AAA Roadside assistance. Over 200 miles tow

[nnyz]

I'm planning on going to Lodi, CA later on this year. I live in San diego, CA. I've been planning the trip for a while now..I currently have AAA, I have a Classic membership. Recently, i've had some issues with my vehicle, and have had it towed a couple times in two months. The problems were all fixed. They were both pretty simple and inexpensive. One was the fuel pump, and the other, the starter.

Anyways, San Diego to Lodi is around 500 miles at the most. I'm going to change my membership to a premier membership, which gives me up to 200 miles on one tow and up to 100 miles on remaining tows. However, this would obviously not cover the entire tow, in the rare chance my car broke down midway. I'm just wondering. If it broke down at say, 300 miles from my home, could i use the first tow (being 200 free miles) to get it to a hotel, persay, and then the next day use the other free 100 miles to tow it all the way home?

It's a bit of a ridiculous question, however it's been bugging my mind for quite a while now. thought i could ask and see if i could get a bit more of an insight on it. Thanks!

 

[Harvey]

Call AAA's toll free line, and ask. They may also offer a low cost, short term plan that covers longer distances if you're not that sure about your car.

An even better investment may be to have a good mechanic check out your car and bring it up to a safe driving condition.

 

[Doppel]

I highly doubt it.

 

[compman25]

If you're afraid of taking the car on a 500 mile trip maybe you should check out Greyhound or Amtrak.

 

[NutBucket]

You can also get a tow for 200 mi...then call again and get authorization for another 200mi, etc. But as stated, if you're that unsure of your car's reliability then you should probably just get a rental.

 

[Kelvrick]

I've been involved in a car being towed more than 800 miles. We used several legs of several people's memberships. 1 shot tow.

The documentation says 200 mile tow with more 100 mile tows, but I've also heard csr's say you have a max of 500 (or 400? whatever) miles. I would think its cheaper for 1 long tow than several shorter tows anyway.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Unless you are taking US 395 you shouldn't ever have a need for that much towing to get the car to a shop in the event it breaks down.
Most towns and cities along CA 99 and I 5 are close enough together it wouldn't be an issue.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Unless you are taking US 395 you shouldn't ever have a need for that much towing to get the car to a shop in the event it breaks down.
Most towns and cities along CA 99 and I 5 are close enough together it wouldn't be an issue.

I think he is wanting to have the vehicle towed home, not to the nearest qualified repair shop.

 

[CrackRabbit]

I think he is wanting to have the vehicle towed home, not to the nearest qualified repair shop.

Derp. You're right, that makes sense.

 

[EagleKeeper]

I think he is wanting to have the vehicle towed home, not to the nearest qualified repair shop.

Derp. You're right, that makes sense.

The original intent of those services were that while a local shop might fix the issue, a member would be willing to pay a premium to get a broken vehicle to his favorite shop.

Most people are usually more more than a hour or two from home if a beater breaks on them. A road savy person will have the vehicle checked out before heading out on the lonesome highway or spend tbe extra for piece of mind and get a rental.

Cheapskates feel that loss of time 1-4 hours fir service, 3-4 he tow compensates for cost of deferred maintenance and premium towing service memberships

 

[Doppel]

This thread is why we can't have nice things.

I've been driving for many years now. I've had this many tows in my life:

0

And yet I can't get a "I don't drive a car that breaks down every three months" membership rate at AAA, so basically to get one I subsidize the people who's cars break down every three months. As such, I dropped my AAA membership years ago.

 

[CrackRabbit]

The original intent of those services were that while a local shop might fix the issue, a member would be willing to pay a premium to get a broken vehicle to his favorite shop.

Most people are usually more more than a hour or two from home if a beater breaks on them. A road savy person will have the vehicle checked out before heading out on the lonesome highway or spend tbe extra for piece of mind and get a rental.

Cheapskates feel that loss of time 1-4 hours fir service, 3-4 he tow compensates for cost of deferred maintenance and premium towing service memberships

I do a lot of traveling via car in the southwest, it is quite possible to be more than 100 miles from the closest town with some type of repair shop.
When I didn't have cars that are covered by warranty I kept (and still keep) a AAA membership on the off chance that I missed something in a pre-trip check or had a case of bad luck and broke down.
Thankfully I've never had to use it for a tow, but some of the discounts come in handy.