I already have State Farm coverage which includes towing coverage. I already have google maps & waze which can give me travel planning.
I am planning a 1,200 mile (c.19 hours of driving) road trip in the near future. This will involve a few nights of staying in a hotel.
“Battery boost, testing, and replacement” is intriguing as my Prius apparently may need a new battery which runs in the thousands of dollars. I doubt that this will cover that, but, as I said, it’s intriguing in that it may still be helpful.
What say, you, GoA? Is it worth the hassle to sign up for something that they’re giving away for free?
My 2 cents, check the towing distances of both coverages. IIRC my insurance only towed 25 miles which is fine in the city but on the highway when the next exit is 15+ miles away it might not help that much.
Not every insurer provides that coverage for free (although most provide it for less than AAA).
There’s also a potential difference in response times when you do put out the call (in some places, the AAA provider network can be robust while the insurer network might be sparse).
If you pay for the super-deluxe membership, AAA towing coverage goes up to 200 miles, and I think coverage is per-member, rather than being tied to specific vehicles.
Pre-internet/pre-smartphones, the maps / tourbooks / travel planning services were great, but times have changed.
Lots of places have AAA discounts, although they become redundant if/when you join the AARP cult.
I have AAA, and have thought about canceling it for the less-expensive (but not free) coverage from my insurer…but I’ve done 100+ mile tows before, and my wife (who doesn’t drive) has done a couple of roadside assistance calls when a passenger in others’ cars. A few extra bucks for service I know is worth gambling on the unknown alternative, for me at least.
We’ve had AAA for the last couple of years. It seems worth it to me. One of the benefits is that if you are traveling in a car that isn’t yours and it breaks down or gets a flat, AAA will come and help you out just like it was your car. That piece of mind makes me feel better that my daughter won’t be stranded. I’d have to go back and confirm, but the AAA discount for hotels saved me more than I paid to join.
I had AAA for years because my mother worked for them. I abused it frequently as a teen because I had a shitbox older than me and it broke down often for various maintenance reasons. Once the gas gauge stopped working and I didn’t notice and ran out of gas, they drove me like a gallon or two, once my spouse locked the keys in their car and they handled it. (That was around the end of the free AAA, I wasn’t a married teen.)
They were always quick and professional. I don’t know if AAA pays a premium to them but they gave me minimal sass for the idiotic reasons I needed them.
Personally I wouldn’t pay for it, but it’s a personal choice. Especially now that I have a (I hope) reliable vehicle - the only thing I can think I’d need it for is a flat tire or an accident, and I haven’t had an accident in about a decade.
If you missed the renewal and end up with 1 year of it after 1 year free, that’s not the worst thing ever.
Flat tires are becoming a bigger deal, many modern cars don’t have a spare tire. Mine included, I had a flat last year and it was $220 for a 40 mile tow. Maybe I should take a look at AAA.
Son totaled 2 cars, both his fault, both need towing, both fortunately no injuries.
Daughter was T-boned by new driver who went though stop sign. No injuries. Car needed towing, we assumed it was totaled due to age of vehicle but surprising they fixed it and returned. Turned out to be one of the cars son later totaled.
I got hit as a stop light gut a guy not paying attention who too turn way to fast and way too wide. Again no injures, a surprising recurring theme. Had St. Farm send their “road side assistance” since I was making claim anyway. After 2 hours and 3 return call to St. Farm asking where the fuck their tow truck was I called AAA who arrived in 15 minutes.
Another time I had a battery total die, they came and tried to jump first but it was dead… Needed it towed to the shop since it was after hours for new battery.
The last time I recall using them was when I locked my keys in the car at of all places a AAA where I was having them change the registration on the car, which is a lot easier than going down to the DMV, at least where I live.
So AAA has been good for us. But maybe we’re just unusual.
AAA has helped us a few times, when our battery died they installed a new one for around $150 - not a bad price. They offer a tow of up to 10 miles for drivers who are drunk, though fortunately not a service I needed.
