Aaa?

[dharmamama]

Is a membership to AAA worth it?

dm

[Emmeline II]

How much would it cost to tow your car once?

We have roadside assistance with our car insurance. AAA is worth it if you Travel often.

[2tadpoles]

I never used to think so.

I've needed a tow twice in the past year (once due to heavy rain and electrical issues, once from a dead battery), and I've locked my keys in the van once.

My insurance covers towing and lock-out, to a certain dollar amount. But I would have to arrange for my own services, and then be reimbursed later. I like that AAA has their own people that they can send out quickly, and that it's prepaid. When my battery died, I had just finished purchasing nearly $200 worth of groceries. I'm really glad I didn't have to fool around with making several phone calls while my frozen goods, meats, and dairy products got all yucky. And the tow-truck was there in ten minutes.

[Moon Faerie]

Originally Posted by i'mmykid'$mom

We have roadside assistance with our car insurance. AAA is worth it if you Travel often.

:

For us, it's def. worth it. It's only the 11th, and so far, just this month, I've saved about $40. Since it was only $50ish to renew, I'll more than have made my money back in May alone.

[Jadzia]

I have had AAA as long as I have owned a car!

It is worth it to me because I am inept at cars, and it nice to have someone to call and come change your tire, jump-start your car, or otherwise tow you somewhere if you are ever stranded. It is worth it to me for the peace of mind. Some years I never use it, some I use multiple times.

We have had them even come out to our house when the car is dead in the driveway for a jump-start!

They also offer a lot of discounts to places, and free maps.

[fiesta'smom]

I love having a roadside service. You may want to see if Road America is in your area. It's a little cheaper than AAA and has good benefits. You can find them online. Also, Sam's Club (if you are a member) sent out a flyer recently saying that they had a new roadside service for members. It looked like a really good deal.

[Eman'smom]

For us it is, in fact we up'ed to the "fancy" membership when dh was getting towed several times a month :

It's also nice for small things like maps.

[BookGoddess]

Originally Posted by Jadzia

I have had AAA as long as I have owned a car!

It is worth it to me because I am inept at cars, and it nice to have someone to call and come change your tire, jump-start your car, or otherwise tow you somewhere if you are ever stranded. It is worth it to me for the peace of mind. Some years I never use it, some I use multiple times.

We have had them even come out to our house when the car is dead in the driveway for a jump-start!

They also offer a lot of discounts to places, and free maps.

Same here. I'm not very astute when it comes to cars. AAA has helped. They've changed flat tires (even coming onto a military base once!), towed my car when it was overheated, jump-started my car on the side of a freeway, etc. If I knew more about cars I might think twice about paying for roadside assistance but I know myself and my limitations so AAA is useful for me.

The maps are an added bonus. Plus, I think AAA provides service even if you're driving someone else's car. Or, am I mistaken?

[peachpie]

When I lived in New England and drove less-than-reliable cars, it was worth it.

We were once stranded in NH, on a Sunday with a belt broken... we paid an outrageous amount to get towed back to Mass. We signed up right after that!

Now I live someplace warmer, drive a newer car (well dh doesn't but he is handy) and rarely drive many hours from home. So we've let it lapse.

[polyhymnia]

When I lived in NH I had it and my family back home still do. We used it frequently - cars won't start when it's too cold, run out of gas, flat tires, keys-locked-in-cars, etc. All sorts of things. Tows can be expensive because of distances there so it is great to have. We also used their travel planning services, cheaper passport photos, etc although these services are much easier to come by in other ways now in the age of the internet. Finally we benefitted from the AAA discounts offered at hotels, vacation destinations, car rental places, etc.

Now, I live near Seattle and we have roadside assistance included with our regular car insurance. Tows are also a lot cheaper since it's not so rural. We don't stay in hotels, etc as often so the discounts aren't as valuable, and we do what little road trip planning we need on mapquest

I think it is very valuable for a lot of people but right now it has outlived its usefulness. When we have children I think we may rejoin as we will probably be doing more road trips further from home, more car rentals/hotel rooms/tourist stuff etc and I also don't want to have to change a flat tire alone with kids in the car.

[1growingsprout]

we have it and love it, also AAA qualifies you for some discounts (hotels, travel etc) and we have a local 'branch' were we can get discount movie tickets etc...

well worth the $50/year...

[Leylla]

I've never thought so, but I am farily proficient w/ MY cars, (I make DH show me standard repairs when we get it) and I'm not adverse to changing a tire on the side of the road.

DH also has a boom truck, which makes the tows for things I cannot repair. But the Boom Truck was certainly more expensive than an AAA membership. But he uses it in his side business so it's just a bonus for us.

However, the ONE time I would have killed to have AAA, it would've been worthless as there was NO cell reception, and NO passerbys. (Where I live if you are on the side of the road almost EVERYONE will stop, certainly for a lady w/ oddles of kids) I ended up toting DS3, and DS1 toted DS2 and we walked about 4 miles to a gas station to use the phone. I have never been so mad at a car before. (the timing belt broke) But even then w/out cell reception AAA couldn't have helped.

So it really depends on your situation.

Steph

[CarrieMF]

For us it isn't. When we bought our car it came with a roadside assistance deal. If we didn't have that than we probably still wouldn't have it.

i have broken down once in 13years and I flagged a guy down. Actually the first few didn't stop. the one that did was a firefighter from the city I'd just left. After that we got a cel phone, though it didn't work the last 3 hours of our trips to our parents because that particular brand doesn't get that service there. There is a small town about every 5-10 minutes on those last 3 hours. We don't travel out of town often enough to really warrant having it on previous vehicles.

[Moon Faerie]

Originally Posted by BookGoddess

Plus, I think AAA provides service even if you're driving someone else's car. Or, am I mistaken?

You're right. They actually provide service on any car the aaa member is either a driver or passenger in.

[Eben'sMama]

It all depends on how much you drive, but I would recommend
it, no matter what. And, with AAA, after a year or two, you are eligible for the Plus Membership, which gives you 3 free tows a year, up to 100 mile each, then $5 a mile after that. If you have a joint membership with your DP, you get 6 tows. DH drives a lot for work and three times in the past few years he has broken down far from home (90-100 miles) and the towing has been free each time. I shudder to think about what it would have cost us to pay cash to be towed from Merced to Sacramento! :

[alicia622]

MIL has bought dh's AAA membership since he started to drive (it's one of his birthday gifts) I have never had AAA on my own and probably wouldn't bother with it.

[babycarrier]

We find it very useful - live in New England with long stretches from home driving and cars that are reliable for the most part.

On top of saving a fortune on towing in the past 6 years (10-80 miles from home to our mechanic), we use the Lenscrafters discount regularly and save a bunch of money when we need new glasses 30%.

I have not used the discounts for other things too often, though if I look back I probably have saved some $.

[BookGoddess]

Originally Posted by 1growingsprout

we have it and love it, also AAA qualifies you for some discounts (hotels, travel etc) and we have a local 'branch' were we can get discount movie tickets etc...

well worth the $50/year...

I completely forgot about the AAA hotel and travel benefits. Yep, we've used those quite a bit. On our last trip to San Francisco, we were able to save about $50 off the daily hotel rate thanks to our AAA membership.

[canadianchick]

I have had it for the past several years and have used it many times. I am on the road a lot for work and also transporting dd back and forth to Canada for visits with her father and my parents. One tow would cost more than a yearly membership. I can't imagine why people don't have it. Obviously they have never broken down somewhere without money to pay for a tow.

[maybemom05]

It has been worth it for me!! My parents bought me a membership when I got my drivers liscense at 16, and I've been a member ever since.

I have used the towing service on several occasions, and this past winter they helped me replace a dead battery while DH was out of town. Especially if I'm on the road alone with the baby, I find the extra security comforting.

Also - I like that they will assist with any car you are in, regardless of whether or not the car owner is a member. One of my earliest towing experiences was in DH's (then Darling Boyfriend, I guess) car when we were in college. They also replaced my brother in law's car battery one afternoon when I was at his house. (You buy the battery, and probably pay a small premium for convenience - but for me, it was well worth it!)