Check That You Are Fully Covered For Roadside Assistance

Friday, 17. July 2009

The RAC and AA have both warned drivers about the need for them to consider their roadside assistance cover. As more drivers are holding onto their cars for longer, during the recession, either by not replacing them or through lease extensions, they are forgetting to take out roadside assistance cover. Very often the car is covered from new for a period of three years but even if you car is only a year old you may find that the cover for years 2 & 3 is less than year one cover. This is often because after year one the car reverts to warranty and roadside assistance cover provided by the supplying dealer which may be considerably less than the cover provided by the manufacturer in year one. So it is important that you check the policy anyway as you may find that changing wheels after a puncture or recovering the car to either your home or a dealer, that may have been included in year one, are not included subsequently. According to the AA the average cost to the driver for a call out, that isn’t covered, is £110 and can be considerably more if the car has to be recovered. So it is wise to make sure that you are covered and, given the dangers involved in changing wheels these days, it would be worth the cost of the roadside assistance cover simply for the peace of mind knowing that if you have to change a wheel you won’t need to risk your life – you can have it done safely by a professional. By Graham Hill