How do You use AAA?

[simple girl]

Also a great reminder about coverage extending to bicycles. I carry it with me for bike touring and longer rides. Good to know if I have a mechanical issue I can arrange for a ride home, even if I'm 100-200 miles

Wow, had no idea. Thanks!

 

[More Cowbell]

Be aware that AAA will only tow if your disabled vehicle is on a paved road. A college friend drove on an unpaved desert road when the car conked out within sight of the paved highway. It was an expensive non-AAA tow. Likewise, people who drive their vehicles onto the beach and get stranded when the tide rolls in are also not going to get an AAA tow.

Interestingly, if you break down on a paved road and have your smartphone and cell signal, but you don’t have AAA, you can join at the level with the tow allowance you need, then immediately request a tow. You can add the AAA card to your phone wallet to show the driver.

 

[sdawson]

Wow, had no idea. Thanks!

To be clear, there are three levels of AAA membership with different costs

Basic - Plus - Premier

Basic has very short tow distance
Plus has the 100 mile tow
Premier has the 200 mile tow

I don't think the Basic is worth the cost. I have Plus myself. If I were travelling the country more, or more than 100 miles from home frequently for any reason, I'd get the Premier. But I'm currently seldom more than 100 miles from home, and I just want to get towed back to my home town for repairs.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I've been a member for 40 years.

We used to use them to get maps when traveling, but of course with smart phones and GPS we don't use paper maps anymore. Although there are places without cell service where a paper map could be useful, even locally.
-Have called them many times when needing auto service for breakdowns. One, when I lived in California, I had some car problem in downtown San Jose on a late afternoon. I had just gotten my first cell phone (it came in its own carry case). I called AAA and they said there were many calls at that time and it would be awhile. I then told them that I was alone with my two year old in the back seat and it wasn't a great part of town. They put me at the front of the line.
-Free notary
-Free passport photos
-Rapid changing to foreign currency for travel to Europe, Canada, and Iceland. There are no added fees for this service
-Travel agent services:
--Mediterranean cruise, including hotel stay in Barcelona and all transfers from airport to hotel to ship and back.
--Self guided tour through Iceland-arranged timing of flights, pick up of our SUV, all the stops along the way. The travel agent's knowledge was invaluable
--Alaska cruise and Rocky Mountaineer trip with a few days at a luxury hotel in Vancouver, which I never would have known about except for the travel agent. Again, arranged all transfers in Alaska and Canada.
-Useful items in their store, including RFID credit card and passport sleeves, converters, etc.
With Amazon and online tools, we're using them a lot less these days.

 

[John Galt III]

The AAA hotel rate isn’t just discounted, but it also comes with free cancellation.
We’ve also had them change flat tires for us. I abused their free towing many times when I drove clunkers ages ago in graduate school, so I feel I owe them many more years of membership dues.
The occasional large packets offering to sell me life insurance are mildly annoying.

Same here. Have used AAA for at least 5 tows since I started with them, but haven't needed any tows for the 15 years so they are profiting from me now, lol.

Used them for lockout once. Jump start battery a few times. Trip tiks. Titles. Notary service is $5 for each stamp, with AAA Plus.

Every time I ask for a AAA discount at a motel, the motel says it is already included, lol.

 

[CO-guy]

Be aware that AAA will only tow if your disabled vehicle is on a paved road. A college friend drove on an unpaved desert road when the car conked out within sight of the paved highway. It was an expensive non-AAA tow. Likewise, people who drive their vehicles onto the beach and get stranded when the tide rolls in are also not going to get an AAA tow.

Interestingly, if you break down on a paved road and have your smartphone and cell signal, but you don’t have AAA, you can join at the level with the tow allowance you need, then immediately request a tow. You can add the AAA card to your phone wallet to show the driver.

Excellent point! Vehicles becoming disabled on unpaved roads is a costly issue for many visitors to our area and it isn't just AAA that won't come.

The price to recover a disabled vehicle even a few hundred yards up an unpaved road starts at $450 just for the hookup.

 

[sdawson]

I'm curious about this 'unpaved' road issue now. Where I live in the country there are lots of gravel roads or driveways that are well maintained, and lead to houses. These are not off road treks, not in the dunes, or in some field for instance, just fifty or a hundred yards up a maintained gravel driveway. Would towing from a house with a long gravel road/driveway be an extra tow charge? Sounds like it is not just an AAA issue but a towing company policy if I'm reading the above correctly.

If so, that seems pretty unreasonable.

I guess I'd just get some a friend and push the car down the driveway to the paved road before calling for a tow. But I never thought that this would be an extra fee.

 

[Seaside FIRE]

My father gifts his children and grandchildren an annual membership. Such a great gift!

I’ve used it over the years mostly for dead batteries and flats; but also for towing my or another’s car. It’s great insurance, especially in winter snow, ice, and freezing temps.

My new car has 2 years of Toyota Cares; but Toyota cares only up to 25 miles. I drove further than that this morning to the nearest grocery store. I removed the towing from the auto insurance which wasn’t adequate. I’m grateful to have AAA’s 100 mile range coverage in the rural area where I spend summers at the beach.

 

[CO-guy]

I'm curious about this 'unpaved' road issue now. Where I live in the country there are lots of gravel roads or driveways that are well maintained, and lead to houses. These are not off road treks, not in the dunes, or in some field for instance, just fifty or a hundred yards up a maintained gravel driveway. Would towing from a house with a long gravel road/driveway be an extra tow charge? Sounds like it is not just an AAA issue but a towing company policy if I'm reading the above correctly.

If so, that seems pretty unreasonable.

I guess I'd just get some a friend and push the car down the driveway to the paved road before calling for a tow. But I never thought that this would be an extra fee.

This is also the policy with most car rental agencies. I'm pretty sure it's a liability issue for towing companies, but I believe there's an exception for driveways. However, a long winding gravel driveway would probably be a "no." Same with a well-maintained gravel road. It's not uncommon around here to see people pushing/pulling a vehicle onto pavement to be towed.

 

[Koolau]

This is also the policy with most car rental agencies. I'm pretty sure it's a liability issue for towing companies, but I believe there's an exception for driveways. However, a long winding gravel driveway would probably be a "no." Same with a well-maintained gravel road. It's not uncommon around here to see people pushing/pulling a vehicle onto pavement to be towed.

I've never heard of this - AAA or towing company either one. I don't know what % of breakdowns/stranding happen off road, but I'd bet it's significant.

 

[sdawson]

No I'm curious. Guess I should ask AAA or some local towing companies directly what the policy is.

Learning something every day here.

 

[Ronstar]

We had several years where we went to our Arizona condo after several months not being there. Our Arizona car sat in the garage and the battery was always fried after summer heat. AAA was able to jump start the car despite the battery being fried, and gave us a diagnostic printout to bring to Autozone, where I’d get a free replacement installed under warranty.

 

[MC Rider]

Most recently, got new license plates after the ones for my new to me car that were supposed to arrive in the mail, did not. Not too long a wait at the office, and I walked out with the plates and annual sticker. Zero charge, the original plates were paid for just not received.

Got paper maps of this county and the adjacent one while I was there. I like maps. Yay AAA!

 

[CO-guy]

I've never heard of this - AAA or towing company either one. I don't know what % of breakdowns/stranding happen off road, but I'd bet it's significant.

We live in a resort area with 4-wheeling opportunities, in addition to hiking, biking, etc where trail access sometimes involves using forestry roads and such. As a result, it's not unusual to see rental SUVs in places they don't belong.

Most commonly visitors will tear a tire sidewall, since stock vehicles don't have off-road tires. That's when they discover the lack of a spare, and the cascade of problems continues from there: An excruciatingly expensive tow, a costly repair bill, then later when they're home, learning that the rental car insurance (and even their own insurance) will cover nothing because they violated their rental contract.

 

[Koolau]

We live in a resort area with 4-wheeling opportunities, in addition to hiking, biking, etc where trail access sometimes involves using forestry roads and such. As a result, it's not unusual to see rental SUVs in places they don't belong.

Most commonly visitors will tear a tire sidewall, since stock vehicles don't have off-road tires. That's when they discover the lack of a spare, and the cascade of problems continues from there: An excruciatingly expensive tow, a costly repair bill, then later when they're home, learning that the rental car insurance (and even their own insurance) will cover nothing because they violated their rental contract.

That possibly sounds reasonable. But not towing from someone's drive (because the car isn't on a public road) makes no sense to me. YMMV

Yeah, I'm gonna check my insurance towing contract a bit better. So far, they have come to my parking structure for keys-locked-inside and battery replacement. No problem.

 

[CO-guy]

That possibly sounds reasonable. But not towing from someone's drive (because the car isn't on a public road) makes no sense to me. YMMV

Yeah, I'm gonna check my insurance towing contract a bit better. So far, they have come to my parking structure for keys-locked-inside and battery replacement. No problem.

At first blush, not towing from a driveway might not make sense. However, in rural areas, there can be some sketchy driveways winding their way up the sides of mountains for hundreds of yards or more. There's a policy limit on towing for that type of reason and it's usually a surprisingly short distance of maybe 200 feet or so.

 

[Koolau]

At first blush, not towing from a driveway might not make sense. However, in rural areas, there can be some sketchy driveways winding their way up the sides of mountains for hundreds of yards or more. There's a policy limit on towing for that type of reason and it's usually a surprisingly short distance of maybe 200 feet or so.

Yeah, if it were based on an actual site assessment, maybe that would be reasonable. Maneuvering a tow vehicle with a "monster" truck in tow between huge rocks or other vehicles on a twisty dirt lane would be problematic. But I had a 300 foot lane at one time. It was hard packed gravel and straight as a ruler. The 200 foot limit would have been a ridiculous limit if my car failed in my garage some sunny morning.