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The best breakdown cover for cars, vans, motorbikes and classic cars.

| Editor-at-large

Updated April 19, 2024

In this guide

Whether it’s a flat tyre or something more serious, a good breakdown service will be there to get you back on the road – or to help you to your destination and get your vehicle to a garage.

Winter can be a nightmare for drivers . With icy roads and dark skies you don’t want to break down on your journey.

This is where breakdown insurance can provide a peace of mind if something were to go wrong. Some basic policies will tow you to the nearest garage to get your repairs underway while more comprehensive forms of cover will even pay for overnight accommodation if you need it.

So, below, we explain breakdown cover in more detail and list some of the best policies on the market.

What are the different types of breakdown cover?

Are there different types of breakdown provider, what should you look out for with breakdown cover.

• What are our best breakdown cover picks?

*This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue

Read more: Best car insurance providers

What is breakdown cover?

Breakdown cover is a form of insurance for your vehicle which covers the cost of assistance if your vehicle breaks down. This can include a flat tyre if you’re on the road or, if you’re covered for mishaps at home, a flat battery.

Typically your insurer will send out a mechanic who will make any repairs at the scene. If they can’t, then your vehicle will be towed to the nearest garage. Most policies won’t cover the costs past this point, and if they do there’s usually a limit to what they’re willing to pay out. Exceed this threshold and you’ll need to fund the outstanding balance.

Breakdown cover is particularly handy if you’re making any long journeys across the country or in Europe. If you break down without this cover you’ll need to make a callout to a local garage, which may charge hefty fees.

 In the UK, a garage might charge you £80 for a callout on a quieter road. If you break down on the motorway, the police can charge a removal fee of £150.

Read more: Why are car insurance premiums rising?

The best car breakdown cover: Our top-rated picks

Below we list the best providers of breakdown cover.

LATEST OFFER: Get 40% off breakdown cover

Rescuemycar.com

AutoAid Total UK

CoverMyBreakdown

GEM Motoring Assist

Startrescue

You can either buy breakdown cover for a specific vehicle or for yourself, in which case you’re covered no matter what car you’re driving. 

Once you’ve decided which of those two options is right for you, you will need to choose between several variations of breakdown cover:

1. Roadside assistance

All policies will provide roadside assistance if you break down – but in most cases, you will need to be more than a mile away from your home to qualify for a call out. They will send out a mechanic to try to repair your vehicle on the roadside. If they can’t, they’ll usually tow it to a nearby garage, but the most basic policies may only take your vehicle a limited distance.

2. Vehicle recovery

Most policies will offer nationwide recovery. This means if they can’t repair your vehicle at the roadside, they will take it anywhere in the UK that you want it moved to, including your home or to your onward destination.

Read more: The best car insurance providers

Got breakdown cover? What about car insurance?

While automatically renewing your car insurance may be easier, comparing your options before you put pen to paper is always a good idea. That’s why the Times Money Mentor has partnered with Quotezone, so you can compare car insurance quotes from more than 110 different insurers to get the best deal. It’s free, simple to use, and can save you over £500*.

Compare car insurance quotes

*51% of consumers could save £504.25 on their car insurance. The saving was calculated by comparing the cheapest price found with the average of the next five cheapest prices quoted by insurers on Seopa Ltd’s insurance comparison website. This is based on representative cost savings from September 2023 data. The savings you could achieve are dependent on your individual circumstances.

3. At-home breakdown

If you want support in the event that your car breaks down at home – for instance if the battery’s flat and it won’t start – you will need a policy that includes an at-home option. Most breakdown firms offer this as an optional extra. If you don’t have this, they typically won’t accept your callout request unless you’re more than a mile from your home.

4. Onward travel

If your car can’t be repaired but you still need to make it to your planned destination, some policies will allow you to add onward travel cover.

This may provide you with a rental car as well as a night’s hotel accommodation.

5. Car parts

Most breakdown policies will not cover the cost of any parts that might be needed to fix your car. These will cost extra. However, some policies allow you to pay an extra premium to ensure that if you need a part of your car replaced, there is no extra cost. Some breakdown companies allow you to just add cover for tyres or batteries.

What’s the difference between vehicle and personal cover?

Before you take out your breakdown cover you’ll probably be given the choice between personal and vehicle-based cover.

Vehicle-based cover is typically the cheaper option, with both the AA and RAC charging less for these policies. This type of insurance will cover the vehicle, no matter who is driving it at that time.

Personal-based cover is for the driver instead, and pays out no matter what type of car they are driving. It’s a great option if you regularly drive more than one vehicle, saving you from having to take out more than one vehicle-based policy.  

Get 40% off breakdown cover with the RAC

The RAC is one of the most recognisable providers to offer breakdown cover, and it’s now offering breakdown cover for new customers from just £6.55 a month. Ts&Cs apply*

Go to provider site

*New customers only. 40% saving applies to cover for one person or one vehicle. Excludes Roadside. £6.55 for Roadside & Recovery. Ends 26/04/24, 8am.

What is the cheapest car breakdown cover service available?

The cheapest breakdown cover depends on a variety of factors such as:

• Your vehicle type – the type of vehicle you own ultimately affects your premium. A motorcycle, for example, is typically cheaper to insure for breakdown cover than a car.
• Your vehicle model and age – the older your vehicle, the more likely it is to break down and it may require outdated parts, which means it typically attracts more expensive premiums.

While price may be a significant factor when choosing breakdown insurance, you should also consider the value you’re getting from your policy. Some of the cheapest breakdown insurance policies just include roadside assistance. For many drivers it might represent better value to pay a little more each month and upgrade to a more comprehensive package.   

There are two types of breakdown provider. There are those that have their own fleet of patrol vehicles and staff, and those who operate through a network of independent garages around the country. The two biggest breakdown companies, RAC* and AA, have their own fleet. The rest of the market use a network of providers. There are pros and cons to each model. The AA and RAC* are better able to ensure consistency in the service they offer. Plus, in busy parts of the country, they’re more likely to have patrol vehicles ready for a callout. 

However, providers using their own fleet are unable to cover every inch of the country. Firms which use a network of independents may be better placed to help when you’re in a more remote location.

There are some things to watch out for when it comes to breakdown cover.

• The number of callouts included – some of the cheaper policies on the market have a limit on the number of times you can make a callout in a year. You might have an unlucky year and regret buying a policy that limits the number of times you can call for help.
• Limits on people covered for onward travel – some policies limit the number of people they will provide onward travel for should your car need to be towed away. It’s often six or seven people, but it can be as few as four. One to watch out for if you have a people carrier or a big family.
• Always haggle at renewal – breakdown companies tend to be some of the worst at ratcheting up your premiums when it comes to renewal. But they are usually open to bringing the price down if you give them a call. 

Learn how to haggle for the best insurance, broadband and mobile deals

Can I get breakdown insurance with European cover?

Yes. Most UK providers sell either standalone policies for European cover or bolt-ons that you can add to your existing UK cover. Some bank accounts and car insurance policies include breakdown cover too, so it’s worth checking to see if you already have a policy before buying one separately.

Can I get breakdown cover for my motorcycle or van?

Yes, and you’ll usually get the same type of cover as someone looking to insure a standard car.

Can I get breakdown cover for my classic car?

Yes, although you’ll need to find a specialist provider. In the list above, Start Rescue is one provider which offers this insurance.  

* All products, brands or properties mentioned in this article are selected by our writers and editors based on first-hand experience or customer feedback, and are of a standard that we believe our readers expect. This article contains links from which we can earn revenue. This revenue helps us to support the content of this website and to continue to invest in our award-winning journalism. For more, see  How we make our money  and  Editorial promise

Important information

Some of the products promoted are from our affiliate partners from whom we receive compensation. While we aim to feature some of the best products available, we cannot review every product on the market.

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Will I get replacement travel if my vehicle has been recovered?

Once you've told the RAC you've broken down and they've come to you, if they decide your vehicle is not driveable they’ll ask Europcar for a replacement vehicle to keep you mobile.

Or they’ll talk to you about alternatives if a suitable replacement is not available.

You need to arrange this. Speak to the RAC on 0800 092 4125  – they’ll manage replacement travel while your vehicle is being fixed, for up to maximum of three months.

The RAC will contact you to discuss your ongoing mobility if your repairs take longer.

Different things can affect how quickly you’re contacted and get a vehicle, like high demand, where you are and bad weather. Europcar will always give you a replacement as soon as they can.

Replacements are subject to availability and cannot always be like-for-like.

We’ll always try to help, but we recommend you rearrange non-essential appointments and let family, friends or carers know if you need support while your vehicle is unavailable.

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RAC Breakdown Cover

At Stellanits &You UK we have you covered in the unlikely event your things go wrong or stop working with your car. We have partnered with RAC to offer you roadside assistance, recovery at home and RAC onward travel. 

Stellantis &You assistance

If your vehicle breaks down on the roadside and is immobilised, we will send out an RAC patrol or appointed agent to get you back on the road. If the RAC are unable to repair your vehicle at the roadside, we will set you up with RAC onward travel. This includes either a replacement hire car, alternative transport or hotel accomodation until your vehicle is back up and running.

If your vehicle breaksdown at your home, the RAC will bring their roadside assistance to your doorstep to try and get you back on the road. If the team are unable to fix the issue, they will transport your vehicle to the nearest Stellantis &You workshop. 

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All our technicans are manufacturer approved, so you can visit one of our workshops with full peace of mind that your vehicle is in safe hands.

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Pick a time which suits you to bring your vehicle in for a service with our state-of-the-art booking system. Select your collection option so you can drop and collect your vehicle with ease.

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Our complimentary vehicle health check is carried out free of charge with every service or repair. We assess the key elements of your vehicle including lights tyres, exhaust and suspension. 

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Drive away from a Stellantis &You service centre near you in style with a shiny, clean exterior and spotless interior thanks to our complimentary wash & vac with every service and repair.

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Financial Disclosure STELLANTIS & YOU UK Limited is an Appointed Representative of Automotive Compliance Ltd, who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA No 497010). Automotive Compliance Ltd’s permissions as a Principal Firm allows STELLANTIS & YOU UK Limited to act as a credit broker, not as a lender, for the introduction to a limited number of lenders to act as an agent on behalf of the insurer for insurance distribution activities only.

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RAC roadside assistance

Rac breakdown cover.

The RAC is one the biggest the most recognised brands in the UK. It is a premium level breakdown service. The RAC is the UK’s longest running breakdown service provider started in 1897 and has the second largest number of members and the second largest dedicated patrol fleet. The top two competitors in the breakdown market are the AA and the RAC when someone mentions a breakdown the usual response of who you think of coming to your rescue is AA or RAC patrol man. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a premium price. Its prices are very competitive but it service is excellent. It’s rated five-star by defaqto for all that breakdown service.

The Price of Joining

As previously statist teh royal automobile club are very competitive pricing when compared to of a breakdown recovery service providers. Below you will find a table above that shows the price of the R.A.C. with the current online discounts. Slightly level of cover that is appropriate to your needs and click apply.

Do you need breakdown cover? I’m sure everybody who gone to buy breakdown cover asked himself this question. If you don’t need to spend money on something you don’t want to. Lets face it Car Breakdown cover can be quite expensive. Typically it’s going to be over a hundred pounds and can reach up to a couple hundred pounds. No one wants to spend that kind of money if it’s not necessary. The other option is to not take any kind of breakdown cover all. If you’ve ever been in a situation where your car fails to work you will know that this isn’t a terribly sensible option. Cars are brilliant especially when they are working and moving in during this time you probably don’t think about what you would actually do if you breakdown. But a car that is broken down and doesn’t work is not fun all. Breaking down on a road that isn’t busy isn't a particually nice experience. But breaking down the road are motorway and not been able to get your car out the way is horrible. Even new cars breakdown. Any piece of equipment that is mechanical moving parts will eventually fail. If you happen to be in a breakdown situation and you don’t actually have any cover then you can have to pay an extra fee to join in the breakdown situation and this going to cost a lot. A lot of breakdown companies charge you per mile if you need to be toured home with out breakdown cover but if you are an RAC member that will not be the case. It will cost you an awful own money if you are in a breakdown situation you don’t have any cover. Once you know they say been a breakdown situation it’s eyes have peace of mind if you don’t have cover. If you know you covered then you have nothing to worry about and you can even be a second thought. That for most people is not at least the basic level cover. The RAC have been providing breakdown cover from hundred years and are firmly established as one the best in the business.

RAC recovery services The RAC has over 1650 dedicated uniform patrols serving its members throughout the UK so if you’re unfortunate enough to breakdown you will be greeted by a fully uniformed RAC patrol man. Their patrol men also use state of the art satellite technology to find you and cutting edge diagnostics equipment as well as their experience to find the problem and get you started again, they fix around 8 in 10 cars at the side of the road. RAC recovery service try to make it as simple as possible feast pick the right breakdown cover for yourself.

Roadside Rescue The option of Roadside rescue is the most basic level of cover that the RAC offer. It Is there basic level cover and you will receive this and you will receive this in a matter what level of cover your after. With roadside rescue if your vehicle breaks down the RAC will come out to your location and attempt to repair your car and get you moving right away. If the highly trained patrolman cant fix your vehicle at the roadside you will then tow you in your passengers to a local safe destination. This typically is within 10 miles. More details on exactly what you get the roadside rescue please follow this link

RAC Recovery the RAC recovery option isn’t additional level of cover that you can have with roadside assistance. This extends the tour local tour anywhere within mainland UK. So if you’re hundred miles away from home you can get towed home or anywhere else in the UK. This includes you and up to 7 passengers. More information on the RAC recovery option click here .

Home Rescue  as the title implies this means you will receive recovery systems at your home address. A lot people might of look this and assume that they automatically receive assistance at home. This is not the case with just roadside rescue need to more than quarter of a mile away from home. So if you would like to receive assistance at home you will need at home rescue. More information on at home rescue read this

Onward Travel onward travel is only available if you take out the recovery option breakdown cover. Onward travel means that in the event that your car can’t be repaired at the roadside and stick to the garage you will be given a courtesy car or Hotel accommodation are alternative travel arrangements for you are not seven passengers. It is an additional cost it doesn’t free with recovery you need to add extras you premium to get onward travel. To find out more about the RAC, onward travel click here

Who can be covered? You have a few options to explore one who is actually covered with the R.A.C. You can choose between two types of cover what is personal and they want his vehicle-based cover. Personal cover will cover the person the matter what vehicle they are in. Whereas vehicle cover covers the vehicle. Depending on your situation you should definitely have a preference. There are also economic implications when choosing who was covered. For example if you want personal-based cover for two people in the same home save money game a joint account rather than two single accounts. If you want to read more about personal RAC breakdown assistance cover and your options read this. However if you think that vehicle-based cover would be better value click here to find out more

Additional RAC assistance extras You can enhance your RAC breakdown cover service by choosing from the other additional extras for your breakdown cover.

Garage parts and labour you can extend your breakdown cover to have parts and labour cover. This means if your vehicle needs to go to the garage and be repaired there RAC will cover the cost of repairs to your vehicle. This does not cover every single component within the car things such as tyres and other things such as you clutch that naturally wear down are not covered. You get the full list of terms and conditions on the RAC website.

RAC Key replacement have you seen the cost of replacement key.? Nowadays with the type of data encrypted keys that cars use replacement he can easily cost £200. For around £15 to your cover you can get covered for losing keys and get them replaced.

Battery cover One in five breakdowns are related to batteries. In 2013 the RAC attended nearly half 1 million breakdowns relate to batteries but so were frozen the day. The average price of replacement batteries are hundred pounds but fired £20 a year they will cover the cost of replacing the battery.

European breakdown cover Quite self-descriptive you can get cover on the continent. This gives breakdown assistance if you are in mainland Europe

RAC History This organisation si one the most modern equipped breakdown recovery services. The use expensive and complicated diagnostic equipment that can communicate with your on-board computer to determine what is the cause of the breakdown for your car. They also use excellent GPS tracking equipment to try and accurately locate where you broken down. They also well-known for using a priority system to determine who should be rescued first. If you and a more dangerous situation they make you a higher priority. They also have the largest number of patrols per member than any of a breakdown service. In theory this means it should receive assistance faster than any other breakdown cover provider.

RAC Offers The RAC frequently run promotions and offers to try and drive the most competitive price that they can. Most people’s price range. The best way to guarantee that you going to get the best price from the RAC is to buy online. You can get RAC breakdown cover by clicking here and you will receive online discount. Of course if you are after the best deal you should always compare breakdown cover

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Dacia Assistance

We aim to provide you with peace of mind motoring, by providing assistance if your vehicle breaks down due to a manufacturing defect, or a mechanical or electrical fault.

Call 0800 051 2251^

In the event of a breakdown, help is just a phone call away with Dacia Assistance. We don’t expect it to happen, but we'll ensure help is on hand if it does.  

This service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We'll provide prompt roadside assistance in the UK mainland and Northern Ireland for the first 3 years / 60,000 miles***, in line with the terms of the standard manufacturers Warranty. 

• request assistance online
• call for assistance

Dacia Assistance Cover Details

What is not included, european cover, extend your cover, roadside assistance.

If your vehicle breaks down at the roadside and is immobilised, Dacia Assistance will send out a patrol or appointed agent to get you back on the road. In the exceptional circumstances where an “on-the-spot” repair proves impossible, you are entitled to use the Recovery services.  

At Home Assistance

If your vehicle breaks down at or within ¼ mile of your home, Dacia At Home Assistance will bring help to your doorstep. If your vehicle cannot be repaired, Dacia Assistance will transport it to the nearest authorised Dacia Dealer, or another destination of your choice, whichever is the nearer.

If your vehicle breaks down more than ¼ mile from your home and a prompt local repair at the roadside is not possible, Dacia Assistance will arrange onward passage for you, up to seven passengers and your vehicle to any single destination in the UK mainland or Northern Ireland.

This also includes the Isle of Man, Guernsey, and Jersey, although any ferry costs must be borne by you. If you are towing a trailer or a caravan at the time, this will also be recovered, subject to certain weight and size restrictions.

Onward Travel

If your vehicle is immobilised away from home, Dacia Assistance may, at its absolute discretion and immediately following Recovery, arrange a replacement hire vehicle for you for up to 48 hours (subject to the terms and conditions of the hire company).

To ensure that you are eligible for this, please make sure you have your driving license with you. You will have to pay a fuel deposit. You will also be responsible for the return of your hire car plus any additional costs.

Duration of Dacia Assistance

All vehicles are entitled to Dacia Assistance for a period of 36 months or 60,000 miles (whichever comes first).*

*Please note non-warranty items are not covered within the complimentary policy, for full details please see both warranty and assistance terms and conditions

Non-Warranty Incidents

While Dacia Assistance aims to provide you with peace of mind motoring, it only provides assistance for manufacturer based or mechanical faults on the Vehicle. It does not provide assistance for certain non-warranty incidents such as (but not limited to):

• The use of incorrect fuel or lack of fuel  
• Wheel changes, punctured tyres, damage to wheels or tyres
• Keys locked inside the vehicle, lost or stolen
• Road traffic accidents • Incidents involving trailers and caravans 

Dacia Assistance may, at its absolute discretion arrange assistance if requested, but the responsibility of paying for assistance remains with you or the nominated driver. If you call for assistance in these instances, you will be responsible for paying a charge at the time of service request

In a UK emergency, please call: 0333 202 3002

Before calling for assistance, please make sure you have the following details ready:

• The registration number of your vehicle
• Your address 
• A contact telephone number 
• The model and colour of your vehicle 
• The nature of your breakdown 
• Your exact location 
• The current mileage of your vehicle 

If you believe you are in a vulnerable or dangerous situation, please make this clear at the time of your call. After making the call, return to a safe place near your vehicle. If the problem resolves itself before the assistance arrives, please call and let us know.

PLANNING A TRIP TO EUROPE?

RAC European Breakdown Cover

Should you break down in Europe, the comprehensive covers includes a 24/7 English-speaking helpline, and even more assistance than when you’re in the UK.

Annual policies or single trip cover are available by calling  0800 015 6000*  and quoting code RCAFDAC.

As a Dacia driver you’ll benefit from a 5% discount off RAC Public Prices.

The cover can also be purchased online via the link below

**Lines open 8am - 7pm Weekdays, 9am - 5pm.  Saturdays and Bank Holidays. 03 numbers are charged at national call rates and included in inclusive minute plans from landlines and mobiles. Calls may be monitored and/or recorded.

DACIA XTRA ASSISTANCE

Don’t let your Dacia Assistance expire

You could save 41% on the AA’s price* when you renew your Dacia Xtra Assistance

You can upgrade your Vehicle cover to Personal cover for £10 so you’re covered as a driver or passenger in any vehicle. Call 0330 159 0859** or visit rac.co.uk/dacia  today to choose your cover.

*Comparison based on RAC Roadside, Recovery, At Home, Onward Travel Breakdown cover, paid annually, against the closest equivalent level of cover from the AA at a price of £169 as of16.04.2021. Please note there are differences in the cover limits for Onward Travel in respect of accommodation & alternative transport. To see specific differences in entitlements vs the AA visit  www.rac.co.uk/corporate-compare . 

**Lines open 8am - 7pm Weekdays, 9am - 5pm Saturdays and Bank Holidays. 03 numbers are charged at national call rates and included in inclusive minute plans from landlines and mobiles. Calls may be monitored and/or recorded

Warranty & Extended Warranties

Accident Support Line

***From first date of registration.  Dacia Assistance expires on the first of the two limits reached.

^Calls may be monitored and/or recorded. Breakdown cover provided by RAC Motoring Services (Registered No 01424399) and RAC Insurance Ltd (Registered No 2355834). Registered in England; Registered Offices: RAC House, Brockhurst Crescent, Walsall WS5 4AW. Arranged, sold and administered by RAC Motoring Services who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of insurance mediation activities. RAC Insurance Ltd is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. 

Visit a retailer near you There are 150 nationwide

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Quality as standard the first of 3 years / 60,000 mile warranty

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The AA vs RAC – comparing these 2 popular breakdown cover brands to see which is best

If you’re looking for breakdown cover then there are lots of companies out there to consider, but 2 brands have emerged as the biggest and most trusted names in this space - the AA and the RAC.

We thought it would be useful to compare the AA and RAC to see which is better for breakdown cover. We’ll be looking at a number of factors including price and quality of service. Let’s get into it:

What do the companies say are the main differences?

Typically when we do our comparison guides, we have to conduct lots of our own research to see what the key differences are between the 2 brands that we’re comparing. But what’s really interesting about the AA and RAC is that both companies have a page on their websites which make comparisons between the offerings of the 2 companies, so we thought it would be interesting to look at what the AA thinks makes them better than RAC, and vice versa.

We noticed that the comparison page on the RAC website which compares RAC to the AA makes some very different claims which contradict some of what we read on the AA website. For example, RAC claims that both the AA and RAC have a "large fleet of uniformed patrols and vans", but on the AA website, it gives specifics in terms of numbers, with the AA website claiming that the AA has 2500 patrols, whereas RAC only has 1600. This is quite a significant difference as it means that the AA has almost twice as many patrols out there at any one time, meaning it should generally be quicker for AA customers to be reached by a support team versus an RAC customer to be reached by an RAC support team.

RAC also claims that they'll fix 4 out 5 breakdowns on the side of the road, with repairs carried out in less than 30 minutes on average. But the funny thing is that the AA claims exactly the same - 4 out of 5 repairs at the side of the road under 30 minutes on average - elsewhere on the AA website, despite RAC not listing that in its table.

There are a couple of points in the AA comparison which we think are a little misleading - for example, the AA states that its service includes a tow to the nearest garage, and states that this is the same as what RAC provides. But RAC actually goes a step further than the AA and provides a 20 mile taxi from the garage so you can get home, something the AA doesn't provide.

What do we find are the main differences between the AA and RAC?

Although we'd say that most of the differences between the 2 companies in terms of the services provided are quite insignificant, we'd definitely say that there are a couple of differences which are worth noting. For example, the AA has been voted as the Which? recommended breakdown services provider every year since 2018, whereas RAC has never had a Which? award.

When it comes to electric vehicles, there is very little to separate the AA and RAC. The AA claims that all of its patrols have received training in electric vehicles, but doesn't really specify how well trained they are and what issues they could realistically deal with at the roadside. Whereas RAC does specify that not only are all of its patrols trained to deal with electric vehicles, but the company also has a number of other tools and extras to effectively deal with EVs. For example, if your battery is flat then the RAC EV vans can immediately give you a 10-mile charge so you can reach the nearest garage or get home. The RAC also states that its patrols are "highly trained" when it comes to EVs, whereas the AA states just that the patrols are trained. RAC also claims that its the number 1 breakdown cover company when it comes to electric vehicles due to the company having more rescue vans equipped with 3.5kw+ Electric car charging capability compared to the AA and Green Flag.

What is the difference in price between the AA and RAC?

There are different tiers of memberships for both the AA and RAC, so it can be a little bit complicated to compare the services on price, but we'll try our best.

The Basic plan from RAC is £6.95 per month, whereas the AA starts at £12 per month, although sales are often held which brings the AA price down to just £6 per month. Both of the starter plans from RAC and the AA include roadside assistance, but it's the number of callouts which is really worth paying attention to - the RAC basic plan only includes 5 callouts per year, whereas you get unlimited call-outs with the AA basic plan, as long as it's not for a recurring problem with your vehicle. Both the AA and RAC will come out 24/7, which is great to see.

It's also interesting to note that the Basic plan from both companies states that if they can't provide roadside assistance then they'll take you to the nearest garage, but the RAC will only do this if you're within 10 miles of a garage, whereas it seems that there is no limit with the AA.

The next step up from the most basic plan costs £11.50 per month with RAC and £17 per month with the AA. At this price, you still only get 5 callouts per year from RAC, despite paying almost twice as much per month as you do with the Basic plan. The AA offers unlimited callouts again, which is impressive. At this 2nd tier, both companies offer a National Recovery option, which means that instead of just towing you to the nearest garage, both the AA and RAC will tow you and your passengers to any garage or destination in the UK. An important point here is that the AA specifies that they will tow up to 7 passengers, whereas RAC will actually tow you and up to 8 passengers, so it could be argued that the 2nd tier membership with RAC is actually better value than the 2nd tier membership from the AA.

The most expensive plan with RAC costs £16.50 per month, whereas the most expensive plan with the AA is £21. We'd say this is probably the price point where you start to notice the biggest differences between the 2 offerings - for starters, at this price point you get everything that we've already covered from both RAC and the AA. On top of this, you get 'At Home' assistance from both companies too - this is where you'll get assistance even if you're at home or within ¼ mile of your home. The main difference between the 2 companies at this level of membership is that the AA offers something called 'Onward Travel'. This is a really impressive benefit which means that If you break down and need repairs that completely stop your journey, the AA will help you arrange and pay for something like a taxi, a hire car, or even an overnight stay somewhere. You'll be given 3 options to choose from if you need to use the Onward Travel feature - 72 hours' car hire, an overnight stay in a hotel, or money towards public transport. Onward Travel covers you and up to 7 passengers, so everyone will get sorted.

It's also worth noting that both the AA and RAC cover electric and hybrid vehicles at no extra cost and that the prices we've shown might be higher at renewal - these prices are for new customers only.

What do third-party reviews say?

We love to refer to third-party reviews when doing our comparison posts, and we're delighted to see that both the AA and RAC are using Trustpilot, our most trusted third-party review platform. RAC is currently sitting with a rating of 3.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot , whereas the AA is sitting with a rating of 4.1 out of 5 . So although both companies have very similar ratings, the AA is rated marginally better. However, it's also worth noting that RAC has almost twice as many reviews on Trustpilot compared to the AA.

Overall, reviewers seem pretty happy with both the AA and RAC, with reviews on both Trustpilot profiles full of very happy customers. People seem especially happy with the quality of service from both companies in terms of the patrols which are providing roadside assistance. However, one thing we did notice on the RAC profile is that some reviewers were not happy with how long it took for the assistance vehicles to turn up, with some customers claiming that it took as long as 24 hours which seems very long to wait.

Anything else to mention?

Aside from breakdown cover, it's also worth mentioning that with the AA you get a number of additional membership benefits that you won't get with RAC - for example, your AA membership can get you discounts at nice restaurants and on lots of travel, including flights overseas. You get some benefits with RAC breakdown cover such as free coffees and discounts on gym memberships, but generally, the extras seem to be better with the AA.

Final thoughts - which is better for breakdown cover, the AA or RAC?

So in conclusion, we'd say that the AA is a better option than RAC when it comes to overall breakdown cover for most types of cars. The AA has almost twice as many patrols as RAC, and it's also a cheaper service if you sign up during a sale. On top of this, your AA membership gets you some really nice extras that you don't get with RAC.

However, if you have an electric vehicle then you might actually be better off going with RAC, as the company seems much better prepared for providing roadside assistance for EVs compared to the AA.

Let us know what you think of these 2 breakdown cover brands and if you have any other thoughts on our comparison!

Finn is the editor of You Well and has been writing about travel, health, and more for over 10 years.

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