Problems With AAA

[MrAl]

Hello there,

Anyone else have problems with AAA?

For my first call ever they said they had too many calls so could not come out to tow the car.
Now a week ago my neighbor called them and a truck came out about 2 hours later. The guy couldnt get in the driveway but then after several tries he made it in. Then as he was ready to pull the car up onto the flatbed, he said he couldnt do it and drove away.
Neighbor called AAA again told them what happened, took about 45 minutes to get to someone that could help. They sent out another truck about 1.5 hours later. The guy had no trouble getting the car up on the flatbed and towed it to the garage down the street. Sounds nasty but not too bad yet right? Well wait another minute.
After a few hours at the garage th guy says he cant fix it doesnt know what is wrong so it has to be towed to the dealer. So neighbor calls AAA, they want to charge him and extra $75 plus $4 per mile to tow the car stating that a "double tow" isnt covered by his $125 membership.
He still had 3 tows left for the year too.
Isnt that nuts?
So the car is in the shop, and neighbor called AAA again and after waiting two days someone finally got back and gave $60 credit. The tow cost $135 and he got $60 of it back.

So what do you think about all this?

Thanks for any comments.

[June]

If it is a Volvo being towed to the dealer Volvo Roadside Assistance is free on every Volvo made for life. They will only tow to the dealer and will appear like line one on this bill. June

[June]

By the way the last time I called AAA I waited for over five hours to get a call from tow company that a repossession truck, not a flatbed was coming. When I said flatbed only he said seven more hours! I thought of Volvo Roadside Assistance and called my dealer for the number. I received a text from a tow company while on the phone with Volvo still. It said 5 minutes away. Within 20 my car was properly fastened with bumper tow hooks on flatbed leaving my driveway.

Second time was 5:00 Friday rush hour traffic. They took ninety minutes to arrive. I was on the Westside of Jacksonville to be fair. My car is still at the dealership from this tow about two months ago and I am in the XC60T6 service loaner still that also is free. June

[abscate]

AAA has to be one of the successful marketing programs in the US

Collect the fees, then contract local towing to tow people when they feel like it.

For most people traveling to work, You are better off having a relationship with a local garage and ask them who they use.

Abby was stuck on Long Island, population 3M, and was told a 3 hour wait for a jump start because it was “ raining”

[scot850]

I think we those who have memberships with tow companies can probably attest to that. The part that always makes me mad is that they insist you stay with the vehicle and then tell you that they will be hours getting to you.

Here we have the CAA and in Alberta the AMA. The are all affiliated including with the AAA in US and AA in UK.

During that long cold spell they were announcing there would be up to a 5 day wait for a boost start due to large number of calls!

So basically they do not have enough trucks or staff to cover the membership in bad weather.

Even a tow was up to 3 days. Like you say, better to have another company on dial if you are a local especially in a large city.

I will need to check if we have the same cover like in the US with Volvo if the car is taken to the Volvo dealer.

Neil.

[volvolugnut]

If it is a Volvo being towed to the dealer Volvo Roadside Assistance is free on every Volvo made for life. They will only tow to the dealer and will appear like line one on this bill. June

Extra MVS Points to June for creative use of Walgrens receipt to conceal personal information.

volvolugnut

[crlande]

Walgreens nice cover but ....what is with "replacing with OE equipment that fixes her problem? Not impressed with that Dealership.

[FireFox31]

If it is a Volvo being towed to the dealer Volvo Roadside Assistance is free on every Volvo made for life. They will only tow to the dealer and will appear like line one on this bill. June

Thanks, this is a hugely valuable tip. Volvo calls it Tow For Life. I wonder if it applies only to the original owner of the car or to any current owner who bought the car used.

AAA has been very helpful to me in the few years that I've had it. When my last V70 (now Jane Bond) got totalled, the state police required their contacted tow bring me to a local garage but AAA gladly met me there within about 90 minutes and brought me home (across a state line). On that V70's last drive, it broke down a mile from its destination. AAA accurately told me they'd arrive in a specific number of hours so I was able to make arrangements to get a ride. Driving with a friend, their brake caliper was stuck and burning hot, and AAA made us wait maybe 90 minutes for a tow. I locked my keys in a rental car in Arizona during July and they arrived in about an hour to open it up.

The hardest thing I've found about AAA is contacting the right person for a tow. Calling the general number may route you into some national system which is unhelpful. Instead, you must call your regional AAA. When locked out in the heat of Arizona, I seem to remember that requesting online was vastly more helpful than calling.

As long as I have 20 year old cars, I plan to keep the medium level AAA membership.

[June]

It doesn't matter if you are the 10th owner. Free towing applies to even the oldest Volvo on the road. June

[abscate]

It doesn't matter if you are the 10th owner. Free towing applies to even the oldest Volvo on the road. June

I’ll dig up the contact information and post up here. This is really good to know. I bet the other good part is they know how to receive cars after hours so you don’t get caught in that malarkey.