Power steering leak.

Taking it to your home is one thing. Taking it 120 miles away to a garage you simply fancy, another.

They do! If you call them out whilst at home however, (or within a quarter of a mile from home), the conditions I've quoted apply. Whether the rules would be rigidly enforced would depend on a number of things. However, I'm willing to bet that *no* breakdown service would come to your home and transport a vehicle with a steering rack leak 120 miles to a garage of your choice!

If you break down on the road and a quick local repair is not possible, Relay will take you either to your intended destination or back home.

BTW, this is from Britannia's policy document:

Note "nearby" in 2.2, and "does not start" in 2.3!

Chris

Nope. They take it to any destination in the UK, you choose. Wouldn't be worth while me having the cover otherwise. Haven't had to claim for a while, but I broke down a few years back and had the car taken to my father's house 150 miles away where it was more convenient to work on it.

That's s*it then. The best place I can work on a car is at my fathers house. There's no way I'd ever want to go to a garage or my own home following a breakdown and I never have done.

A mate crashed a motorbike. We put the bike in my garage. 3 weeks later he left hospital and needed the bike home. I called Britannia from my address using my card and they transported the bike to his home. They didn't ask questions about starting or local garages, they just took it to his home (about 90 miles away). The didn't charge for recovery with AA (and RAC) would following an accident.

I can only assume the wording of the policy is just covering themselves from total piss takers but in practive Britannia and the RAC are very willing to help customers. I concede your AA point. AA are s*it and to be avoided.

I concede the policy wording doesn't match the service I seem to have been getting since 1990 but to sum up I pay the premium, and AFAIC that buys me transport of an undrivable vehicle from anywhere to anywhere and in practice I've never been yet been let down. Maybe I'm just charming?

I'd check up what the current situation is. I gave up my RAC membership after a bad experience. They are now a business pure and simple and have rules which are designed to give them maximum profit rather than good service to the motorist, as before.

I verbally confirm every year. If 'relay' cover doesn't take you wherever the hell you want to go there's simply no point in me having it since my own home or a garage are the last two places I'd want to take it!

Scrappie, Father's house, Scrappie near the Destination, Destination are the only four places I would ever want the car taken following a breakdown.

Agree. Britannia are currently the only large Breakdown serivce with T&C's which suit me. Charging for accident recovery is a bloody swizz.

Have you asked them if they'll take the car anywhere with you not accompanying it, other than to an approved local repairer?

I haven't ever asked that (For obvious reasons I'd always want to be with the car) but when I was a student I broke down driving from Sevenoaks to Reading. The car was towed to my Father's house (well over

To be honest I hadn't intended this to become a debate about car recovery insurance. I'm happy with the service I've had so far. If RAC and Britannia have been going beyond their contractual obligations to help me out then that's great, long may it continue.

About 10 years ago the RAC refused to do this for me - I was enroute to a business appointment when the car broke down (faulty alternator) and I asked them to take it to my home address so I could fix it myself later - but in the meantime make my own way to my appointment. They refused, but took it to my dealer which was slightly further away. And it cost me an arm and a leg to have fixed.

This would have been about the same time, but I don't recollect the company. I know they were based near Brooklands if that helps 'cos my car was dumped at a depot there before being delivered to my folk's house the following day.

Mind you they had the last laugh - all it was was a push rod misplaced so the rocker wasn't pushing it down. Easily done at the roadside and it would have saved me time, effort and two large train fares, and saved them two long tows and an hour's worth of their engineers time. Nice (rare) zero cost solution though!

The message from "toad" contains these words:

Oooh, which was the lesser of two evils? I grew up round Sevenoaks and regard it with a somewhat jaundiced eye.