Essex (last working day before Xmas, last year)

ME:-Hello, is that the AA ?
AA:-yes.
ME:-I have hit a bit of broken ladder, my car has stopped, I'm on the muddy edge of the A13 (no layby or hard shoulder), I can't get out of my car, the nearside is up against the armco, the offside has 38 tonners whistling by about a foot away.
AA:- Sorry sir,that is a road traffic accident, you are not covered, please call your insurance company.
ME:- It's only the fuel cut-off switch, just get me to the next layby and I can fix it.
AA:- Sorry sir,that is a road traffic accident, you are not covered, please call your insurance company.
ME :- I have been a member for 9 years and never needed you, please come out.
AA:- Sorry sir,that is a road traffic accident, you are not covered, please call your insurance company.
ME :- Thanks a bunch, click.

ME:- Is that Admiral Insurance ?
Admiral :- yes
ME : Explained the above issue, to Admiral.
Admiral:- OK Sir, if you want us to recover you from Essex to a Honda dealer in the Midlands, we will, if you get the car fixed and chose not to claim it is not a problem and you will not loose your NCB and we will not charge you.
ME:- thanks, I've got to leave now the Police have arrived.

Police:- we can't tow your car to the layby - this is a 'fast' road and we only have a Focus, but we can block the lane and push your car past the armco and onto a wider patch of mud!!!!!!

Me:- OK

Once car onto wide mud, door open, fail to find the fuel cut-off switch , ring dealer, get better description, find and press switch , car starts.

ME :- is that Admiral ?
Admiral :- Yes.
Me:- Good,cancel the lorry the car's ok.
Admiral:- Sure no problem.

Needless to say I'm no longer a member of the fourth emergency service, but I am still insured by Admiral.

I called upon the AA last year and they let me down badly not being able to work out that my cambelt tensioner had failed and had jumped a few teeth (fuel spark and air was all getting through!) and kept trying to start the car causing bent valves etc and costing me £800! They also left me waiting for 4 hours for a flat bed so sent me £50!

last year my old car (24V mondeo) split a water pipe under the water pump to the block (VERY tight between hot pump molten cat and hot block), called AA.

"sorry sir, needs to be on a ramp, engine mounts need to be removed, no other possible way to do the job."

After about 3/4 of an hour me and my mate managed to convince him to tow us off the A road and take us to a petrol forcourt where, using tools and a piece of pipe from his truck I changed the afore mentioned pipe in about 10 - 15 mins and ran the car on tap water for the day.

My parents overheated their lemon-hundred (Austin 1100) some years ago.

They traced it down to the bypass hose between the head and the waterpump- you knwo, the one that is corrugated so that you can change it without removing the head...

The called the RAC, and explained the problem (after walking some way to a phone).

The RAC man turned up and asked what was wrong- my parentssaid it was this hose and he said 'Ooh, haven't got one of them. Control room just said you'd overheated'.

Same thing happened to my Dad's Vauxhall Carlton (actually, to all 3 we had at various times) when the fuel pump relay broke.

I had a Megane, the imobalizer went while on a day out, phone the AA..............sends me out the local garage, has to go to renault, cost you £95 for us to recover you.............no leave it...........called renault, sent their recovery, found the problem, showed me how to start the car until the new part came, got me the part, did all the programe bit, new key.............£155 all in.............wrote to AA got a snotty letter back.

Anonymous Alcoholists? I'd never trust my car into hands of some bunch of drunken monkeys Thats always those road assistance services... they just dont know what their doing or they dont even wanna hear what you have to say. Its like that in here too.

Clutch went on my Capri yesterday, only took them 3 hours to get to me
Is the Green Fag or RAC any better?

I have used the AA on several occations and never had a problem.

Most recently my range Rover blew a head gasket and they brought me home 330 miles with my caravan! No quibbles they didn't even check my prognosys!

On another occation my Nova Sport broke down (alternator failed).

Was really worried as the car is lowered and has an iriplaceable front spoiler which could be easily damaged with a towing rod

The AA man fitted a fully charged battery and followed me home @ 40 miles.

Never go any where with our it

Have been in the rac for years and never had a problem apart from the wait sometimes good sometimes bad always helpful even when cold and wet .

Me, Caravan, VDP Efi and a long bank holiday, planning to fly model planes.

Water pump failed on outbound journey with only 2 miles to go and threw the altenator belt. No cooling no charging.

Got a friend to tow the van to the campsite and waited for car to cool down and limped to same place.

Called RAC, easy to diagnose but no chance of getting SD1 pump on bank holiday.

RAC offered me the choice.

Go home now (Friday) or go home Tuesday morning.

Guess what I chose?

Tuesday morning as promised local garage turns up, but with wrong type vehicle.

Profuse apologies and he departs to return ten minutes later with a flat bed and suitable ramps to avoid damaging front spoiler.

So me, the VDP and caravan are taken home at breakneck speed, 70 miles in hardly an hour.

Off loaded, parked everything up for me, and in a trice he was gone with my thanks ringing in his ears and a tenner in his pocket for a present to his kid whose birthday was that very day.

No cowboy He! Just another knight of the road doing an honest job who gets you home when you's in trouble.

Saves petrol too.