Road Service refresher.

[Drover]

The bill for the next years RACQ Road Service arrived today, ($259) I have RACQ Ultimate so thought I should refresh the memory on what it all entails, have no idea if other states have better coverage or not but I did find that The Ute very close to length and weight while Big Mal still has a few feet and Kg's to spare......
This is a link to a pdf file not a web page.............https://www.racq.com.au/-/media/pdf/racq pdfs/roadside assistance/options/1115_racqultimate_brochure.ashx

Would be interesting if anyone has done a comparison, sort of like comparing Telco's, instant migraine I think...

 

[Dobbie]

Or instant /constant poverty....

We've got ultimate as well and had to check it out when both car and van were towed/ carried / transported a couple of years ago.....when Nissan called them they checked weights and lengths on the phone then sent the two trucks for us. So I guess that RACV at least require those details.

I must add, however, that neither of the tow trucks they sent had trailer connections for the van brakes or lights....both wallowed under the weight and I strongly suspect the weight of each of the tow vehicles was licensed for was under what they did for us. The van was towed...no lights or indicators ....and the car was on the truck tray. I was in the truck and it struggled mightily....but we were moving so I wasn't going to say anything.

so I know our van was just ok for weight and length as was the car but it's something to be wary about. That's one reason we stuck with the size and weight with the upgraded van.

I reckon with anything above 2 and a bit tonnes they'd be limited in what towing equipment would be suitable....though I guess most country towns have the bigger flat beds these days. It just might take longer for the motoring body to approve it.

Anyway, it's certainly worth checking.

 

[Lap Dog]

We have ultimate and my engine blew at 1 am 30kms from Wodonga while making a dash from the Tassie ferry to Canberra for my wife's ailing father.

Ulimate cover was brilliant ... Here goes.
Breakdown 1am
Assessment vehicle came out 2am
Tow vehicle came 3am car on top, 20ft van on the back with all connections. Truck pulled that like a train
Motel booked for us by RACQ that night 4am
Up early, hire car was booked by RACQpicked up at 9am (I think they pay for 2x days or to your destination)
Van arrived at outlaws house next day and car taken to mechanic for assessment
ALL paid on insurance.

Only a couple of pieces of fine print we happened to avoid. If the van is towed further than the car you have to pay the excess. Got a little stung on the car hire ... Some places have a one way return fee... Still haven't sorted that out yet with RACQ.

Think the max free tow range is 1,000kms. RACQ took the pain out of what was a pretty ugly situation. If you use your van a lot it is a must have. If you do a few short trips each year maybe take your chance. I am pretty anti insurance ... No contents or comp cover on car. This is one I have.

 

[Drover]

I hope I never have to test out the product to that extent actually............Have utilised the car hire once, the extra for insurance etc was an unwanted cost...................

 

[1DayIll]

I have RACV Total Care and would not travel without it. a couple of years ago, ten minutes from Anglesea motor broke down. Truck came, 4wd on top, van on the back no questions asked. Guy at RACV lent me his ute to tow the van onsite, en extra service I really appreciated. Next day i got the Taxi, free of charge to Geelong to pick up the hire car for the week end, again included.
On the Tuesday morning, tow truck came to site, having already picked up the car and the connected van to the back. he connected a board on the back and then we dropped the car in Geelong and towed all the way back to Melbourne.

I was not out of pocket for any of this and was very happy with the service.

It also covers me when driving any other vehicle, would not be without it!

 

[Dandy]

Another thumbs up for RACV total care... My experience was towing the expanda down to seaford for a service and my nissan "grenaded" they picked up car and van. Dropped the car off at the nissan dealer in Ferntree Gully then took the van down to Seaford then dropped me off at the car rental agency. The rental was covered for 5 days while the new donk was installed. Nothing out of pocket!! They kept calling to follow up and make sure I was happy. Excellent cover....with me as the named driver means that my wife's car is the nominated vehicle and I am covered in any vehicle I drive. It only costs a little more than 2 cars.

 

[Crusty181]

Think the max free tow range is 1,000kms.

Im reading in the fine print in @Drover's link that the max tow distance is 100km ???

 

[1DayIll]

Im reading in the fine print in @Drover's link that the max tow distance is 100km ???

Just had a look at the website and yes it does say 100klm, this is to get you to a place where they can fox. Not sure what happens for longer distances, I guess you have to pay per KLM.

 

[Drover]

I get an extra 20km or something but it is a worry......head in sand procedure think............big pricey tow just throw a match in.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

I have NRMA Premium Plus.

It also has 100km limit in regional areas, but does have the following:

Major Breakdown Assistance
If you break down and your car is going to take more than 24 hours to fix, we will organise and cover up to $3,000 towards the cost of:

• Accommodation for you, any passengers and pets
• Transport for you and any passengers including car hire, taxis, train or plane
• Car transport or towing

So they will tow you back to the nearest major centre to get repairs done or 100km in any direction, or if major up to $3000 worth

 

[Dobbie]

All I know in our case, we were just over 100km from repair centre so were towed with no issues.

Then, during the time they were deciding which repairs were to be sorted out, they offered to truck the van to home and fly us home....and were in Mildura and home was Qld.

All this was while they were trying to work out what the problem was.....once identified, and that took four days, we were fine but they paid for all our expenses during that time.

Thankfully, it could be fixed which was our preference but the options were good and the communication and offers excellent.

 

[The escapist]

I too have the premium cover from NRMA and after a weekend away where I blew two tyres on the boat trailer I was glad we'd kept it. Only weeks before we were debating the merits as I'd not used it in years!
We got a flat on the way up, changed it to the spare. Spent the weekend at Lake St Clair away from civilisation so didn't repair the flat. On the way home (a public holiday) got another flat. This time with no spare to replace it!
Long story short, towed the boat 70km to my folks place for the grand price of 20 bucks (which I pinched from Mum's purse as I had no cash!!).
Now wouldn't tow long distances without cover!

Daz

 

[JT76]

Dragging up an older post but just looking into roadside cover now as we are about to travel 8000km through 4 states.

As a NSW resident can you still buy RACV or RACQ? NRMA seem a bit more expensive for the same or similar cover.

 

[Crusty181]

Dragging up an older post but just looking into roadside cover now as we are about to travel 8000km through 4 states.

As a NSW resident can you still buy RACV or RACQ? NRMA seem a bit more expensive for the same or similar cover.

Interesting. I would expect they would because if you come to grief in Vic the RACV is the one who comes to your rescue anyway, so it would make good business sense to grab the cash from anyone

 

[JT76]

Just an update, while all the info I could find said you can join an interstate group, when I went online to join you needed an address in the same state. This was for both RACV and RACQ. I called RACV and they told me to join my local NRMA but when pushed they said yes you can join interstate. They offered to do it over the phone but I said I would just do it online. After the call I went online and found I couldn't. So I guess you can join if you talk to them direct but not using the online system.

In the end we decided just to pay the extra and join NRMA we dont want them to try to get away without covering us through some loop hole so dong it for peace of mind (which is why we are getting the cover in the first place).

In saying this the mighty Ranger will never fail us..... now where is some wood to touch!

 

[rags]

I'm in Brisbane but have NRMA, couldn't join online but ok over phone.
Can't recall the reason at the time but I figured that NRMA offered better coverage than RACQ.
I should revisit the reasons to ensure best coverage for dollars.