Tell us about your experience with AAA service!
1 Like
Not for me.
As a member for over 3 decades, the costs have vastly outweighed the benefits.
We travel some, and got discounts at most hotels, but usually a nominal amount. We had a battery jump (one time) and was towed twice (neither was an emergency.)
So, the arithmetic says that 30 years at ~$96/year for deluxe = $2,880.
Is a battery jump, two tows and a few dollars discount at hotels equal to the membership. Probably not.
Another advertised benefit is towing when stranded. I was stranded just over the Tappan Zee Bridge in NY during the 4th of July Holiday. Nerve wracking to say the least. I began to relax when the wrecker called and said that they were 10 minutes away. Unfortunately, those 10 minutes turned into forever as they never did show up! A NY State Tropper finally stopped and summoned us a tow. My conversations with AAA went nowhere, with some apologies - but that was about it.
Just one ex-members thoughts…
4 Likes
I have been a member of AAA for years and, while I haven’t used them often for issues with my vehicle, I have used them several times for travel discounts, especially on car rental and hotel stays. I have utilized them for dead battery and flat tire. One additional benefit is AAA’s ability to issue you an International Driver’s License. You must go to your local AAA office, fill out a very simple form, pay them $15.00 (as of 2016) and you walk out with your International License. The peace of mind knowing I have AAA available is more than worth the annual membership.
1 Like
Like LTD21,we have been decades-long members and rarely utilized any of the services, but after my wife was in a serious accident and the tow truck failed to arrive as promised and there was no follow up or even an apology, I didn’t and will never renew again. Good riddance as I see it. Since, I’ve found that tow coverage is typically much cheaper under car insurance anyway.
2 Likes
On Wednesday evening at 4:30, one of my husband’s employees called to say his truck broke down. I called AAA and they said the tow truck would be there by 5:30. After 3 or 4 calls to AAA, at 10:30 pm, no one had shown up. Said they couldn’t find the location, didn’t call us. The truck was off Hwy 575 in Canton, GA on the side of the road. Our employee had no food or water since 4:30. Finally, at 10:30 pm, my husband went and picked up his employee. To date, we have not heard from AAA.
The next morning an automotive repair company was there in 30 minutes at 7:00a.m. and towed the truck!. What is wrong with AAA??? Cancelling our membership.
2 Likes
YES! In California you also get DMV services. The DMV here is incredibly crowded if you need to go in person and their “virtual assistant” is a mess. People here would pay almost anything not to interact with the DMV.
Around here, AAA doesn’t have it’s own wreckers but subs to local garages. The garages got $5 a tow, last I heard so they only make anything on repairs. So in busy times like bad weather, etc these garages respond first to those who call them directly and the garage gets the full charge. Once I realized this, I called the garage directly and submitted the bill to AAA, saying AAA never answered my call and got full reimbursement. Next I cancelled AAA since towing is so cheap on my auto insurance.
1 Like
I’ve been a member for a number of years. There are several features that I particularly like.
No matter where I am at, I can call AAA and receive service for any automobile problem I have. Whether it’s out of gas (how dumb), engine problems, stuck, dead battery (dumb again), lockout (almost impossible with today’s cars).
Almost a hidden benefit is that, if I am a passenger in someone else’s vehicle, and they have no coverage, I can use my AAA to cover the problem as protection for me.
And I like the security of knowing that my wife has the security of calling one number if her vehicle becomes disabled.
This security is hard to quantify. Is AAA membership worth it? I think so.
Atl AAA now has its own Wreckers/Service.
Back before AAA had its own Service we broke down near Cornelia GA.
AAA towed us back to Marietta, dropped us off at home and dropped the car at our Mechanic’s Garage. I doubt that was done for $5.
The guy was from up in N Ga… was really great.
We had the plus Service… up to 100 miles of Towing… Cornelia to Marietta is 84 Miles 
Never had AAA. Have kept USAA rescue service for decades but never used it.
New wife declares “Absolutely Not!!!” The only time she needed AAA it was 100+ degrees and she had along a complaining companion. It took AAA 3 hours to get there, all the while just across the way was a tire store that could/would have handled it much more quickly.
I have had AAA here for a few years.
I actually had to have a jump and when I was 5 miles from where I needed to be, the battery gave out, so a second call was necessary.
I pay for the Plus version here because it will cover a tow of up to 100 miles, which is a necessity here. We are an island so 100 miles pretty much gets it done. I would not want my vehicle towed to the nearest facility and have to get a ride home and then back again. Better to have the vehicle towed where I or a neighbor can evaluate it and perhaps fix it ourselves. We are pretty rural out here.
An added benefit here is sometimes someone might abandon a vehicle on your private property. That would allow me to have it towed at no added cost to myself.
It might be cheaper to get towing from my car insurance company, but as I remember, this was cheaper when I last checked, but probably time to compare again.
1 Like
Ive never had AAA. My parents and Aunt did. I cannot speak for my Aunt’s experiences (other than i kniw they gave her road maps), but it took hours for AAA to respond to my parents’ call in an urban location.
I’ve had USAA road service for decades. The calls I’ve made over that time have all been very professional, answered in a reasonable timeframe (and the first question has always been, “are you in a safe lication?” The one time i answered “no,” they were there in minutes. Minimal cost; superb service. One time they literally hauled our transmission blown car a couple of hundred miles at no cost to get us back home. We obviously passed many possible repair locations… Wouldn’t change having this service for the world.
Yes I dated someone once and drove the car for five hours without air conditioning in 95 degree heat. My wife is smarter and doesn’t drive the car
I don’t know whether it is smarter to have a commuter car with 148,000 miles and drive my wife’s Dodge 7 seater that’s a year newer but has 62.000 miles or if it would be better to fix the AC compressor $1,500 so my wife and kids are willing to drive my Subaru and really pound that car into the ground
If you use rescue service associated with your insurance using it counts as a claim! USAA raised my rate after getting a tow. That was a rotten deal.
1 Like
Ive used USAA for road seevice many times, including towing, and never had my rates raised. Including the time they towed us home, probably close to 100 miles, passing many other service choices at no cost.
Think of it as an insurance plan and hope you do not need it. But it is nice to have especially if you travel out of town.
1 Like
I’ve had mine since 1987 so… apparently.
I’ve had AAA for decades and I find their service invaluable. First, and foremost, knowing they are there is worth a tremendous peace of mind. Second, the tow companies they have provided have always been professional and responsive. The text messaging option that keeps one apprised of their arrival status is really helpful. I’ve used AAA in my driveway and on the road. They’ve taken care of locked cars, dead batteries, towing after an accident, towing after engine problems and they have freed cars that were stuck in snow/ice. Did each year’s membership always pay for itself with these services? Probably not. But I’m betting if I had a balance sheet from over the years of what I paid for membership vs what their services would have cost me in total without them, I have no doubt I’d be ahead. Then add the time, energy and stress AAA has saved me and I’m way ahead.
1 Like
Why no mention of alternative roadside assistance companies, mmm …
1 Like
I had AAA until this year. I used them several times and the experiences were all good. The most significant save they made was when I was driving my parents to my daughters college graduation over a mountain pass in a snow storm at night and the car died near the top of the pass. Luckily I was able to pull off into the chain up area. We were 40 miles in either direction from any help, but the tow truck dispatched by AAA was there in under an hour, which was good because we were getting cold. The service was great. In that instance it was totally worth it. When I got my renewal, I wanted to change to the basic from premium but you cannot do that online and you have to call. I called and got put on hold, then hung up and let it expire. Since I have coverage under my auto insurance, I did not bother to renew. I used the auto insurance coverage before with no issues. My agent has a slush fund that he uses to pay for those kinds of things and it does not get reported as a claim.