Best Breakdown Cover

Welcome to Best Breakdown Cover UK, a site that discusses the UK breakdown cover options currently available.

Breakdown Cover Providers

Receive good comments from existing members, e.g. turn up quicker than other services, have good mechanics that are understanding and courteous. Up to 34.5% discount when buying online. You're also covered when you're a passenger. Find Out More at RAC

Why get breakdown cover?

Success rates for repairing your vehicle at the roadside are high.

Call out times are low.

Peace of mind. If you have an old and unreliable car, it's nice to know that professional assistance will be on hand if necessary.

It's safer to let the professionals help you in an emergency situation. Attempting to change a tyre on busy roads is dangerous. They are experienced in how to best deal with a car breakdown and have plenty of experience in performing the recovery as safely as possible. They can also position their recovery vans to give more protection when they are working on your car.

What are the major breakdown recovery services operating in the UK?

The AA, The RAC and Green Flag.

Tips for Getting Cheap Breakdown Cover

As usual, don't take the first breakdown cover quote you receive, but shop around and compare deals so that you can be sure you're getting the cheapest breakdown recovery quote.

Often you will receive a discount if you buy online.

How do I decide what is the best breakdown recovery service?

Ask the following questions:

How many recovery agents are on call?

What is their average response time?

What percentage of repairs do they carry out at the roadside?

Note that RAC can pinpoint you from your mobile phone signal, so they can find you even if you don’t know where you are.Their special software starts diagnosing your problem the moment you call them.

What types of breakdown cover are available?

There are a number of different types of breakdown cover available, options for policies include:

- Recovery to the nearest garage only.

- Nationwide UK roadside assistance cover only (no home cover included, i.e. you have to be one mile away from your home address).

- Home cover included.

- 24 hour roadside rescue.

- Onward travel to any UK destination.

- Recovery of up to 7 passengers.

- Replacement vehicle for up to 24 hours, overnight accommodation or onward travel.

- European breakdown cover (some with repatriation of passengers to the UK).

- Tow to a local garage where no repair is possible on the same day.

- Business breakdown cover.

- Breakdown cover for leasing and contract hire fleets.

- Breakdown cover and taxi and minicab drivers.

- Note you can either cover the vehicle or the person. Cover the vehicle and anybody driving it will be covered. If you cover by person then you can benefit from breakdown cover when you are driver or passenger of any vehicle.

What if I want a cheap breakdown recovery service?

We hope to bring you details of some of the cheapest breakdown cover policies shortly.

What options are there for motorcycle breakdown cover?

Green Flag and The AA cover motorcycles.

What are common causes of car breakdowns?

Poor road surfaces, which can cause punctures, wheel and suspension damage.

Chipped windscreens.

Common call outs also include people getting locked out of the car, and running out of fuel.

Some people misinterpret warning lights and call a breakdown service. If possible, keep your car handbook to hand so that you can determine what the warning lights mean.

A lack of basic car maintenance. If you haven't performed basic car maintenance regularly you increase your chances of a breakdown, e.g. if you haven't checked your tyre pressures you increase your chances of a puncture.

Putting the wrong fuel into the car. If you realise you have put the wrong fuel in your car, e.g. diesel into your petrol engined car, then you should stop the car immediately as soon as it is safe to do so to avoid any further damage to the engine.

How can you minimise the chances of a car breakdown occurring?

Check your tyre pressures regularly. Making sure your tyres are at the correct pressure will minimise unnecessary wear. Your car handbook will tell you the correct tyre pressures to run, and there will often be a sticker inside the driver's door frame showing the correct tyre pressures for your vehicle.

Check the condition of your tyres before starting your journey.

Remember to get your car serviced regularly.

Drive your car gently and you will avoid unnecessary wear on the car components and should minimise the chances of mechanical failure.

Check the various fluid levels in your car regularly, e.g. oil levels, washer fluid levels, brake fluid levels and before going on a long journey to avoid problems caused by low fluid levels. If you get an oil warning light on whilst driving, you should pull over as soon as it is safe to do so and call your breakdown recovery service - continuing to drive with an oil warning light on can cause catastrophic damage to your engine.

What regular maintenance should be performed on a car?

Check the condition of your tyres and ensure that you have sufficient tread depth (as at April 2009 the law requires at least 1.6mm across three quarters of the tyre tread width around the entire circumference of the tyre, although this is just a minimum requirement).

Check the condition of your spare tyre. Inspect your jack and wheel brace if you are going to attempt to change a car tyre yourself.

Check the operation of all exterior lights.

Check the front and rear wiper blades for any splitting or wear.

Check the fluid levels in your car, i.e. water levels and oil levels.

Check that windscreen washers are correctly adjusted.

Check that your battery terminals are securely fastened and free of any corrosion. Check that your battery is securely mounted within the engine bay and has not come loose.

Check the condition of your car keys. If it has become worn then order a replacement, as worn keys can wear out the locks and cause them to jam.

What other specialist breakdown recovery services are there?

- Classic car breakdown cover.

- Motorhome breakdown cover.

- Van breakdown cover.

- Commercial vehicle and truck breakdown cover.