RAC - shocking service.

[Gordon R]

One of my youngest lad's motors developed a fault yesterday. Stuck code reader on it - Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2.00 diesel - fault came up as Mass Air Flow sensor. Took it off and cleaned up the contacts - same result. I was going to get one today. On his way home the engine started to run very badly. He abandoned the vehicle 1/4 of a mile from home. He rang RAC around 5.00pm - they said they would be with him 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Never arrived. They later rang him to say they wouldn't be turning out and it would be the day after. I was under the impression that they were a 24 hour service.

This morning - changed sensor and running fine. Aside from the high cost of the RAC, it just reminded me never to re-join them.

Absolute joke. 

[oowee]

Crikey that's not what you expect. 

[Gordon R]

To be totally honest, his membership of the RAC runs out today at midnight. He has gone elsewhere. If I was a cynic, I might be forgiven for thinking they couldn't care less as they had already lost him as a customer. If that was the case, it isn't merely shocking, it's a disgrace. Either way - totally unprofessional.

[Gameking]

The RAC only want you to report faults online !!!!! not much good when you have no internet on phone ( I do NOT I have a PAYG for  emergencies only .................like breakdowns .)

Absolute disgrace been with them 25 + years - but not now 

[mpmilo]

I had the RAC out yesterday for a brake fault, rang them at 09.00 and the mechanic rang me at 09.32 to say he was 5 minutes away and turned up within the 5 minutes. all sorted within 15mins. First time I have had to call any roadside firm out in over ten years and impressed with their service.

[PhilR]

I've been with Britannia Rescue for 40 plus years via my CSMA membership. Always had first class service, call outs were when I drove Land Rover products. 

[TOPGUN749]

My brother had an EML come on his Skoda Yeti, called out the rac,diagnosed a stretched timing chain,and recommended he had it towed to an RAC approved garage in Swansea. Got a quote of about £800,(6 years ago) to replace the chain, tensioner,guides etc. Then the garage managed to destroy the engine by getting something wrong and bending valves.

 Of course they denied responsibility,saying the damage must already be done,although the engine was running when taken there! After much complaints process,arbitration etc, he took them to a small claims court and won. Meanwhile the car had a new engine fitted elsewhere after being off road for 2-3 months,The **** RAC garage had to pay out about £5,000 .. Never trust an RAC approved garage!

[mossy835]

iv been with RAC for years call them a lot over cars iv had, never let me down,i will stick with them.

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, My older son has Green Flag as he knows nothing about cars except petrol filling, With home start they have been first class on all call outs

[ph5172]

I called RAC for a flat battery in the early hours once after leaving my lights on and telling them I needed a jump. 
every half an hour I received a text to say I would receive an update in … half an hour. 
after a few calls and saying a patrol were allocated I received a text to say that there were no patrols available and they were looking at ‘trusted partners’

i had a text at just before 8am saying a patrol had been allocated - he called me a few minutes later and said he was on the way straight from home a few mins away. 
 

jump started in 2 mins and we had a natter. 
he booked on and the job came straight through. He was saying he only does days and at night there is a minimal crew on usually 1 or 2 per …. County!!! And these are used for getting people off the centre of a road  or people who have broken down with a new baby and such and they won’t respond to standard jobs as the travel time from 1 side of the county to the other can take hours. 
 

I did say if they had just said I would have got someone to bring a spare battery out instead of sitting there for the best part of 7 hours! 
 

I must admit that I do have my current service with a third party as part of a package but I’m tempted to go with AA purely for their diagnostic abilities 

 

 

[serrac]

My son's car broke down as he was leaving an appointment at a private hospital in Edinburgh
Unfortunately he was partially blocking the only entry/exit route.
RAC took something like 10 hours to attend, while he was quite understandably being badgered by hospital staff to get the vehicle removed.
I think he's with another service now...

[Bigbob]

6 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, My older son has Green Flag as he knows nothing about cars except petrol filling, With home start they have been first class on all call outs

Same here never had a problem with them and as there part of direct line mention that you have recovery with them and it helps with a bit of a discount if renewing your insurance with direct line 

[London Best]

7 hours ago, PhilR said:

I've been with Britannia Rescue for 40 plus years via my CSMA membership. Always had first class service, call outs were when I drove Land Rover products. 

I have always driven a Land Rover product as my main vehicle since 1976 (48 years). 
I have never been broken down at the roadside or needed any call-out assistance. It is called ‘preventive maintenance’. Try it, it works.

 

Edited October 31 by London Best

[serrac]

1 hour ago, London Best said:

I have always driven a Land Rover product as my main vehicle since 1976 (48 years). 
I have never been broken down at the roadside or needed any call-out assistance. It is called ‘preventive maintenance’. Try it, it works.

 

I'm sure it helps but vehicles are increasingly complex devices, and come with numerous possible points of failure, so luck probably plays a bigger role.
A guy a couple of doors up from me bought a brand new Audi A4 a number of years ago.
He'd done barely 1k miles in it when one day one of the con-rods made it's escape through the crank case.
Not much opportunity for preventative maintenance to prevent things like that.

[JohnfromUK]

I have belonged to the RAC for 48 years.  Called them out 3 times in that time.  Twice for 'automatic choke stuck' troubles (one actually no action needed as it eventually came unstuck of itself), and one a random failure of an electric fuel pump - car transported to dealership.  They have always been fairly quick and helpful.  Getting very expensive though.

I have never called them for a puncture, but would now have to as I could not manage to lift the wheel into place at the roadside.  I can lift less now (age), and an experiment at home in the summer confirmed that a (modern 4 x 4) wheel is too heavy for me to safely manage - I managed at home, but only with wooden wedges to help align it and I could not safely do that beside a busy road.

[PhilR]

10 hours ago, London Best said:

I have always driven a Land Rover product as my main vehicle since 1976 (48 years). 
I have never been broken down at the roadside or needed any call-out assistance. It is called ‘preventive maintenance’. Try it, it works.

 

My Range Rover, Discovery 2 and two Discovery 3  had plenty of money lavished on them over the years on regular servicing and maintenance in main dealerships and marque specialists. 

The best preventative maintenance plan for my bank account and sanity was getting rid of my last Discovery and buying a Honda CRV. 

[Nublue 22]

With the RAC, for years never need them until my van over heated, not going to go on but they were absolutely rubbish, broke down and reported the problem at 430, 20 miles from home, got home with van at. 12 45, that's with my wife and two children, terrible. 

[enfieldspares]

I was with Green Flag. The full monty home start and all of it. Went to Nigeria and because of the then delayed Presidential election (this was in 2015) was there five weeks instead of the intended two weeks. During that time my of being not in use car's battery went flat and its MOT expired. No problem with the MOt pre-booked a test and therefore can lawfully drive to and from the test. Then called Green Flag.

Oh no they say we cannot come and start it as it has no MOT and (I use their exact words) if you the  drive it and have an accident and kill someone we'd be liable as we started the thing. But that if managed myself to get it started and it then broke down to and from this per-booked test then they could come out as they hadn't started it. Needless I cancelled the policy after taking them to the Ombudsman.