HOW DOES AAA WORK .. OR NOT
Two years ago I was coming home from Salmon Idaho. About 20 miles outside of Missoula Montana the rear tire started to delaminate, and was coming off in 3 inch chunks, on my Honda GoldWing (My RV). ...
Forum Discussion
We have been members of AAA for over 20 years and have been generally satisfied. They've towed our TV and TT together twice. Once we did have to wait a few hours because the only wrecker with seating for 4 (one needed a car seat) was towing another vehicle out of state.
The last time we used AAA it was for a blow out on our motorhome. We were on the side of I-95 just south of Savannah, GA on a Sunday. The dispatcher told me that she can only call 3 providers, then she has to hand it off to a higher up to call more providers. She was concerned that if we were not in a safe place, that we would need to be towed to a safe place to put on our spare. Even though I assured her we were in a safe place with plenty of room for the work, the first 3 providers she called could not tow us if need be so she handed us over to her higher up. My guess is the higher up was too busy helping others. After sitting almost 2 hours (I did call AAA twice during that time), a Mobile Tire repair called to ask where I was and told me how long it would be. He got there pretty quick (with no way to tow me), put my spare on and then did the paper work. I asked him when did AAA call him. He told me right before he called me. So it took AAA 2 hours to find a Mobile Tire Repair guy in the Savannah, GA area. I gave AAA a lot of grief over that, but didn't get anything more than an apology.
For me, I am willing to wait as a trade off for not trying to find someone myself in an unknown area. I know that a company contracted with AAA is professional. If I call the first guy I find online, I have no idea what I am getting. I am willing to pay for the convenience and AAA has yet to let me down. I've waiting a few times longer than I'd like, but they got the job done.
Now that all four of us are drivers, we will probably purchase roadside assistance through our Insurance Company because putting all 4 on AAA is expensive. We'll keep one driver on AAA Plus since AAA will tow us 100 miles just in case (Insurance will only tow to the nearest repair shop/dealer). The discounts we receive as AAA Members will pay for the membership plus some.
-Michael
The last time we used AAA it was for a blow out on our motorhome. We were on the side of I-95 just south of Savannah, GA on a Sunday. The dispatcher told me that she can only call 3 providers, then she has to hand it off to a higher up to call more providers. She was concerned that if we were not in a safe place, that we would need to be towed to a safe place to put on our spare. Even though I assured her we were in a safe place with plenty of room for the work, the first 3 providers she called could not tow us if need be so she handed us over to her higher up. My guess is the higher up was too busy helping others. After sitting almost 2 hours (I did call AAA twice during that time), a Mobile Tire repair called to ask where I was and told me how long it would be. He got there pretty quick (with no way to tow me), put my spare on and then did the paper work. I asked him when did AAA call him. He told me right before he called me. So it took AAA 2 hours to find a Mobile Tire Repair guy in the Savannah, GA area. I gave AAA a lot of grief over that, but didn't get anything more than an apology.
For me, I am willing to wait as a trade off for not trying to find someone myself in an unknown area. I know that a company contracted with AAA is professional. If I call the first guy I find online, I have no idea what I am getting. I am willing to pay for the convenience and AAA has yet to let me down. I've waiting a few times longer than I'd like, but they got the job done.
Now that all four of us are drivers, we will probably purchase roadside assistance through our Insurance Company because putting all 4 on AAA is expensive. We'll keep one driver on AAA Plus since AAA will tow us 100 miles just in case (Insurance will only tow to the nearest repair shop/dealer). The discounts we receive as AAA Members will pay for the membership plus some.
-Michael
