Road assistance VW vs moneysupermarket

[edocali]

My T6 is now 5 yo and I will again cross Europe in summer.

My VW Roadside assistance renewal letter came through the other day.
Last year's premium was £120 incl Euro cover, this year £190 and I made no claims.
I phoned and they would not offer any discounts - so I won't renew.

I used them only once during the first 3 years - was in the UK and the fact that a VW technician came fixed the problem properly
(fuel sensor issue that turned off the engine on the M25 ...) so they were very good.

However I reckon £190 is too much.
I went on MoneySupermarket and found I could get Green Flag yearly eurocover for £56 with just £40 excess per call.
has anyone any experiences of Green Flag euro assistance (and UK assistance) ?

There were evn lower quotes, lowest quote is £37 for Dynamo (£25 excess) but I never heard of them and I'd be happy to pay Green Flag if they were good.

Any opinions please ?

 

[KevH]

I have had the misfortune to need VW Assist twice recently.
1. A home non-starter: waited two hours, proper VW Assist van arrived, booster started van, advised I visit dealership.
2. Refusal to restart when stop/start kicked in, 23:00 hours, waited over 2 hours, got towed home by normal AA van. Arrived home(4 miles away) at nearly 2:00 next morning.
TBH whilst grateful to have been ‘rescued’ I am not overly impressed. Not worth £190 in my opinion. Disappointed.

 

[Kayleigh]

European cover is included with Safeguard insurance.

 

[Scapa]

A couple of things worth considering re VW Assist, if they can’t get you sorted at roadside or at home then they can priority book you into chosen nearest dealership this can speed things up considerably. They also organise hire car which you are entitled to. I’ve experienced both these. Also if you insist on a VAG technician attendance (not AA) I’ve found they are more comfortable with tackling repairs , in fact my recent experience was the technician even ordered the part and came back to my house 2 days later and installed the part on the driveway (3 hour job) as he didn’t see the point in me having to travel back and forth to the dealership when he could do the repair.

 

[KevH]

A couple of things worth considering re VW Assist, if they can’t get you sorted at roadside or at home then they can priority book you into chosen nearest dealership this can speed things up considerably. They also organise hire car which you are entitled to. I’ve experienced both these. Also if you insist on a VAG technician attendance (not AA) I’ve found they are more comfortable with tackling repairs , in fact my recent experience was the technician even ordered the part and came back to my house 2 days later and installed the part on the driveway (3 hour job) as he didn’t see the point in me having to travel back and forth to the dealership when he could do the repair.

It is good to know that the VW Assist scheme can and often does work well. Sadly that wasn’t my own experience but this is not a criticism of the technicians concerned.
I waited two hours for an Assist guy rather than under one hour for a regular AA van. I was assured that, because my van received temporary assistance, I would get an early appointment at my dealership to have the underlying issue diagnosed and fixed.
When I contacted VW they flatly refused and said there was no such thing. No discussion. Luckily the service manager “remembered me” and booked me in anyway, but no thanks to the VW Assist scheme.
On a subsequent occasion I was left at a busy junction for over two hours either side of midnight.
Disappointed.

 

[BeeBee]

We’re up for Road Assistance renewal too. Had VW Assist 5 years cover with warranty, then 2 years cover with All in Plan.
Now been quoted £160 for an annual cover, initially was quoted £120 but then told “oh wait a sec you are a commercial vehicle , it’s £160 !
Still switherring, might just bolt it onto our Comfort Insurance…. any thoughts welcome.

 

[WelshGas]

I believe, rightly or wrong lyrics, that the Cover offered is more important than the cost and as long as what is offered regarding cover suits your particular circumstances then go for the cheaper cover, but check carefully.

 

[Perfectos]

Try your current insurance company, quite often they have a specific scheme with one of the large companies, they tend to offer discount to their insured vs open market, and can include European travel , repatriation for vehicle and occupants etc.
Just remember , most if not all UK breakdown companies do not operate in Europe!
They partner with local firms.
Basically you take out an extra insurance policy in case of breakdown, the level of cover needs to be checked to ensure it meets your expectations and requirements

 

[Foggy51]

My T6 is now 5 yo and I will again cross Europe in summer.

My VW Roadside assistance renewal letter came through the other day.
Last year's premium was £120 incl Euro cover, this year £190 and I made no claims.
I phoned and they would not offer any discounts - so I won't renew.

I used them only once during the first 3 years - was in the UK and the fact that a VW technician came fixed the problem properly
(fuel sensor issue that turned off the engine on the M25 ...) so they were very good.

However I reckon £190 is too much.
I went on MoneySupermarket and found I could get Green Flag yearly eurocover for £56 with just £40 excess per call.
has anyone any experiences of Green Flag euro assistance (and UK assistance) ?

There were evn lower quotes, lowest quote is £37 for Dynamo (£25 excess) but I never heard of them and I'd be happy to pay Green Flag if they were good.

Any opinions please ?

Some bank account’s (for a monthly fee) include breakdown cover plus holiday insurance plus mobile phone insurance…could be worth looking at.

 

[Scapa]

One other thing to consider re taking out VW Assist is when you ask for the VW specific assistance technician to attend if they can’t get you sorted then they make a priority booking with your dealership immediately (which the dealership has to honour) and organises a hire car if required. The dealership is then obliged to assess your vehicle within 24-48 hours of arriving. I’ve made full use of this on two occasions. If I had been left to try and book an appointment direct myself ( or other unspecified recovery provider) then I was told nothing was available for several weeks!

 

[GollyOlly]

My T6 is now 5 yo and I will again cross Europe in summer.

My VW Roadside assistance renewal letter came through the other day.
Last year's premium was £120 incl Euro cover, this year £190 and I made no claims.
I phoned and they would not offer any discounts - so I won't renew.

I used them only once during the first 3 years - was in the UK and the fact that a VW technician came fixed the problem properly
(fuel sensor issue that turned off the engine on the M25 ...) so they were very good.

However I reckon £190 is too much.
I went on MoneySupermarket and found I could get Green Flag yearly eurocover for £56 with just £40 excess per call.
has anyone any experiences of Green Flag euro assistance (and UK assistance) ?

There were evn lower quotes, lowest quote is £37 for Dynamo (£25 excess) but I never heard of them and I'd be happy to pay Green Flag if they were good.

Any opinions please ?

I’ve needed them twice. Both times VW Roadside Assist failed. One of those times meant leaving my van in a dangerously unsafe situation. Not impressed. Waiting until my policy expires and will be choosing an alternate.

 

[KevH]

One other thing to consider re taking out VW Assist is when you ask for the VW specific assistance technician to attend if they can’t get you sorted then they make a priority booking with your dealership immediately (which the dealership has to honour) and organises a hire car if required. The dealership is then obliged to assess your vehicle within 24-48 hours of arriving. I’ve made full use of this on two occasions. If I had been left to try and book an appointment direct myself ( or other unspecified recovery provider) then I was told nothing was available for several weeks!

In my experience I was refused a priority appointment by VW Leicester who assured me that no such provision existed. This despite VW Assust getting the ball rolling with a referral.
It seems a bit hit and miss to me, and certainly not something I would be prepared to rely upon.
Glad it worked out for you and several others in this discussion.
I am now relying upon my insurers add-on (Caravan Guard).

 

[Rosie75]

In my experience I was refused a priority appointment by VW Leicester who assured me that no such provision existed. This despite VW Assust getting the ball rolling with a referral.
It seems a bit hit and miss to me, and certainly not something I would be prepared to rely upon.
Glad it worked out for you and several others in this discussion.
I am now relying upon my insurers add-on (Caravan Guard).

We won’t use VW LEICESTER due to there attitude, we go to Coventry which is actually easier to get too. They have been great and so helpful. May be worth considering if you need a dealership again.

 

[Kimbo]

My T6 is now 5 yo and I will again cross Europe in summer.

My VW Roadside assistance renewal letter came through the other day.
Last year's premium was £120 incl Euro cover, this year £190 and I made no claims.
I phoned and they would not offer any discounts - so I won't renew.

I used them only once during the first 3 years - was in the UK and the fact that a VW technician came fixed the problem properly
(fuel sensor issue that turned off the engine on the M25 ...) so they were very good.

However I reckon £190 is too much.
I went on MoneySupermarket and found I could get Green Flag yearly eurocover for £56 with just £40 excess per call.
has anyone any experiences of Green Flag euro assistance (and UK assistance) ?

There were evn lower quotes, lowest quote is £37 for Dynamo (£25 excess) but I never heard of them and I'd be happy to pay Green Flag if they were good.

Any opinions please ?

I have green flag on my van and I'll just say that after last Fridays shenanigans , I won't be renewing my membership with them

 

[GollyOlly]

Does anyone have experience using Britannia Rescue? Prices seem about the same as the others, but that's not a deciding factor for me. So far, from the comments all the major players look like they have issues.

 

[GollyOlly]

A couple of things worth considering re VW Assist, if they can’t get you sorted at roadside or at home then they can priority book you into chosen nearest dealership this can speed things up considerably. They also organise hire car which you are entitled to. I’ve experienced both these. Also if you insist on a VAG technician attendance (not AA) I’ve found they are more comfortable with tackling repairs , in fact my recent experience was the technician even ordered the part and came back to my house 2 days later and installed the part on the driveway (3 hour job) as he didn’t see the point in me having to travel back and forth to the dealership when he could do the repair.

So I brokedown...at home....and I have VW Roadside Assist. I called the recovery number and was told that the nearest VW dealership was "outside my recovery radius". Although I argued the point, guess who lost the argument? So, I had the van towed to my local garage and repaired. I went back to VW Assist to try to recover the cost and was told that since the work was done by an unauthorised facility, they would not cover any cost. I pursued this through VW Assist later who advised my that when my van broke down and I needed recovery, I should have called another number to discuss this with Customer Service because VW Roadside Assist has no radius limit in the contract. Hmmmmm....okay, but when you're broken down, you don't expect to need to call the lawyers just to get roadside assistance that you've contracted for. When my policy expires, I'm gone!

 

[KevH]

So I brokedown...at home....and I have VW Roadside Assist. I called the recovery number and was told that the nearest VW dealership was "outside my recovery radius". Although I argued the point, guess who lost the argument? So, I had the van towed to my local garage and repaired. I went back to VW Assist to try to recover the cost and was told that since the work was done by an unauthorised facility, they would not cover any cost. I pursued this through VW Assist later who advised my that when my van broke down and I needed recovery, I should have called another number to discuss this with Customer Service because VW Roadside Assist has no radius limit in the contract. Hmmmmm....okay, but when you're broken down, you don't expect to need to call the lawyers just to get roadside assistance that you've contracted for. When my policy expires, I'm gone!

It's as if the AA don't really want to provide the service but are happy to take the money.
Surely not

 

[GollyOlly]

Just to add insult to misery on my story above, VW Roadside Assistance had the gall to send me a renewal notification SIX MONTHS early!!!! Not to mention as edocali said, the price went up from £120 to £190 per year since the campervan is classified as a commercial van. That must be because I do a lot of COMMERCE in my campervan. NOT! Anyway, I called VW Roadside Assistance and told them to take the auto-renew authorisation off my card, that I would not be renewing and provided them with the reasons. Now....does anyone have a good alternative to include European cover?

 

[Kayleigh]

If you get your insurance through Safeguard, it includes UK and European breakdown cover as part of the policy. I believe there is a club discount with Safeguard now as well.
The campervan insurance is actually with AXA, so a good insurer as well. I’ve been with them for 2 years, although I’ve not needed to make a claim or use the breakdown cover yet.