BarryK

I guess I'll be the lone, dissenting vote.

The only time I called AAA for service was a number of years ago when my wife got stuck in the snow.

Naturally, there were lots of other calls that day because of the weather. When you are AAA, that's like saying HMO. The business (in this case, garage or towing co.) has reluctantly signed up because too many people in their market have AAA to not sign up. However, if it's a busy day, they will provide service to all their full-paying customers first, and the poor AAA member, for which they get paid some lowball negotiated amount, gets serviced last.

In my wife's case, it was several hours.

J_Correa

I've had nothing but good experience with tow truck drivers called through AAA - even during storms when the drivers are very busy. Hopfully Barry's wife's experience was a fluke.

bear900

I met someone who had a bad experience with AAA in the snow.

We made it through a bitter storm night at Donner Pass on the way to Tahoe. I went to have the car washed next morning and saw a new Mercedes thoroughly wrecked on one side.

Turned out it belonged to the car-wash owner. He called AAA that night when he got stuck. The truck wasn’t able to stop and plowed into the side of his car. The Mercedes owner was outside of the car and watched with horror.

The rescue driver panicked and put the truck in reverse then backed into the driver sending him off a cliff.

There was a very important looking man there with him that morning. Not sure if it was his doctor or his attorney.

bear900

Ps - I have AAA and love it.

Bill_I

I think AAA is worth it. I purchase the PLUS version for myself, the wife & kids, 1 who is away at college, & I will be purchasing a membership for my 16 yr old who will have his license within 6 mnts. Having used it many times, it gives us parents some peace of mind when the kids are driving. I have used the towing service a number of times. Being in the Chicago area, having the 100 mile radius tow has been well worth it, to get the car to the garage that is convenient for me & at a garage I trust. Another use, especially in Illinois, if you get stopped & ticketed for a traffic violation, you must hand over your drivers license as a bond. But if you have your AAA card, you can use that for a bond card & keep your license in your possesion.

Gretchen

The tow truck story has nothing to do with AAA. It has to do with the tow truck company.

Gretchen

And yes, I have had to wait on busy days. Let's see, who you gonna call that will come sooner? Have at it.
The plus membership gets you 125 miles of towing. We've used it!!

RedRock

>>I met someone who had a bad experience with AAA in the snow.<<

At one or another everyone has, even tow truck drivers.

gail

Barry - why do you think service station/tow company gets less for AAA customers - I do not think that is the case. And it is also a way for the service facility to gain new customers. Your car is broken, towed to their place - where are you likely to get it fixed?

A little known fact is that if you call a AAA facility directly (not via the AAA 800 number) they will often come, still under the AAA membership. This is useful info to know in your home area - like when you are trying to get to work and have a flat in your driveway.

BarryK

Gail - Two reasons:
1. That's how businesses work - negotiated volume discounts.

2. A service station owner acquaintance told me so. They look at it as a loss leader for any repair work gotten, but during a busy time (usually weather related) priority goes to full-paying customers.

Gretchen

What Barry said. They are hired on a contract basis, not per call.

DebitNM

Ok, my 2 cents worth.

Today, I drove into Durango [50 miles away] to do some errands.

Got in the car and tried to start it - absolute silence! Not even a click when I turned the key.

Oh, did I mention my AAA expired on 10/31??

I called my DH who was at home - he went online and renewed the membership. I then called AAA and in less than an hour the AAA truck was there and was ready to tow my car to a mechanic. The young man said that maybe it needed a jump. He said sometimes some newer high end cars won't even try to turn over if the battery is dead - some sort of safety thing.

So before he hauled it up on the flatbed, he jumped the car and sure enough it started right up!

That nice young man saved my a lot of $$ that I would have had to pay the mechanic to look and see what was wrong.

Money well spent.

Debi