Cheapest breakdown cover?

[Misc]

As above, who's the cheapest?

Also all i need is the below so would this just be 'Home start' & 'Relay'?

- In the event of a breakdown, to be taken back home & nowhere else.
- If bike is broken down at home, to be taken to a mechanic.

I'm getting a quote for £100 from The AA.

Cheers.

[The Artist]

Relay means taken anywhere in the UK so long as it says so.

Home start will just try and put a new battery on the bike and simple things, I am not sure they will take you to a mechanic. I am sure if you wheeled it into the road though they would take it to wherever you want with the relay thing which could be a mechanic.

I think RAC will do it for about £75 last time I looked.

I am on my rents policy and they already pay £120 a year for everything, relay, home start and the other one. It cost £28 for me to be added. I couldn't get it myself as my bike is over 25 years old.

[stinkwheel]

My insurance comes with free, european recovery. It'll get you and your bike home from anywhere in europe.

Doesn't include any sort of home start though.

Carole Nash and Footman James offer this option for definate. Others may as well.

Carole Nash once recovered a mate of mine whose triumph trident 750 electrics had packed in from the Isle of Lewis to Edinburgh. Took four seperate recovery vehicles and two ferries.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Misc]

Cheers guys, allymoss i'll give RAC a look.

[Ingah]

Best "value for money" (not necessarily cheapest) i've seen is from GEM Breakdown ~£64 for 2 people at the same address.
And AutoAid (NB: They have claimed not to cover motorbikes under 150cc, but i'm unsure as to whether they advised wrongly or indeed don't cover them): £37.

Note: Both are pay and claim schemes (you can expect to be without your money for about 10 days or so in the case of AutoAid, so a credit card is required to pay whoever you want in the meantime). I've used and personally "tested" AutoAid and they paid promptly for a ~6 mile recovery (~£60) and a 25 mile recovery (~£110), over 2 separate policy years.

AFAIK both insure you as a person, for all your vehicles (Note: AutoAid and <150cc's).
And again, AFAIK, both are pretty comprehensive, with cover provided for pretty much everything, i *think* even Europe (Note: AutoAid limits "home start" claims to £60. Assumedly to stop you having free mechanic visits all the time )

And i know AutoAid at the very least cover "accidents" causing the breakdown too. Many breakdown companies don't, which is really bad.
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-- Ingah

[Ingah]

[G]

I would avoid RAC and AA personally - to many conditions, too much hassle and too poor service, especially for bikes.

Green flag have been ok for me in the past and I have them now.

Do check exactly what an insurance-included breakdown covers - the one I had with the zx6 was good, but then come renewal time they had downgraded it to a rather poor one.

Cover that comes with a new KTM I found to be VERY good when my clutch went in spain - called around a lot of spanish KTM shops, translated for me when I was in a shop, then got the bike and me repatriated at their cost. The KTM dealer that didn't notice the clutch was on it's way out when I had it serviced just before I left I'm a lot less happy with (I hadn't ridden it for ages, so didn't think too much of the lever engaging far out.)

[stinkwheel]

I've certainly heard of the AA and RAC refusing to recover a vehicle after an accident, stating they are a breakdown recovery firm.

Most recently someone (off this forum?) who fell off in the snow, broke the bike and the AA refused to turn out on the basis that it was an accident, not a breakdown.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Ingah]

[ttr]

The breakdown cover provided by MCE and MCD insurance has been top notch for me. They send out local recovery companies' vehicles, and they're proper rapid and usually very helpful.

Both companies have thrown it in for free aswell. I think breakdown cover is one of those things you can almost always negotiate into an insurance policy for free or very little - they were asking £30 to start before I ummed-and-erred a bit. One company offered RAC cover thrown in!
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GS125-> NT400->VFR400->CRM250->Z750 + GS125->NTV650 rat + VMX1200->GSF600 + GPz550

[t121anf]

[kingsknight]

https://breakdown.insurancechoice.co.uk/

iv used these for years. called them out a few times. never let me down and it costs £29! what more could you ask for?
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TS50 (sold) NS125F (sold) NSR125R-K (write off after 2 crashes) CG125 (nicked) XR125L-3 (Sold )-: ) DR125SM '11 (sold yay) XL125V '12 (In love with this bike) XT600E '04 (fun on the dirt)

[Misc]

Thanks to all the above, very helpful.

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

Check your breakdown cover carefully.

After being informed by a member off here that his breakdown company wouldnt pick him up if it was due to an accident I checked mine & the same thing applied. So I cancelled it.
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Pictorgraphicalfantastical

[Clanger]

I now make sure it's inclusive in my bike or car insurance. It works out massively cheaper that way.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[27cows]

I thought that was standard practice for breakdown companies, them not picking you up after an accident (or vandalism to the vehicle). To me it seems fair enough, as I always assumed they'd only come for me if something on the bike had failed (rather than been damaged). Maybe I should look for a better place to spend my money
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The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[10 pence Short]

Not covering accidents is not quite true, they will come out but at your cost.
An accident is now a "collision" according to dibble, So it's always someones fault.
AA/RAC will charge you for such services which you are to claim against an insurance.
AA/RAC are a "third party" so everyones insurance should cover a collision.

AA/RAC cover is mechanical breakdown insurance and quite clearly state they are that.
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I haven't had a cont all day, drinkstable.

[G]

Some companies do cover accidents of any type. I wouldn't choose one that didn't.
An obvious scenario mentioned before was where your bike says falls over in a petrol station and has it's break levers broken off. Most people wouldn't want to ride it without brakes, but you'd be facing a heavy recovery bill to get it home or to a garage to get it fixed.