I'm wondering if it is worth it to buy a AAA membership for the roadside
>assistance. I have a Citibank Mastercard, and they have something called
>"MC ASSIST", which provides just about the same services that AAA offers --
>jump-starts, towing, gas delivery, and tire changes (not sure if they offer
>locksmithing).
>
>So has anyone ever relied on their credit card's roadside assistance? Is it
>as good as AAA's? If my credit card's is as good as AAA's, then there's no
>reason for me to pay an extra $60/year for a AAA membership.
>
>Thanks.
Lets see here:
AAA has : free maps, 100 mile towing service for theb 80 bucks a year membership, free travel plans, many DMV services without the wait, battery jump worth 40 bucks, door locked service worth 40 bucks, cheap car insurance and discounts at major motels/hotels....ect..
On the evening of the 15th of July my van stopped for what turned out be a failed alternator. I called AAA (214) 528-7481 and described the situation. I told the woman that answered that it didn't look like it could be fixed and would have to be towed. She took the detailed direction of my car's location and said a tow truck would be sent with an arrival time of 30 minutes to one hour. Thirty minutes later I called, a new woman answered, and at my inquiry said that no tow truck had been sent and none could be sent, because I was in Plano, and they didn't have a person there. She then went on with a gratuitous monologue about how hot it was, and that a lot of cars were breaking down because of the heat and that I wouldn't be calling if it was sixteen degrees now, would I? I hung up in the middle of her next stupid sentence.
If you maintain tapes (and you should, if you don't) you'll find the rambling, nonsensical stupidity to be very upsetting. You can only imagine how upsetting I found it to be listening to gibberish in the middle of rush hour traffic.
I called my son to pick me up, then City Garage, the next morning, to pick up the car.
A copy of their bill for $53 towing is attached. I believe that AAA should reimburse me for this expense.
In five years with AAA-Texas I've called twice. The first time was handled well. This incident makes me rethink why I'm a member.
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AAA paid me the towing costs. Every year since, they have sent me a letter to rejoin and I have replied with the above letter. My letter does not do justice to the absolutely most stupid person I have ever talked to in my entire life. Seven years have gone by and I still hate AAA with a golden passion.
Consumer Reports rates them low because they pay their people and their contractors the lowest reimbursement.
They have no services, from maps, to travel, to towing, to battery jumping, to jimmying a locked car that can not be found quicker and cheaper elsewhere. I now carry a spare battery, tire inflators, air pump, laptop computer, with GPS, and plot my own maps, and a jimmy. I also have platinum Visa and Mastercards that both have towing services, as well as my insurance company. Anybody can get any discount that AAA says they offer. There is no reason to have AAA; they are a false sense of security. When you call they may, or may not, be there. You want to trust that?
Normally you don't call the AA direct but a call centre for your insurance company where they will want things like your policy number. On my classic car cover you get a little card with the information printed on that you can put in the glove box, on my non classics then the details and phone number are on one of the A4 documents.
Depends on if you bank with the same lot I do and I don't expect you want to post even that small clue here. I wonder if mine is the only one and thus a giveaway as to my bank?
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