The AA 'Situation'

[GigGleR]

As a few people who were on the 10CR know, Teams 16 + 17 broke down in Switzerland with a stripped spline and a dodgy engine.

Now when we rung the AA regarding the recovery of our vehicles only to be met with 'Well, we'll give you a hire car to get home but we are not going to try and get your cars back to the UK until we get a valuation to see if its worth it'.

Understandably perhaps this distressed me quite severely on our hire car trip through Switzerland, Germany, Holland and France. It was not until we were on the ferry back to Blighty that they deemed to ring me and tell me that yes it was going to cost 3000 euros for their technician to try and fix my engine (this from an italian who looked very confused at the sight of the half ton pig iron english block  ;D )so they were going to ship the cars home so we could do it ourselves.

So, I think the moral of this story for next time is that we either need to get fixed insurance valuations for our cars before we go or use the Footman James breakdown cover that several people recommended to us since they apparently don't argue and just ship the car straight home. Now I just have to send the italian mechanic the keys (he didn't take the damned things of me) and wait 14 days for the cars to return.  :-/

But still, congratulations to everyone that managed the run under full triumph steam and thanks to Ellis and the team for organizing a great trip!

We'll see you on the 2009 run, we won't let it beat us again!!! ;D

[Jason]

Sorry if what I'm going to say sounds patronising but please, everyone, read your policy cover for both insurance AND recovery and then you won't get these nasty surprises and buttock clenching moments when far from home with a vital component in your hand broken when it's suppose to be holding the wheels on! Policy differ, I work in insurance and am often confused by even my own employer's policy wordings!
Logically the recovery companies should boil it all down to pure economics - if your car is worth £500 and it's going to cos £2500 to recovery it they are far better off to ask you if you would like to take £500 (or even anything up to £2499!) and walk away - I've never heard of that happening but it does make you think.

Anyway, I'm pleased you're getting your cars back, I wouldn't want to part with mine in those circumstances that's for sure!

[SteveJP]

Strange - Car 33 had exactly the opposite experience with the AA, they could not have been more helpful when I rang them from Morez - agreed, we had to wait until the breakdown truck had arrived and the mechanic confirmed that the car was not repairable, but there was never any question of the car not being recovered back to Blighty.

Mind you - I've yet to see it back - they have quoted 8-14 days at which point we will be sunning ourselves in Cyprus so they have agreed to deliver to my Fathers house while we are away.

The AA use On Time and their drivers are given a number of pickups, so it is possible the Spit may well find itself in company with cars 16 and 17!

[Deleted User]

I have to give top marks to the AA for how they handled our Vitesse breakdown on the 2005 10CR. Couldn't have been better, top marks!

[GigGleR]

Jason wrote:

read your policy cover for both insurance AND recovery and then you won't get these nasty surprises and buttock clenching moments when far from home with a vital component in your hand broken when it's suppose to be holding the wheels on!

That's true enough, I was just a little distressed when hearing it over the phone in a services in Switzerland  ;D

Quote:

The AA use On Time and their drivers are given a number of pickups, so it is possible the Spit may well find itself in company with cars 16 and 17!

Yep, I've been told that too so it's entirely possible  ;) make sure you wave at them if their still on the truck when they drop yours off  ;D

Quote:

I have to give top marks to the AA for how they handled our Vitesse breakdown on the 2005 10CR

I do now think reasonably well of the AA now everythings being sorted, I just wished it didn't take them 2 days to get a value and get around to telling me about it so I could have been a little less worried. But they are doing everything as advertised now so fair play and full marks to them  :)

[Craig Bennett]

My brother took his old kit car abroad some years ago and broke down. It was a JC Midge based on a Herald. None too surpisingly the trunnion gave up (not one for routine maintenance my brother). He had AA cover and they gave him a hire car to get home from South of France. After AA had struggled to find parts and failed they offered a payout rather than repatriate the car!! After some haggling my brother got £1750 out of them. Car was only worth £1000 on a good day anyway!! Funniest of all as a poor student at the time he was going to sell it when he got back so this saved him the bother!! He's still in the AA now and swears by them!!