Caravan / Car Breakdown Cover

[brian_c]

Hello all I wonder if anyone could advise me which way to go.
I have received my yearly RAC update notification. I have given them a call with a view to changing my cover to Family Cover to include our Daughter.
During our conversation I asked for confirmation as to what cover we have for the caravan whilst out and about. I was quite dismayed to find out that even with the full cover which we pay the caravan is only covered for assistance with wheel changing. Should we need more advanced help ie transporting due to "not being towable" then they would arrange it but at our cost. Further to this had our van been over their size and weight restriction they would not attend at all.
However they did say that If we were members of "The Caravan & Camping Club" then we would be covered for the whole range of caravans and in fact the package was quite good including transporting the van onwards to a site whilst car repairs were carried out and home afterwoods along with the tow car if the car was not repaired etc.
I asked if I could pay a premium to include this cover but was told that the only way was to join the C&CC.
I have checked with the AA. and their sales person tells me that with their equivalent cover will in fact include the caravan even where the caravan is the cause of the failure ie damage broken axle etc and no requirement to join any of the organisations. The price is about the same so I think the AA would be the better option.
Having said all this although we are members of the caravan club we were thinking of joining the C&CC also.
So our question is "Has anyone got any experience or advice which way to go.

 

[PhilFraeHowMill]

Hi Brian I`m in the CC, I have their Mayday Cover which is as good as you can get in my opinion, well worth the money. It`s through Green Flag, but as with RAC, you can`t get the same cover privately.

 

[TD42]

I have researched this subject thouroughly & ALL car based recovery services have limits when it comes to the caravan.
Some will not attend to a fault on the caravan at all.Some will attend to the caravan ONLY if it is attached to the car,some have limits on the size of the caravan MAny will not attend or make a charge if you do not have a servicable spare (car & or caravan)
My Main concern was getting the caravan home if the car was unroad worthy due to a road accident & the caravan was on a campsite not hitched to the car .This is especialy relevant if you were touring france ,Replies I had ranged from NO I would have to pay for the return of the van,to UK. To Yes but it depends on whether the value of the car was more than the cost of getting the car home & how far away the car was from where the van was sited.if the car was uneconomical to get home your caravan stays where it is
I decided that either the CC or the C&CC was the only way to go if you wanted to be sure of service & repatriation of both your car & your caravan .If you decide on not using one of the club covers in the UK do not go abroad without either CC red pennent or the C&CC equivelant.the quote "Sods law "comes to mind

 

[Martin24]

Was most unimpressed with the attitude when phoning the CCC so decided to stick with CC green flag cover. Have never waited more than 45 mins, generally 20 mins. Cheaper than AA and RAC Had to be towed back by them twice in last 10 years and no problems. Last time a couple of years ago the green flag driver built in excellent toilet stops for my then 5 year old.

 

[Damian]

Mayday through the CC.
Best there is (and I have used them 39 times with the Renault (NOT so) Grand Espace, before I got fed up and crushed it.
After the 3rd request for recovery when I was with the AA, they withdrew the cover as I had exceeded my "tow in " limit.

 

[KeithJ]

Hi Brian - my information from the AA is different to yours!! They told me that they do not cover caravans at all but will tow them if they are attached to your car when the car breaks down. If the problem is with the caravan they will not attend. The young lady I spoke to was surprised that I wanted cover for a caravan - she had not heard of anyone wanting this before (???!!!). She said caravans don't break down because they don't have engines!!!!!!!

Mayday cover with the Caravan Club will give you what you want in the UK but not abroad.The CC then wants you to buy additional cover with Red Pennant at significant cost.

The C&CC offer cover through the RAC which covers UK and Europe, car and caravan. It costs over £200 but is significantly cheaper than the CC.

I did the research recently because my new car came with free breakdown cover, but when I read the policy details I found it didn't cover the caravan (except they will tow it if it is attached to the car and the car breaks down), and I believe this is the case with all policies provided with new cars. Since nobody will provide cover just for the 'van (to supplement the car cover) it is necessary to buy duplicate cover for the car as well. This means that for caravanners the breakdown policies provided with new cars are inadequate.

Hope this helps

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi all.
spot on Keith I was with the AA nigh on 40years paid the premium year on year. I was quite happy with them even though the premium had gone up to £145 per year, happy that was untill we got the van.
asked them by phone/e-mail and letter exactly what cover do we have for the van the reply came back NONE. if the car broke down while towing they would recover the car and van but if the car was roadworthy and the van had a problem we were on our own they would not recover it even if we paid, so that was it goodbye AA.

we had loads of recomendations including the good folk on here about green flag mayday service but you have to be a member of the caravan club to get it.
complete cover including double journey cover "where if you breakdown on the way to a site they take you to the campsite and then bring you home again" was only £68 + CC membership £36 but thats still £41 less than the AA for better cover.
we used the service last year and I must say they were brilliant the car was damaged on a carpark while on holiday in cornwall and rendered it undrivable the guy turned up within 40 mins with a recovery truck and after being advised of our situation recovered the car and took us to the campsite where the van was, he offered to recover the van as welll and take us home but as we were half way through the holiday we decided to pack a few things and leave it on site.
the then took us all the way home to yorkshire so the car could be repaired and after dropping the wife off at home took the car to the garage with me. He even dropped me off at home before setting off back down to cornwall and would not accept even a cup of coffee for his trouble. what a guy what a service they deserve a medal.

You only find out how good something is when you need it in my oppinion these guys are the bee knees and you can't get a better recomendation than that.

colin

 

[chrisbee1]

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago. Two days before the end of a break my car broke down. Mayday came out and decided the car needed to go to a main dealer workshop. We arranged for them to recover us at the end of the holiday when they towed the ‘van back to my storage compound, waited whilst we unloaded what we needed to, dropped Mrs Chrisbee & dog at home, took me and car to garage and then dropped me back home. Outstanding service which allowed us to finish the holiday, albeit without a serviceable car.

 

[Tony_5041742]

Timely thread, as my annual vehicle breakdown policy is due for renewal shortly. I've paid for Brittania Rescue via the CSMA for the past few years, though fortunately never had to use it. It seemed cost competitive (under £100 I think) for an annual policy that covers the car and caravan in the UK and Europe. But after reading some of the comments upthread I will check more closely before I next renew it around what level of service I'd get for the caravan. I've just re-read the policy details and while it confirms the caravan is covered, and gives some exclusions around obvious items like size of the van not being bigger than I'd declared, and having a spare wheel, it doesn't really say a lot else. I "think" what would happen in the event of a car or caravan breakdown is that the entire outfit would be recovered, back to the UK if necessary. I doubt if the policy has the "holiday continuation" type clauses as per Red Pennant, which probably isn't unreasonable given the difference in price. But for sure this is something I'll be getting a lot more detail on before I renew.

 

[SteveW77]

Hi Brian - my information from the AA is different to yours!! They told me that they do not cover caravans at all but will tow them if they are attached to your car when the car breaks down. If the problem is with the caravan they will not attend. The young lady I spoke to was surprised that I wanted cover for a caravan - she had not heard of anyone wanting this before (???!!!). She said caravans don't break down because they don't have engines!!!!!!!

Mayday cover with the Caravan Club will give you what you want in the UK but not abroad.The CC then wants you to buy additional cover with Red Pennant at significant cost.

The C&CC offer cover through the RAC which covers UK and Europe, car and caravan. It costs over £200 but is significantly cheaper than the CC.

I did the research recently because my new car came with free breakdown cover, but when I read the policy details I found it didn't cover the caravan (except they will tow it if it is attached to the car and the car breaks down), and I believe this is the case with all policies provided with new cars. Since nobody will provide cover just for the 'van (to supplement the car cover) it is necessary to buy duplicate cover for the car as well. This means that for caravanners the breakdown policies provided with new cars are inadequate.

Hope this helps

That is incorrect, my last renewal for RAC Arrival was £168.73

Steve W

 

[Dustydog]

Mayday cover via The CC.
Why?
Because they are the only breakdown compant who agree to transport my Wyoming wherever we want. Other companies have length restrictions that are not immediately obvious.
Check the wording very very carefully. It may not suit your outfit.

 

[SteveW77]

Mayday cover via The CC.
Why?
Because they are the only breakdown compant who agree to transport my Wyoming wherever we want. Other companies have length restrictions that are not immediately obvious.
Check the wording very very carefully. It may not suit your outfit.

There are no lenght restrictions with RAC Arrival, UK or Europe.

Steve W

 

[TD42]

I am also with brittania via csma I raised the question regarding would they recover my caravan from france if the caravan was NOT hitched to the car if the car was undrivable The answer was they would recover both IF the recovery costs were less than market value of the car, &/or the caravan was within reasonable distance from the disabled car
as my car has a market value of £1700 & if the car was possibly 50 miles from the caravan when it was disabled I feel its to much of a risk to leave it to their discretion on whether they will bring the van home let alone the car. If the car was an uneconomic repair or recovery they will not repatriate the van
when I asked them what were the aprox recovery cost for a car from mid France I was told 1-1.5k!!!

 

[KeithJ]

Steve w77 - I am pleased you paid less than the £200+ that I was quoted for C&CC cover through the RAC. I was making the point that if you want cover for the UK and Europe it is cheaper than the CC where you need two policies - Mayday for UK and Red Pennant for Europe. Of course if you only want UK cover Mayday will probably suit you very well as has been said here, but if you add on Red Pennant for Europe it is significantly more expensive than the C&CC cover through the RAC which covers both UK and Europe.