Breakdowns

[paintman]

Had an interesting day today with the Hood, nice day so went for a rant....correction run.... along the byepass and ended up in Trowbridge (Wilts.)

I arranged to meet Stupott for lunch after some shopping in the towns Mall..... then disaster struck!       I went to leave the car park, pressed down on the clutch peddle and it hit the metal floor with a resounding bang!

Yes you guessed......broke the clutch cable!    Bet we've all done it.....great, just what you need.

Called the RAC help line and the van turned up 90 mins later.....in the meantime Stupott turned up to help.

Fortunately i had a spare cable with me and the mechanic managed to fit it in an hour. (I did not have the tools or a light with me.....that's my excuse for not doing it myself!)

I was thinking afterwards.....could we get a club reduction for Breakdown Services or how many of us use them?

     Tony

['Mendip Wurzel']

Who do you use Tony? I use the AA as they don't mind Kit Cars, the RAC is the same.

A lot of the breakdown services seem to exlude kit cars.

So I would guess if we are going to strike a deal it would be with one of these two companies unless someone knows of other breakdown companies that will provide cover for kit cars.

[Grin-a-lot]

I use Green Flag and they've rescued me once (clutch cable here too).  The driver was very excited because they weren't really sure what they were coming to rescue!

['The Gaffer']

I was thinking afterwards.....could we get a club reduction for Breakdown Services or how many of us use them?

     Tony

Thats not a bad idea, maybe one of the smaller ones may consider it in exchange for some banner advertising, I will ask Ken for his views.

[Krazyken]

It's worth a try.  Personally I always take breakdown cover with my Kit Car Insurance policy as I find it much cheaper than a policy with a breakdown company.  As we have a relationship with Frank Pickles it might be worth asking their advice first rather than going round lots of different breakdown companies.

Over the years I have used the breakdown service with my insurance policy on a number of ocassions.  I have always found the service excellent and found that it only adds a small premium (circa £30 p.a.) to the cost of the policy.

[Moleman]

I use the AA as they cover you not the car so it don't matter what you are driving which helps if you have more than one vehicle.

[Dixie]

I had the throttle cable on the Dax snap several months ago.  So did Stupot.

I always keep a few tools on board, with Tony keeping an eye on traffic I managed to take out the peddal assembly and effect a repair on the road side, all with a half inch adjustable.

I now keep a rescue cable and fittings just incase.  Brought off ebay for £1.50

M

[paintman]

Who do you use Tony? I use the AA as they don't mind Kit Cars, the RAC is the same.

A lot of the breakdown services seem to exclude kit cars.

So I would guess if we are going to strike a deal it would be with one of these two companies unless someone knows of other breakdown companies that will provide cover for kit cars.

I'm with RAC which covers me for my van and the wife's car.....she is also covered for all 3 vehicles.    Think we pay around £100 for both of us on a joint policy, that's everything inc. trailering home etc.

The trouble with the AA is that the drivers can't go outside their area, so if you broke down in Cornwall and lived in Scotland the poor car would be on and off the flatbed trucks at least 4 times!!

Last time i used Green Flag they eventually found me after 4 hours and loads of phoning!   I was not hard to find i thought seeing i was in a orange and black Fiesta Super Sport and was on the sea front in Torquay.

['Mendip Wurzel']

Brilliant script Tone ... made me laugh.

[fullpint]

Having read this post yesterday when I renewed my insurance today I took out break down cover that was on offer with Frank Prickles.. £50 for the year.. Hopefully I wont need it.
Mind you when I took my Mk Indy off the road last month I noticed I was missing the external cir-clip that holds the clutch lever pin in and it was very nearly out the hole 
I have only had cover for one year in my 30 years of driving and sods law in that year my good old Rover SDI failed on the M4 coming back from Swindon so lucky me I got towed off and the AA popped on a new alternator for me..

['The Gaffer']

Having read this post yesterday when I renewed my insurance today I took out break down cover that was on offer with Frank Prickles.. £50 for the year.. Hopefully I wont need it.

Frank Pickles strikes again For £50 a year its a no brainer. A single emergency tow off a motorway without cover can run into many hundreds of ££££

The trouble with the AA is that the drivers can't go outside their area, so if you broke down in Cornwall and lived in Scotland the poor car would be on and off the flatbed trucks at least 4 times!!

I think you will find this with all recovery companies now, it came into force after that horrific accident in which a sleepy recovery driver ploughed into the back of a wedding coach on the motorway some time back.

[Krazyken]

General Concesus seems to be that you get far better value taking breakdown cover through your insurance company rather than seperately.  You then have the choice whether you go for the breakdown cover specific to the car or take the breakdown cover for the person in which case you have breakdown cover for whatever car you are in.  This is slightly more expensive but if you have more than one car it becomes much cheaper.

The best cover for you will depend on your circumstances.  As we now have 3 cars Marlin, MGF & wifes Peugeot 207 we have just switched to personal cover as it's much cheaper than 3 extra breakdown premiums on the insurance policies.

Thankfully the company Merc is covered by the lease company otherwise I would be black listed for how unreliable that German piece of sh1te is.  It was made workers who were drunk on lager, looking at porn and about to go on strike between the Friday afternoon and Sunday morning shifts.  Can you tell I am not impressed?

[paintman]

Quote:
"Fortunately i had a spare cable with me and the mechanic managed to fit it in an hour. (I did not have the tools or a light with me.....that's my excuse for not doing it myself!) "

I went to replace my spare cable which i keep in the car and was surprised that it listed it as from a 1.8 Scorpio or a 2.0 i Sierra! (i got the no. off the replacement one).

I would have really been in the sh"t if i had no spare and the RAC bloke got a normal 2.0 Sierra cable which would not fit.

I bet a lot of us don't know what cable we have got fitted on our cars......glad i had a spare with the car when i bought it.

     Tony

PS.    Do many of you keep a spare in the car?

[Krazyken]

I have had the clutch cable snap 3 times in my Marlin, the path design is not the best.  This has now been modified thanks to a nifty bit of welding by Daves neighbour.  I do have a spare and it is actually a handbrake cable from a Sierra, needed for the length with the Marlin being mid engined.

Agree with Paintman, very important to know what your clutch cable is and keep a spare.