European Breakdown cover ~
 

Hi, can anyone recommend European Breakdown cover (either for a specific time period, or as part of an annual Policy). It's for a Land Rover Defender...

We used the AA last time we went into europe (France/Italy) with the discovery - fortunately we din't need to use it but it was re-assuring to have it. You can also add parts and labour cover too.

The only downside is that they add a surcharge to vehicles over 10 years old.

I got RAC cover while coming back up through Spain. the bike (GS) suffered a clutch slave cylinder failure. the BMW dealer decided that the only way to fix it was to split the engine (?!?) at a cost of roughly £1000. They were trying to convince me there 'might' be fluid on the clutch and it 'might' fail. I refused and said I only wanted the slave cylinder replaced, which was about £300.

The RAC refused to repatriate me and the bike. Their reasoning was that the BMW dealer was prepared/able to fix the bike. When I said the dealer was ripping me off to the tune of £700, the RAC just shrugged. If it's possible to fix the bike locally then they don't take you home (regardless of what their blurb says).

It felt like the BMW dealer was playing on this, as he was adamant that the engine had to be split. So, I think, with the RAC you can get yourself into a very costly situation.

I normally use the AA. no problems at all on the odd puncture occasion. never had to repatriate though, and that's where the real value is.

Dougie B
 

You were lucky.
I had the RAC repatriate my car, all it needed was a 90 euro track arm replacing. But they would not allow a local garage to fit it.

They lost it in transit and it was two months before I was reunited with my car. Wrecked, and with bits stolen from it, including maps and credit card receipts which allowed the thieves to rip off the RAC ( poetic justice) I would have paid the subscription money to not help me. Since then I haven't bothered with any breakdown cover.

Being a citroen they had dragged it around with the suspension down and damaged much of the underside of the car.

The damage the RAC caused, cost me over £900 to repair (on the cheap).

yeah.. forget all that breakdown crap overseas. It's way to complicated and works through so many 3rd parties you just dont know whats happening.

You're only in Europe. It's civilized and modern. There's nothing a mechanic can do here that they can't do in Europe.

If your ride breaks down, you flag someone down to tow you into town for a few quid. Or get a ride into town yourself to organise a tow truck.

It will add to the experience. If your defender broke down at home it would still cost you to fix it at a garage. It shouldnt cost anymore in Western Europe. Maybe less.

I once bought AA cover for my bike (many years ago) for a 1 month trip. Cost a fortune. When I read the small print, I realised it wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

Adac in Germany is a really good deal. It gives you all year cover in all of Europe. You dont need to have return ferries booked as in some policys. If you break down in the UK they generally use the AA to come to you.
English speaking operators. Less than 100€ a year for the top membership.
Heres a link- The membership in ADAC

cheers

I don't know if this applies to your situation, but I blew the clutch on my K100 in the middle of nowhere on Mull. I rang my insurer's breakdown provider AXA late in the afternoon. The next morning I was picked up from my hotel, driven to get the bike,then driven 12hrs to home base in Bradford. No dramas. I only had third party with Footman James and the recovery was thrown in on the deal. I believe they include Europe in their breakdown cover. Worth a look.

Ed

Im currently offshore but my daytona brokedown on the way home from the germany meet.

Although the hire car etc and recovery were all fine. The garage draged their feet and eventually i asked for the bike to be repatriated 3 weeks later as they said they didnt have time to look at it.

Speaking with my dad today the bike has been delivered with a smashed mirror no idea how as its a sturdy metal one. Smashed rear indicator but delivery driver admitted it and wrote it on the sheet.

To make matters worse the garage have actually looked at it but sent the bike back with all the rear fairings off and no bolts to put them back on and all the wiring harness in bits.

Not how it was supplied to them anyway.

So RAC are in for an expensive repair bill for the damage.

All you've said is true my boy but contrary to what is being said on this thread by some, in your case, the RAC were great. They hired you two cars and took your bike to a Triumph garage. They even incurred extra costs for you when you got it taken to the wrong garage (which was our fault). The 1st time you broke down they offered to fly you home that night if it couldn't be repaired. The second time it broke down, 3 days later, they were great. The advice about getting it repaired yourself is great but as you've found out, if you can't speak the language you'll stand NO chance when an electrical fault occurs.
The damage to your bike isn't too bad and won't be expensive, it was caused by the carrier in transit home. The indicator was broken right outside the house when it was coming off the trailer.
The mirror was broken sometime after you left it so we don't know who did it.

The bike coming home in bits is a different matter and the German Triumph garage should be ashamed to have left it in bits and simply gave it to the courier with the bits, less the bolts, to stick in the back of his van.

Going abroad, to Europe anyway, without breakdown cover is a gamble, if you don't break down you'll not worry. If you DO breakdown you'll REALLY wish you had paid the extra for the cover.

In my experience the RAC are top notch.

we have this cover Breakdown cover - cheap European & UK car breakdown insurance for our 15 years old Mitsubishi Delica a they are perfect...quick servis, no problem at all.