In article
>,
"ameijers" > wrote:

> > wrote in message
> ...
> > I'm wondering if it is worth it to buy a AAA membership for the roadside
> > assistance. I have a Citibank Mastercard, and they have something called
> > "MC ASSIST", which provides just about the same services that AAA
> offers --
> > jump-starts, towing, gas delivery, and tire changes (not sure if they
> offer
> > locksmithing).
> >
> > So has anyone ever relied on their credit card's roadside assistance? Is
> it
> > as good as AAA's? If my credit card's is as good as AAA's, then there's
> no
> > reason for me to pay an extra $60/year for a AAA membership.
> >
> Keep your car in good shape, carry a little cash+plastic, maybe a cell phone
> (even a 'dead' one from a garage sale) to call 911, and who needs an auto
> club? It's like an extended warranty on an appliance- what are the odds you
> will ever use it enough to counter the upfront cost?

The odds are <thinks a bit> Let's see... I've had the card for about 4-5
years now... I've used it to get the car dragged home after catastrphic
failure of some sort or otherwise "rescued" by an expensive ($60 and up
around here) towtruck call on at least 9 occasions I can think of - So I
guess that would be "9 to 1 in favor of needing it in my case. Last time
was the clutch-disk grenading due to a muffed downshift coming off the
freeway - Even *I* don't carry enough gear and materials to fix THAT "on
the side of the road" - which would have cost $170 to get it home if I
were paying for the tow. That *ONE* tow paid for close enough to three
years of having the card, even if I'd never used the thing again. But I
have and DO use it more than just that single tow. Ever have a frozen
lug combined with a flat tire and being out in the middle of BFE where
cell-phone reception is only a rumour, and not one that the locals put
much belief in? - As in "frozen enough your lug wrench splits"? It truly
sucks to have to call a towtruck to get it busted loose (by putting a
ten foot long cheater bar on the lug and then walking out to the end of
it and bouncing up and down several times before g3etting it to break
loose...) so you can finish changing a tire. But it sucks even more to
have to pay the towtruck driver $80 and change for coming to the rescue.
Thankfully, there was my AAA card again... Paying for another year worth
of having it. And the list could go on.

For my nickel, anybody who's too cheap to spring the 70-ish bucks to get
a AAA card is either an idiot, or has led such a sheltered automotive
"life" that words can't begin to describe it.

--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in the
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See <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> for full details.