What’s good for roadside assistance?

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Evaluate your options and make the best choice for you and your vehicle.

Key Point

• Roadside assistance is very useful.
• Many auto insurance companies offer it as additional coverage or even include it as part of your regular policy.
• AAA is best known for roadside assistance, but membership comes with other useful perks.

For quite some time, if you’re a licensed driver, chances are you’ve found yourself needing help on the side of the road. Perhaps you ran out of gas, got locked out of your car, or had a simple flat tire. Or you’ve had more colorful problems, like someone accidentally stepping on an abandoned tailpipe on a snowy highway, a punctured oil pan, or an engine leaking all of its oil. prize. It was one day when I was a graduate student. It wasn’t a fun day, but thankfully I had roadside auto insurance with his assistance.

Roadside Assistance coverage can be added to many auto insurance policies and is very convenient to have access to. Roadside Assistance is useful if your car breaks down for any reason. Includes tow truck service, battery jump start, locksmith help and more. It’s also especially useful if you have an older car that’s out of manufacturer’s warranty, as mechanical intervention is likely to be required.

However, if you are interested in accessing various discounts and other useful perks in addition to Roadside Assistance, question whether you should obtain an AAA membership instead of opting for Roadside Assistance through your insurance company. Here are some questions and answers to help you decide between auto insurance and AAA for roadside assistance.

Does my car insurance come with roadside assistance?

If you’re trying to decide whether or not to get roadside assistance through AAA, we recommend that you review the details of your auto insurance policy as you may already have one. If you have a comprehensive policy with an insurance company, roadside assistance may be included or already paid for. Through your insurance company, you’ll probably pay a nominal fee of $8 to $25 per year. If you already have this coverage or can easily add it to your insurance, is AAA membership worth considering as well?

What is the membership fee for AAA?

AAA membership prices vary depending on where you live, how many vehicles you cover, and whether special discounts are available. At the time of writing this article, the available membership levels/annual costs I have are:

As you can see, even a basic level membership exceeds the average annual cost of roadside assistance by a car insurance company. However, AAA is very clear about the level of service it provides. For example, if I choose the Plus level membership, I am entitled to 4 roadside assistance calls per year and AAA will tow my car to his 100 miles. My auto insurance policy is through one of the larger national insurers and according to their website and my experience using this service in the past, they only have the vehicle towed to the “nearest repair facility”. is covered. This is less useful to me than being able to choose where my car is delivered. And AAA membership doesn’t just help you if your car breaks down.

What does AAA membership include?

AAA is well-known for offering countless discounts on hotel stays, car rentals, and other travel expenses. However, members are also given the opportunity to receive discounts on dining out, gym memberships, and even prescription glasses.These discounts are available regardless of the AAA membership level purchased. Suddenly, paying for even a basic level membership may make more sense to you.

Here we get to the heart of the matter. Is paying for an AAA membership a good fit for your budget? If you take advantage of the discounts and benefits available to you as an AAA member, travel frequently, or drive an older vehicle that is prone to mechanical problems. And if you want more flexibility in roadside assistance, AAA membership might certainly make sense if it’s available. It’s a good idea to find out if your auto insurance company offers roadside assistance coverage, what it covers, and how much an AAA membership costs. This information will help you make the right choice.

If you, too, have known the fear of being stranded on the side of the road when your car breaks down, I bet you were delighted that a Roadside Assistance program could save the day (or at least your bank account. Towing services are often It’s expensive). Now that you know how to decide whether you want roadside assistance from your insurance company or roadside assistance from AAA, you’re ready to drive safely (and save money!).