roadside assistance companies ....

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:38 pm

think you are covered because you are a member?

or , if you are stuck between that rock , and feel you are impelled to join.....

Well, if you are, think it was, more than a few km or any down a dirt road - forget rescue.Some companies or their representative drivers won't go too far on dirt/gravel roads.

Hit a pot hole and blow a tyre, eight months up the duff and they will come out to swap tyre for you. Have the rear blow on you as well coz it went through same and you have had an accident or collision and roadside assist is no longer your option - you need a tow, not just a common spare tyre

Or, it is 40C in the middle of holiday season, missus and kids on board and car won't start, the boat on the back is no good - no water...and....yer not a member, not in mobile phone range, nor is the policeman who finds you - has to drive 20kms to get old analogue 2 way radio reception, with the message details of the stranded family, but no, the rescue company he is willing to join, pay on the spot needs to speak to the intending member who needs to pay over the phone first, also join the premium membership if he wants to continue his trip with his boat and trailer.

To add to this, say he is mid way through moving, has a licence from new state, rego from old state, once he does manage to join at a premium premium I dare say, his new membership entitles him for the new lifesavers to contact his relevants cars rego state to kick them into action to to organise (possibly his new states rescue crowd - themselves) to give him a jump start !!

I withdrew/cancelled/did not renew my membership some twenty years ago when they refused to insure comprehensively my then older than 20 year old car, would not touch 8" rims either, when they insured a 55 Morris Minor with 7" rims !!

The value of membership and join fee may well be best added to an eftpos card, year after year and used towards negotiating with towies and local mechanics where ever you break down - if ever.

Anyone got good or bad stories of the various roadside rescue teams ??

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 2:32 pm

We are with the biggest NSW roadside assitance company (or at least the most well known) and travelling from Newcastle back to Muswellbrook (about 150ks each way) and about 20 minutes the Muswellbrook side of Singleton KIA "money pit's" temp gauge shot up and there was the tell tall smell of coolant. Stopped and had a look at the engine and noted a 1/4" hose busted off. Called assistance and to cut a long store short 4 hours later we were deposited on our front yard with the car.
I know it is not easy to transport 2 adults and 4 kids and a people mover but the issues were little or no communication back to us (feedback) on progress for a rescue, I had to make continuous calls for info on where things were up to and when the tow truck driver arrived he let us know his story and when he was contacted we were very inclined to belive him and not the guff from roadside assitance, ie, his company was contacted about 2hrs into the whole sage not when it first happened. I should have made a complaint but at the time was not interested in speaking to anyone from the company again.
The whole problem was there is only one truck that services the Central Coast and the Newcastle area that can take 5 or 6 peole and a car.
In hindsight it would have been quicker to send a taxi to take the family home and I could have stayed with the car for a normal tow truck. Know better next time I guess.
We still have the said assistance but this is because most of our driving is in the contry where we are 30 minutes plus between towns.
We are very wary now and (as we did on the day of the resuce in question) always carry lots of food for the kids, spare clothing, and water. I always make sure my mobile is charged and I have the car charger with me.

Post by **Captain Obvious** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 8:21 pm

i love it when they say they will send a mechanic to look at is when you have told under no certan terms the car is drivable, this happend when my RX turbo did a big end bearing, they had to send the mech first so i started it and he's like yeah thats terminal will send the tow truck!! dumb dumbs!!

bryan

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:09 am

Back in the late 70's a mate and I used to work at a country service station near Geraldton and they had the RAC towing contract.....we in our late teens/early 20's used to drive the tow truck.

Anyhow late one Saturday night we were in the pub pissed as parrots as usual and someone came bursting in saying a friend of ours's sister had been in a head on half way between Gerro & Northampton, so Charlie and I being the idiots we were decided in our drunken stupor that we should go and pick the car up but check the accident first.... even though the tow truck was parked next to his car over the road from the pub, so we jumped in his hot GTR Torana and headed south at a great rate of knots, we eventually came flying around a bend skidding sideways before we nearly hit the cop cars and ambo's to see it was a pretty bad smash and we need a tow truck??? logical really derr (Charlies old man was the sergeant in charge at the local police stn too so we knew all the cops and pretty much got away with murder)

So we had a quick look and turned around and headed back to get the truck at an even greater rate of knots and in our haste we hit the first bend opposite the first servo in town a bit fast and took out a couple of white posts, he managed to sort of straighten the car a bit and we went down a 4' bank on the left wheels (bad enough that the carton in the back seat hit me on the side of the head .....and many previous bad accidents and deaths on that bend) somehow squeezing between two massive trees before the car came back down on it's wheels and we bounced our way down the bottom of the hill and came back up onto the highway just before we hit the creek and cruised the last few hundred meters to pick up the truck.

So we jumped in the truck & flew back south again but knew which bend we needed to slow down at this time lol, anyhow the car at fault (drunken aborigines Valiant) which had crossed the road and hit the friends sister head on was the only car left by this time so we hooked it up and off we headed back to the servo, about 4-5K's down the road I looked in the mirror and noticed some small flames coming from the back wheel area of the Valiant so we discussed whether we should stop or see if the flames would go out on their own.......we decided on the latter and let the bugger burn......the faster we went the more it burned lol but they deserved it and it was pretty crispy by the time we took the long way back and very crispy by the time it was unhooked and left in the car park to finish self destructing.

We'd started to sober up by this time and had forgot about the near miss we'd had in the GTR with all the excitement so we went and had a look at it and all the panels on the l/h side were scraped and the front was completely rooted lol.

Ahh the fun you have when nearly dying.

So to answer your post....Yup probably some pretty angry non reflectives calling the RAC that week.........though I doubt it would have been registered.