Breakdown cover for older cars

[ShiWarrior]

never broken since i started driving,
all my cars have been reliable

i dont keep cars that are 100K mileage though

i buy cars that have done around 40K - 50K mileage and i replace the battery just after the 6 months warranty ends for a piece of mind, keep cars for around 5 years and move on, but current one is currently going onto its 7th year, and still never broken down

 

[The Running Man]

never broken since i started driving,
all my cars have been reliable

i dont keep cars that are 100K mileage though

i buy cars that have done around 40K - 50K mileage and i replace the battery just after the 6 months warranty ends for a piece of mind, keep cars for around 5 years and move on, but current one is currently going onto its 7th year, and still never broken down

You replace the battery after the warranty goes, even if its fine?

Wow can I sell you some special bulbs, all your warranty has gone on them. Those licence plate illuminators dont fix themselves you know!

 

[Nasher]

Apologies Nasher, i didn't realise that you'd already answered this. Yep exactly that. Plus if anything this is more flexible as you can call any number of companies and get the people who will attend the quickest

Another point which people may not be aware of, and therefore double pay, is that if you service at a main agent, a lot of brands will recover you for free anyway. Mercedes give 12 months roadside with a service for example. (I dont do this, but many people do, yet probably also pay for the AA or similar).

Ford do that as well. I'm not sure if there is a max age though.

 

[[TW]Fox]

i replace the battery just after the 6 months warranty ends for a piece of mind

What?

 

[ShiWarrior]

original battery, 7 years old ish, i upgrade it

 

[Razor-BladE]

Before I do decide to stop my cover, what are the more common things that cause a breakdown whilst driving older/high mileage cars? Is it the engine itself?

I have an 08 Ford Focus on 90k miles which has been in the family for 11 or 12 years. It's been bullet proof, serviced yearly, and never needed anything other than consumables/what's on the service schedule, and as far as I know has never broken down on the road.

 

[The Running Man]

Before I do decide to stop my cover, what are the more common things that cause a breakdown whilst driving older/high mileage cars? Is it the engine itself?

I have an 08 Ford Focus on 90k miles which has been in the family for 11 or 12 years. It's been bullet proof, serviced yearly, and never needed anything other than consumables/what's on the service schedule, and as far as I know has never broken down on the road.

I reckon 80% of call outs are battery died at home (which is why they charge extra for home start), or flat tyres.

Maybe the odd engine over heating every now and again.

 

[robj20]

Ford do that as well. I'm not sure if there is a max age though.

Only as part of the big service not the standard one, so you're already paying over the odds.

 

[p1RATE]

Before I do decide to stop my cover, what are the more common things that cause a breakdown whilst driving older/high mileage cars? Is it the engine itself?

I would probably take a guess at battery, coil packs or other ignition issues, belt tensioner or auxiliary failures, starter motors and maybe clutch as being some of the most common for getting you stranded.

 

[Rroff]

never broken since i started driving,
all my cars have been reliable

i dont keep cars that are 100K mileage though

i buy cars that have done around 40K - 50K mileage and i replace the battery just after the 6 months warranty ends for a piece of mind, keep cars for around 5 years and move on, but current one is currently going onto its 7th year, and still never broken down

I wish it was that simple - you get vehicles that are seemingly bullet proof and do 100-200K miles without major issue as long as serviced on a half decent schedule and others which you might end up needing recovering after 20K miles.

I think one of the problems though is a mixture of lack of mechanical sympathy and not being sensitive to the warning signs - the average every day person doesn't seem to be in tune with stuff like that and will continue driving long after it should be obvious the vehicle needs some attention.

 

[theone8181]

I stopped my breakdown, as after paying 100 a year for 16 years of driving, none of my cars have ever broken down. Ironically my 107,000 miles 911 (when I sold it) had never broken down but my wife's focus did (although it was while she was on mat leave over a winter so lots of short journeys and the battery didn't get chance to charge itself properly). I'm now taking the approach of the monet that's saved will make up for the extra you pay if you have to sign up in a pinch.

 

[Liquidfox]

Anyone know how much is their on-the-spot joining cost/membership fee is?

I was quoted £146 over the phone by AA, said no, the roadside guy called me back asking if I'd just tried to join and offered to join me for £20 on the spot. Winning. He was a car enthusiast too, had some mental stupid power MR2 at home.

 

[Nasher]

Only as part of the big service not the standard one, so you're already paying over the odds.

They gave it to me every year with normal services when I had the Fiesta ST. Up until I sold it at 4 years old.

 

[[TW]Fox]

They gave it to me every year with normal services when I had the Fiesta ST. Up until I sold it at 4 years old.

Surely then the first 3 years were part of the new car warranty so they really gave you it once?

 

[Nasher]

Surely then the first 3 years were part of the new car warranty so they really gave you it once?

It was 1 year cover each time afaik.

 

[Jez]

I reckon 80% of call outs are battery died at home (which is why they charge extra for home start), or flat tyres.

Maybe the odd engine over heating every now and again.

I'd say that substitute for this requires some mechanical understanding on how to get a car moving if you did have a fault - i have had a couple over the years if i include flat tyres but it has never cause me to be stranded. Admittedly this wouldn't be applicable to my wife as she likely would just need assistance regardless (although this has never happened).

Generally to keep myself feeling secure: I always carry a tyre compressor, jack, jump leads, tyre patch stuff, which mitigates a random flat battery or tyre until you can get home or to a tyre garage. I have previously had a (manual stick shift on an ancient 200k mile handmedown tip car) gearbox fail about 40 miles from home but again was able to limp that car home in a single gear just slipping the clutch at crazy RPM to enable the car to keep going until i got home and could eBay it as scrap for 99p

Mitigation at home is to just jump one car off another one i guess, or use another one that day, which frankly is much quicker and preferable to waiting for the AA anyway. (Therefore we would never use home start regardless)

 

[Haggisman]

OP If you do still want to continue with AutoAid it would probably be better to swap to personal cover. It works out basically the same price as vehicle based on an old car, covers you in any vehicle and also gives spouse cover, if that is applicable to you.

It looks like that is with the personal cover.

I've been with Autoaid the past couple of years, but as mentioned, the price has been creeping up (although still significantly cheaper than AA/RAC/Greenflag). It's handy that it covers me in any car, and also my partner for free. If it was just me in the car I probably wouldn't bother, but with 2 young kids, I'd rather have the peace of mind.

Saying that, I've only ever used it once for a flat tyre, and that was only because the car didn't have a spare. Changed car since then, and the new one does have a spare, so maybe time to reconsider when the renewal is up in October?

 

[bainbridge]

I wonder if you have to go to the back of the queue behind loyal customers if you insta-join? Probably not, but all you chancers should be attended to after me because I pay upfront lol

I've always had breakdown cover but whenever I've had a fault I've managed to do a roadside fix to get home. Just a couple of flat tyres and a faulty coilpack which put the ECU into limp mode.

I'll keep us both covered anyway in case something big goes wrong, plus I'd rather just ring a number knowing they'll have my details there and cover is in place.

Another handy feature, before the pandemic hit, is European cover. I get 90 days European recovery per year and found it simple to just ring em before setting off to Europe, knowing I'll have an English speaking number to call if I breakdown and the car will be towed home if unfixable. I wouldn't like to be an insta-joiner in that scenario Granted, European cover isn't a concern at the moment, but a valid reason for having cover in place once travel restrictions are lifted.

 

[robj20]

They gave it to me every year with normal services when I had the Fiesta ST. Up until I sold it at 4 years old.

Ford Schedule Service and Ford Essential Service.
Sounds like you were paying for the Scheduled Service which includes breakdown.

 

[Jez]

Another handy feature, before the pandemic hit, is European cover. I get 90 days European recovery per year and found it simple to just ring em before setting off to Europe, knowing I'll have an English speaking number to call if I breakdown and the car will be towed home if unfixable. I wouldn't like to be an insta-joiner in that scenario Granted, European cover isn't a concern at the moment, but a valid reason for having cover in place once travel restrictions are lifted.

This is very valid for sure. I have never much driven my own cars in Europe (always hire from airports) so this didn't come onto my radar. I'd guess that instant recovery from Europe would be very expensive.