Hi,

Anyone have any recommendations for breakdown cover, i have a few trips to France this year and am looking for decent cover.

Thanks

Kev

I have used Autoaid rescue europeoncover cover, good price

Always use the AA I've had first hand experience of using them in France and they were excellent from start to finish

In reply to Post #1
Green Flag

Ford Assistance Abroad (Europe)
A vehicle can stay in Europe for up to 90 days and be covered for that period. Customers can go back to the UK and travel again to be covered for another 90 days.

Any good Kev 👍

In reply to Post #5
Sounds good Phil, ive got 3 trips this year so want to make sure im covered.


I dont want to drive all the way to limoges with a slow puncture again

In reply to Post #6
Christ Kev I remember 😂

Not got anything booked this year the new bailiff has got his friends in there

Will see if I can get a spot next door 😉 if I get a week off

In reply to Post #4
I would be interested to hear why you recommend Green Flag.

I broke down 40 kms from Calais last Friday afternoon. Green Flag were worse than useless. I ended up telling them to f@ck off and I sorted the repatriation of my car and trailer myself. We got home on Monday afternoon. Could have been Sunday but the French garage wouldn't open for 20 mins so we could get the car and trailer out.

Green Flag wanted me to leave the car in France for diagnostics before they would repatriate it or try and get it repaired over there. They wanted us to fly home and then I would go back God knows when to get my car back. "And what about my trailer with 4 peoples gear inside?" No response.

Some of their suggestions included "We can drop you at Calais". And then what do I do? I've never known anything like it. Classic insurance company crap where you have a problem and you find the cover isn't quite what you thought it was.

I was about to start a thread like this myself!

Thank you for the heads up on green flag. as i took our an annual breakdown policy out with them as i travel down to Spain 2 or 3 times a year plus the yearly French trip. i haven't needed them yet but your experience has sent alarm bells ringing. as like you, on my next fishing trip in June there will 3 of us plus all our kit. so i will now have a look around for an alternative. my only experience of European breakdowns previously i had RAC European cover and when i had a drama in Spain they were excellent. i only chose Green flag this time around as they are quite cheap.

If you drive a Mercedes as long as you get a service from them you get full European and over here break down insurance

Not sure this applies to vans/commercial vehicles but it does for my car 👍

Might be worth checking with your car dealership if this is the case with your particular motor

In reply to Post #10
Never thought of that. i will check with my mercedes dealer. Good call

In reply to Post #8
Thanks for the heads up, I won't be getting a policy with them again then!

As they are one of the 'bigguns' here in the UK, you would have thought they would be reliable both home and abroad.

I have purchased both Citreons and Vauxhall/Opel purely on the basis that if I needed parts in France, they could be sourced easier.

In reply to Post #8
You only get experience when something goes wrong and I've learned a lot over the last few days. If you want to get breakdown recovery with the AA, for example, I would ring them. You then ask what you get cover for, then you ask them what their protocol is for a breakdown. They should then tell you what their criteria are for getting your vehicle repatriated. If the answer is we immediately send a vehicle and instantly tow you home, then bingo. Green Flag, for example, should tell you they have 3 options for recovery and, trust me, they are all absolute nonsense. I'd do the same with the RAC.

We are now getting the same crap with holiday insurance. We all have cover for "holiday curtailment" where if you have to cut your holiday short then you have cover. One of my friends rang his insurer to give them the heads up he would be making a claim. He told them our story including the fact we tried to get another vehicle with a tow bar so we could continue to our venue but it was impossible so we had to return home. The insurer told him he wasn't covered because it wasn't holiday curtailment but holiday abandonment. You couldn't make it up.

In reply to Post #1
If you are taking a hire van check that it is covered on the European breakdown
Green flag do not cover hire vehicles
Tried to book last year and found it in the small print
Rang them and they confirmed this
Went with rac over aa as it was a lot easier to book
The aa was cheaper if you already had cover with them but you need a lot of patience to book

In reply to Post #13
"The insurer told him he wasn't covered because it wasn't holiday curtailment but holiday abandonment. You couldn't make it up."
That's crazy, but I am not surprised, they're a bunch of scum bags.
Could he now call them back up again and say he was just seeing what they'd say...but actually some holiday WAS had...and he can provide a photo or two (fish?) to prove it?
Play the lying feckers at their own game.
Even getting in the car to go on holiday and making the trip IS a part of the holiday (even if not the best bit)
What company was it so I can be sure to avoid...