Halfords Breakdown cover...is it a good deal?

[shirubaby]

Has anyone cosidered Halfords breakdown cover?

They seem like a very good deal to me. I wonder what the catch is.

£59.99 for a package that includes

roadside assistance

Roadside Repairs

Local recovery at point of breakdown anywhere in the UK to nearest suitable garage

National recovery to onward destination or home anywhere in the UK

Assistance at your Home

Cost of alternative transport from scene to one destination

Cost of one night accomodation

Car hire for 48 hours

...well they are not the AA (my current company for which I pay £99 for roadside and relay only) but how bad can they be?

Opinions please.
Shiru

 

[mlc]

Has anyone cosidered Halfords breakdown cover?

...well they are not the AA (my current company for which I pay £99 for roadside and relay only) but how bad can they be?

Opinions please.
Shiru

How bad can they be is the question.

It looks to me that the Halfords service is provided by Green Flag, cant be sure but the two websites describe the same service I think.

When you need to use a breakdown service their are only two important things to worry about, how quick will they arrive and whats the chances of them fixing the car. Regardless of all the hype only two organisations are capable of performing well on both of these criteria, and thats the AA and RAC. As an ex employee of the AA I would suggest that you stick with them, I do, they are the best. God willing you wouldn't need to use the service but it their if its needed it.

Mark.

 

[jberks]

Ressurecting this thread, I'm looking at cover. I have a couple of reservations with the 'insurance backed' ones as against RAC and the AA.
There seems to be a few potentially nasty clauses that make me uncomfortable. They cover the car, not you, they only pay for 1 hour labour, so you're against the clock (and I suspect there is quite an incentive for the chap to take >1 hour!)and they don't cover for running out of fuel, keys locked in the car, lost keys or broken glass.
On the one side, they are £40 cheaper, but on the other, if I do need them, I can do without any nasty surprises.
Also, with modern motors, what exactly can a roadside mechanic do? Most breakdowns are going to be either flat batteries or tyres (for the mrs) Anything else is going to be electronics these days and not repairable at the roadside anyway. Whether AA/RAC are going to be any better at these than a normal mechanic with a breakdown truck, I don't know, but I figure recovery is essential as I don't want them towing the merc or jeep to a 'nearby garage' who will either bugger it up completely, rip me off or both. If they can't get them running, they are going to my local indie who I can trust!

 

[mioba]

Wouldnt it be better to obtain roadside assistance with your car insurance, Many are at it now it seems to be more comprehensive than whats offerd my halfords.

 

[mlc]

I still stick by my earlier comments. if you compare the cost of AA/RAC membership against the total running cost of the car over the year its small. Why not take the best? I agree that lots of things cant be fixed at the roadside, but you would be suprised how capable these guys are, not least because they have the 24/7 technical support to call on, their business is all about getting you on your way not getting you to their garage and onto chargable time. The AA/ RAC still have the best fix rates.

Cover included with motor insurance doesnt work for most people, I want cover for my wife and I plus the kids in whatever we are driving - even a company pool car. In the main the insurance companies just want to cover you for the one car.

Mark.

 

[television]

When my SAAB gearbox failed in Watford, The RAC took the car and me to Exeter (180 miles) then dropped me off back home in Lyme Regis, Also the fact that it covers me in any car, I will stick with them:

Malcolm

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I might be biast but my experience is as follows:

I was with the AA for some years and only had to call them out once. That experience was not quite as I expected due to the fact that AA pastrols work in designated areas. That means that if you are being relayed, as I was, from Yorkshire to Leicester, you will be taken to the edge of that regions area and left for another breakdown vehicle to collect (in my case about 2 hrs).

Needless to say I am now with the RAC who don't indulge in this silly practice.

As regards insurance covered schemes, yes they only do cover the car but in my case the cover is very comprehensive and is with the RAC. The RAC allowed me to suspend my cover while I'm with this insurer (M&S insurance), so I'm quite pleased with the situation. Our other car is with the same insurer so everybody iin the family is covered.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

There is a neat little item if you use an annual travel insurance policy. I have one which covers me against breakdown and covers passengers for hotel/get you home etc. This means cover against breakdown, accident as well. I am not sure about things like running out of fuel or locking keys in but touch wood I manage to avoid both. This may not cover you at home but I have found the annual cost of breakdown cover is about the equivalent of a call out charge for a private one. With the Peugeot I still have access to the manufacturer's breakdown service, I just pay for it if I use it.

As a footnote I found many years ago, when someone else locked my keys in, I rang a garage and asked what was the cost of call out. Savage...so I asked for cost of replacement small fly window....peanuts. They put the window on hold and so I popped the glass, took me about 15 minutes to put the replacement in. So, maybe its a case of keep a replacement fly window somewhere or ring for a replacement and then just pop the glass. It's a lot quicker than waiting for a breakdown service.

 

[Blobcat]

Wouldnt it be better to obtain roadside assistance with your car insurance, Many are at it now it seems to be more comprehensive than whats offerd my halfords.

Had some experience of insurance backed breakdown cover recently. A young lady knocked at our door asking if I knew anything about cars. Her Nissan had made an awful noise coming up the hill by our house. The water pump belt had split and the noise was it hitting the bonnet. Anyway she had insurance breakdown cover so called and spent over an hour on the phone. When the truck arrived the driver said that the insurance only paid to take the car to the closest garage. If she wanted to be taken home (60 odd miles) it would cost £196. This she could not afford so had the car taken to the local garage and then had to find a B&B for the night. Not the kind of experience I would want for my wife or myself for that matter.
My experience with Mobil Life had the car on a flat bed in an hour and us in a hire car. This was on the way to Heathrow airport so not the best of times for my new (to me) MB to break down. Oh how my wife laughed.

 

[Blobcat]

I might be biast but my experience is as follows:

I was with the AA for some years and only had to call them out once. That experience was not quite as I expected due to the fact that AA pastrols work in designated areas. That means that if you are being relayed, as I was, from Yorkshire to Leicester, you will be taken to the edge of that regions area and left for another breakdown vehicle to collect (in my case about 2 hrs).

Needless to say I am now with the RAC who don't indulge in this silly practice.

Don't know if that is still current, when my Ducati's electrics failed (don't blame Ducati, blame the alarm installer) in the lake district, due to riding through torrential rain. The AA transported the bike the 280 miles back home in one run. I really felt for the AA man as he then had to drive home again.

 

[television]

A young lady knocked at our door asking if I knew anything about cars. QUOTE]

If a nice young lady knocks on my door, I would not have sent her away

Malcolm

 

[Blobcat]

If a nice young lady knocks on my door, I would not have sent her away

Malcolm

'WE' didn't she was actually at our house for 5 hrs waiting for approval from the insurance company and the breakdown truck.