<VV> towing (my 2 cents) corvair or whatever..

[Frank DuVal]

Yes, but the insurance company doesn't give me maps! Or make 
reservations... Or get me discounts on tickets, hotels and other things 
I rarely use.

Being a AAA towing company/repair shop/insurance preferred shop for 
collision work, is a decision for the shop owner to make. Lots of parts 
to balance here. Cost vs profit, etc.

For the consumer, AAA gives peace of mind. I never had it until I was 
married ( a mind?), and Debbie already was a member. Even though my dad 
was a member since time began. BTW, did you know after paying for AAA 
for 50 years you never get another renewal charge? It renews every year 
for free. I bet not many people ever find that out.

Anyway, now that I have AAA it has come in handy several times. AAA Plus 
here, since on any day one or more of the cars can be up to 100 miles 
from home. However, if I add the years we have paid vs the price of the 
tows we had at market rates, it would have been cheaper to pay the tows 
(I think). But, having a 1-800 number to call instead of finding a local 
guy to drag the car home saves some time. The most recent tow would have 
been over $200 at market rates.

Also no money out of pocket at the time of tow, so no need to pay the 
driver and argue with the insurance company to get reimbursed later. AAA 
covers any car you may be in, even as a passenger, whereas insurance 
will only pay for a car that has the towing rider on it.

But, insurance towing rider is only about $5 a year per car. So if you  
have one car, that is a great savings. If you have 16 cars insured, well 
AAA is not much more.

Of course there are horror stories using AAA service, just not 
experienced by my family.

As with most things, you pays your money and takes your chances, no one 
size fits all here.

Frank DuVal


N2VZD at aol.com wrote:

>i was a AAA shop owner / partner for many years , AAA approved and all. the 
> old days , it was a good deal for the customer. imagine the cost of a 
>truck ,  insure it , and have someone who can walk and chew gum to operate 
>it...and get  some paltry sum per call from AAA.  so my best value these days for 
> consumer  AND the shop , seems to be towing insurance on the auto policy.  
>it is cheap ( really reasonable from most companies) , pays the invoice you 
> present allowing you to chose the shop to tow.  in order to understand 
>some  of this , you would have had to be in the business.  (but times have  
>changed!)
>regards , Tim Colson       retired from the  business , and do not miss 
>most of it!
>
>  
>