But of course if a roadside repair was possible, AA or RAC are much more likely to be able to achieve it. IMHO that is what most people would prefer.
I can only give figures for the AA, some of their patrols fix more than 90% of their calls at the roadside.
Chris
You believe wrongly.
E34 was the 5-series BMW from 1988 to 1995. Engine size was from 1.8 up to the handbuilt 3.8 litre 340bhp used in the later ///M5.
More than you'll ever want to know about the E34 at
Always thought the E34 was the engine code, that's certainly what was relevant for buying bits for it. Seems like we had the M20 engine
Yup! Why do you think I got shot of it? Best ever mpg I got was 19mpg driving like a *nun*! Worst was ~5 to 7mpg back from Oxford to Melksham one night with 7 of us in it!
JB
Maybe so, but then I've never been recovered for anything that was fixable by the roadside anyway. The only one I thought might have been was the twin fanbelt on the 4Runner, and I changed my mind about that when I did the job!
Assuing a lifetime of nunnish driving it would set you back about £28k?
Round figures..
Awch!
See my other post, the majority of the time the driver doesn't know what the defect is. Annoying for those few drivers who do know for definite what is wrong, but unfortunately the operator cannot tell if you are right or wrong from the other end of a phone, and needs to send a mechanic out first to find out.
Does your companies insurance cover you to drive a truck other than in the course of your companies buisiness? Does your companies insurance cover you to drive a truck without the owners permission? (I'm assuming the driver who let you drive wasnt the owner) Somehow I doubt it
You didn't mention the front wheel drive bit, in that case the AA have every right to offer you a front suspended tow and refuse a flatbed. Your AA cover gets you home, it doesn't give you the right to choose the vehicle!
Not to mention the fact that lifting the front wheels off the ground when towing a front wheel drive auto is exactly the right thing to do.
Well I got towed home by the AA tonight after my oil pressure warning light wouldn't go out. The guy went well out of his way to diagnose the problem (I imagine those contracted out such as used by Green Flag wouldn't?). He undid the turbo bearing feed pipe and confirmed that there was plenty of oil pressure being generated, so concluded that the pressure switch itself had gone faulty - not really surprising considering I'd jetwashed the engine bay a short time ago.
He even tried removing the switch to test it, but lack of access and plummeting temperatures made him decide that a tow home was best! Still, if he's right then it'll only cost a few pounds to fix...
Darren
Why do you imagine that? Incidentally, the AA, RAC, and all the recovery firms, contract work out to private garages, and it is the very same mechanics who will attend you no matter what organisation you are with.
Not so in the majority of cases!
The AA use their own patrols except between about midnight and
6am. (It varies a bit by area). The vehicle they use are very well equipped especially to deal with breakdowns, and have the ability to perform electronic diagnosis. They also try to use their own recovery vehicles because it's cheaper.Patrols do not neccessarily come from a "mechanic" type background because the skills needed are different. Many excellent motor vehicle technicians (as "Newspeak" insists they be called!) have poor diagnostic skills. It is the ability to identify the cause of a fault that is important at a breakdown. If the cause requires a high level of technical expertise to cure, it is unlikely to be able to be fixed at the roadside.
Prospective patrols attend a one day assessment. About half of this day is spent attempting to diagnose a range of basic problems in a hands-on environment. Those successful attend a six week basic training course, followed by on-job training working with another patrol until deemed ready to go solo.
OTOH, Green Flag and similar organisations are basically call centres for local recovery services. The vehicle that attends will be equipped for recovery, not specifically for breakdown repair. In the majority of cases the "mechanic" will actually be just a recovery vehicle driver with no specific technical training. If the problem is more than a puncture or no fuel, you will just get recovered to the garage. Of course, this might be what many people would prefer, so there is room for both types of service.
It is definitely not the case that you will get the same "mechanics" no matter who you are with!
HTH
Chris
The AA use garage agents to help reduce waiting time during peak times and times of very high demand.
All patrols these days have to be time served mechanics, I will agree about diagnostic skills but understand that a garage will have people with diagnostic skills and fitters who work quickly to service cars and to carry out the repair that has been diagnosed for them.
Now that is news, tell us where they go for training as I think you will find that the AA training school has been sold, and that the field trainers have been reduced.
Not always the case.
Hence "...in the majority of cases". The percentage of calls that are responded to in this way is tiny, simply because of the costs involved and the generally poorer service to the customer.
Not according to my information ;-)
Tell me where, I've yet to find one! Patrols often strike up an arrangement with a local garage that they will always use for misfuels ect. These garages often ask patrols to diagnose faults on their customers cars!
I'm sorry, you seem to be describing a sort of motoring Utopia I've yet to find.
I think "outsourced" is the current preferred term. I never mentioned field trainers as I know that the trainee works with another patrol during his field training and assessment.
I'm not sure what you mean by "Not always the case".
It is *always* the case that an AA vehicle will be fully equipped to deal with a breakdown by the roadside, and manned by someone specifically trained to diagnose faults.
In the majority of cases that will not be true of some of the other organisations.
Chris
What do you base your knowledge of the AA patrols do you work as a patrol or for the AA, you stated that patrols use the recovery manual in this thread but as I understand it all patrols and recovery transporters use a laptop computer which has all the information they need.
Nope, we get jobs from the AA at all times of day.
As are ours.
The AA have dont have a great many trucks, most of their revcovery work is contracted out. All the difficult jobs are contracted out, they wont touch large vans, motorhomes, motorbikes or RTA's The RAC contract all their recovery work out.
No, the vehicle that atends will in the majority of case be a 'spec lift', specifically equiped for roadside repair, but with the capability of local towing if neccesary. If the vehicle needs towing any distance, then authorisation will be sought from the receovery organisation, before a recovery vehicle is sent out
Rubbish. We are expected to have the same percentage of jobs repaired at roadside as a AA employed mechanic.
Erm..... yes it is. Just out of interest where are you getting all these 'facts' from?
What do you base your knowledge of the AA patrols do you work as a
I have a close relative who works for the AA :-)
Sorry, I've re-read all my posts in this thread but missed seeing where I mentioned "recovery manual".
All *patrols* are equipped with a dedicated laptop that can interrogate many cars directly. It also has the ability to do quite sophisticated checks on charging circuits. The data in the manuals that used to be carried is now accessible from the laptop.
Recovery transporter driver are only trained in the skills needed to transport a vehicle and their vehicles are not equipped with diagnostic equipment.
HTH
Chris
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