Honda Roadside Assistance vs AAA?

[markc]

I am a HUGE proponent of self-insuring for roadside issues and not paying a 3rd party company to take their profit on top of it.

So I use my phone, and a credit card. I have needed one tow in the past 25 years and it was a whopper...I paid almost $600 to get my truck and trailer out of a ditch in a serious stuck situation in the middle of the wilderness, hours from the nearest tow company. He spent a solid 2 hours prying my truck and trailer from the woods with his $400,000 truck, damage free, and he drove 70 miles one way to reach me. And I paid his asking price for that service out of pocket, and happily.

Get in a bind? Clear your head, stay calm, Google a local tow company, tell them you'll pay on the spot with a card or better yet cash, and they will rush to your assistance...because the low rates they get from AAA and HondaCare and whoever, are less profitable than private tows. While they service you, the AAA and other subscribers can wait. I dealt heavily with this in my insurance career (many insurance companies offer this service also for a fee) -- this prioritization of private payers is very real. Private payers almost always get first service over any other subscription/contract tows...which is important during big ice storms and such when the network is overwhelmed. Money talks, and AAA and others are always trying to beat down prices. But when I'm in a bind, I won't negotiate. I'll pay.

So in 25 years I've paid $600 for one nasty incident. $24/year. Beats AAA!

I'd give Honda Roadside assistance a shot if it would benefit me, cuz under warranty it's free. But it is so incredibly easy to handle this stuff yourself with today's cell phones and coverage, I'm surprised so many people still use AAA and other such services in the modern world.

Lockouts, lost key coverage, gas deliveries, all that stuff...no use for me cuz I'm not that flaky lol! And if I DO flake someday...cuz I'm not perfect? I'll pay someone to bail me out ONE time...and I'll save money over the long haul.

I will bring up one dark spot in your scenario (and it's quite an individual one): I every instance where we have needed a tow in the past 10 years we were someplace where there was NO cellular data service. If we did not not know a phone number we could not contact anyone. It's in cases such as this that having one number to call is helpful.

 

[craze1cars]

No dark spot, easy solution. Last time I was in that exact scenario I called 911. Advised it wasn’t an emergency yet, but would be soon enough due to below freezing temps and remote location and child in car, etc. Instead of sending police, the helpful operator just did a quick google search for me and patched my call directly to a local tow company at my request, after giving me the name and number of a 2nd tow company I could call on my own if the first one didn’t work out. We worked everything out no prob.

 

[Sandroad]

No dark spot, easy solution. Last time I was in that exact scenario I called 911. Advised it wasn’t an emergency yet, but would be soon enough due to below freezing temps and remote location and child in car, etc. Instead of sending police, the helpful operator just did a quick google search for me and patched my call directly to a local tow company at my request, after giving me the name and number of a 2nd tow company I could call on my own if the first one didn’t work out. We worked everything out no prob.

If this was the one and only scenario in the last 25 years where you needed a major extraction tow that you described several posts ago, I can see why it was a 911 situation. You were in a bad spot. But, I hope not everyone considers a flat tire or flat battery scenario to be a 911 call!

 

[craze1cars]

Agreed. And in today’s world, 98% of those people in their inconvenient predicaments, if not more, have quality data service to avoid such a situation if they are capable of making a cell phone call. And cell service improves constantly and will never stop improving. If you have cell service without data in your scenario, 1-800-free411 is effective. So is 411...just costs more. And if you have cell service and no data you can still send text messages (not iMessages)...so just text or call a friend or relative in your contacts and explain the situation and ask them to google search for you. I sincerely hope most of us have 1 friend or 100 who would lend us such a simple favor.

Like everything else we can nitpick and compare unique scenarios until we are in our grave. My biggest point is there are tons of solutions that cost much less than AAA. All have pros and cons. Just takes the ability to problem solve on your feet. And paying for AAA or attempting free Honda roadside works too. Just usually not nearly as well lol. I’m simply offering a few cheap to free alternatives to consider, along with my exceedingly low opinion of any subscriber based tow service, whether you pay for it or not...

 

[apu]

My wife has a CAA account, we have almost never required it. I have a trailer and truck and can usually tow myself in most elective circumstance, that said I had to call Hyundai roadside assistance recently one month into ownership of our new Kona electric which was a result of several bits of concurrent bad fortune.
It would appear my new Kona's 12v battery recently died in -30C temperature, not really sure why. Initially I wasn't too worried as I keep a lithium battery booster handy. The problem was the car was locked and only mechanical door lock on the driver's door was frozen solid. Despite trying every trick I know to unthaw it would not budge. Short of breaking a window here I was locked out of my car with a dead 12v battery and my trailer was 2 hours away. Called Hyundai, waited on hold for 40 minutes and they sent a CAA contracted flatbed in about another 45 minutes. Took another day at the dealer's to thaw before they could boost the battery. I guess the point of this story is sometimes bad stuff happens despite your best effort to to avoid them and having the ability to call for help at those time is priceless.

 

[Noni]

I have 2018 Clarity Plug in hybrid and its been an year. I bought the Honda 8 year 120k warranty 2 months after I bought the car. Yesterday accidentally front right tire got scratched along curb outside airport departures in a rush. A flap of rubber is there about an inch cut. If I lift the rubber flap and peek through I can see some lining/threading underneath.
Does this mean this tire should be replaced? And if yes, does Honda extended warranty cover these ind of damages?

 

[craze1cars]

Yes replace the tire, and no that warranty won’t cover it, but maybe you purchased road hazard tire warranty for tires also? Would have been a separate add on at time if car purchase. If you bought it, then yes they’ll cover the tire. Otherwise you’re out of pocket and absolutely don’t delay. Sidewall damage can be dangerous.

 

[Noni]

Yes replace the tire, and no that warranty won’t cover it, but maybe you purchased road hazard tire warranty for tires also? Would have been a separate add on at time if car purchase. If you bought it, then yes they’ll cover the tire. Otherwise you’re out of pocket and absolutely don’t delay. Sidewall damage can be dangerous.

Ok Thanks. Really appreciate your reply.
My car mechanic said the same thing to replace asap. So next big question was in 11 months and less than 14k miles the OEM tires Michelin Energy Saver 235/45/18 94V came down to 6/32 tread. Going by this rate they will need changed before the next winter. Thats really poor performance. Its has70/30 Local/Highway miles.
Exact tire is $240 each. but that wont match so I found exact same used with no plugs at 8/32 for 70 bucks and going to survive until next December.