AAA SUX!!!!

-
K

Killer6

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2015
Messages
4,780
Reaction score
2,795
Location
PA
So, the last time I called for a tow, I was literally 1min. away from My driveway, left axle on the '96 Gr.Caravan snapped under the clamped-on rubber damper as moisture crept in & rust did the rest. Over 2hrs. later, they arrive. Could've walked up the hill, got the wrecker, came down & drug it back Myself then jumped in the car & drove to work over 1/2hr. away in that time. OK, they don't get much per call, I know......so they fit 'em in around real paying gigs. If it weren't a sling&hook set-up, I would've, but no......I pay Premier membership fees so I let them bring the rollback.
Tonight, I believe the starter finally gave it up at 220K+ in the '06 'rolla, and far enough from Home I ain't walkin' no hows. I get told, "should be picked up by 3hrs. from now", WTF it's after 11PM.... an hour later, tow guy calls, confirms My info then tells Me "I'm the only one runnin' in Pgh., I can only take Ya' 20 miles, I'm slammed with tows right now.....so We're going to find an alternate tow". 40mins. later an operator says the same thing, another 1/2hr later tells Me NOBODY in a 75mile radius can take the call.....and is it OK if it is picked up in the AM....I said "What does that mean to Me right now!?!? I'm stuck ~50miles from Home!!" She said, 'You're certainly welcome to get a tow Yourself & submit it for reimbursement", .....You've got to be F*#king kidding Me........
That's the end of that Bullshit, never again,....... waste of money. If You have loved one's, don't count on this S#!T-Show to be there for them, WTF.........

Oh, operator on last 2 calls heavy Hispanic accent I could hardly understand & the phone She was on cut out for half the "conversation"..... Negative 5-stars
 
Last edited:
my dad had AAA then went with good sam, they were better but still have to wait for them to show up, he had a flat on his 10k camper and the 20 year old kid didn't even have a jack to raise the trailer with him,WTH good thing dad had a bottle jack with him, yes dad could have changed it but he had bad knees and 73 years old, so he waited for the kid to do it and had to show him how to place the jack and get tire changed,
hard to get good help these days..
 
My brand new Dodge Hornet had to be towed at 315 miles and THAT took the dealer all day to come and get. And forget dealing with Stellantis. They sent out someone from the hood to try and jump start it with no luck.
 
I've always had good luck with my auto insurance company.
 
Most likely AAA is low balling the tow drivers and they don't wanna take the work. I have Hagerty tow insurance for the classic cars takes hours for a tow truck to show up but they do send competent flat bed operators.
 
I bought a car dolly (and a winch) and have 2 vehicles that can pull it.

I basically own my own tow truck.

One of the best investments I've ever made.

Did I read right that the OP already owns a tow truck, but has a sling?

My advice would be- get a dolly for that truck to pull and stop depending on others. You know what "they" say- "if you want something done right....."
 
YY1 said:
I bought a car dolly (and a winch) and have 2 vehicles that can pull it.

I basically own my own tow truck.

One of the best investments I've ever made.

Did I read right that the OP already owns a tow truck, but has a sling?

My advice would be- get a dolly for that truck to pull and stop depending on others. You know what "they" say- "if you want something done right....."
Click to expand...
The problem is, I don't have anybody to call to get Me & ride Me home that time of night, & when You pay AAA to do it it should get done......I can't even tell You all of the ways I've roadside repaired & drug Home vehicles over the years(including putting a timing belt on My 'stang II on the inbound side of the Ft. Pitt Tunnels in '84, managed to get in the PennDOT crossover lot right before going into the tubes), the point of this thread is, if You have a Wife/Daughter/Niece or anybody You care about where They're on Their own?.... well.......They're on Their own. Broken down away from a safe place, They're stuck sitting ducks, waiting to get victimized, going to the bathroom in the weeds, or freezing to death..
I pay for a Premier Membership specifically because of the distances I travel routinely, & when My lady friend was driving, She had to pass through a bad section of Pgh. every day. We got better service 6yrs. ago when We had just basic Memberships, now, it's a pathetic S#!t show like I stated.
The best part? When I placed the initial call to get towed, the girl stated.." OK, well, We're not really set up to do that...but We'll put a call out...." :wtf:
 
Usually you get what you paid for. How much is the AAA annual fee? In your paperwork does it indicate how long you should wait?

If AAA have a bunch of tow trucks sitting idle on the side of roads waiting for a call, your fees are going to be higher. How much more are you willing to pay not to wait 3+hrs?

I believe there is a gap between what you think is a reasonable time vs what AAA thinks relative to the price being paid.
 
IMO this disappointment is just the norm for pretty much anything offered by a large, long-standing and nation-wide company. I'm only 32 so I've never really known of a time in my adult life living independently when you could trust big companies to actually give a damn and I make choices accordingly. People think society or "the system" is going to catastrophically implode or instantly break down, no lol it's just going to continue to gradually degrade until eventually nothing works anymore and nobody cares about anything. Hopefully I'm wrong but I'm not betting on it.
 
H22A4 said:
Usually you get what you paid for. How much is the AAA annual fee? In your paperwork does it indicate how long you should wait?

If AAA have a bunch of tow trucks sitting idle on the side of roads waiting for a call, your fees are going to be higher. How much more are you willing to pay not to wait 3+hrs?

I believe there is a gap between what you think is a reasonable time vs what AAA thinks relative to the price being paid.
Click to expand...
Maybe re-read My posts, I pretty much spelled it out, & My annual fee is about $170....more than twice what it was 6yrs. ago w/a basic Membership.....and better service....
 
50 years for me with zero road service payments. If I get a flat I fix it. If I need a tow I’ll call one of three local shops and have it towed where I need it to be towed. I’ll pay my bill then submit it to my insurance company and get reimbursed quickly.
 
Last edited:
My wife has AAA. Always has (since before I met her), and most likely always will.

I, on the other hand, do not. I used to tow back in the 80's, and we were a AAA provider, but I soon learned "the emperor has no clothes" and vowed to myself I would never sign-up for it.

My wife seems to be happy with it, so good for her!
 
Killer6 said:
So, the last time I called for a tow, I was literally 1min. away from My driveway, left axle on the '96 Gr.Caravan snapped under the clamped-on rubber damper as moisture crept in & rust did the rest. Over 2hrs. later, they arrive. Could've walked up the hill, got the wrecker, came down & drug it back Myself then jumped in the car & drove to work over 1/2hr. away in that time. OK, they don't get much per call, I know......so they fit 'em in around real paying gigs. If it weren't a sling&hook set-up, I would've, but no......I pay Premier membership fees so I let them bring the rollback.
Tonight, I believe the starter finally gave it up at 220K+ in the '06 'rolla, and far enough from Home I ain't walkin' no hows. I get told, "should be picked up by 3hrs. from now", WTF it's after 11PM.... an hour later, tow guy calls, confirms My info then tells Me "I'm the only one runnin' in Pgh., I can only take Ya' 20 miles, I'm slammed with tows right now.....so We're going to find an alternate tow". 40mins. later an operator says the same thing, another 1/2hr later tells Me NOBODY in a 75mile radius can take the call.....and is it OK if it is picked up in the AM....I said "What does that mean to Me right now!?!? I'm stuck ~50miles from Home!!" She said, 'You're certainly welcome to get a tow Yourself & submit it for reimbursement", .....You've got to be F*#king kidding Me........
That's the end of that Bullshit, never again,....... waste of money. If You have loved one's, don't count on this S#!T-Show to be there for them, WTF.........

Oh, operator on last 2 calls heavy Hispanic accent I could hardly understand & the phone She was on cut out for half the "conversation"..... Negative 5-stars
Click to expand...

Did you try getting a tow on your own?

My bet would be that this had a lot less to do with AAA and a lot more to do with how many tow trucks are available in your area. Tow truck coverage isn’t as good as it used to be.

I see this a fair amount in my line of work, unless a car is blocking roads the tows are just taking longer. I’m sure it’s region specific, but around here it seems like having tow coverage with your insurance gets you a tow faster than just being a private citizen making phone calls for a tow. Unless highway patrol is expediting your tow it’s not gonna be fast.

And depending on the random stuff, like time of day and how many tows have gone out in the last hour even the “expedited” tows can take a long time.
 
Dealers only worry about one thing anymore. Profit. Heck, I remember when we would cut and buff the paint on new car deliveries. Now they dont even charge the battery.
 
72bluNblu said:
Did you try getting a tow on your own?

My bet would be that this had a lot less to do with AAA and a lot more to do with how many tow trucks are available in your area. Tow truck coverage isn’t as good as it used to be.

I see this a fair amount in my line of work, unless a car is blocking roads the tows are just taking longer. I’m sure it’s region specific, but around here it seems like having tow coverage with your insurance gets you a tow faster than just being a private citizen making phone calls for a tow. Unless highway patrol is expediting your tow it’s not gonna be fast.

And depending on the random stuff, like time of day and how many tows have gone out in the last hour even the “expedited” tows can take a long time.
Click to expand...
I think one reason tow truck coverage isn’t as good as it used to be is vehicles are generally more reliable now than 30 or 40 years ago. Sure there is the odd lemon but, overall, the manufacturers are making more reliable cars compared to decades ago. Therefore the service industry has to change to be able to stay in business. If cars don’t break down as often, is there a need for as many tow trucks?

For the OP, what does your paperwork say in terms of a response time for getting a tow? Do they provide one?
 
H22A4 said:
I think one reason tow truck coverage isn’t as good as it used to be is vehicles are generally more reliable now than 30 or 40 years ago. Sure there is the odd lemon but, overall, the manufacturers are making more reliable cars compared to decades ago. Therefore the service industry has to change to be able to stay in business. If cars don’t break down as often, is there a need for as many tow trucks?

For the OP, what does your paperwork say in terms of a response time for getting a tow? Do they provide one?
Click to expand...

It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if that had something to do with it. I don’t know if the number of tows are up or down or whatever, offhand anyway. I’m sure like everything else staffing is an issue too, I’m sure people aren’t beating down the door to be tow truck drivers. It’s a difficult and dangerous job a lot of the time, and I’m sure it doesn’t pay commensurately to the risks involved. Hell one of the most dangerous parts of being a firefighter is operating on accident scenes on the highway. Kills more firefighters than fires do.

And like everything else it’s ultimately a for profit operation, and the best profits will be covering the most tows with the least amount of drivers and equipment. Which means the longest wait they can get away with before someone else gets the tow. It’s more about the profit now than the service provided.
 
72bluNblu said:
Did you try getting a tow on your own?

My bet would be that this had a lot less to do with AAA and a lot more to do with how many tow trucks are available in your area. Tow truck coverage isn’t as good as it used to be.

I see this a fair amount in my line of work, unless a car is blocking roads the tows are just taking longer. I’m sure it’s region specific, but around here it seems like having tow coverage with your insurance gets you a tow faster than just being a private citizen making phone calls for a tow. Unless highway patrol is expediting your tow it’s not gonna be fast.

And depending on the random stuff, like time of day and how many tows have gone out in the last hour even the “expedited” tows can take a long time.
Click to expand...
One tow garage in the entire Pgh. area, yeah, that's "reasonable" coverage..:rolleyes:
the real probability is the night shift drivers are likely making more, and AAA are paying bottom dollar, so nobody want's to take the call.....so You can wait 'til the morning shift arrives 9hrs. later...like I said, never again..I can pull a tow favor if I have to, but then there's -0- reason to have AAA so......
 
Killer6 said:
One tow garage in the entire Pgh. area, yeah, that's "reasonable" coverage..:rolleyes:
the real probability is the night shift drivers are likely making more, and AAA are paying bottom dollar, so nobody want's to take the call.....so You can wait 'til the morning shift arrives 9hrs. later...like I said, never again..I can pull a tow favor if I have to, but then there's -0- reason to have AAA so......
Click to expand...

Hey do what you want man. I’ve got AAA and they’ve always been awesome for me, for both my insurance needs and my towing needs. But tow coverage and response time is a very regional thing. If there’s only one garage in town what exactly are they supposed to do? Or if there’s a couple but only one is willing to meet their standards?

Just means where you’re at the price for the service might not be worth it for you. That’s life, doesn’t mean AAA sucks. Just means it might not be the best service for where you’re at. No different than a cell phone carrier having better or worse coverage in your area. If you can call in a favor then you might not need the tow service, but not everyone has those connections.

Just like there’s no way in hell I’d ever call for a tow for a dead battery, that’s what jump boxes are for. But if you can’t handle that then you’re towing it. Of course, while your car is being towed for a dead battery someone else with a real problem might be waiting for that truck. Not like there’s an unlimited supply.
 
All insurance companies suck! Just like medical, all they want are the Benjamin’s. I’m 5 weeks into the insurance company approving the damages in my company car. And, nothing’s going on!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top