Toyota Roadside assistance is it worth it?

[George22]

Hi.

My 1 year free roadside assistance runs out next March (came with the car).  

Are there many of you who continued and paid for Toyota Roadside Assistance or did you find better elsewhere?  

Any pointers appreciated, thanks. 
 

[Parts-King]

When you do it through Toyota it comes with home start, the number of people I have spoken to this week with flat batteries because of the cold who have AA/RAC etc direct through AA etc are peeved to find they are not covered for home start, worth it's weight in gold just for that alone IMHO 

TOYOTA ROADSIDE ASSIST

[Rav4ster]

Comes with European cover as well

[Mojo1010]

I have a policy with start rescue, have not require to use them yet so cannot comment on service, though their price is very competitive. Can select different types of cover including home start and national recovery to suit. 

 

[ernieb]

When mine ended I went with Start Rescue, Which best buy.

[Sealiedog]

I got Green Flag, but haven't used it. Much cheaper for same cover.

[Parts-King]

9 minutes ago, Sealiedog said:

I got Green Flag, but haven't used it. Much cheaper for same cover.

How much do you pay for equivalent cover? That's home start, UK and Europe? 

[FROSTYBALLS]

From the Which? car survey 2022 (based on customers scores, whether the service arrived at a breakdown within 1 hour and the ability to fix a breakdown at the roadside), Toyota Roadside Assistance came 2nd (score 90%)  amongst manufacturer branded breakdown cover providers.

[For third party providers (eg The AA, etc) Green Flag came 5th (score 65%).]

[Eddie G]

Heard too many bad stories about cheaper breakdown firms  so i now only use the AA or RAC whichever one offers the best deal at the time, the Toyota one is run by the AA but you can not transfer your policy over to your new car and have to start a new policy with them as far as i know.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Eddie G
Added information

[Rhymes with Paris]

I once had included AA breakdown cover with insurance.

Never had to use it, but the AA put me off them forever with their aggressive marketing after the policy had finished.

When I rang them to ask if they could please stop mailshots,in those days it was mail, not spamming your phone.

And it may have been a bad employee, but the general gist of it was that they will never stop, and I had to put up with it.

So the opposite effect was achieved,in that they wanted more money, and will never get it from me.

[Cyker]

That is the one thing I like about the Toyota Roadside, as you don't have to deal with the AA sales department  

My dad used to be with AA and they'd put the price back up to the full whack every renewal, so he'd have to join the phone queue for ages to get them to put it back to the 'introductory' rate or he'd leave.

I can't be smegged to do stuff like that, so when companies mess me about I just leave, no matter what sort of ridiculously discounted retention rate they offer (I'm looking at you Virgin Media!!)

 

[George22]

Thanks everyone, good ideas. 

[ROCKETRON]

I have the Toyota breakdown cover as the price and cover seems pretty good. I used them a couple of times during pandemic for flat aux Battery and they seemed to be good and knew about Toyota hybrids. I now have the NOCO boost device so should hopefully be ok with that.

[Zoot2]

20 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

From the Which? car survey 2022 (based on customers scores, whether the service arrived at a breakdown within 1 hour and the ability to fix a breakdown at the roadside), Toyota Roadside Assistance came 2nd (score 90%)  amongst manufacturer branded breakdown cover providers.

[For third party providers (eg The AA, etc) Green Flag came 5th (score 65%).]

Start Rescue came out in 1st place in that survey. Based on that info I went with them. Fortunately I have not needed their services.

[philip42h]

I've stuck with Toyota Roadside Assistance for years now - it gives a decent level of cover at a reasonable price.

I'd never heard of Start Rescue until I read this thread. For an equivalent level of cover, Start Rescue would cost £72.80 pa compared to Toyota Roadside Assistance at £76.00 - so nothing in it really in terms of price. I do want European cover so that needs to the priced in ...

If I didn't want European cover Start Rescue at £30.80 pa would seem a very attractive alternative.

But breakdown cover is just another insurance. If you can 'bear the risk' you don't need it at all! If you are looking to save the pennies there will be cheaper options available. But we almost certainly don't need to pay for the premium services offered by the AA or RAC - unless these come with other benefits ... 

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, Zoot2 said:

Start Rescue came out in 1st place in that survey.

..... for third party breakdown cover - different category to manufacturer branded cover.

[Jimota]

As highlighted, there is plenty of choice for breakdown/roadside cover.  On a personal note, I wouldn’t opt for European cover as home start would be more important to me.  I’ll be covered with Toyota for the next 12 months and I’ll consider my options when the time comes.  If I was only saving a few pounds with other providers I would probably just stay with Toyota.

[ColinB]

I've been with the AA for years and for the few times that I've needed them I've been happy with their service. The downside is that they are ever more expensive, over £200 for personal cover for my wife and myself. I've decided that this year I'll get Toyota cover for my wife's and my cars (she has an IQ) for much less than this. I have separate cover for my motorbike, fortunately as when I had an off the AA wouldn't come and pick it up without charging me for the privilege....

[FROSTYBALLS]

Since 2006, we've just stayed with the manufacturer's scheme, whichever car we've had.

The Aygo continues to be covered by Toyota Roadside Assistance. After the first 12 months, the Hyundai's roadside assistance is automatically renewed when the car is serviced by a Hyundai dealer.

[Sealiedog]

On 12/6/2022 at 4:12 PM, Parts-King said:

How much do you pay for equivalent cover? That's home start, UK and Europe? 

 

On 12/6/2022 at 4:12 PM, Parts-King said:

How much do you pay for equivalent cover? That's home start, UK and Europe? 

I can't remember exactly, sorry. I don't need Europe so left that out, but I have home start and everything else they offer. I think it was about £50 less than the Toyota quote. I've had breakdown cover for many years, but haven't used it since 1990 so I can't really comment on what it's like! I've changed car every 3 years for a long time, and I think it's a bit disappointing to only get 1 year from new. Hyundai, Ford Mitsubishi etc. either gave me several years or renewed it with a dealer service.

[FROSTYBALLS]

14 minutes ago, Sealiedog said:

Hyundai, Ford Mitsubishi etc. either gave me several years or renewed it with a dealer service.

From new, Hyundai now give 12 months breakdown cover, which is renewed for 12 months when the car is serviced by a Hyundai dealer.

[Peterd23]

On 12/7/2022 at 7:47 PM, ColinB said:

I've been with the AA for years and for the few times that I've needed them I've been happy with their service. The downside is that they are ever more expensive, over £200 for personal cover for my wife and myself. I've decided that this year I'll get Toyota cover for my wife's and my cars (she has an IQ) for much less than this. I have separate cover for my motorbike, fortunately as when I had an off the AA wouldn't come and pick it up without charging me for the privilege....

In case you aren't aware, Toyota Roadside Assistance used to offer family membership which was cheaper for the 2nd Toyota in the family. It wasn't easy to find on the website and less easy to buy online. Not even sure if they still offer it as they have reduced some of the previous benefits.

[SO8]

Silly question but I know for the first year the car is covered by Toyota Assistance for breakdown cover.  If serviced by Toyota at year one / 10k milles is it then still covered for another year by Toyota Assistance or do you need to pay for it ?   Obviously the warranty extends by a year as Toyota have serviced it ... but does the breakdown cover also extend?

 

 

[Cyker]

Alas no, breakdown cover is not included and AFAIK has never been included as a bonus for servicing the car with them. It used to be a perk if you bought the extended warranty, but now it's totally separate and they've removed all the discounts for e.g. buying 2 years or covering more than one vehicle.

 

[SO8]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

Alas no, breakdown cover is not included and AFAIK has never been included as a bonus for servicing the car with them. It used to be a perk if you bought the extended warranty, but now it's totally separate and they've removed all the discounts for e.g. buying 2 years or covering more than one vehicle.

 

Ok, so presumably it is offered separately ?   I know the AA I think cover Toyota breakdowns as they have a separate agreement with Toyota to respond far quicker than to their normal customers - having worked for National Highways I know how long the AA/RAC can take to actually get to people !!!!