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not sure this was mentioned already, but I think you are required to have AAA membership in order to be able to get their insurance. I've had AAA for home and auto for a while now and they've been great.
Yes, you are required to be an AAA member, but their insurance is the absolute best. I had HO & auto, & rates were great, even with a teen driver, also, fast, fair & efficient claim resolution. However, insurance isn't available in all states, like where I now reside.
Roadside assistance with USAA has saved me a bunch and it's just an extra few dollars a month. Towing, locking keys in cars, battery jump.... etc. Use it frequently.
I love having a AAA membership because I hate the DMV. I don't know about other states, but in Ca I can get most anything I need to do with DMV done at a AAA office which is a far more pleasant experience. The last time I went to dmv I needed to replace a lost drivers licence. I went with out an appointment, and the wait in line was five goddamn hours. I couldn't believe it. I've been towed once in all the years I've been a member, But avoiding the DMV is well worth the cost of membership.
I love having a AAA membership because I hate the DMV. I don't know about other states, but in Ca I can get most anything I need to do with DMV done at a AAA office which is a far more pleasant experience. The last time I went to dmv I needed to replace a lost drivers licence. I went with out an appointment, and the wait in line was five goddamn hours. I couldn't believe it. I've been towed once in all the years I've been a member, But avoiding the DMV is well worth the cost of membership.
No DMV services in Alaska AAA offices. But I've been to the DMV about four times this year and I'm in and out within 15 minutes or less each time. And AAA is very expensive in Alaska. I've been towed three times in 45 years and there is no way having AAA would have been worth it for me. It's like the $20,000 worth of extended warranties I've passed on over the years. My out of warranty repairs over the years amounted to about $300.
I always carry AAA. I'm in CA, and for the premium coverage, I pay $119/year, and that gives me 200 miles of free towing, and 4 free calls a year. It was more than my truck registration this year LOL, which was about $100. But, I always drive older, high mileage vehicles. I carry liability, comprehensive, and AAA and a cell phone. I also live in the boonies now, and if I need a tow, I want my truck towed to my mechanic - not just the closest garage.
Like someone else mentioned, calling AAA is also like getting a "free" mechanic to come do a house call. I've had AAA guys fix problems with my vehicles that were mechanical - not just provide me with gas or a battery or a tow. Once I kept having a dead battery problem, but they'd test the battery and it would be fine. One battery AAA guy noticed that my brake light was stuck on. I never noticed it because I rarely drive at night, but he caught it.
Another time, my shifter in my Corolla wouldn't shift. I called AAA to tow it to my mechanic, and the AAA guy got in the car to see if he could figure it out, and he showed me how I could bypass the shifter button, which wouldn't work, by pushing another button at the base of the shifter that would unlock the shifter. The mechanics reading this will know what I'm talking about. I didn't know about that option. So, he saved me from whatever my mechanic would have charged me. I just used that override button for several years until I sold the car. Worked just fine.
At any rate, OP, I know you just asked about towing. I think it's really worth it to pay for the premium package with the max towing you can get, so you can just have the vehicle towed to your mechanic. With my coverage, that's 200 miles. And, if you needed it towed much farther, and didn't want to pay the difference, you can break up the tow over your maximum calls. In other words, you can have it towed 200 miles every day, until your allowed calls are up. I get 4 calls a year. So, if I still had all 4 calls for the year, I could get it towed 800 miles over 4 days of 200 miles each.
I don't do much traveling or do other things where I would use the AAA discounts. But, it's still worth the peace of mind for me, and I do use it. I wouldn't want to deal with the other options out there. The service is better with AAA, and that's worth a little extra money to me.
Last time I had a flat on the highway, it took me all of 5 mins to bust out the jack and change the tire.
The one time I needed a tow, I was waiting 45-60 mins for them to show up.
Take it easy with the exaggeration nascar mike. It takes more than 5 minutes to change a tire unless you are in a truck that has a floor jack and an impact wrench.
i think if you drive aaa is priceless and getting the premier for a 200 mile tow will help in case anything bad happens. its just one of those insurance things, i don't use mine often. i will still pay for it because its the best out there BUT.....
i just had a terrible experience sunday morning. tried to get a tow and was told my membership was no good. differing stories. one person said i cancelled in october. i got transfered many times and kept asking for supervisors to see how i got a new membership on the phone last november with a different credit card. and my card says i'm good until the middle of november.
sometimes i got somebody telling me that they send out renewal cards with your bill to renew so you have the card already. yeah i get that. my current membership was set at a later date, new card due to their online system giving me a receipt after taking all my info and letting me renew but the charges fell off or something.
i used a tow in december 2015 and one after that. nobody could do simple math and tell me how i got those tows on a new membership i initiated in november 2015, it wasn't a renewal card.
they of course told me the system would cut me off during a short grace period and i couldn't have got those free tows.
yet their computer said i cancelled october 4th? they told me they had no ability to look up call logs and the transaction histories.
i spent hours on the phone, they even had me signup for a new membership and would push for an emergency tow from supervisors because of the situation because new accounts have a 48 hour freeze. again hours later and 2 hours before dark the supervisor calls me back and says they couldn't help me, the burden is on me and dealing with the billing department which wasn't open sundays.
luckily i was stuck in a parking lot with a bunch of stores but i kept complaining and getting transferred the whole time that i was 100 miles out of town and i couldn't leave the car where it was at.
i'm going to try and follow up with customer service but i'm sure they will brush me off. i don't trust them now. twice after making payments on the phone and being told i'm good i find out months later i'm not. and knowing they can't handle every situation in off days/hours really scares me.
I've had AAA membership for 5 years and used it only a couple of times. Last two times I had trouble. First they couldn't find an available (or more like willing) tow truck because of Seafair festival in our area. They said traffic was very bad that weekend so I had to leave the car there and they brought it the following week.
Just today AAA dispatcher refused to tow my car which was undrivable from running into a curb (control arm bent). She said since I wasn't in the car at the time of the accident (car was loaned out to a friend) my premium membership doesn't qualify for one of the 4 free tows a year.
Needles to say I won't be renewing it.
As anything else I am finding out self-reliance is the best decision.
I've had AAA membership for 5 years and used it only a couple of times. Last two times I had trouble. First they couldn't find an available (or more like willing) tow truck because of Seafair festival in our area. They said traffic was very bad that weekend so I had to leave the car there and they brought it the following week.
Just today AAA dispatcher refused to tow my car which was undrivable from running into a curb (control arm bent). She said since I wasn't in the car at the time of the accident (car was loaned out to a friend) my premium membership doesn't qualify for one of the 4 free tows a year.
Needles to say I won't be renewing it.
As anything else I am finding out self-reliance is the best decision.
If your friend was injured in the accident, would you have expected your health insurance to cover his injuries since he was driving your car?
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