I always have breakdown cover these days both in the UK and when abroad. Lesson learned like this ---
About ten years ago my wife and I were sitting at Dover docks waiting for a ferry to take us to Calais at the beginning of our then regular summer jaunt around France and Spain in the "trusty" Westfield. Equipped with its simple Ford X-flow engine it never seemed to need more than a socket set and a bit of common sense to fettle it when required. SWMBO ( mostly ) asked me if I had bought European breakdown cover, to which I haughtily replied that it was a waste of money as there was almost nothing that I could not fix myself on the car and anyway even if I did have a bigger problem, any mechanic could sort an X-flow cheaply and quickly. Waste of money says I.
She nevertheless decided to ignore this and phoned through to the AA for cover at a cost of about £80 I think. Scroll on to a couple of weeks later and we are in Avignon with a very poorly Westie with a busted exhaust manifold which could not be repaired and would have to be custom made due to the unique exhaust set up. The AA stepped in and shipped the car back to our home while providing us with a hire car for the remaining ten days of our holiday. Subsequent checking revealed that to have done this ourselves may have cost upwards of £2000.
My wife has only recently stopped mentioning this. :-(
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1) When did you last breakdown (by the roadside) and how did you get out of it?
Not since my dodgy FIAT Uno in 1998, which used to flood itself thanks to an erratic ECU. To be honest I used to just phone my dad! But, being the son he never had, he taught me well and I can recognise a whole host of issues with cars, and know what should be done to fix them. It would be rare for me to do it myself though, apart from a puncture, unless it was in a bad location, in which case I'd call for someone braver than me.
I used to lock my keys in Polo all the time, so much so that in the end the RAC man showed me how to break in myself. S*d's law I never did it again after that!
2) what`s your current plan to minimise risk the of being stranded by a breakdown?
I drive a car that's less than two years old with full maintainance in the lease. The car has VW assist for another year, and then the lease company have a contract with one of the breakdown people. I'm actually also still on my dad's family RAC cover because it costs nothing to have me on there.
My dad has provided both my sister and I with a little kit in case we get stranded - wind up torch, hi vis vest, supply of cereal bars/kit kats, hand warmer etc, all in a tiny bag that lives in my boot. I love my dad. :) Oh and the car came with a warning triangle, but knowing my accident prone tendencies, I'd get run over putting it out!
Edited by PoloGirl on 11/04/2008 at 21:09
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On modern cars I think more milage (pun intended)can be gained by regular under-bonnet checks of condition of rubber tubing,belts,fluid levels etc.
Having said that,I do carry a torch,12v tester and a selection of tools,plus of course membership card to a rescue service.
The last breakdown I had was some 14 years ago when the rotor(remember them?) came loose on the drive shaft.I managed to get going again with a piece of paper wedged on the shaft.
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i always carry a green plastic petrol can empty, its better than sticking your thumb out and waiting for a lift these days , but i do carry an assortment of jubilee clips, 10 - 22 mm sockets , flat and phillips screw drivers ... a pint or two of oil and a 2ltr bottle of still water (17p) from tesco.... a bundle of thick wire , pliers , and a crow bar...oh and a tool for prying small boy scouts from horses hooves , and a swiss army pen knife
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I used to carry a reasonable assortment of likely suspects, and still keep the old fan belt in the spare wheel.
Apart from that, a good heavy maglite (just in case), and not much else any more as the days of tracking down the loose wire or pitted points are long gone.
I'm with 'autohome' instead of the more usual, supporting local etc.
And i no longer carry jump leads, as the risk to all this confounded electronic trickery is too much now, and if i don't have them i can't ruin someone else's car for them.
Point in case...my friend jump started someone off his laguna with digital dashboard, that was no longer digi when he'd finished, cost him 600 smackers about 7 or so years ago.
I'm obsessive with maintenance as well so hopefully thats some sort of risk lessener (is that a word). Hilux has done over 5K now, will be doing second oil change soon.
Couldn't afford the breakdown service years ago anyway.
Edited by gordonbennet on 11/04/2008 at 23:55
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SWMBO and I have joint RAC membership, more for the recovery benefits than anything else. I don't carry anything in the car apart from a jack, wheelbrace and spare wheel. I am still quite thorough with weekly checks on both cars though, and both are serviced at least to manufacturers schedules if not more often.
I've only broken down three times in 15 years of driving, and considering I've done between 15 and 30k per year for the past 7 years or so, this is a fantastic tribute to the reliability of modern cars.
The first breakdown was about a year into my driving career when my old Sierra blew its ignition coil. I was two miles from home, and my dad came out with a coil from a mk1 Cortina that had been kicking around his shed for years. We fitted it (using matchsticks to hold the LT wires on) and the car fired up instantly, and got me home, believe it or not.
The second was when my mk2 Cavalier SRI popped its fuel pump relay suddenly and without warning. The fault was easily traced and rectified.
The last was a couple of years ago in my old Mondeo TD which ran out of diesel on the M3 with a quarter tank still showing on the gauge. My father in law did the honours in that case as it was only a few miles from their house.
I used to carry a complete toolkit and a gallon of fuel, but stopped doing that ages ago. Now I'd just get the car recovered home and go from there.
Cheers
DP
Edited by DP on 12/04/2008 at 01:35
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mobile phone. credit card.
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Broke down in 2004 in my company car (Nissan Primera) twice. Once Starter motor had faulty connection and second a lead to the turbo charger broke causing limp home mode. Both times Nissan RAC promtly fixed.
My Wifes Reneult Scenic has had one coil pack go and even though it limped home Renault AA fixed under Warrantee.
Now I opt out of the company car scheme and Wifes car out of warrantee I just rely on good old Tesco Clubcard RAC joint cover. Cover me for my motorbike as well which is good.
I am not very mechanically minded (Would not know how to stick a pipe in a snowmans mouth LOL) so will just stick on the highvis Vest, and call the RAC!
PS My skills do allow me to check tyre pressures/oil and water though!!
Cheers
Jlo
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Barrs leaks make a product (known in the trade as a dog turd) which i've always carried in the glove box in the event of a water leak, neverused it in10 years. Jump leads are essential for an automatic, the most common breakdown is a puncture so all the stuff needed to carry out a very messy job including something to kneel on, spare bulbs are also essential,and WD40.
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Just remembered - got a can of WD40 hidden away.
Of course I do carry a chamois and a 'detailing sponge' (bought for an euro at the supermarket because it looks like a duster to me), but the less said about that the better...
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A set of these just arrived in the post and will be carried as a spare along with the `AA` card to have them fitted if a road failure occurs. ( an alleged Mk2 Punto weakness)
tinyurl.com/6xjlzw
Also decided to carry a clutch slave cylinder, as they are quite cheap and both parts fit our two Mk2 and 2B Punto`s.
Thought about carrying a few tools again to fit them, but given paying for the breakdown service anyway, there seems no point.
With long term ownership ( too mean to spend ;) of these cars planned, it seems worth it.
Of course, I will cut the AA cover to the cheapest option in order to get the money back.
But then, you knew I would do that didn`t you ;)
Regards
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