AAA vs Good Sam

[4wheeldog]

I am pretty handy, so I have never actually used my AAA towing coverage for my own vehicle.
But I have used it as a passenger on several occasions when a vehicle I was riding in crapped the bed.
We have the Premier plan, which covers longer towing distances (150 miles?)
I have no regrets paying for it, because if I ever really need it, it will be well worth it.

 

[jcmadeintheshade@gmail.com]

I believe the Ca. Premier AAA plan allows towing up to 200 miles. That may vary from state to state however.

I too have rarely needed it, but the assurance is worth the cost.

I did have to go through some tribulation over the classification the AAA seems to have about our Sprinters. Mine is not an RV, but all were classified as such.

It ended up that with a little resistance on my part that my 06 was finally classified as a private vehicle and not an RV or a commercially licensed vehicle. It did save me some dollars in the end.

 

[avanti]

I believe the Ca. Premier AAA plan allows towing up to 200 miles. That may vary from state to state however.

Every AAA Premier plan I have ever looked at gave you ONE 200 mile tow, and three 100 mile tows.

The other plans are unlimited miles unlimited events.
And usually cheaper.

 

[autostaretx]

In the dim and dark past (T1N years), some AAA clubs offered RV coverage, some didn't.
If you had RV coverage, any AAA would provide towing service for you.
If your "home" club didn't offer RV coverage, they wouldn't.

So i suspect that what we're seeing is (basically) insurance ... and a cross-franchise-area agreement plan.
Namely: your Home club will reimburse the local club for services rendered (up to your membership's limits).
Local tow company bills local club bills your home club.
So you have the warm-and-fuzzies of "being covered", even though the house you're parked in front of wouldn't necessarily have the same happy experience.

As RVs have proliferated (and the Good Sam and the others are providing competition) most likely the majority of AAA "clubs" have had to add RV coverage to avoid loss of market share.

--dick

 

[Tommatt]

I recently requested a tow for our 2005 Dodge Sprinter camper van. It is registered in CA as a vc van conversion. We have been towed before. We have the premium plan with 200 miles towing. This time they said they do not tow Van Conversions only passenger vans or RVs. I argued that we were an rv but since it did not say that on the registration they said they would not tow us. I asked to speak to a manager and argued that they had towed us before. He said their policy had changed. I said I had never been notified and had been paying the highest premium. He agreed to tow us one last time. Since then I have spoken to aaa and they definitely will not tow us again. I called good sam and they said they would tow us to one their mechanics and it could be any mechanic not necessarily a knowledgeable mechanic. I will inquire with dmv to see if we can be registered as an rv.
Also have an inquiry out with MCA. Any suggestions?

 

[Tommatt]

I think I found a good program with coach net

 

[Kajtek1]

Just a reminder, that MB USA offers free roadside assistance to all qualified MB owners.
Not sure how it would work with ClassC conversion, but I had my Sprinter conversion towed on MB dime, even I never used dealers in 1.5 years of ownership. My calculation was about $700 worth of towing, but I was never show the bill.

 

[avanti]

Just a reminder, that MB USA offers free roadside assistance to all qualified MB owners.
Not sure how it would work with ClassC conversion, but I had my Sprinter conversion towed on MB dime, even I never used dealers in 1.5 years of ownership. My calculation was about $700 worth of towing, but I was never show the bill.

Yes, but many restrictions. Just a few:
--Only applies if you have an active warranty
--Will only tow to a MB dealer.
--They only promise service within a 30 mile radius of a dealer
--You must get the work done by the dealer, or they have the right to charge you
and more,...

Roadside Assistance Eligibility & Restrictions

Learn more about Mercedes-Benz roadside assistance eligibility and restrictions. Roadside assistance is complimentary to all vehicles under the Mercedes-Benz warranty.

www.mbusa.com

 

[Kajtek1]

And again, the qualifications change often I got free towing on van past all the warranties.

 

[RVBarry]

I recently requested a tow for our 2005 Dodge Sprinter camper van. It is registered in CA as a vc van conversion. We have been towed before. We have the premium plan with 200 miles towing. This time they said they do not tow Van Conversions only passenger vans or RVs. I argued that we were an rv but since it did not say that on the registration they said they would not tow us. I asked to speak to a manager and argued that they had towed us before. He said their policy had changed. I said I had never been notified and had been paying the highest premium. He agreed to tow us one last time. Since then I have spoken to aaa and they definitely will not tow us again. I called good sam and they said they would tow us to one their mechanics and it could be any mechanic not necessarily a knowledgeable mechanic. I will inquire with dmv to see if we can be registered as an rv.
Also have an inquiry out with MCA. Any suggestions?

Hi, I just talked to a membership agent and an insurance agent at AAA of So Cal; they both said self-converted RVs / Campervans are fine as long as you have the RV upgrade (~$40) (which is not included in Premier).

 

[bikebum]

Coach-Net requires the vehicle to be registered as an RV. Mine isn't.
AAA has "plus", which covers 100 miles, to the nearest service place.
AAA has "Premier RV" which covers up to 200 miles (1 time per year) for $267.

The questions I asked AAA was in regards to a real scenario. My buddies Sprinter had something go wrong with his Turbo, near Steamboat. His insurance carrier (Farmers) wanted to tow him to a local shop in Steamboat, which had a 3-week wait. He successfully argued with Farmers to tow his van to his service place north of Denver. This required a deal of calling his agent and the call center, but they reimbursed him. He said that since this was his primary vehicle, he could not wait 3 weeks for service.

I have an RV policy with Safeco, the cheapest I could find for a self-converted van. The policy is up to $90 per month. The towing is only $300 reimbursement. My main concern is breaking down returning from Tuscon, somewhere in New Mexico.

I may self-insure this risk, as $267 for peace of mind for a $1,000 tow doesn't really make sense.

 

[gltrimble]

$267 sounds high. I recall adding the extra “RV” options for about $40-60 annually. I did this because of the trailering requirement for 4x4s and I wanted it towed to the nearest Mercedes dealer which can easily exceed 100 miles. AAA has been very good in my experience. My buddy locked his keys in his Revel about 10-20 miles off any paved road near Zion (Lost Creek Mesa). The AAA guy was there in about 30 minutes. The AAA driver was very familiar with the area.

 

[avanti]

Coach-Net requires the vehicle to be registered as an RV.

Where did you source this claim?
I ask because CoachNet covers ALL your vehicles. Are you saying that ONE of them has to be registered as an RV? I have never heard of this, and it seems strange. Moreover, the "JOIN" form:

Coach-Net Membership Application

member.coach-net.com

doesn't seem to ask anything about registration, and it explicitly says that if you can't find your RV on their list, just select "Other".

Coachnet costs $159/year (after the perpetual $10 discount).

The AAA driver was very familiar with the area.

That driver was almost certainly not an "AAA driver". He very likely came from the same pool of independent towing companies that the other services use. AAA "clubs" only operate a tiny number of trucks in a few urban centers.

I don't mean to come across as a CoachNet fanboy, but I have tried almost all of them. AAA is not even on the same planet.

 

[bikebum]

I am just off the phone with both Coach-Net and Allstate. I spoke with an English speaking associate for both companies.

 

[gltrimble]

That driver was almost certainly not an "AAA driver". He very likely came from the same pool of independent towing companies that the other services use. AAA "clubs" only operate a tiny number of trucks in a few urban centers.

I don't mean to come across as a CoachNet fanboy, but I have tried almost all of them. AAA is not even on the same planet.

Regardless, he was a AAA representative with the AAA logo on his truck. I am very familiar with how the AAA system works. The driver also responded from the only service station within a 50+ mile radius. Doubt CoachNet could respond as quickly.

 

[avanti]

Doubt CoachNet could respond as quickly.

What I am trying to say is that in the circumstance you describe, in all likelihood Coachnet would have sent exactly the same guy. There is no reason to believe that it would have taken any longer.

The AAA logo on the truck is simply paid advertising.

 

[bored]

What I am trying to say is that in the circumstance you describe, in all likelihood Coachnet would have sent exactly the same guy. There is no reason to believe that it would have taken any longer.

The AAA logo on the truck is simply paid advertising.

Everyone is right.

AAA is over 50 car clubs. Some car clubs have their own trucks. Some tow truck companies ONLY tow for AAA and are contracted by AAA.

The cars that have AAA logo's on them wont tow you if you are with another company. At least in the bay area.

I called the tow company directly I used before and told them I had nationwide and they said they only tow for AAA members.

In smaller less populated areas AAA using other tow companies.