We have just got back from a 2 week trip to South France and Spain. We left the UK in a '96 Discovery 300 to escape a local game of golf that seemed to be attracting some interest. I think it must have been the cam belt that failed when we were just south of Paris travelling at 70mph when there was a bang, clattering and copious amounts of smoke :-( Particularly frustrating having just paid for a major service and a new set of tyres - not to mention a full tank of diesel!
AA International recovery is the best £60 I ever spent! I phoned from the hard shoulder of the A77 on a Sunday evening and a tow truck arrived in just over half an hour. We were towed to a garage, taxied to a "local" hotel 50Km away, and were back on the road in a brand new Renault Espace the next morning after transferring all our luggage including bunk beds and 2 mattresses flat packed on the roof rack. We had the Espace for 2 weeks and nearly 3000 Km. As 3 of our party of 6 flew home from Girona in Spain as planned, we swapped it for a UK registered Laguna estate at midnight before checking into a hotel in Calais for the ferry and final leg home the following day. Other than fuel costs (which was considerably less than the Disco), drinks in the hotel, and a tip for the taxi driver, we have not had to pay a penny. We didn't get the chance for a day's off-roading in the Pyrenees mountains as planned, but we did get air-con all the way, a steering wheel on the correct side of the car, and the Discovery should, I hope, live to fight another day. Without this insurance it would have cost us many thousands of pounds, a destroyed holiday for 6 people, and most significantly, at least 12 months of cold shoulder and total silence treatment from my wife. (Mmm.... now there's a thought...)
I was a RAC member of 10 continuous years and I am usually the first in the queue to criticise and complain about the AA on principal. I only took their insurance because they were easier to deal with and cheaper than anyone else including the RAC, but I have to hand it to them, the AA were excellent, and although it pains me to do so, I have to HIGHLY recommend their service, with reservation, as I am yet to get the Discovery back (or the quote for the cost of repairs....). They did make one or two minor mistakes such as an incorrect ferry crossing date and vehicle exchange details on a confirmation fax but these were quickly corrected when I pointed them out. I was certainly not an easy situation for them to have to deal with, what with 6 passengers and their luggage, construction tools, and a house full of furniture on board, the distances I was travelling, and the fact that I was un-contactable for most of the time I was away (11 messages from them on my mobile when I got within signal range). But, with my experience with their service so far, I am confident that my Disco will arrive on the back of a truck in the next few days.
Thank you AA, I shall be renewing my membership next year- despite you probably not wanting me to.
(I Just thought I would share this with the forum - I hope nobody minds.) I am not an agent, employee or have any other interest in the AA other than ordinary membership.