Is AAA better than a credit card's roadside assistance?

"Don Bruder" > wrote in message
...
> 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.

Or drives reliable cars etc and knows how to
fix the basic stuff like a flat tyre themselves.

Rod Speed wrote:
>
>
> Or drives reliable cars etc and knows how to
> fix the basic stuff like a flat tyre themselves.
>
>

The most reliable cars can have problems ranging from broken fan
belts to ignition problems to electrical problems all f which require
outside help.
Also, I don't expect elderly or disabled drivers to fix a flat.


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On Wed, 25 May 2005 04:26:41 +1000, "Rod Speed" >
wrote:

>
>The Real Bev > wrote in
>message ...
>> SoCalMike wrote
>>> The Real Bev wrote
>
>>>> Possibly at $7/mile, according to a towtruck operator I chatted with.
>>>> AAA also gives you fairly significant discounts at a number of places.
>>>> And maps. I love maps. I got a closetful of 'em. Really.
>
>>> nice to have, and i used to have to get a new thomas bros
>>> guide yearly... but ive found mapsonus, google maps,
>>> mapquest, etc work pretty damn good almost all the time.
>
>> Functionally nice, but nothing beats a real paper map and a magnifying glass!
>
>Bull****. A decent GPS with mapping function leaves that for dead, dinosaur.

Until it gets dropped in the water or the batteries go dead.

Seems like there is an old saying - something about eggs and baskets -
that would apply.


>
>> Google maps are especially nice, but I wish the satellite photos provided
>> the same magnification as the original terraserver or globexplorer.
>
>Too many used those to perve at those nude sunbaking in their backyards.
>

On Wed, 25 May 2005 00:05:58 GMT, Don Bruder > wrote:

>
>Whooo! Generous! They've increased things. My "freshamn year", it was 3
>at 5 miles each, and the direction was "towards the nearest AAA-approved
>garage or back toward the towing company impound yard, and you pay the
>difference"


The AAA tow is good for 7 miles or to the tow company's impound lot,
regardless of mileage.

"Don Bruder" > wrote in message
...
> In article
> >,
> "ameijers" > wrote:
>
> > > wrote in message
> > ...
>(snip)
> 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.
>
Well. I'm glad it worked out for you. But 9 major road failures in less than
5 years? What do you <do> to your cars? I'm no sheltered newbie, and drove
my share of worn-out junk as a kid. But in 30-odd years of driving, I can
count on less than 2 hands the number of times my car came home on a hook. I
mean, we all have our bad days. (in my case, the Sunday before Memorial Day
in 97, when the same POS Taurus crapped out on me twice in six hours, two
non-related failures, 100+ miles from home.) Admittedly, I don't drive the
30k+ annual miles I used to, but roadside failures just aren't a big worry
for me any more. Which suits me just fine- freezing my ass off on the side
of a country two-laner at 0200 just ain't the amusing adventure it was at
18. I buy my rides a little higher on the food chain than I used to, but I
have yet to buy a car with less than 50k on the clock, so my vehicles are
all well into middle age. I keep the brakes, drivetrain, tires, radiator,
etc, well-maintained. I always carry enough cash for at least a local tow
and a motel room, plus plastic, so if it happens, it happens. I always have
a CB and/or cell, and my thumb, so as long as it isn't subzero out, I'm not
gonna die. A PITA, but not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

aem sends...

AAA is for the motorist - NOT for some agency promoting its own financial
services.

AAA has world wide co-operative assistance at the same "no charge" basis as in
the USA. I doubt that a bank has such connections.

Last November I was in MSP and locked the keys in my car. I telephoned AAA and
quoted my CAA card. The fellow was there quickly and the car was opened - no
charge. A pin was loosened and fell out of one of the doors when he tri3ed to
open one of the 240 Volvo's doors so that door would not open. When i returned
to Canada I took the car to the local CAA garage (where they repair/service
their fleet trucks). Two fellows opened that door. I took off the side panel and
in 10 minutes the door worked like new.

Try that with any bank!

In Australia I received all sorts of maps, trip ticks and even insurance! Mind
you I paid for the insurance BUT received an excellent rate.

Go with AAA for your motoring/travel stuff.. Use the bank for your financial
stuff.

Just my opinion.

Ken
Canada

Bob Ward > wrote in message
...
> Rod Speed > wrote
>> The Real Bev > wrote
>>> SoCalMike wrote
>>>> The Real Bev wrote

>>>>> Possibly at $7/mile, according to a towtruck operator I chatted with.
>>>>> AAA also gives you fairly significant discounts at a number of places.
>>>>> And maps. I love maps. I got a closetful of 'em. Really.

>>>> nice to have, and i used to have to get a new thomas bros
>>>> guide yearly... but ive found mapsonus, google maps,
>>>> mapquest, etc work pretty damn good almost all the time.

>>> Functionally nice, but nothing beats a real paper map and a magnifying
>>> glass!

>> Bull****. A decent GPS with mapping function leaves that for dead, dinosaur.

> Until it gets dropped in the water

Dont drop it in the water, stupid.

> or the batteries go dead.

Even someone as stupid as you should be able to
work out how to plug it into the car or have spare
batterys if you cant manage to work out how to do that.

> Seems like there is an old saying - something
> about eggs and baskets - that would apply.

Best get that seems machinery seen to then.

>>> Google maps are especially nice, but I wish the satellite photos provided
>>> the same magnification as the original terraserver or globexplorer.

>> Too many used those to perve at those nude sunbaking in their backyards.

George Grapman > wrote in message
. com...
> Rod Speed wrote

>> Or drives reliable cars etc and knows how to
>> fix the basic stuff like a flat tyre themselves.

> The most reliable cars can have problems ranging from broken fan belts to
> ignition problems to electrical problems all f which require outside help.

Wrong with the basics like fan belts where anyone with a clue
replaces them before they fail and carrys the most commonly
used spares like that and the tools required to replace them.

And while you certainly cant eliminate the possibility of a
failure in any car which needs outside help, paying that high
a fee per year for that isnt necessarily the most frugal way
to cover that sort of problem. The cellphone coverage is
generally rather better value in those circumstances.

Or just paying for the rare need for
outside assistance when that happens.

> Also, I don't expect elderly or disabled drivers to fix a flat.

Separate matter entirely. Obviously some cant fix a flat
and THOSE may find that the AAA service is worth having.
Tho even those dont necessarily have to use the relatively
expensive AAA service for that sort of problem that many
passers by would be happy to help them with etc.

Rod Speed wrote:
> George Grapman > wrote in message
> . com...
>
>>Rod Speed wrote
>
>
>>>Or drives reliable cars etc and knows how to
>>>fix the basic stuff like a flat tyre themselves.
>
>
>>The most reliable cars can have problems ranging from broken fan belts to
>>ignition problems to electrical problems all f which require outside help.
>
>
> Wrong with the basics like fan belts where anyone with a clue
> replaces them before they fail and carrys the most commonly
> used spares like that and the tools required to replace them.
>
> And while you certainly cant eliminate the possibility of a
> failure in any car which needs outside help, paying that high
> a fee per year for that isnt necessarily the most frugal way
> to cover that sort of problem. The cellphone coverage is
> generally rather better value in those circumstances.


Unfortunately most of those cell phone plans only can be accessed
from your cell phone. Out of a coverage area? Out of luck.
On the other hand AAA can be accessed from any phone and if the
police come by they can have their dispatcher get the info

>
> Or just paying for the rare need for
> outside assistance when that happens.
>
>
>> Also, I don't expect elderly or disabled drivers to fix a flat.
>
>
> Separate matter entirely. Obviously some cant fix a flat
> and THOSE may find that the AAA service is worth having.
> Tho even those dont necessarily have to use the relatively
> expensive AAA service for that sort of problem that many
> passers by would be happy to help them with etc.
>
>
If the right passerby happens along. If the wrong one comes.......


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George Grapman > wrote in message
m...
> Rod Speed wrote
>> George Grapman > wrote
>>> Rod Speed wrote

>>>> Or drives reliable cars etc and knows how to
>>>> fix the basic stuff like a flat tyre themselves.

>>> The most reliable cars can have problems ranging from broken fan belts to
>>> ignition problems to electrical problems all f which require outside help.

>> Wrong with the basics like fan belts where anyone with a clue
>> replaces them before they fail and carrys the most commonly
>> used spares like that and the tools required to replace them.

>> And while you certainly cant eliminate the possibility of a
>> failure in any car which needs outside help, paying that high
>> a fee per year for that isnt necessarily the most frugal way
>> to cover that sort of problem. The cellphone coverage is
>> generally rather better value in those circumstances.

> Unfortunately most of those cell phone plans only can be accessed from your
> cell phone. Out of a coverage area? Out of luck.

Some of us have enough of a clue to use
a cell plan where that doesnt happen.

> On the other hand AAA can be accessed from any phone

So can the very occasional use of a pay for service callout too.

> and if the police come by they can have their dispatcher get the info

>> Or just paying for the rare need for
>> outside assistance when that happens.

>>> Also, I don't expect elderly or disabled drivers to fix a flat.

>> Separate matter entirely. Obviously some cant fix a flat
>> and THOSE may find that the AAA service is worth having.
>> Tho even those dont necessarily have to use the relatively
>> expensive AAA service for that sort of problem that many
>> passers by would be happy to help them with etc.

> If the right passerby happens along. If the wrong one comes.......

Mindless paranoia. That last can happen
while waiting for the AAA to show up too.

And thats what the handgun is for anyway.