Is AAA a good deal?

[H5N1]

I will be traveling about the country soon, suppose
I should join a car club. Is AAA the best?

Is there a way to get a discount on membership?

[Bossy Monkey]

1. Friends who've been members say yes

One free tow pays for a year's membership. (Anyway towing was free 10 years ago; you might want to check to make sure this is still the case.)

[H5N1]

2. true enough

[Reverend_Smitty]

5. its only free for the first 3 miles

I found that out the other day when I was talking to a friend. It's fine if you are near civilization but if you are stranded in the middle of nowhere, you are screwed

[H5N1]

8. really, that bites

[zauberflote]

19. 100 miles for free

In my state (Jersey) for an extra $30 you get AAA Plus and they'll tow a car up to 100 miles free.

[no name no slogan]

16. There's different membership levels with different benefits

I believe I have unlimited towing on mine-- or the first tow is covered for free, IIRC. Just last month I had my car towed 30+ miles to my cousin's shop for repairs, and it didn't cost me a cent.

[underpants]

12. I think the tow is $5 or something like that-YES it is a good deal

they offer roadside assistance too. My mother used it just last month-she got hit by someone running a red light (she is okay) and the EMTs were on the spot in no time.

AAA is a very good deal.

Now-this is rumor mostly BUT.... Cops don't mess with AAA drivers too much. They know that AAA drivers have legal coverage (that is in there too) so they don't bust them as often as others. That is the rumor.

[KitchenWitch]

35. I do not know about the cops not messing with AAA'ers

But one of the benefits is legal representation for traffic violations.

[Reverend_Smitty]

3. I got a flat tire

a couple of weeks ago and AAA came and put my spare on for me. However the AAA guy put the nut on crooked so when I got to the tire place to get the leak plugged the entire stud popped off the wheel and ended up costing me an extra $55. No word yet on if AAA will reimburse me. This was the first time I ever called for help so I guess you could say I've got a mixed bag reaction on them...but hey you can get all the free maps you want

[H5N1]

6. free maps are nice

[Taverner]

4. Depends

Do you take a lot of road trips?

Do you need roadside assistance at least once a year?

If so, then yes. They give out free highway maps to anywhere in North America, and free travel guides as well.

You also get 24x7 roadside assitance, including free towing and if you run out of gas they'll get you some.

However, if you would never use these things, its not worth it.

[henslee]

7. It sure is. Hotel discounts. Maps. Road Service Insurance discounts.

Plus another card in your wallet to make you feel important.

[skygazer]

9. I've had AAA for several years

I've only used it for minor things (locking the keys in the car :blush: , needing a jump start) but I've been glad to have it. One thing that is very handy when travelling is that you can get good maps and info from their offices anywhere at a discount. You can also get discounts on rooms and other services (it always pays to ask at a motel if they have a AAA discount - even if it's not advertised, they often do).

In addition and the main reason I keep it, you can do almost all your DMV business at their locations (at least here in California). It's so much nicer than going to the always crowded DMV.

[miss_kitty]

10. I had AAA before I got a car.

My friend lived in NOLA and drove a beater POS and the fan belt broke. I cost us $4 to tow it over the bridge to the Chank-a-Chank guys. I have had many jumps from them, gas delivered for the price of the gas and when my distributor went out, I was towed 15 miles for a non-memorable amount of money (probably between $10-$20).

I do not ever regret being a member, even in the rare year I did not use their services.

They will also map out routes for you and you can stop in anywhere and have them changed. also they'll tell you where road work is happening and change you tire if you get a flat. You get 3 free helps a year.

The apt building cleaning ladies locked themselves out of their car. They are very poor and were trying to break a window to get in. I called AAA for them and a guy with a slim jim came out and popped the lock for them.

With all that, do you NEED a discount?

[Zomby Woof]

11. the more you use it, it is

A few stays at a AAA-approved motel, and the membership pays for itself, and if you are going all over, you will come out ahead easily. Plus, the free maps and trip-tiks are useful for planning.

I have roadside assistance with my car insurance, but if you don't have it otherwise, AAA is a great way to get it.

I wouldn't say membership is an absolute must, but it can be useful and beneficial if you are a frequent traveler.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

13. Yes.

[H5N1]

14. I'm taking the plunge today

sounds good overall

[no name no slogan]

15. If you have an older car, ABSOLUTELY

My membership has more than paid for itself over the years. The free towing/roadside assistance has saved my ass at least twice a year for the past ten years, it seems.

Also, if you're mechanically-challenged, it's a lifesaver. I've called them at least twice just for tire changes, and they've done them, no problems.

Also, many hotels, motels and restaurants offer discounts or special rates for AAA members. Be sure to check on these when you make pit stops, because they can save you a fair amount of change.

:)

[H5N1]

22. nice deal

[WCGreen]

17. Yea, it is a good deal......

Been a member for 20 years.....

Discount, travel planning.....

And, the towing....

If you pay a little more for the premium membership, towing is virtually free.....

[AlCzervik]

18. when we were on vacation many places give you a 10% discount if you

have a AAA card. We used at 2 hotels and 3 theme parks.

[northzax]

20. NO NO NO

call your insurance company and see if they offer road-side assistance, mine does. Avoid AAA, they have a lobbying arm who's sole issue is the construction of new roads. They oppose mass transit (since every dollar spent on trains and busses is one less spent on new roads) AAA supports suburban sprawl as well, since they support increasing construction of roads that make sprawl possible.

I was a AAA plus member for years, and yes, I saved some money on tows (+ got me up to 99 miles of towing, at $3/mile, that adds up) but think of the impact your money is having on our communities.

WalMart is cheaper as well, but no one on this board tells you to shop there. Please...

[H5N1]

21. alas, my insurance does not offer roadside assistance

[Taverner]

23. Hmmmm I have no problem with lobbying for new roads

In California, that is something we could always use.

If we don't, we might end up like Seattle....

[northzax]

26. at the expense of public transport?

AAA lobbied against extending the metro to Dulles airport in DC, instead, they proposed, guess what? widening the highway.

you can't simply keep building roads. it's a self fufilling prophecy, the more roads you build, the more people drive on them.

[Taverner]

31. Yes but I've seen what happens when you try to force people into pub trans

It doesnt work.

You may be familiar with an experiment that Portland Oregon tried back in the 80's. They blocked off several streets downtown to pedestrian and pub trans only. They figured, it worked in Europe, it will work here.

Problem is, it doesnt work - Americans like to drive. It turned into a parking nightmare, and no one walked around - and the businesses all died out, being that people would rather drive an extra 10 miles to Beaverton than have to deal with parking hell and walking.

Now I know Public transit would be nice, but you simply can't force a horse to drink.

What we need are more highways, double and triple decker, and more fuel efficient cars. Getting us on buses will never work - mainly because we would have to wake up an extra hour earlier just to take the bus, and if we needed to stop somewhere along the way, add another hour.

Trust me, we NEED MORE ROADS!

[northzax]

32. and you may also be familiar with two more recent

transportation experiments in Portland. First, they tore out the downtown freeway by the river and replaced it with a park. It increased foot traffic and local ecomonic growth. AAA was opposed, since it involved taking out a freeway.

second, in the downtown square, busses and trains are free. Every study shows this reduces traffic downtown. AAA opposed it, since it involved taking money from road building projects and putting it into mass transit.

I don't expect everyone to use transit, obviously, they won't. Take for instance, the LA basin, place has plenty of transit, we need more roads for the wealthy to get places faster. come on.

but anyway, the important thing is that I think DUers might be interested in knowing that they support an organisation that opposes: HOV lanes, incentives for cleaner fuels, CAFE standards, Amtrak and any sort of public mass transportation. AAA is the NRA of the auto lobby, for them it is a zero sum game, every dollar spent on anything except roads is a loss.

[Taverner]

34. The wealthy arent the only ones who use highways

Especially in LA....public transit is a joke, and the LA subway was a failure because I think the Disneyland monorail went more places than the subway did.

The AAA actually supports HOV lanes, being as they have been proven to reduce traffic.

[northzax]

38. if you build it, they will come

the greater the population density is, the more useful transit is, and the less useful road construction is. Take the DC area, for instance. New roads lead to new construction, so that by the time the major road is completed, it is running at capacity already. Ask a transportation person, when was the last time congestion was relieved, in a city, over a 5 year period, soley from road construction?

[ET Awful]

28. It came in handy for me many times, but I haven't had it in ages.

Now, my cell phone company offers roadside assistance for $2.95 a month added to my bill. That works out better for me, and I've used it twice already (both times in the same day for jump starts when my batter died completely and needed to be replaced).

[China_cat]

24. We have AAA plus

And it has paid for itself many times over. Plus gives you 100 miles of free towing and all the other perks. We'll get rid of it when we no longer have a car.

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. So long as you get a flat or need roadside service at some time,

it fucking pays for itself.

Also, with the discounts you get on hotels, and also at PearlVision, it pays for itself.

I bought my membership for $50, then a week later went over and saved $350 at PearlVision.

And believe me, there is NOTHING like getting a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, nad being able to call AAA and having a dude in a truck come out, change the tire or tow you home, and not have to pay for any of it.

[KitchenWitch]

27. AAA is great

Not only do you get roadside assistance, but they partner with a lot of hotels, restaurants and other merchants and offer some good discounts.

[flamingyouth]

29. I think so.

I was a member for years then let it lapse, then just rejoined earlier this year when I really needed it.

[Greyhound]

30. I've been a member for 15 years in 4 states and,

I've found it depends entirely on which State you join in. California is, by far, the best. Illinios pretty much sucked, Arizona is good, but you have to get the 'gold' plan. New Mexico is just astoundingly terrible. I never used it in Georgia so I'm not sure. Colorado was good, but that was a long time ago, so it may have changed.

[Danmel]

33. Yes it really is

And I'm cynical about everything.

Last year before we went to Canada, I signed up because when I was looking at hotels they all asked me if I had AAA or CAA. (CAA honors AAA). I saved over 250 dollars on rooms and car rental alone even after the membership fee. ALmost all of the attractions took a dollar or two (sometimes 10%) off of tickets and admissions- museums, amusement parks etc. Lots of stores have triple A discounts- Outlet malls, Auto services and they send emails with coupons throughout the year. Plus you have the road service, and I got $20 off the driver class that reduces your insurance. AAA is a good deal.

[Blue Gardener]

36. Love it

Plus, the website is much better for planning your trip than Mapquest. AAA website shows all of the detours and road construction, but you have to be a member to access it.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

37. No

Your towing is covered on your car insurance - check, and be pleasantly surprised. Should be 100%.

As for anything else, AAA will screw you. I've seen it happen - and had it happen to me - too many times.

They're really a ripoff outfit.

[obxhead]

39. I have always been happy with them.

I've had to do some bitching to get some things done, but they have always made it right in the end.