I recently cancelled the Green Flag membership for my van. had it for more that 10 years and never used it once.

For an older van, currently a 2010 Caddy and before that (2010-2018) a 2005 Transit Connect, the price is pretty steep!. I figured that as my window cleaning round has me in certain regular areas, never that far from home, it would (in theory) be far more cost effective for me to just have the phone number of a few local garages who have a recovery service.

I am with Britannia Rescue who tend to get good reports. Only used once - flat battery in airport carpark after 4 weeks. That aside, I last broke down over 20 years ago!

They were much cheaper than many, particularly for European cover which I use.

You need to be clear why you have a breakdown service - to get you out of a hole with someone to call in an emergency, or a "full" insurance service.

If you run a fairly new car properly serviced I would go for the emergency call out only. Just accept in the unlikely event of a problem you will need to meet the cost of hotel and alternative travel if it cannot be easily fixed.

Older vehicles may need a service more frequently - may be worth having full cover.