Problems with AAA

H

harllee

Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Joined
Oct 11, 2017
Messages
5,583
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
I have AAA road side assistance (paid extra for Premier, whatever that means). This morning my car would not start. I immediately called AAA but they say they did not have anyone to come out after I waited for hours. I do not live in a remote area, I live in a very populated area. I called a nearby garage and they said they do not do AAA service calls anymore because the reimbursement is too low. Finally I got someone to jump start my car and drove it to a nearby garage. What good is AAA if they won't come when you need them? Is there any other better road side assistance?
 
harllee said:
I have AAA road side assistance (paid extra for Premier, whatever that means). This morning my car would not start. I immediately called AAA but they say they did not have anyone to come out after I waited for hours. I do not live in a remote area, I live in a very populated area. I called a nearby garage and they said they do not do AAA service calls anymore because the reimbursement is too low. Finally I got someone to jump start my car and drove it to a nearby garage. What good is AAA if they won't come when you need them? Is there any other better road side assistance?
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I gave up on AAA a long time ago for similar reasons. I pay for the same service through my insurance company and have had problems there as well. Twice, I've had dead batteries (Dead - not just needs jump). I called for service and they sent me someone who tried to rip me off and charge extra for the battery PLUS asking for more money for the j*b.
 
A few years hago had similar "success" as harllee. Took over 12 hours to pick up my car, fortunately it was at home and I had two other vehicles functional.
I filed a complaint with the PA AG suggesting that the AAA roadside assistance is a gigantic scam. I truly beleive that it is a scam. Seems a doge type audit would be effective in figuring it out.
AAA refunded my memebrship fee.
 
Forget doge. Maybe turn the matter over to Consumer Reports. They could run a survey because EVERYBODY who drives much has had reason to call for a tow truck/emergency service (from gas to battery to flat tire, etc.)

I'd trust CR on this but YMMV.
 
rk911 said:
We still have AAA for breakdowns but for jump starts I now carry a NoCo Litium Jump Start device. A day or so after I received it I used it to start a stranger's car that was blocking traffic.
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Yeah, those things really w*rk - unless your battery has a dead short. My last battery replacement "issue" (alluded to above) I tried both of my lithium jumpers AND my old (but charged) lead-acid jumper. No go!

But, yeah, first time I ever jumped a battery with a Li jumper, it was like magic! Just keep 'em charged up every couple of months or so.
 
Koolau said:
Yeah, those things really w*rk - unless your battery has a dead short. My last battery replacement "issue" (alluded to above) I tried both of my lithium jumpers AND my old (but charged) lead-acid jumper. No go!

But, yeah, first time I ever jumped a battery with a Li jumper, it was like magic! Just keep 'em charged up every couple of months or so.
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Yes, dead batteries are sometimes really dead! Especially if a cell is shorted out. But when I had classic cars (restoring work), I used a Battery Tender to keep the batteries topped up. I still have one, but since I have "retired" from the "car business- LOL", it just sits in my garage along with thousands of dollars worth of tools.
 
aja8888 said:
Yes, dead batteries are sometimes really dead! Especially if a cell is shorted out. But when I had classic cars (restoring work), I used a Battery Tender to keep the batteries topped up. I still have one, but since I have "retired" from the "car business- LOL", it just sits in my garage along with thousands of dollars worth of tools.
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My problem is that I'm down to one car. I can't even drive to the parts store and buy a battery when one fails. I have no access to electricity in the parking structure so can't use a battery minder. Living where it never gets cold, battery failure tends to be "okay, okay, okay, okay. DEAD."

Yeah, I retired from w*rking on cars when I moved to Paradise. All my old tools are still at the old homestead. Full disclosure. I no longer w*rk on my car on the mainland either. I'm getting too old for this stuff.
 
I have roadside through USAA and have been very happy when I had to use it. Once, I locked my keys in my truck on my way to a baseball game and waited till the end to get help. I bought an icecream cone inside the stadium at the bottom of the 8th and used their mobile app to request lock out service thinking I had a 30+ minute wait. I had to leave the game early and was still eating my icecream cone when the guy had me back inside my truck.

I'd check with your insurer for a roadside rider... mine is dirt cheap.
 
harllee said:
I have AAA road side assistance (paid extra for Premier, whatever that means). This morning my car would not start. I immediately called AAA but they say they did not have anyone to come out after I waited for hours.
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This is why I have never and will never have an AAA membership. I saw that happen to dozens of people in the 1970's and '80's. Evidently it hasn't changed.
 
I had two calls to AAA in the Kansas City area last year after none for years. Very happy with both. Like the last poster, one was locking keys in the trunk (threw a bunch of stuff in the trunk, had the keys in that hand, threw in the keys, too). The other was for a scraping noise that, it turned out, was from a compartment under the engine that had fallen open and was scraping as I drove. It had been serviced recently so I had it towed back to where it had been serviced even though I had to pay for the extra mileage. Several bolts were missing from that compartment. They told me that they may have vibrated out due to road vibrations (or someone MAY have forgotten to put a few bolts back in after they did the work- ya' think?).

Wait time for both calls was reasonable but thanks for the heads-up Will look at adding coverage through my auto insurer.
 
rk911 said:
We still have AAA for breakdowns but for jump starts I now carry a NoCo Litium Jump Start device. A day or so after I received it I used it to start a stranger's car that was blocking traffic.
Click to expand...
I live at a CCRC and our security people have one of these devices. So when I realized AAA was not coming I got security to try to start my car with the jump start device. Did not work, maybe my battery was too dead. What finally worked was someone with a truck and the old fashioned jumper cables.
 
AAA mid Atlantic has been very responsive to us for dead batteries and flats. Having 5 drivers and an aging family fleet keeps us subscribed. I did have a major issue when I needed my totaled car towed from the scene. The tow operator they assigned was incompetent but AAA seemed to take their side. I filed a complaint which they took seriously. I suspect the real problem was their reimbursement rate.
 
I have had AAA roadside assistance for 36 years never had an issue. I did have an issue with the PA turnpike commission as they regulate the price of a tow off of the Turnpike. Turnpike towers get a high yank fee, take you to a exit and unload. Then a second tow truck comes and tows to your preferred location for peanuts. I never paid for anything, but had to pay in time for the transfer. The 2nd tow truck driver said his tow rate was much lower since he didn't pluck us off the PA turnpike. All permitted under the rules.

I guess it's allowed to get multiple cars off the road in a hurry, instead of the 1st customer getting towed to Timbuktu, while the highway was shutdown.
 
harllee said:
I live at a CCRC and our security people have one of these devices. So when I realized AAA was not coming I got security to try to start my car with the jump start device. Did not work, maybe my battery was too dead. What finally worked was someone with a truck and the old fashioned jumper cables.
Click to expand...
How much driving do you do away from your new home and how far do you think you’ll drive? It seems to me if you stay local and don’t drive much you probably don’t need an emergency car service.

You might check with your insurance company, they may offer some sort of roadside assistance. If you have a regular auto repair service, get the contact info for a local towing service.
 
aja8888 said:
Yes, dead batteries are sometimes really dead! Especially if a cell is shorted out. But when I had classic cars (restoring work), I used a Battery Tender to keep the batteries topped up. I still have one, but since I have "retired" from the "car business- LOL", it just sits in my garage along with thousands of dollars worth of tools.
Click to expand...
I still use a battery tender on our 4-door Jeep 'cuz we only, usually, use it when we go out together (it's just easier for my wife to get in and out of that). Occasionally it will sit for days between trips.
 
In the "old days" having AAA seemed to make more sense because if you had it, you had access to standard pricing. If you didn't have AAA, you used Bubba's garage and ONLY Bubba's garage! You paid whatever they thought they could get out of you. Nowadays, you can call around, tell them where you are, and what you need, and get prices. Or you can Uber to Walmart, buy a battery and a pair of pliers, Uber back, and be on your way down the road, many hours ahead of the AAA member.
 
MichaelB said:
How much driving do you do away from your new home and how far do you think you’ll drive? It seems to me if you stay local and don’t drive much you probably don’t need an emergency car service.

You might check with your insurance company, they may offer some sort of roadside assistance. If you have a regular auto repair service, get the contact info for a local towing service.
Click to expand...
We are still very active at ages 73 and 74 and do a lot of driving. We have 2 cars. I have a very sick very old mother an hour and a half away and drive there frequently. We also spend our summers in the NC mountains. So we need good reliable roadside assistance.
 
We had used AAA multiple times when we lived in CA and never had an issue having someone out. We still keep AAA after all these years even though our cars cover roadside assistance as part of the extended warranty. We figure that the will come in useful if we have a rental car but then I guess we could call the rental company. Anyway, we still have the AAA membership. My son also has the AAA membership and used it a few times and not have had issues.
 
Just to let you know in case you want to leave the car at home, some but not all AAA road service programs will also help you out if your bicycle breaks down. They will go up to 10 miles and bring you and your bike back home. But check with your AAA office to see if your area is covered. There was no extra cost for this benefit.
 
I used AAA in late 2024. One day my 7 year old Camry with the original battery would not even turn over. I called AAA and told them bring me a new battery. AAA had it in and running in less than 2 hours, AND the AAA guy got a speeding ticket on the way to my house!

I gave them 5 stars in a Google review that day.
 
AAA member in California. Service can be good/bad. Depends on location and time of day.
Simple solution. Replace battery every 4 years. Costco good price. Batteries are fresh.
Carry a portable battery charger. Just be sure you keep it charged.
I carry "Capacitor" battery charger. Look it up.
Also, keep "old" jumper cables in the Van. But be careful. Not recommended for newer cars. If you make a
mistake, you risk frying the computer in either vehicles'. Super expensive to replace,
 
MichaelB said:
How much driving do you do away from your new home and how far do you think you’ll drive? It seems to me if you stay local and don’t drive much you probably don’t need an emergency car service.

You might check with your insurance company, they may offer some sort of roadside assistance. If you have a regular auto repair service, get the contact info for a local towing service.
Click to expand...
In our case, our car insurance does offer roadside assistance but it's at a price on our premium.
 
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