European Breakdown Cover

[fulla]

I'm off to Europe for a month in July. Any tips for the cheapest EU Breakdown cover?

Cheers,

[zaphod79]

I allways use the AA European cover, Im not sure how good it is as touch wood I have not had to use it, but if you have standard AA cover you will get a discount. What you doing in Europe?

[fulla]

driving down through spain and portugal for the running of the bulls...

[barabas]

My 2 pennorth; I had full AA euro cover many years ago, car (crappy citroen) bust a con rod in Belgium Took the AA 6 hours and many phone calls to get to us. They had even given us the wrong number to call on the euro cover literature, eventually some belgian breakdown guy came out and just shrugged his shoulders (no english of course)... So we limped home chucking oil into the engine every 50 miles or so. Maybe they are much better now, maybe that was a one off but for the money (they are far from the cheapest) I hoped for much more. I now have cover with Insurance Choice but haven't had to ever use it so dunno what they're like. First Call are also cheap, had cover with them for a couple of years but again never had to use them. The main thing is to read the policy very carefully as they do vary a lot in terms of what they will or won't do for you. Also check which countries are covered cos some of the non-EU ones won't be covered - same goes for a lot of insurance policies.

[mungodog]

My brother in law had cover with the RAC. He was taken ill in France. RAC flew both him and his wife home immediately and recovered the car to his home a week later (complete with the milk they'd just bought!!!!) They were very happy with cover, though it was a few years ago now, and probably not the cheapest around.

[hodgson4711]

hi,we get our insurance through heritage and pay £175 a year fully comp. which includes breakdown including relay in this country and abroad. my vehicle is a 1981 motorhome so it comes over as a classic. your vehicle only has to ne 15years old to qoulify as a classic. its at least worth looking into.

[a106041]

I had two breakdowns in my Motorhome one in Belgium (2 nights in a hotel taxi back and forward to the garage, great) and one in Germany (rental car for a week to get to my event) This was with the RAC, all the money I paid in the last 10 year was worth it, the service was excellent and they kept phoning me to give progress report,
angus

[hodgson4711]

the rac is a good until they know that your motor home is over 10 years old.

[beanis]

second that. I broke down twice recently, and the second time they didnt help me because aparently if its the same problem and you fix it yourself your not covered. Gave me some crap like "you should have got the RAC to mend it, now we'd like you to scrap it and get a batter one to be honest". I explained i had a conversion in the back that had taken a months work. really annoyed me that if you fix it yourself your not covered,.
Saying that, they have been helpful in the past.

[Breakdown Biker]

I'm a breakdown contractor and provide service for several companies (like green flag, Europe assist, Brittania etc.) I've no idea what policy costs are involved but the one thing you should check, especially on cheaper quotes, is that you are covered to get home. Every day I go to some-one who only has 10 mile recovery and can be charged as much as 4 pounds + a mile for every mile over!!
In almost every case, you will be attended by a local contractor if you breakdown abroad, so take a phrase book
Make sure you have the correct contact numbers before you go as it can take hours if you don't contact the correct department in the first place. Every cost for your recovery has to be authorised before it is carried out, and can only be actioned by the relevant dept.

Be prepared to possibly have to return home with the vehicle to follow, as often getting a non-runner onto a ferry requires a different booking


I can't reccomend any particular company as they can all provide adequate service, just a matter of cost.
Good luck with your trip:)

btw, check with your insurance company as most can offer a discounted breakdown cover with your vans policy. They're usually quite good value for money.