Roadside Service from State Farm

[Dave Lehnert]

Got my AAA bill and it has gone up over $100 for two with basic service.

My insurance, State Farm, Is always pushing their roadside service.
Anyone have experience using them? Like any insurance you dont know how good it is till you need it.
I have always used AAA and got service when I called. Don't like to change but think SF is much cheaper.

[Ron Citerone]

I can't speak about State Farm, but when I switched to Nationwide I dropped my AAA and fee the roadside service is about the same between Nationwide and AAA.

[Frederick Skelly]

What I wondered, but have not yet asked, is whether using add-on services like roadside help, key replacement or fixing a chipped window, "count" as claims. With my insurance, I get a discount for having no claims for a while. I've meant to call and ask to avoid a surprise. You might too Dave.

(Not as stupid as that may sound. Insurance companies are very good at making money.)
Fred

[Bruce Wrenn]

AAA will tow car up to 50 miles, Comp with towing and labor from Nationwide will tow me 150 miles. We carry a zero deductible on our comp insurance, as we live where we use automobiles to kill deer. There is no "open season, or bag limits." I've hit four myself. Wife hit one that did over $3500 in damage.

[Dan Friedrichs]

At least for me, State Farm's roadside service just reimburses your expenses. So you call a tow truck (or whatever), pay the bill, and they reimburse you.

That seems like an example of a poor use of insurance, though - certainly you end up paying more in premiums than you benefit from the service, and the need for roadside service is presumably so infrequent that it shouldn't be a big deal to just pay for it as the need arises.

Ditto for rock chips, windshields, etc. Insure for catastrophes. Pay cash for everything else.

[Paul F Franklin]

Hmmm, my State Farm roadside assistance coverage is different. There's an 800 number you call when you need assistance and they send a truck just like AAA. If they can't fix it on the road they tow it to the nearest service center. If you want it towed somewhere else that is farther away, they only pay what it would have cost to have it towed to the nearest service center. But in my case at least, it's cheaper than AAA was, < $25 a year.

Dan, you may just have towing insurance. I believe that is different coverage than the roadside assistance coverage.

[Jerome Stanek]

I switched from State Farm to Geico and saved about half the price it went from $549 a half for 2 cars to $259 with Geico and I have their roadside assistance. Glass coverage on both did not raise my rates.

[Steve Peterson]

At least for me, State Farm's roadside service just reimburses your expenses. So you call a tow truck (or whatever), pay the bill, and they reimburse you.

That seems like an example of a poor use of insurance, though - certainly you end up paying more in premiums than you benefit from the service, and the need for roadside service is presumably so infrequent that it shouldn't be a big deal to just pay for it as the need arises.

Ditto for rock chips, windshields, etc. Insure for catastrophes. Pay cash for everything else.

I agree completely. Roadside coverage is an added expense that rarely gets used and when it does pay out, it only covers around $100. So you are paying something like $8 per month to save $100 every 5 years or so. Sounds like a cash cow for the insurance company.

[Jerome Stanek]

When I had State Farm I was told that the roadside assistance was only added $2.00 to my bill for 6 months

[Rich Engelhardt]

FWIW
Toyota gives you free roadside service for 2 years.
They also give you free oil changes for the same time period - or 24,000 miles.

[Stephen Tashiro]

We should also discuss the technicalities of who is covered. I think AAA covers any vehicle you happen to be riding in.
When it comes to damage, car insurance policies generally cover one specific vehicle when it is driven by a driver listed on the policy. Is it the same situation for roadside service? ( I don't know what happens if a friend is driving you somewhere in your own car and the friend isn't listed on your insurance policy. Maybe you have to take the drivers seat and say "Gosh, my car is broken.")

[Steve Demuth]

I have used SF for years. Basically they call the same service stations AAA does, at least out here in flyover country. No difference in service. No claims impact.

[Al Launier]

I have been a continuous member of AAA for 58 years, and although the few times I needed them they responded quickly & very satisfactorily, I can't help but wonder how much they made off me. The membership provided peace of mind though, particularly whenever my wife had the car. My only disappointment was no acknowledgement by AAA when I reached my 50th membership anniversary. I would have thought a nice thank you note might have been in order. But, I guess that's the way things are.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I have been a continuous member of AAA for 58 years, and although the few times I needed them they responded quickly & very satisfactorily, I can't help but wonder how much they made off me. The membership provided peace of mind though, particularly whenever my wife had the car. My only disappointment was no acknowledgement by AAA when I reached my 50th membership anniversary. I would have thought a nice thank you note might have been in order. But, I guess that's the way things are.

Al, maybe I'm just being a jerk by calculating this, but if you take the current price of AAA membership ($65/yr?), and assume the inflation-adjusted membership cost hasn't changed over the past 58 years, you've given them a little under $4,000.

But more significantly, if you had instead invested that money ($65/yr) into the stock market (assuming a 7% inflation-adjusted return), you'd have $52,000....

[Dave Lehnert]

Al, maybe I'm just being a jerk by calculating this, but if you take the current price of AAA membership ($65/yr?), and assume the inflation-adjusted membership cost hasn't changed over the past 58 years, you've given them a little under $4,000.

But more significantly, if you had instead invested that money ($65/yr) into the stock market (assuming a 7% inflation-adjusted return), you'd have $52,000....

You sound a lot like me. LOL
The reason I like AAA is when traveling out of town.
Local, I know exactly who I would call. Traveling, I'm lucky to know where I'm at let alone who to call.