Breakdown cover - france

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

Hello all and the great informed.

Anyone any input on which company to run with for a week's breakdown/repatriation cover for western europe )just france in reality.

Having a pootle over for a few days seeing as the weather is going to be lovely for a change - & try to catch the tour de france....

I have used AA in past but wondered if there was anyone else worth trying out.

cheers in advance

 

[JH]

For a one off trip of short duration you will have to go a long way to beat Vehicle Rescue Direct.

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

i'll take a look, thanks

 

[stolzy]

For a one off trip of short duration you'd be best saving your money

Fixed FOC

Go on, live dangerously.

 

[david a hall]

Do any of them repatriate the vehicle? I know BMW assist do if it breaks, but other companies im not so sure. in the small print it seems to me they will take your bike to the nearest place it can be fixed. The last few times I have been away I havent bothered.

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

looks like VRD do

 

[Dave56]

I made use of the excellent service of VRD on a trip to Spain in 2011 and cannot recommend them enough. Took out the 2 week policy and when the GS let me down in Spain the service they provided was second to none. Arranged bike collection, took me to Alicante airport to pick up a hire car, arranged for the bike to be taken to a BMW dealer, on collection and during the return journey to the UK they rang at least 3 times to check things where OK, and all for £25.....

 

[Rasher]

Do any of them repatriate the vehicle?

Quite a few, you need to ask the right questions - and check the small print, the chap flogging you the insurance may not know, or care but could mislead you.

Also check if they will recover your vehicle if YOU break down, imagine you trip and bust your ankle, will they bring your bike back for you? Some also only cover "breakdowns" so if you fall off (or someone knocks your bike over and damages it) they won't do anything for you

None of them are gonna bring you back home on a whim because you don't want to pay an extra £10 for a tyre in Switzerland, but some will re-patriatte the vehicle if it cannot be repaired locally (often will stipulate x days and / or at the end of your scheduled holiday)

They will all want to get it fixed locally if they can, and the re-patriation is normally limited to the "value" of the bike - don't forget this will be their interpretation of the value of the bike and not yours, fine if your on a brand new WC, but if rattling around on a 30 year old Plastic Maggot you may find them refusing to spend £3k having it brought back home for you.

My mate tested the CN cover a few times, on each occasion they got it sorted locally, but on one of them it needed parts which took a couple of days so they sorted a loan car - pretty fair IMO

 

[Wapping]

Quite a few, you need to ask the right questions - and check the small print....

Also check if they will recover your vehicle if YOU break down, imagine you trip and bust your ankle, will they bring your bike back for you?

Rasher makes a good point.

By way of example only, here's the AA's European Breakdown multi-trip annual policy exclusion:

5. Vehicle recovery to the UK or onward to your original destination

WHAT WE WILL NOT COVER

5. Recovery costs for a vehicle if nobody in Your Party is fit to drive.

6. Repatriation costs for You or Your Party if nobody in Your Party is fit to drive. In such circumstances, repatriation arrangements must be made for You by Your personal travel insurer.


You'll notice that there is a separate and double exclusion of two things:

(a) Recovery, which is the picking up the vehicle from the roadside

(b) Repatriation, which is the bringing of the vehicle back home

 

[Straydog]

Also check if they cover transport to the hire car provided. This may be expensive as a mate found out recently

 

[Rasher]

My mate had a car delivered to him by CN

Their insurance looks pretty good, one of the reasons I renew even if they are a few quid more than the cheapest quote out there.

From their Website;

Carole Nash EU Breakdown Cover


The EU Breakdown cover provided by Carole Nash includes the following cover:

Roadside assistance and recovery, vehicle repatriation, storage, onward travel and accommodation, replacement rider, message service and parts delivery.

 

[Peirre O`Bollox]

I used CN last year when I had to be recovered from Col du Madeliene.
This year I have CN as part of my insurance, and ADAC which gives me annual multi trip cover for €79.50 for any vehicle I`m riding, driving or as a passenger in

 

[(RIP) Johno23]

I recently made use of AA european recovery. I hit a deer in a van the day before I was due to return to the UK, I was in the Tarn Et Garrone. A few things to think about. If you have had an accident, they will NOT recover your vehicle back to the UK.You must contact your vehicle insurers. However, they did collect the vehicle within 2 hrs. They taxi'd me the next morning(Sunday) at a cost of 160e to the nearest town where they could get a car hire company to open.( it was a bank holiday weekend in France)where they sorted me a car to take up to LeHavre, we left the car at the port. On reaching Portsmouth at 11.30pm there was a guy waiting in the car park with a car for me to drive home. In the morning I phoned the car hire company up, and they sent two guys up to pick the car up. I thought a really good service. I caught my original ferry. They also told me that, if it was repaired out in France, when the van was repaired they would fly me back out to pick it up. That has not been done yet as It has taken an age to sort out the repair.( I didn't claim off the van insurance as the damage was only around £900 and I had a £500 excess so didn't think it worth it.
If you break down though, they will recover it back to the UK.
I would recomend the AA. Easy to get through too, and no probs with language, and they always called me back when they said they would.