Breakdown Cover

[Barry14UK]

Hi people, I thought this subject might have been raised previously but if so the various words I have tried in a search have not unearthed it and in any event things change over time.  So prompted by the need to renew my own cover now that what was provided by Lexus (and for another car) has expired, I thought I would ask who others use on the basis that they agree and that this does not contravene forum rules.  It seems to me that Lexus cover is probably as good as you can get but as with most things Lexus, comes  at a comparatively high cost.  Of course for somebody doing a high mileage and highly dependent on their car on a very regular basis, cost of breakdown is not an unduly high proportion of their motoring costs and more extensive cover can be justified.

Since retirement, I only do a small  mileage and generally speaking I could make alternative arrangements other than for a few occasions when I need to make a few quite long journeys with a pretty full load when the comfort of the RX comes into it's own.  I could have called out my Breakdown provider on several occasions over the years when I have had a puncture but have changed to a spare myself to save time.  To the best of my memory, I have only called out breakdown services on a couple of occasions with Battery issues, once due to an air leak bringing up a warning light and many years ago having an automatic transmission finally fail as I got off a ferry from France. Oh yes, also a broken transmission cooler pipe on another occasion.  I did also fix a few problems myself on my travels but not called much on Breakdown services for 50+ years driving and all on cars that were  a few years old.

But never a person to spend more than I have to, I have been reading reviews of providers for the sort of level of breakdown service I would settle for.  Due to the complexity of the RX and the small number of Lexus dealers, I felt a prerequisite was to have a provider who would flatbed the car to one rather than just to 'a garage' where appropriate. Some of the providers had very poor reviews and even with the best there were inevitably a few dissatisfied drivers.  Ultimately, I have concluded that 'Green Flag's Recovery Plus' looks good value for me at the presently quoted discounted price of £54.88pa.  Anybody got any other thoughts or suggestions?

[katabrontes]

I have had Green Flag cover provided by my credit card for a long time and have only used it twice.  The first time was when out exhaust blew in France and burned a hole in the carpet lining the back of the 4x4.  Horrible smell.  I phone the helpline who tried to find a nearby garage with the replacement rear exhaust but the nearest was in the South and it would have taken a week to get it sent to a local garage.  They then found me a nearby garage who welded the pipe over lunchtime and we were back on the road after a couple of hours.  The second was a blowout on a loan car in the New Forest which I didn't spot until we were on the M27 ( after about a mile of rather noisy driving).  By the time the breakdown arrived the Battery was flat due to the four way flashers being on the whole time.  It was raining heavily and  the wheel was changed ( skinny) our cases wedged into the back as there wasn't room in the boot for the wheel (MX5) and afternoon a jump start we were on our way again after about an hour.  Lucky it wasn't a Smart Motorway.  Overall pretty good service.  I wouldn't hesitate to use Green Flag.

[Malc]

On the rare occasions it's been used I find the RAC full breakdown and recovery assistance First Class, nay EXCEPTIONAL

Malc

[scudney]

Except you have friends in the car repair business that are willing to give you a hand if and when you break down,I just think it's a no brainer having breakdown cover(which you can tailor to your needs)as if you don't and you do break down it seems to cost an arm and a leg to get anyone out to you and usually costs more than what you would have paid for the cover in the first place 👍

[Stupot]

Have a read of this article (link below)... remember, breakdown cover is just insurance by another name... no more, no less. We have been with 'Autoaid' for about 7 or 8 years who used to be £39 for a couple, any car, but over last few years has drifted up to £59.99. On the rare occasion they have been needed, they were excellent. Your Green Flag quote sounds good, but you will need to move after a year if they significantly increase their price.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/breakdown-cover/

[Malc]

7 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

who would flatbed the car to one rather than just to 'a garage' where appropriate.

recent alternator went kaput on a wet and windy Saturday night just as we were arriving at friends for dinner

Called RAC and they arranged for the car to be taken into storage overnight / weekend and out to my indy repair guy some 50 miles away on the Monday morning and after dinner a free taxi home for us, some 20 miles distant

courtesy of free Full RAC Breakdown and Recovery  ...........  free, they refuse to charge me the annual fee anymore, think it's maybe because either i have a Lexus Ls400 that's getting towards classic ( classy classic ) or probably more likely coz I have been a Member for 50+ years i guess

I have called them out on other very rare occasions too  ...  flat tyres, other car alternator went kaput ( how rare is that ) 

Malc

[rich1068]

I've stuck with the Lexus (AA) cover since I bought my second hand IS and received my first year free back in 2017. I did once do a comparison with AA themselves and Lexus was a touch cheaper. The cover is extremely comprehensive so quite pricey but I drive old bangers so it's worth it imo. Called them out three times, not once for a Lexus 

[royoftherovers]

Banks can provide it as part of a Package and Insurance Companies can add it to one`s policy for a fee.

These options should also be considered before making a final decision.

[Illogan]

I've used both the RAC (with previous cars) and have to say that they were both excellent - but RAC edged it - extremely thorough and nothing was too much trouble. Ive never paid the full price though - and always used a rebate house like Quidco or Topcashback - - (Quidco currently rebating about 47% of the RAC membership costs)

 

 

[JBPRX400h]

Have you thought about taking out Lexus extended warranty? (2 years for the price of 1) 

Includes recovery and homestart and also European recovery. Also IIRC 2 x MOT tests.

JBP

[Barry14UK]

Thanks for your thoughts.  "Auto aid" did come out well in some of the reviews as did Green Flag and I decided to go with the latter.  RAC and AA also said to have done well in "Which" tests of breakdown services  but more expensive. "Gem" .were up there with the best and top in one survey but are said to be run on different lines whereby you pay a sort of insurance premium and if you need a call out etc, you pay for this yourself and are then reimbursed by the insurer.  Agree may have to look elsewhere next year if "Green Flag" put up prices significantly as I think I got a 'special offer' this time.

I agree the 2 for 1 year warranty including breakdown cover is seriously worth considering especially for those doing a higher mileage but I only do a low annual mileage nowadays.  The cost of the warranty would be more than I paid BMW and Independents for work on my BMW over 14 years (Admittedly I did normal maintenance myself and pre long journey checks too) but aren't Lexus supposed to be more reliable than BMW?