Coming back to caravanning after a long break planning to tow our little two berth Bailey Orion with our Motability vehicle . Will we need to take a separate breakdown policy for the caravan or can an extra premium be paid on the existing car one. Thank you for any advice.
No problem fitting a tow bar onto a motability car as many people including ourselves have fitted one. Although the car comes with breakdown cover if I remember correctly it is RAC and you are not covered for the caravan. We subscribed to Mayday however that may have changed in the past couple of years.
We no longer have a motability car as that was like flushing money away. After three years you had nothing to show for the thousands that you paid in.
Quote: Originally posted by iank01 on 04/5/2024
No problem fitting a tow bar onto a motability car as many people including ourselves have fitted one. Although the car comes with breakdown cover if I remember correctly it is RAC and you are not covered for the caravan. We subscribed to Mayday however that may have changed in the past couple of years.
We no longer have a motability car as that was like flushing money away. After three years you had nothing to show for the thousands that you paid in.
I saw an old.post on a.site from 2020 about someone who had been able.to pay a premium to their rac.arrival.policy to include their caravan but can't find it now.
Am I right in thinking the RAC would tow both car and van as long as the problem is with the car ? Or what would happen in case of breakdown we would phone RAC for car and another for.van ?
If you want full cover all eventualities, join C&CC and then Arrival which is operated via RAC. This will then cover you if you are out for the day up to 75 miles from the campsite. Rescue you, take back to campsite and if car not repaired take you and the caravan back home. You can only get the RAC Arrival if you are a C&CC member,
------------- 2023 Swift Archway Woodford, MK3 Kuga ST Line X 190 ps AWD Auto
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Quote: Originally posted by birdman101 on 05/5/2024
If you want full cover all eventualities, join C&CC and then Arrival which is operated via RAC. This will then cover you if you are out for the day up to 75 miles from the campsite. Rescue you, take back to campsite and if car not repaired take you and the caravan back home. You can only get the RAC Arrival if you are a C&CC member,
Thank you I think this is what we will do. I was wondering about what one of the clubs to join anyway.. Are they quite good for insurance ? I also need to take out a policy for the van
Quote: Originally posted by lor6126 on 04/5/2024
I saw an old.post on a.site from 2020 about someone who had been able.to pay a premium to their rac.arrival.policy to include their caravan but can't find it now.
Am I right in thinking the RAC would tow both car and van as long as the problem is with the car ? Or what would happen in case of breakdown we would phone RAC for car and another for.van ?
We used RAC once and never again. For peace of mind we preferred to pay the extra for Mayday who will look after the car and the caravan.
You can upgrade the RAC cover to include caravan without joining the C&CC, but it does not include Onward journey etc so although they may take the car and caravan to a garage they have no obligation to take the caravan to the home or storage.
When you have a Motability car on a 3 year lease you get the tax, insurance, servicing and breakdown cover all incorporated in the price you pay monthly. The agreement that you sign when taking out the new vehicle from the dealer only covers the car which is on hire for a 3 year period. If you want to have a towbar fitted you need permission from Motability because a towbar is classed as a modification which the insurance will also needs to know so they can add it to the vehicle policy which will be for the 3 years and not 12 months like owning your own vehicle. Any trailers of any description are not covered so the person leasing the vehicle has to arrange for extra cover which in the event of a breakdown with a caravan in tow, only the car is officially covered with the breakdown company being used by Motability at that time.
However, the cost of towbars increase annually therefore every 3 years when you lease another new vehicle you need another new towbar fitting and because the breakdown policy only covers the leased vehicle you have to join the Camping & Caravanning Club to obtain the car and caravan 'Arrival' breakdown cover. Membership has to be renewed every 12 months so over a 3 year period you can say goodbye to the best part of 200 quid so in reflection of the new towbar and paying out for extra cover for breakdown cover when you have already paid for it on the car lease it's not really that cost effective like some people think.
I'm speaking from experience regarding my wife having several Motabilty cars a few years back which we eventually decided to buy our own car so I can obtain the extra cover I need without any restrictions plus it was just a matter of the one cost of a towbar fitment.
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 05/5/2024
When you have a Motability car on a 3 year lease you get the tax, insurance, servicing and breakdown cover all incorporated in the price you pay monthly. The agreement that you sign when taking out the new vehicle from the dealer only covers the car which is on hire for a 3 year period. If you want to have a towbar fitted you need permission from Motability because a towbar is classed as a modification which the insurance will also needs to know so they can add it to the vehicle policy which will be for the 3 years and not 12 months like owning your own vehicle. Any trailers of any description are not covered so the person leasing the vehicle has to arrange for extra cover which in the event of a breakdown with a caravan in tow, only the car is officially covered with the breakdown company being used by Motability at that time.
However, the cost of towbars increase annually therefore every 3 years when you lease another new vehicle you need another new towbar fitting and because the breakdown policy only covers the leased vehicle you have to join the Camping & Caravanning Club to obtain the car and caravan 'Arrival' breakdown cover. Membership has to be renewed every 12 months so over a 3 year period you can say goodbye to the best part of 200 quid so in reflection of the new towbar and paying out for extra cover for breakdown cover when you have already paid for it on the car lease it's not really that cost effective like some people think.
I'm speaking from experience regarding my wife having several Motabilty cars a few years back which we eventually decided to buy our own car so I can obtain the extra cover I need without any restrictions plus it was just a matter of the one cost of a towbar fitment.
Thanks. We may after the end of the lease buy our own car.
I think we will join the caravan and camping club to get the arrival policy meanwhile..
Can I ask what the procedure would be if we had to be brought home. ARRIVAL POLICY. for van and car to come home and then contact motability if car needed repairs as I'm assuming motability wouldn't want us using a separate breakdown policy for repairs or what happens ?
If it was your own car then the RAC would bring you home and take your vehicle to a garage you wish to nominate but with a Motability car they can't just use any garage, they have to take it to the nearest dealer in your area. The reason is because you cannot get a Motability agreement anywhere else in the UK other than a main dealer whatever make or model the vehicle is. In terms of the caravan you would have to discuss this with the RAC call handler in the event of a breakdown because you would have two destinations involved which would be one for the car and another for the caravan which I believe that with any UK breakdown company they only allow one destination drop off point.
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 05/5/2024
If it was your own car then the RAC would bring you home and take your vehicle to a garage you wish to nominate but with a Motability car they can't just use any garage, they have to take it to the nearest dealer in your area. The reason is because you cannot get a Motability agreement anywhere else in the UK other than a main dealer whatever make or model the vehicle is. In terms of the caravan you would have to discuss this with the RAC call handler in the event of a breakdown because you would have two destinations involved which would be one for the car and another for the caravan which I believe that with any UK breakdown company they only allow one destination drop off point.
So would bringing us home, car and caravan to our house with our caravan breakdown policy be an option and then arranging with our motability breakdown to have car taken to garage , or am I barking up the wrong tree ?
I can't see any problem with that but if you have a Motability vehicle then you can ask the dealer to collect the vehicle from your home and likewise when you have it serviced annually as well. Dealers don't tell their customers this because it costs them money but they do have a contract with Motability which is supposed to be honoured on the grounds that some people with a disability can't always use public transport to get home when they drop the car off at the dealership for any reason. Not unless the rules have changed since then but worth checking the updates with Motability on this policy.
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 05/5/2024
I can't see any problem with that but if you have a Motability vehicle then you can ask the dealer to collect the vehicle from your home and likewise when you have it serviced annually as well. Dealers don't tell their customers this because it costs them money but they do have a contract with Motability which is supposed to be honoured on the grounds that some people with a disability can't always use public transport to get home when they drop the car off at the dealership for any reason. Not unless the rules have changed since then but worth checking the updates with Motability on this policy.
That's a good point. My husband actually said this but I wasn't sure if he was correct although they have in the past picked it up for servicing when it could be driven .
Now I need to decide what extra breakdown cover to buy and what insurance policy to buy. Any recommendations.? I do have a.quote from ccc for club membership and arrival for £15 a month.
Update in case this is of use to anyone.
We called RAC and gave them details of.our motability breakdown and they gave us Arrival breakdown cover for the caravan as.an add on for £65 for the year.
Motability have confirmed that the local dealership would pick up car from our home if need be to get round the one destination policy.