Roadside Assistance?

[ZBB]

Any thoughts on Roadside Assistance? Any alternatives to AAA?

Now that I'm out of warranty on the Tesla, I no longer have roadside assistance. I have Tesla's extended warranty, but it doesn't include roadside (the only roadside coverage Tesla still provides is if the battery or drive unit die -- I have that until 8 years / 120k miles).

We're planning another road trip this summer -- 4k+ miles across 10 states/provinces. Having roadside avail to help with a flat tire or other issue is most likely not needed, but having coverage would be nice.

I've done some googling, but don't know which reviews to trust. This link gives some ratings http://roadside-assistance-services-review.toptenreviews.com -- basically their rankings show that either AAA or Good Sam are OK, but the others don't seem worth its (my employer used to own one of these -- and I audited that business back in '99; it was sold to another of the providers about 8-10 years ago...; lets just say I'm not surprised that it ranked middle of the pack).

Does anyone have experience with AAA or Good Sam? Good Sam is ~$69 per year and includes unlimited towing; AAA is $97/year + $15 one time enrollment for their "Plus" coverage (which includes 100 miles towing; their basic plan only includes 5 miles…). My stepdad used to get AAA for everyone in the family ~20 years ago -- but this is the first time in ~15+ years I've had an out-of-warranty car without included roadside assistance.

For our road trip, the only concerns I have are flat tires (no spare) and being out in the middle of nowhere where if a major issue happens, we may have to get the car towed to Tesla's nearest service center. I'm thinking it would be worth having a decent plan avail.

Appreciate all your thoughts...

[JST]

Apart form roadside assistance, why not pick up a spare before your trip?

[wdc330i]

I've had good experiences with AAA (Gold). Not only are they far more prompt and responsive than BMW's version, you also get significant travel discounts for hotels and car rentals. Not sure how their service is though outside of major cities.

[kognito]

AAA offers extend well past Good Sams. Have had them both, but won't bother with Good Sams again. We have Coachnet for the RV.

Good Sams is envolved in way too many things to prioritize road side service. It isn't what they do best.

AAA offers so many travel packages, as well as discounts

[bren]

I have AAA's truck and trailer service. Pretty sure my credit card & insurance companies offer some level of basic roadside assistance.

[Alan]

I've got AAA for the R8 and now since the Porsche is past it's time that car as well actually it's one membership I didn't read the rules but I think I am ok to use it for both cars ... Luckily I haven't used it but they have a good reputation and I wanted something reliable.

[kognito]

AAA is for you, doesn't matter how many cars you own. (don't know if this rule goes state by state) but I called them when my S4 became our third car

[equ]

I have AAA+ for myself (as I've had the e46 m3 for more than 3 years). Depending on what we do with the TDI, I may need to add C. to the plan, she is currently, narrowly covered under VW.

That said, I can't remember the last time I used roadside assistance.

C. has needed it many times over the last ten years (she does commute daily). A few times for leaving her lights on, once after crashing her Subie, once after the Subie's engine went and also last year VW to change a tire for her.

[bren]

I've got AAA for the R8 and now since the Porsche is past it's time that car as well actually it's one membership I didn't read the rules but I think I am ok to use it for both cars ... Luckily I haven't used it but they have a good reputation and I wanted something reliable.

AAA coverage follows you, doesn't even need to be your car. If you are stranded, they'll cover whatever as long as you are there.

[clyde]

I've had AAA for a million years and used my parents coverage when I was under 18, so it's been a while. When I got my own coverage, I think they wouldn't let you get the highest level of coverage riht away. Had to be a member for a couple years. :dunno: Kinda hard to remember, but it can matter. The highest level provides towing to the location of your choice up to a few hundred miles while the lowest level only provides a tow of a few miles or back to the tow provider's location. I think the specifics depend on state or region.

Between my wife, my parents, my brother and I over more than 30 years, it's been pretty helpful when we've needed it for car issues like tow service, dead batteries, flat tires, keys locked in car. Etc.

Some areas have extra free services like in California where they can do almost anything you need registration or title wise that would otherwise need a trip to DMV or a paid title service. My dad always loved their route planning service way back when and I loved flipping rough the TripTiks when I was kid, but that doesn't matter any more.

My wife and I find AAA discounts a few times a year that beat anything else available to us that probably save us a few hundred dollars a year.

[Sharp11]

Same here, we've had triple A it seems like forever.

We used to use it for "trip tiks" as well as roadside service and here in CT, you can renew your drivers license at at AAA center in lieu of motor vehicle. :)

[lip277]

I've had AAA since... 1980 when I was on my parents plan... Then on my own since 1988 after moving to Seattle. I've always had the highest level of membership - and not really had to use it much. I drive in some pretty 'out of the way' places, so... I feel better about having the most towing coverage I can.

AAA Classic - $ 56 / year, 5 miles
AAA Plus - $ 92 / year, 100 miles
AAA Premier - $ 124 / year, 200 miles

They have a nice little chart comparing the different levels of membership...
http://www.aaawa.com/membership/membership_types.asp

Have fun...

[3LOU5]

Let's see.

Iirc, we've called AAA about 5 times over the last 10 years since we've moved here, and in all those times, they were timely and professional. These instances ranged from a simple thing like locking the keys inside of the car, to something "major" like using a real flatbed truck to transport our vehicles (inoperative fuel pumps on both the BMW and Chevy, heavy vibrations due to a almost-broken u-joint on an Isuzu Trooper that I bought).

I think it's well worth the money and peace of mind having a good roadside assistance program like AAA.

:)

[ZBB]

Thanks everyone… I was leaning to AAA anyway…

My stepdad had us covered on his AAA account through college/grad school. But since then, I've always had a car covered by OEM or CPO warranties that included roadside. The Tesla is entering new territory for me -- I haven't had a car with more than ~45k miles on it since my '65 Landcruiser*. But I do have the extended warranty for the Tesla, but it doesn't include roadside, so I'll sign up for AAA this week.

*The Landcruiser was my first car. My dad bought it from the original owner in '79 -- and it had ~25k miles on it. The original owner used it for hunting trips a couple times a year. My dad gave it to me about 6 months after I turned 16. I had from '88-92 and my brother and I collectively took it from ~60k miles to about 92k. It was starting to become a maintenance nightmare -- $500 here, $500 there every couple months, so we decided to sell it. Looking at vintage Landcruiser values lately (over $80k for nicely restored ones… I wish I'd stuck with it).

JST -
I really think a spare is overkill… I'd also have to get a jack. I already carry a compressor and a bottle of slime, so AAA is really just insurance if we need a tow. That would be a major tire failure, an issue with the drivetrain, or running out of juice. We do have a couple stretches on this trip where we'll be hypermiling to make the next charger...

[ayn]

I've used the roadside assistance that comes with my AMEX platinum a few times and they were great. Doesn't cover a lot of tow mileage though, so if you're gonna make long trips you probably want AAA.


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[Pinecone]

We have had AAA as long as I can remember.

We have the Premium level, which allows for a tow to your choice of destinations within something like 100 or more miles.

We have had cars towed from downtown DC to Aberdeen. Prompt, efficient, and it works.

[ZBB]

I bought AAA a couple days ago -- went for the mid-level tier, which allows towing up to 100 miles. Their top-level allows one 200 mile tow per year (the rest at 100...), but I felt that would be overkill...