That’s my thinking; I’ve needed a tow truck only two or three times in three decades. Mostly, I don’t drive very far from home and my car is reasonably new and reliable, so as an alternative, I looked up a couple of well-regarded local towing companies and added them to my phone’s address book.
I have a friend who drives older, somewhat unreliable cars despite being well-able to afford a new one and he drives all over New England. So when his mother was alive, her Christmas gift to him was always the premium AAA membership that allowed for up to a 100 mile tow.
A long time ago my dad’s car broke down with an engine issue and he pulled into the parking lot of an auto paint shop he happened to be in front of at the time. Called AAA and asked for a tow to a repair shop, but they insisted he “was already at one.” “This is a paint shop.” he told them. “They only do paint. It literally says exactly that on the door.” They didn’t care. They just kept repeating “Sir, we can’t tow you to a repair shop if you’re already at one” like they weren’t even listening to what he was saying.
Sorry to hear your problem Puzz. AAA is useless. Let me tell my experience. I had CAA free through my insurance, but they have a joint agreement with AAA. I was on Rt. 122 between Petersham and Barre, MA when my tire went flat. When I pulled off the road, I could see the 13 mile sign to Barre. I called AAA. Got some verkockte voice mail system that asked where I was. “Barre”, I answered. “Did you say, xyz?” I tried it a few times, but never did understand what they said. So I finally said “Boston”. Got connected to an office who transferred me to the correct office. But they couldn’t find Rt 122 on their map. Try a google map on Barre, MA and see if you can’t find Rt.122 instantly. At any rate, they finally said they would send a repair truck from Petersham. So I waited. After an hour and a half, I finally decided to change the tire myself. I used to do it with no thought. The only problem was the damn lug wrench provided with the car. Turn half a turn, remove the wrench, turn the wrench back, put it back on and turn another half turn. Rinse and repeat.
Fortunately, a state trooper stopped to help. Officer Driskell. I still remember him because of the odd spelling. He just waved me aside and changed the tire. I couldn’t thank him enough. He said that his parents were my age and he hoped that if they needed it someone would help. Soon we were back on the road. Four hours later (!), the garage from Petersham called to find out if I still needed help. Fuck the AAA.
Just yesterday, in answer to a query in IMHO, I said I had never posted in the pit. Now I have.
Of course you won’t, or you probably won’t. AAA is a form of insurance, like all insurance companies, they make money because you give them more than they give you. This is true of pet, health, house, car insurances, etc.
I did. Long before GPS, when paper maps were a thing, I drove for a same-day courier service. I regularly obtained enough free maps per year to more than offset the membership fee. I had to maintain current maps for the SF Bay Area, up to Santa Rosa and down through Gilroy, Santa Cruz, Monterey and surrounding, and Sacramento.
No, and it’s not useless. I honestly wouldn’t have wanted to troll … there aren’t even yellow pages any more … troll the internet for hopefully legit towing services that would tow from where I was to where my auto shop is. I’m wondering if there’s a competing service I should be looking into. But the basic service is useful. And I also have gotten a lot of value from the travel discounts. And I’ve had to be towed once before, and that time, a tow truck showed up within some reasonable frame (maybe an hour, an hour and a half) and they gave me some idea of how long it would take.
Hmm, when I drove my Ford lemon plug-in-hybrid I called for service several times. The first few I called Ford, since the car was under warranty, but I might have had to call AAA for help, too. Eventually the dealer tightened the connector between the big battery and the starter battery, and it stopped randomly dying in inconvenient places. Took several tries before they figured out the problem, though.
I’m still pretty pissed at how AAA treated me last night, however. Especially that 3AM call. And they REALLY had no idea at all how long it would take? They had one driver in the area… didn’t they have some vague clue what his queue looked like? And if not, why didn’t they? And for that matter, why only one driver in a highly populated area on a Saturday night? The guy who eventually came told me it was always hopping on Saturday night – lots of demand. So… they ought to have more supply. I guess that’s monopoly service for you.
Your particular experience was undeniably shitty and indefensible. And their magazine is terrible and is basically just a big advertising section. It goes straight to the recycling bin.
a little history lesson … Ever wonder why AAA works better in california than anywhere else ? because
back when cars were new a bunch of influential southern California people formed want was known as “the so cal car club” in the 1890s and did as much as they could to boost car usage in California and was pretty much aaa before aaa existed
Well they merged but didn’t get along and split … well aaa almost went bankrupt in the 20s so they re-merged to the point where the California group took over aaa and everything they do now basically came from the so cal automobile association
Well yeah that’s why I said “probably”. Some people get their money’s worth out of all insurances, but on average we spend more than we get. It is not an “investment”.
If it’s insurance, it’s against a fairly minor expense, unlike homeowner’s or auto insurance. I have no problem with “self-insuring” against the cost of having my car towed.
Honestly, I don’t really worry much about towing scams. But if that’s a concern, perhaps keep the AAA membership number in your phone address book, and join the first time you think you might need the services? And then let the membership lapse.
It’s insurance against a minor monetary cost, but a significant “coping” cost. When my car breaks down and strands me somewhere, i don’t want to be researching local towing options, negotiating with a bunch of unknown parties that might be scams, and generally saddled with extra “executive function burden”.
If i knew a reliable chain of towing services that covered all the places I’m likely to drive, I’d be happy to take the financial risk of paying for the actual tow. But i don’t.
Very well said. In addition, I get hotel discounts that cover the cost of the membership (covid year excluded) and I can get free tows for my friends if I am with them.