnbytheircompany’sreputation.
Mostdriverspayfortheircover,buta
canny19.3percentreceivedtheproduct
freeofchargewhenbuyinganewcar,orby
bankingwithaspecificfirm,forexample.
Resultofcallout
Iwastowedtoagarageofmychoice16.6%
Iwastowedtoagarage
ofthebreakdownprovider’schoice2.8%
Iwastowedtoalocationofmychoice8.1%
Theproblemwaspermanently
fixedandIcontinuedmyjourney 40.9%
Theproblemwastemporarily
fixedandIcontinuedmyjourney 27.8%
Theycouldn’thelpme 3.7%
MOREthantwothirdsofdriverswhosuffered
abreakdownsaidtheirrescuefirmwasable
togetthemmovingagain,eitherwitha
permanentfixoratemporarypatch.
Whilemostrepairswerepermanent,a
significantproportionweren’t,andwouldhave
requiredremedialworktobecarriedout.
Nonetheless,onaveragesevenoutof10
driverssaidtheyweregotmovingagainby
theirbreakdowncompany, whilethosewho
hadtobetowedawayfromtheroadside
werealmostalwaystakentoagarageora
locationoftheirchoice,ratherthanbeing
atthewhimofthebreakdowntechnician.