AAA -- Roadside Assistance Insurance Memberships (Hotel and Restaurant Discounts too!)
Written: Feb 24 '06
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Pros: worth the cost, a great insurance policy, customer service was superb, free maps!
Cons: seems expensive at first
The Bottom Line: AAA has provided me with great service in all of my experiences with them, and are a great automobile agency to work with.
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| three_ster's Full Review: AAA - Auto |
The American Automobile Association is something that just about everyone with a car has heard about. Most people know it as Triple-A, or AAA, because it is so widely accepted across the United States. AAA offers a membership that allows you to receive assistance if your automobile ever breaks down somewhere, or if you ever come across some other problem while out with your car. They are one of the best (if not the best) automobile assistance companies out there, and they strive to provide you with the best possible service. You can view the AAA Membership as an insurance policy against ever getting stuck somewhere. It comes into play most for people that travel a lot, and when the weather gets bad, you don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere without any assistance. With a simple phone call, any AAA member can get help sent to them within a very short amount of time.
AAA offers three different types of memberships to people that want to join up. First you have the Basic Membership, which offers free towing of up to 5 miles, with a small charge for anything past that, as well as all the benefits of being in AAA. I will get to the benefits after I explain the different memberships. The second type of membership is the Plus, which gives free towing for up to 100 miles as well as there extended services. The final type is the Plus RV, which applies to people driving RV's, motorcycles, larger pickup trucks and vans. In regards to pricing, the basic is $64 per year, the Plus is $96 per year, and the Plus RV is $126 per year. These are all reasonable prices in my opinion, because you never know when you are going to need some emergency assistance, and you are taking a big gamble if you don't have a number you can call when you get stuck.
There are many additional benefits that apply to anyone that is a member, and first I should point out that the membership applies to the person, not the vehicle. This means that if you are riding with someone else, and they have trouble, that you can use your card on that car. It doesn't matter what vehicle you use it on, and the company just keeps track of how often the person uses it. The uses of the service are nearly endless. You can call AAA for a flat tire, if your battery dies, if you lock your keys in the car, if you run out of gas, or even if you have wrecked in the snow. If you can come up with a reason to call AAA, they will send help to a member of an eligible vehicle. Also, members receive discounts at hotels, some restaurants, national parks, and many other businesses that make deals with AAA to accept their cards. If you are a member, you can also get free road maps and trip planning through your local offices, so that is just one more added benefit to going through the service.
That is about the summation of what AAA has to offer, so I should share what my experience with the company has been. I received a plus membership from my parents who were also members of AAA. They thought that my older car could eventually be facing problems (they were right), and they wanted to make sure I had a way to get help if I got stuck on the side of the road somewhere. Well for months I had no problems under the coverage, in fact it wasn't until the last month of coverage that I finally needed to call them. I hadn't locked my keys in the car, had trouble getting it started, or anything of the sort. Then while driving in the middle of nowhere, by breaks went out on me, and then locked up on my wheels. That left me with no way to get the car home, and this thing wasn't going to be driven anytime soon. I had completely forgotten about my AAA, until after I had called some friends who weren't home at the time.
I realized what I needed to do, and called AAA to have them send a tow truck to my location. It was a really quick phone tree, and I had a woman answer the phone right away. The lady on the line was very nice, and she took down my information about where I was stuck, and what type of car I was driving. It went pretty smoothly, and by providing my AAA number, I was given service quite quickly. It took less than 30 minutes for a tow truck to get to my location, and the man that showed up was very nice as well. He loaded up my little Subaru Justy on the back of the truck, and we were off down the road. We had a few idle conversations, and trust me they were needed on this road that has nothing to look at (hills and plains). He took the car all the way to my apartment complex where I wanted to slide it into a parking space for the time being, and had me sign a few forms about being satisfied with his service, and how far we had traveled.
The experience was painless to say the least, and never having had a car towed before, this was a whole new thing for me. The car was towed for over 25 miles, and he did so without blinking an eye. I didn't get charged for the distance the truck had to come, nor how far he had to tow my car, because I was covered under the Plus policy my parents had purchased for me. I didn't have to worry about anything financial at all, because the insurance policy against my car breaking down had paid off; even if it was in the last month. Having the AAA coverage really helped me out of a big jam, and it was so very easy to use. There was not a single negative thought about the experience, and it worked so well, that I have to highly recommend everything about the service. On a side note, if you are going across country and need road maps, the free maps alone could pay off the membership fee. Instead of buying them at a store yourself, you can just pick up a bunch of them at your local office. That is just another great benefit of the program. Through what they have to offer, and how well they worked with me in my time of need, I find myself highly recommending the AAA membership.
Recommended:
Yes
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