MX-5 OC Forum

 Well in 2008 I never needed breakdown cover as I was lucky.

But today I received my renewal from green flag £110 rescue plus - forget it!

I bought it through the cashback site quidco and have only just got my cash back of £20 this month.

I have decided to not renew as I am very very skint and cant afford the cost to be honest.  So my car is going to have to be looked after very carefully this year.

I had a bad year in early 2009 with the electrical problems but those seem to have been solved now with help from mazdamender.

If at some point I find a very cheap breakdown cover through the cashback sites I will consider if I have the spare cash.

My tax is due in march too and that will be six months to pay as I won't have the money to pay £185 for a year.  I travel from bury to bolton to work and once a fortnight to chester to pick up or drop off my daughter.  I know its a risk but I cant find the money for it.

Who on here has no breakdown cover at all?

Insure through Footman James and the Club scheme and its included foc for your 5.

I have had AA for years, only the basic so about £50.00 a year, but I have used it on several ocasions in the past, and would not be without something as you never know!

 Hi thanks martin but I am not in the club anymore and also my insurance is £300 so when its due in may I dont think footman james can beat that.  I am also in the north west too.

I did not have any for a while and was quite happy without it, but decided to get some cover when I went for a driving trip to Europe. I looked at cover for just the time I was away but it was almost the same for a annual policy so I went for that instead. Now that I have a car which is still covered by the Mazda roadside assistance (I think, better check) I am relying on that.

You have to ask yourself what the value of having breakdown insurance is to you. If you were to breakdown and it could not be fixed at the side of the road you would still be left without a car, even if you had cover. On the other hand I am sure that you would not want you and your daughter to be stranded at the side of the road, but maybe there would be someone you could call should the worst happen.

Try this one, I use it for European cover as you can swap cars on it, but you are covered in the UK also.

http://www.quotelinedirect.co.uk/breakdown/

As much as I hate to promote the behemoth that is Tesco their breakdown cover was great value when I asked for a quote for the Mazda & Picasso. Sadly they wouldn't cover our 1979 VW Camper as there's a 25 year age limit on the car so we stuck with the RAC as it's the VW we have it for really. Without it we'd probably be with Tesco.

This looks cheap:

http://www.autonational.co.uk

£30per year for basic cover, probably worth adding the recovery option, then at least you can get the car home, if it can't be fixed at the roadside, and use the mechanic of your choice.

If you breakdown on a motorway (and maybe some other main roads), if you don't have a recovery service, the police WILL tow you off, and present you with a big bill of £150, skint or not skint (unless you breakdown in roadworks). You will not be allowed to even simply abandon the car there. The police will arrange for a tow after 2 hours in most place, as little as 30 minutes in some others. FMG will do the towing on behalf of the Highways Agency, and will charge an additional £20 per day storage fee until the car is removed (you won't get towed even to a shifty garage). Examples where there have been sudden component failures in my MX5s over the years; cambelt shredding (due to loosened backing plate bolt), ruptured clutch flexi-hose, exploding slave cylinder (yes, really, and it was a brand new MX5parts item).

 IF you shop at TESCO you can use your Clubcard points to join the RAC, in effect it costs you nothing for whichever cover you want. We did this and took out the top option. I would never normally join the RAC as I keep both cars in good condition, but you never know when it might be handy when you are in the North of Scotland. 

Thanks pollyana but my tesco points do not add up to much.  they come in vouchers for food and now I shop at asda.  Only occasionally do i use tesco fuel when I have money.

Please everyone remember I am a single person one wage with a mortgage - lots of you are in couples and it makes a massive difference to your bank balance if there are two of you.

I wasn't talking about vouchers...

Here you go: https://www.tesco-breakdown.co.uk/

Value care, which will get you off the motorway is £26, and if you want to be taken home £47 - £4 a month.

If you want the peace of mind that breakdown cover brings you'll not get much cheaper than that.

foolhandy:

Value care, which will get you off the motorway is £26, and if you want to be taken home £47 - £4 a month.

Tesco:

If we can't fix your car within one hour we will tow you to a suitable garage within 10 miles of your breakdown

What they did not say

and leave you stranded at the suable garage, potentially miles from anywhere.

If you look at the policy summary document 'Home address included' means that they will tow a broken down car from your home address to a suitable garage within 10 miles not that they will take you home.

If you opt for a no frills product, then the product will be as little as they can get away with, after all the purpose of any companies is to make a profit, some or just more successful at that than others.

To try and answer the original question. Things like breakdown cover and insurance can feel like a waste of money if you don't need to call on them. But you will only know that after the fact. I appreciate that having a small income will mean that some things have to go, you have to think about the history of your car and balance that against the work you have had done on it, and then prioritise as you see fit.

 thanks guys going to save all these ready for end of march beg april.  A friend on moneysavingexpert.com has just told me I can get basic aa £28 and cash back too worth £20 so may go for that or the £47 one from tesco.

Tracey :

lots of you are in couples and it makes a massive difference to your bank balance if there are two of you.

Not when you are retired and on a fixed income that no way keeps up with inflation.

Tracey :

lots of you are in couples and it makes a massive difference to your bank balance if there are two of you

It certainly does. She spends it faster than I can earn it!

I'm sure that that is not what you meant though ...

niggle:

She spends it faster than I can earn it

You have a very normal wife/partner then.