RAC: There when I needed them! (RAC)

Member Name: Gemma_C

Product:	RAC
Date:	28/05/09 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of different options to add to your level of cover, great service.

Disadvantages: None that I can think of!

There are quite a few breakdown companies out there, and choosing the right one can be difficult. All companies seem to have mixed reviews with some having happy customers, other's feeling disgruntled with the service recieved. I've only been driving a year and choosing my first ever breakdown service company was a bit tricky. Admittedly being a huge cashback site fan I checked which sites gave me the cheapest quote and the best cashback I could recieve. After a bit of research I opted for the RAC, and it certainly paid off.

I had been a member of the RAC for around 7 months when I needed to call them out for the first time. My Renault Clio had trouble starting after I finished work one day, it kept turning over for ages until it did eventually start. Having your car struggle to start when you finish work is not good, all you want to do is get home from work not sit in the car park! However after another week or so and with it struggling to start on and off, one morning when leaving for work it decided to just not start at all. I got a lift to work and decided to call the RAC to come out that evening.

I don't have Home Cover, which is an optional extra which covers you within 1/4 mile of your home, but luckily my car was at my boyfriend's house which is miles away from my home address which my car is registered to. I did however ring the RAC to check I was covered, as 'Home Start' makes it sound a bit confusing, the lady on the phone said as long as I had evidence of the address my car was actually registered to, I would be bothered. This was a bit annoying as I then had to gain a lift to my house to get this evidence before going back to my boyfriend's house where my car was!

I rang the RAC and after taking down my membership details they asked me where I was and for a description of the problem. As it was around 4-5pm she advised me there could be a long wait as it was a peak time, this wasn't a problem for me at all as I was sat inside a warm house rather than on a roadside somewhere.
However I was surprised when within half an hour the RAC patrol van turned up.

The service I recieved from the patrolman was brilliant. He tried start my car himself, before immediately opening the bonnet and getting to work. He occasionally asked me to try starting the car but it seemed he found the problem straight away, something to do with the 'anti tamper' device which covers the ECU which is a huge problem on Clio's in that in time it loosens up and begins wearing away at the wires and shorts out instead of starting. I had read about this problem with Clio's online the previous evening so I had suspected it was going to be this. He took the device off easily and showed me the chaffed wires before he taped them up with electrical tape. He advised not replacing this tamper device and I agreed that it should just go in the bin! He also mentioned that if left this anti tamper device can cause more damage to the wires meaning the whole unit has to be replaced which costs around £500!!

As we'd been starting my car up quite a bit he then charged my battery up for me. He also pointed out that the bonnet catch was faulty and had been recalled on Clio's, I had bought my Clio second hand though so it seems the original holder didn't act on this! He sprayed the catch a bit to help loosen it up a bit as it was starting to stick. He then asked me to leave my car running whilst he got in the van to start on the paperwork.

The paperwork only took a couple of minutes until he handed me a small PDA which had a few questions on I had to answer regarding the service I recieved. He didn't stand over me whilst doing this so I could answer honestly but I was very happy with the service I had recieved anyway, at the end it sends the answers off to wherever they go. This is a good idea and helps RAC track the quality of the customer service they are delivering.
Since the RAC fixed my car it's been fine and always starts promptly.


When I signed up to the RAC I joined going through TopCashBack to their website www.rac.co.uk. I choose the basic Personal Cover for 1 year which was quoted at £33 at the time, with £22 cashback offered through TopCashback I technically only paid £11 for a year's cover, a good bargain! I always recommend checking out the cashback sites before signing up for a breakdown company as the majority of them are on the cashback sites.

Signing up is an easy process on the RAC site. You recieve Roadside Assistance as standard and there are a couple of other additional options you can choose. These include:

At Home - RAC will come to your assistance if your car won't start at home or if you break down within a 1/4 mile of your house.

Nationwide Recovery - RAC will transport your vehicle, yourself and up to 7 other people to your destination anywhere in the UK (good if your travelling about alot!)

If you choose Nationwide Recovery then you can also opt for 'Onward Travel' which will give you a replacement car for up to 3 days whilst your car is being fixed, or they can provide overnight accomodation or onward travel.

After selecting which options you require you then need to choose your type of cover. This can be Personal Cover (which covers you in any vehicle) or Vehicle Cover, which covers up to 3 vehicles, whoever's driving, and the vehicles must be under 10 years old.
After that you then need to choose, Single, Joint or Family which covers yourself, or one named other, or up to 4 named members of your household.

As you can see there are alot of different options so you can find a level of cover which suits your own needs. RAC will then give you your quote, showing the Online Discount you have recieved.
Not long after signing up I recieved my pack through the post which contains your membership card. Make a note of the number to call as you never know when you'll need it!

Overall I am very happy with the service I recieve from RAC and highly recommend them to anyone. I will most likely be a customer with them for sometime yet.

Summary: A good breakdown service that you can depend on.