AAA info needed.

Got a special offer in the mail for AAA today. I have never had nor thought much about getting AAA. What is the opinion of those here? I have Hagerty for most of my stuff but curious about regular cars being I don't think they cover hearses anyway. What is good and bad and is it worth having?
 
Danny

I have CAA car insurance for my daily driver van. Same as any other insurance.

I have had CAA roadside service for about 20 years or so.
Always been worth having for breakdowns, keys locked in, run out of gas, etc.


My vintage car insurance has been taken over by Hagerty as of last year.
Hagerty offered me roadside service for ALL my vehicles, daily driver and vintage on the same policy.

I was thinking about dropping the CAA roadside this year as it only offers 4 roadside services per year. Hagerty says unlimited.


CAA and AAA are the same service. It also gets you 10% off most hotel rooms plus lots of other things.


I would say GET IT if you do not have any currently.

Hope this helps,
Darren
 
AAA will not service a car with a dealer plate, repair plate, or anything other than a standard passenger registration. They will service an antique plated vehicle, if it is a standard passenger car. I have been lucky enough that every time I have needed a tow with one of my ambulances, that they didn't give me a hassle. All my cars are registered as "station wagons". I also have the AAA Recreational Vehicle plan, which will cover any RV, and my ambulances are smaller than most RV's.
 
I don't have, nor will I have in the future, anything to do with AAA. They spend a lot of time, money and effort trying to make my life as a professional driver a living hell. Pushing for EVEN MORE new regulations to pile on top of all the ones we don't need now.

No point in me spending my money with somebody trying to do me harm!! Just my humble opinion.
 
Danny,just a little info... You may want to call AAA in advance regarding some questions. I was told a few years ago by our buddy John Muster that AAA will not tow a hearse or limo- period. I know you deal with buyers and sellers all across the country, so just a little heads up... Like I said, you probably need to call them first and discuss that before signing up.:my2cents:
 
As a former AAA Tow Operator I'd like to offer the following:

AAA is really nothing more than an insurance plan...You're betting you'll need them and they're betting you won't.

To the average customer who receives assistance in Podunkville the contractor who shows up is losing money to provide the service.They're hoping to make the profit by either selling you a battery or excess mileage charges to get you to a repair shop or even doing the repairs.

We're a member because I want my Wife and Daughter to be protected if there is a need for assistance instead of dealing with insurance co's varied assistance plans.

Here in Phoenix the situation is so tight that AAA has their own fleet and repair shops. Why do they do it themselves? Simple: they can't keep Operators to run around for what they offer a Contractor.
 
We have both AAA and Hagerty Roadside Assistance and I have to say that we have used them both. In the past, I have had a couple of ambulances and a limousine picked up by AAA, without a hassle. This may no longer be true, but it was in the past. And Hagerty helped us out a couple of times too. But, with AAA, you can't get basic coverage, if you need a car moved as far as 100 miles, I think they call it AAA Plus. We have been pleased with both, but that is just my experience.
 
AAA coverage varies from state to state regarding hearses. A stretch limo would NOT be covered since its an "altered" vehicle but a factory Fleetwood Series 75 "should" be covered since its a factory production car. AAA is great for your daily drivers and you as a member are covered no matter what vehicle you are drivng or are a passenger in. You can use it if youre in a rental or Uncle Joe's car. I would use the roadside assistance from Hagerty or any other collector vehicle insurance for the collector cars and AAA for the normal cars.
 
I've had good experiences with AAA when needed. But they don't cover commercial vehicles or anything they think may be a commercial vehicle. When I've had to call for help, once I said I was driving an antique ambulance and they said they don't tow ambulances. I've taken to calling and telling them it's a red and white Cadillac/Pontiac station wagon, and they are good. :rolleyes: The tow drivers have always been good.

Also, they will tow my pickup truck but the trailer was an extra charge (unless you pay extra for trailer coverage).
 
I have had AAA (Premier) Roadside Membership for decades that tows up to 200 miles. Have used it many times without any issues. The fact that the actual tow truck providers have a contract with AAA to do it for near nothing is their business decision..... "they must think they will make it up on volume"?
 
AAA got rid of the local provider, and had to use a provider in another county. The last time I needed them, whatever the promise was (to you in one hour? can't remember now...) it was horribly wrong. I sat for 2 hours waiting and was mostly angry because they had nixed the deal with the local provider.
I like Hagerty was but was not pleased with the one call I made to them for roadside assistance for a scheduled transmission appointment, I felt like their charges were excessive and I dropped it the next year.
 
I have not had a problem getting a CAA/AAA tow with a hearse. I have only needed it twice. Once with a bad starter and once with a bad alternator.

Neither time did I have any problem getting towed with a hearse.

I have had many other daily drivers and vintage cars towed without any issue and always quick service.

You can request a flat bed as well without any additional costs.
Most trucks in this area are flat beds anyways.

A couple years ago I had a coil go in my Corvette. They told me they were going to send a flat bed when they heard what kind of car it was.


I have had the Hagerty roadside for almost a year now and haven't needed it.
I will comment when I do have to use them. Hopefully no time soon.


I have CAA plus as well with a couple hundred KMs towing. Under a 100.00 a year for this is awesome.

Just a hook up is almost that without the KMs.

Insurance well spent in my opinion.

Darren
 
I also have CAA plus.and have had great success with them,an added extra is that my CAA plus is mine and not to a car so no matter what I am driving its covered, however friends with a large horse trailer broke down near Toronto and CAA would not tow the complete unit and the insurance covered one or the other not both..
 
I too Have CAA plus and even though I haven't used it for the hearse they told me that as long as it will fit on a flatbed...I'm good ....I'm not sure about driving in the U.S and needing a tow from AAA with the hearse ?? hopefully I will not find out going to Mansfield next month !

I need to find out about when I get the Horton Type lll on the road next year what will be best CAA or Hargerty ??
 
Like I said in a previous post, AAA policies regarding hearses vary from state to state. AAA Washington will not cover towing on a hearse as it is a "commercial" vehicle. Also, AAA Washington will only send a flatbed if the vehicle manufacturer required it when the car was new. HOWEVER---- most tow companies will look at the type of car & send what makes sense. For instance, I cant imagine sending a wheel lift truck for a Corvette or Porsche.
 
Danny, in 1995 I had one of my combinations flatbedded by AAA with no problem. In 2011 en route home from the Hudson meet I had 2 flats (yeah my fault on that w/ old tires but another story) so I needed a tow after the second one. AAA said they didn't cover "a commercial vehicle or any vehicle ever used as a commercial vehicle." I probably should have described it as a red Cadillac station wagon instead of an ambulance. Since AAA uses contractors, it's ultimately up to the driver. AAA did send a truck, but it was an old flatbed too short for my car. On the plus side, AAA is great for their tour books and city maps. I've found that the state maps you pick up free at welcome centers are better than AAA's state maps. When I'm going to a new area AAA's Tour books have lots of good historical, lodging, and restaurant information. Their restaurant recs. have been good, and they usually have locally owned places, which I prefer. All of this is included w/ their membership. The differing levels get you different lengths of towing and other benefits. Some have free membership in Hertz No. 1 Gold, for instance. Even though I don't rent cars that often, this is a nice perk because you don't waste time at the counter-you go straight to your car, show your license, sign the ticket and you're on your way. A lot of the classic car insurance cos. are offering roadside/towing assistance now. I'm pretty sure my latest renewal w/ Condon & Skelly included this. A tow truck driver told me years ago that AAA paid the least of all the auto clubs for a towing job. So in a busy area, the AAA calls go to the bottom of the list.
 
Danny,
well, I have had AAA PLUS/RV for many years, have not had to use it all that often but thankful to have it. One thing to keep in mind is that it is only one the person it is issued to, meaning if you want service then the card holder has to be present, no matter who's vehicle it is.

The only time I had my hearse towed was in the fall of 2000, a long distance tow (Tonawanda,NY to Westfield,NY, about 80 miles one way??) at least three local trucks showed up, none of them being large enough for the job. they finally had to send for a more commercial tiltbed truck out of Niagara Falls,NY. The hearse was running bad/overheating and I needed to get it to my cousins place to store it for the winter. the truck was a crew cab and I rode with them to westfield and was also dropped back at home in tonawanda. I think the service depends greatly on the company that is dispatched, there were NO issues with how my car was handled.

I have made a point in the last few years to contact them and ask a few times point blank "is my hearse covered for towing/service??" and each time I have been told that yes it is!!

Another time the gas tank fell out of my taurus wagon on the expressway, police had it towed right away, it was towed to that operators yard. Called AAA the next day and they not only towed it back to my house they also reimbursed me for the cost of the police ordered tow.

and my last story I'll give you happened just before Christmas a couple years back, I was following a small pickup truck on a snow covered country road, suddenly the driver lost control and put the pickup truck into a deep ditch. older driver was not hurt but was shaken and no real damage to truck. He didn't know how he would get his truck out of the ditch or how he would pay for it. I called AAA and was able to use one of my 4 annual service calls to get his truck back on the road at no charge, basically because I was with the vehicle.

I would have to say that I am happy with the service I have had and at $80 a year I think it's worth it. i do have Hagerty for insurance on the hearse but do NOT have the extra for their road service.

Dana.
 
To echo the others, AAA is a good deal - even one service call is worth the $80. BUT it ain't always easy...

The downside is they will not tow commercial vehicles (in my experience) even if it is insured with them as well. This policy is not in writing anywhere mind you, but they have flat refused to dispatch a truck for my Superior in the past. They even flagged my account, and when I tried to call it in again it wasn't pretty.

However, if your...oh shall we say, "Fleetwood" breaks down and you request a flatbed they will dispatch one. As long as the car has current registration the drivers I've gotten are fine towing CCs, especially if you take care of their lunch :)
 
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