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I did not renew my mebership this year with the AA - not because of the cost but because of their cutting of night time response.  After 2am and before 6am they have stopped having staff on duty so if you break down and need roadside help or recovery they send out a local garage.

What control do they really have of the quality of that garage? - The integrity of the mechanic who is sent out?  At least when a patrolman turns up wearing a recognisable uniform you have some confidence that he will be wide awake.  Most garage mechanics who respond to thjese calls will have done a days work and will be called out from home.

How long will it be before the AA cuts it's hours even further?  You should pay for what you get not what these big organisations think they can get out of you.

MOST OF THESE LARGE COMPANY SUB CONTRACT IN THE EARLY HOURS NOW .MAINLY DUE TO THE UNPLANABILTY FACTOR AND THE WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE

I have been a member of RAC & green Flag, my wife the AA.  Green flag beats the lot, they are EXCELLENT.  I have used them a few times for recovery, they are very quick, will pay you money back f they do not attend in an hour.  Their strength is that the service is mostly provided by independant garages.  They do not try to sell you nything if it is not needed unlike the others.

A true story, I broke down in Newcastle one Saturday afternoon.  The problem was with the transmission.  I rang RAC & told them this & asked for a tow-truck.  I waited 3 hours for a van to come, as all of the vans were busy.  He had no towing equipment & said I needed a tow-truck.  I waited a while longer & a local firm called CF Recovery, on contract to the RAC arrived & towed me to my local garage.  The truck had Green Flag stickers on it.  The driver had been in the depot less than a mile away all afternoon & said that had I been in Green Flag I would have been home in half an hour.

I have had other similar experiences with the AA.

Unfortunately, my new Skoda has 3 years "free" AA cover!  I'll go back when that runs out.

Steve.

I use the CC Mayday which is sub contracted to Green flag. The advantage of Mayday isthat if you on your way with the caravan, they will deliver you to your site and then come back to collect you when you want to go home, or deliver you to your campsite and take the car to a garage to be repaired. They also guarantee to take you and the caravan whatever the size ( as long as it is street legal in the UK )

The service is superb, much better than I used to get from the RAC many years ago. I bought a fresh car last August and it came with two years recovery for the car, but negligable cover for a caravan so I kept on the Green flag as well. The cost of Mayday is £62 a year. But you need to be a CC member to be able to join mayday. They guarantee to be with you within a time that they specify when you ring, usually half an hour, and will pay you if they do not arrive.