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With my newest car being 10 years old and my oldest 30, since I do not have any active plans to buy anything else, I have decided this is probably a good time to buy a towing policy (AAA Membership). I want to get at least 200 miles coverage and this option (3-in red below) seems to be the most appropriate.
I have a question and an observation (pet peeve* about the wording of the Option 3 statement (ignore this section if you like)).
Question. I already called my car insurance agent; they will reimburse up to $60 for a tow. I believe just a hook-up fee is about $60. So, insurance company towing is out.
I thought that Costco provided a similar service - but they do not.
Is there anyone other than AAA who I might have overlooked - that provides membership towing?
When your vehicle cannot be safely driven after attempting any of the listed emergency services herein, you will be given three (3) towing options:
Option 1: You may be towed to a AAA Carolinas owned and operated AAA Car Care facility, within 10 miles, or to the AAA contractor’s station that responded to your call at no charge. When a AAA Contracted Road Service Provider tows a member back to their location and the car is towed away from the Road Service Provider’s facility, over mileage for the original tow and storage fees may apply. If service is not performed at the AAA Car Care facility and vehicle is towed to another location, over-mileage costs will be incurred.
Option 2: You may be towed to a destination you select within the first three (3) miles of the disablement (at no charge). Plus and Plus/RV Members receive up to 100 miles free towing. Premier and Premier/RV Members receive one 200 mile tow a year with each additional tow covered up to 100 miles.
Option 3: You may be towed to a destination you select that is beyond the mileage coverage for your service level at the rate of $4.00 per mile. (Basic up to 3 miles, Plus & Plus/RV up to 100 miles, and Premier & Premier/RV up to 200 miles once, and 100 miles for all other calls).
*My pet peeve:
Reading the above section in red, it seems to me that it literally says that if you go beyond the mileage coverage limit, they will change you $4.00 per mile for the entire length of the tow. I KNOW THAT IS NOT WHAT THEY INTENDED TO SAY, but that is how I read that sentence. Am I wrong about that?
I called them to make sure that what they meant to say is that they will change $4.00 per mile for all miles beyond the service limit. I know I am not a great writer myself, but isn't this really bad writing for a corporate entity? After all, isn't this part of a contract?
With my newest car being 10 years old and my oldest 30, since I do not have any active plans to buy anything else, I have decided this is probably a good time to buy a towing policy (AAA Membership). I want to get at least 200 miles coverage and this option (3-in red below) seems to be the most appropriate.
I have a question and an observation (pet peeve* about the wording of the Option 3 statement (ignore this section if you like)).
Question. I already called my car insurance agent; they will reimburse up to $60 for a tow. I believe just a hook-up fee is about $60. So, insurance company towing is out.
I thought that Costco provided a similar service - but they do not.
Is there anyone other than AAA who I might have overlooked - that provides membership towing?
When your vehicle cannot be safely driven after attempting any of the listed emergency services herein, you will be given three (3) towing options:
Option 1: You may be towed to a AAA Carolinas owned and operated AAA Car Care facility, within 10 miles, or to the AAA contractor’s station that responded to your call at no charge. When a AAA Contracted Road Service Provider tows a member back to their location and the car is towed away from the Road Service Provider’s facility, over mileage for the original tow and storage fees may apply. If service is not performed at the AAA Car Care facility and vehicle is towed to another location, over-mileage costs will be incurred.
Option 2: You may be towed to a destination you select within the first three (3) miles of the disablement (at no charge). Plus and Plus/RV Members receive up to 100 miles free towing. Premier and Premier/RV Members receive one 200 mile tow a year with each additional tow covered up to 100 miles.
Option 3: You may be towed to a destination you select that is beyond the mileage coverage for your service level at the rate of $4.00 per mile. (Basic up to 3 miles, Plus & Plus/RV up to 100 miles, and Premier & Premier/RV up to 200 miles once, and 100 miles for all other calls).
*My pet peeve:
Reading the above section in red, it seems to me that it literally says that if you go beyond the mileage coverage limit, they will change you $4.00 per mile for the entire length of the tow. I KNOW THAT IS NOT WHAT THEY INTENDED TO SAY, but that is how I read that sentence. Am I wrong about that?
I called them to make sure that what they meant to say is that they will change $4.00 per mile for all miles beyond the service limit. I know I am not a great writer myself, but isn't this really bad writing for a corporate entity? After all, isn't this part of a contract?
I didn't understand it the way you did. I understood it 4 dollars per mile beyond the normally included amount of miles. This is why they included the amount of included miles depending on your membership.
With my newest car being 10 years old and my oldest 30, since I do not have any active plans to buy anything else, I have decided this is probably a good time to buy a towing policy (AAA Membership). I want to get at least 200 miles coverage and this option (3-in red below) seems to be the most appropriate.
I have a question and an observation (pet peeve* about the wording of the Option 3 statement (ignore this section if you like)).
Question. I already called my car insurance agent; they will reimburse up to $60 for a tow. I believe just a hook-up fee is about $60. So, insurance company towing is out.
I thought that Costco provided a similar service - but they do not.
Is there anyone other than AAA who I might have overlooked - that provides membership towing?
When your vehicle cannot be safely driven after attempting any of the listed emergency services herein, you will be given three (3) towing options:
Option 1: You may be towed to a AAA Carolinas owned and operated AAA Car Care facility, within 10 miles, or to the AAA contractor’s station that responded to your call at no charge. When a AAA Contracted Road Service Provider tows a member back to their location and the car is towed away from the Road Service Provider’s facility, over mileage for the original tow and storage fees may apply. If service is not performed at the AAA Car Care facility and vehicle is towed to another location, over-mileage costs will be incurred.
Option 2: You may be towed to a destination you select within the first three (3) miles of the disablement (at no charge). Plus and Plus/RV Members receive up to 100 miles free towing. Premier and Premier/RV Members receive one 200 mile tow a year with each additional tow covered up to 100 miles.
Option 3: You may be towed to a destination you select that is beyond the mileage coverage for your service level at the rate of $4.00 per mile. (Basic up to 3 miles, Plus & Plus/RV up to 100 miles, and Premier & Premier/RV up to 200 miles once, and 100 miles for all other calls).
*My pet peeve:
Reading the above section in red, it seems to me that it literally says that if you go beyond the mileage coverage limit, they will change you $4.00 per mile for the entire length of the tow. I KNOW THAT IS NOT WHAT THEY INTENDED TO SAY, but that is how I read that sentence. Am I wrong about that?
I called them to make sure that what they meant to say is that they will change $4.00 per mile for all miles beyond the service limit. I know I am not a great writer myself, but isn't this really bad writing for a corporate entity? After all, isn't this part of a contract?
Anyone who's had AAA Plus will tell you they start charging for the miles that accumulate OVER the 100-mile limit. My parents needed to have their car towed from Keene in the Adirondacks several years ago when they hit a deer. They have AAA Plus, and the total distance was 104 miles. The tow truck driver didn't charge them for the extra 4 miles, probably because they had had to stay overnight at a motel before the tow truck driver could get up there.
I also didn't read it the way you did. In fact, I had to go reread it a couple of times to try and see how you read it.
I did use them once, and they charged me $4/mile beyond the initial 3 miles.
I actually signed up for AAA on the spot, paid the $30 to activate it then, and paid for the excess charge on the tow, and it was still much cheaper than hiring a tow truck to drive me home. I didn't renew AAA when it expired. I'll just sign up on the spot again if I need a tow.
My auto insurance includes free roadside assistance including towing even though I only have a liability policy. Check and see if yours does before buying AAA. I used it recently to tow my truck into town and it was free.
I write, read, negotiate and litigate over contracts for a living. This is miles away form the worst drafting you will see from a big corporation, in fact, it is not that horribly ambiguous. It is not even contradictory, it is just somewhat unclear.
When I read it years ago because we needed to two a car 110 miles, I believed it to mean we only had to pay the difference. The alternate interpretation never occurred to me at the time.
If they were to take that to court, they would likely lose. To the extent it can be interpreted either way, it is ambiguous. Ambiguities that canot otherwise be resolved are interpreted against the drafter of the document.
Just pay the extra 20 bucks for the premium membership and you will likely never need to worry about the extra mile charges. You only need to use your membership about once every three years for it to pay for itself.
Anyone who's had AAA Plus will tell you they start charging for the miles that accumulate OVER the 100-mile limit. My parents needed to have their car towed from Keene in the Adirondacks several years ago when they hit a deer. They have AAA Plus, and the total distance was 104 miles. The tow truck driver didn't charge them for the extra 4 miles, probably because they had had to stay overnight at a motel before the tow truck driver could get up there.
I think the basic $60 AAA plan covers a 5-mile trip; the $100 plan will tow you further. How much further depends on the state. I bumped up to the higher plan because I drive a lot for work and my preferred repair shop is about 20 miles from the center of the metro area. I think I am covered for four service calls per year. Most years I never have to call them, but one year I did need three service calls for a single problem. (It was a bad AAA battery, which should have been replaced with the first service call.)
i have AAA as well as towing from my insurance company. state farm will reimburse me for any money i pay for a tow, so if i go over my mileage limit with AAA, i just send my receipt to state farm and they cut me a check to cover the cost i paid out of pocket.
but to your original question, i do think you read it wrong, as i understand it to be $4 per mile beyond the limit.
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