Auto Express – July 30, 2019

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.