There’s never a good time for your car to break down. In fact, it can be a dangerous and extremely unnerving experience.
We’ve all been there – stranded at the side of the road, often cold, tired and desperately awaiting rescue.
These days it’s a less common driving occurrence, as new cars are far less susceptible to breaking down than past generations. But it does still happen with millions of Britons calling on patrols to help them out.
So, which breakdown provider will get to you fastest – and provide the best service of all?
Leading car buying and advice platform What Car? has done its annual Reliability Survey in conjunction with MotorEasy, in which it asks people for their experiences with vehicle breakdown assistance companies.
Some 29,967 car owners who’d used a breakdown provider were asked how long they’d had to wait for them to arrive and how satisfied they were with the work they did.
Patrols that arrived in an hour or under and got cars going again were awarded the highest markets, while those that took two hours to arrive and didn’t fix the car or recover it for repair were given the lowest marks.
This is Money and the Daily Mail can reveal the results of 10 recovery services and how they rank.
10. Allianz
The lowest-scoring breakdown assistance providers – according to drivers who completed the latest What Car? survey – was Allianz Global Assistance, which provides manufacturer-branded services for various car makers offering roadside assistance as part of vehicle sales packages
Allianz – which provides manufacturer-branded services for various car makers offering roadside assistance as part of vehicle sales packages – comes last because of its poor record for getting motorists back on the road without needing recovery.
Its technicians performed the fewest permanent roadside repairs, fixing only 18 per cent of callouts immediately.
Temporary repairs were carried out on 28 per cent of cars.
When roadside repairs weren’t possible, almost half (48 per cent) were transported to a garage but eight per cent of vehicles were neither fixed or towed.
9. RAC
The RAC is the worst-scoring company overall for speed of arrival, leaving the highest proportion of customers waiting for the longest
The RAC – one of the nation’s biggest providers – is the worst-scoring company overall for speed of arrival, leaving the highest proportion of customers waiting for the longest.
Thirty-two per cent of customers had to wait more than two hours.
Just 13 per cent of RAC patrols arrived in under 30 minutes, and 35 per cent took 30 minutes to an hour to arrive.
8. Autoaid
Autoaid fell down the list from the year previous because it is more likely to recover a car to a garage than get you moving again with a roadside repair.
It towed motors away for attention in 57 per cent of its callouts – the highest proportion in the survey.
Permanent repairs were sorted for 24 per cent of callouts, and temporarily fixed 16 per cent of them.
In better news, only four per cent were left without assistance.
7. Gem Motoring Assist
GEM Motoring Assist was better at permanently repairing cars than most, including the AA. Some 46 per cent were completely put right, drivers said.
However, it had a lower rate of temporary fixes (16.2 per cent) meant fewer drivers were able to continue on their way.
In 5.4 per cent of cases, neither repair nor recovery occurred.
6. Green Flag
Green Flag fixed two fifths of breakdowns permanently – lower than others such as GEM Motoring Assist but better than others
Green Flag is among the top three biggest names in the breakdown assistance market, behind the RAC and AA.
So, should customers expect a quality service given the scale of the operation?
According to Green Flag customers, its callouts fixed two in five breakdowns permanently – lower than some of its biggest rivals, including GEM Motoring Assist.
It temporarily fixed a fifth of broken down cars and towed almost two fifths (38 per cent).
The number left untowed was at the higher end of the results at 7 per cent.
5. Emergency Assist
Emergency Assist was slow off the mark, only getting to 15 per cent of customers in 30 minutes or less, customers told What Car?.
Its technicians were typically more likely to reach stranded motorists between 30 minutes and an hour after they called, with 46 per cent of cases suggesting patrols arrived in this half-hour window.
Only two per cent of cars were not towed and over a third were permanently fixed there and then.
Just shy of a fifth (17 per cent) of stricken motors were temporarily fixed and 44 per cent were towed to a place to be put right.
4. Start Rescue
Start Rescue is second best for speed of arrival: It attends 69% of callouts in less than an hour
Start Rescue was second overall for its speed of arrival: it attended 69 per cent of callouts in less than an hour, customers said.
And in 15 per cent of cases, they arrived in under half an hour. Help took more than two hours in six per cent of cases, though.
Elsewhere, Start Rescue towed a high 44 per cent of broken down motors and only permanently fixed a quarter that had suffered an issue. A fifth were merely fixed temporarily.
3. AA
The majority of AA technicians got there in the 30 minutes to one hour window
The AA is the nation’s largest provider with more breakdown patrols than rivals. But that doesn’t guarantee the best service, it appears.
AA breakdown assistance patrols permanently fixed a smaller percentage of cars (36 per cent) than some of its competition, but it was redeemed by its technicians fixing a higher proportion of cars temporarily (28 per cent) so more drivers could continue their journeys.
A further 28 per cent of cars were recovered for repair.
However, eight per cent were neither repaired nor recovered and users were left to fend for themselves.
The majority (44 per cent) of AA technicians got there in the 30 minutes to an hour window.
2. ‘Independents’
What Car? has grouped smaller – usually local – breakdown providers as ‘independents’. They tend to be mobile mechanics that offer a slightly different service to the others in this list.
Instead of a monthly or annual subscription fee for cover, these services only charge when you use them.
Yet they react in a similar way as mainstream providers, aiming to reach stranded vehicles in less than 90 minutes and either fix the car at the roadside or recover it for repair at a garage.
Callout fees vary – ranging from £75 to £150 – depending on the size of vehicle and its location. However, customers should expect to pay more to be recovered in London or on a motorway.
And there’s also often a mileage fee for recovery – usually around £1.50 per mile – so it can become expensive.
These providers performed pretty well, according to the poll of motorists who called on their support.
These services were generally the best at fully remedying vehicle faults: in 47 per cent of callouts the car was fixed permanently.
Independent providers also temporarily fixed 11 per cent of users’ cars so they could continue to a place of repair. The remainder were recovered to a garage, and – as you’d expect of a service you pay for at the time of use – no customers were left without their car repaired or recovered.
1. Britannia Rescue
The best breakdown assistance provider, according to customers who filled out the latest What Car? survey, is LV’s Britannia Rescue
Britannia Rescue – which is operated by insurer LV – is the top dog of overall breakdown repair services because its technicians managed to fix a strong number of cars by the roadside.
Its recovery operators attended three quarters of callouts in less than an hour, and its help enabled 53 per cent of its customers to continue their journeys.
No one was left with neither a repair nor a recovery.
