I received a letter from The AA yesterday inviting me to buy repair cover on top of the usual breakdown cover. A possibly tempting policy to invest in; pay an annual fee and if your car breaks down and you’re taken to a garage the repairs are covered.
But then I looked a bit closer and it’s not as attractive as it sounds at all.
Firstly, the cost of Breakdown repair cover starts at £55.10 a year. And if your car does need a repair, you need to pay £35 excess.
To help encourage you, The AA give a list of common repairs to show how much you would usualy pay. Top of the list is a new battery, costing £72. But if you’d taken out the repair cover with The AA, you would have paid £55.10 for the policy and a further £35 excess totalling £90.10. I’d have ditched that example if I were them.
And then there’s the detail about the starting price of £55.10. Who qualifies for the starting price? The small print shows that the starting price is only for cars under a year old – where any problems would be covered by the manufacturers warranty anyway. It gives no indication how much cover will cost for an older vehicle which you’re more likely to insure against breakdowns.
In conclusion, I’ll steer clear of this offer thanks.