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Today’s question is from Nicole:
I’ve had a AAA membership for over six years now, and have needed their services a total of two times! I have not needed to call for the last four years since we got a new-to-us car.
Do you think the peace of mind is worth $140 per year to keep this membership?
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We have auto and home insurance through AAA, love the discounts and piece of mind if we break down!
I have two teenage drivers. So…for us, AAA is well worth it. If there is a problem (keys locked in the car, out of gas, etc…more likely with a teenager!) I know they can get assistance without my husband having to take off work.
We only have 2 cars and many days I am at home while my children have “my car” at school. This saves me about a gallon of gas a day and about 1.5 hours of driving time. Being “stuck” at home I have time to do things like bake bread and make many of our foods from scratch. I estimate the money saved on gas and my time pays for the AAA membership!
We have AAA, but I’ll look into cancelling and seeing what is available through my insurance company for less money. That said however, if I take a trip I’ll probably get AAA. We took an interstate trip a couple of years ago and broke down on a very busy freeway with barely a shoulder, very scary with trucks speeding by at 80mph after dark. I was extremely grateful for AAA, and for the fact that they towed us home that last 90 miles cause they allowed us to upgrade and immediately use their 100 mile towing membership. I don’t know if I would wait until an emergency to try and get benefits cause the tow truck driver was surprised that AAA allowed us to use the benefit immediately.
Having AAA just saved me $50 on a radiator replacement. Plus, the service is covered by the AAA guarantee, so if anything goes wrong with the repair, AAA will take care of it. Considering that we put a lot of wear on our vehicles, the discount for car repairs alone makes up for the $84 annual fee.
My parents never thought it was worth it, but they tended to keep their cars in really good condition, so it was worth it to them to pay out-of-pocket for a tow the few times they needed one.
My husband on the other hand, believes it is well worth it. Even though we do a lot of work on our cars by ourselves, we’ve needed to call AAA several times in the 6 years we’ve had the service – mostly to help with flat tires, amusingly enough, but also for a short-distance tow.
Early in our marriage, I got a flat tire at 9pm about 10 miles from home. It was winter, and I was still dressed in my nice work clothes. I started trying to work on the jack, etc. just as my dad taught me, but it was dark and cold, and I was getting frustrated. A cop pulled up, saw me working on it, and asked if he could help. After watching me struggle for a few minutes, he said “don’t you have AAA?” At which point, it hit me – why am I doing this myself, I can call AAA!!! They were definitely worth the price that year.
AAA saved our honeymoon. There wasn’t a thing wrong with our vehicle, but we were trying to drive the East Coast during the week of the sniper shootings in DC. We stopped into a AAA office, re-routed our driving plans, picked and reserved a new bed and breakfast, and got all the maps we needed (pre-GPS years).
We drive from the East Coast to the Midwest 1-2 times a year with small children, and when we’re at home, we drive at night in heavily deer populated areas. The last time I used it, 6 months ago, I got a flat…in the rain…with 2 hungry children…in a rough neighborhood… an hour from my husband’s office. They changed the flat, were extremely polite, explained what they were doing to my very curious 3 year-old, and got me home in time to still make a big deal date I had planned with my husband.
Check with your car insurance company! We carried AAA until we discovered that for $4 per year per vehicle we could have the same peace-of-mind without the steep price tag. Our car insurance company (State Farm) offers roadside assistance. If we need help, then we call a tow truck. We pay them. Then submit the receipt to State Farm agent, who immediately writes us a check.
Since cancelling our AAA membership, we continue to receive temporary AAA cards in the mail which I have used once.
Though AAA is great, consider asking your insurance agent about roadside assistance.
Thank you for sharing this information! I feel like a dunce, but I looked at my car insurance premium and realized that I’ve already been paying $10 per year for the same Emergency Road Service that I’ve also been paying AAA for! You just saved me a ton of money. =)
I think this is really a simple math question. Calculate how much you spend in AAA premiums annually. Then estimate the cost you would have incurred for tows, etc. had you not had the service and paid out of pocket. Here’s an example:
Cost of AAA membership annually: $140
Avg cost for tows annually: $66.67 (assumed cost of 2 tows in 6 years of $400 divided by 6)
The actual costs do not justify the premiums. I wouldn’t even pay for AAA if I didn’t already have something similar with both my American Express card and my auto insurance provider.
We have the upgraded membership (that covers more than 5 miles)…essential when you live 50 miles from town! We have used the tow coverage several times, but our biggest savings is on the auto and home insurance we purchase from AAA. They are WAY cheaper than any other company’s insurance that we found, so we save well over our membership fee every year just in insurance savings.
We had AAA and it worked great when we needed it but I’ve also used two other similar programs that have worked great and cost less. AT&T had a roadside assistance package through your wireless phone that was an extra $3 or so per month. I used it 2 different times and it was awesome. The option we are using now is through our auto insurance. We pay an extra $3+ per month. We haven’t had to use the program so I can’t vouch for it but it’s definitely an option to look into.
AAA used to let a person buy it “on-the-fly”– meaning that if you are not a member you could purchase it on the spot when you need it. It would be a little more hassle but if you really need to save money and you’ve found you haven’t used it lately, then it’s probably worth doing (but check with AAA first, as they may not work this way anymore — and keep the service number in your wallet so you have it in hand when needed!) Or you could buy the service to cover just one family member, cutting your bill way down. When you need service, you just call the family member whose name the card is in and they can come out and meet the driver with you. You’d save a little that way too.
We do not have AAA but instead have roadside assistance as an extra feature on our cell phone plan. It costs $2 a month. We can call for help with towing/locked keys even in another state.
We have had AAA for 30+years. How many times towed more than 2 hours away….4. Number of times towed for mechanical reasons locally…too many to remember….at least 20 charge batteries. Several car breakdowns involving our teens. But the reason we stayed: I was with a friend and SHE was driving. After visiting another friend, we were putting things back into the car including baby when she hit lock on her key and then shut the key in the trunk with the baby inside. Our friend’s husband tried to get the door open of a very new car with no luck. Her hubby was out of town — so since I was stranded, too, I called AAA and explained. Because there was a baby involved they arrived within a few minutes. They got the car open and we got the key. No more tears. I went to pay and the driver said it was covered. What? I wasn’t the driver or car owner. But AAA will cover an emergency situation because YOU are covered no matter what car you are in or with whom. That is why it is worth it to us.
Wow, does your membership cost that much? Ours is $99 for the AAA plus membership. We always drive old cars and my husband is in a wheelchair, so it’s worth it to me to know if the car breaks down that we have someone to call and won’t have a huge towing bill. Years ago before internet and GPS we always made use of their other services too for trips like Triptiks. I don’t know if they even make them up anymore.
We have liberty mutual insurance (cheaper through our alumni association!) and it comes with 24 hour roadside assistance. We’ve never had to use it but I like knowing it’s there!
If you don’t have the option for coverage with your car insurance, an alternative is the GM Motor club. I don’t think you need a GM car to be eligible and it provides unlimited service calls and towing with no mileage limits for only $59 year for any family member.
We still use ours but I don’t have the elite membership or whatever it is called. I use the discounts and travel stuff mostly. They have helped me out numerous times when I have gotten a flat tire too. If there is a nail in the road, my tires attract it like a magnet!!
For me, a AAA membership is much more than just the peace-of-mind car service.
I have my car and homeowner’s insurance through them. The savings are considerable over other companies, even with the annual charge. Every couple of years I check around with other companies and still find my AAA insurance to be much cheaper.
I take advantage of the Tour Books and maps. And I also use the AAA discount whenever available, including hotels. I’m quite satisfied with the value of the membership.
I had AAA for a few years, and never found it to be worth the cost. I have roadside assistance now, through my insurance, and it only costs a couple dollars a month!
AAA has been a lifesaver for me. I have used them multiple times in the years I have had them. Without AAA I would have been in a lot of trouble. AAA has changed a flat tire for me, reparied a flat on my husbands car, replaced my battery (when it died in the middle of no where), pulled my car out of a snow drift, and brought me gas when I have run out. AAA is totally worth it for me!
Worth it for us. I drive A LOT and we have older cars. My parents bought me a AAA membership when I moved out and I have continued it every year. I’ve needed it at least once a year (flat tire, car stalled and wouldn’t start, etc). The account is with me only, not with DH since he is usually with me and I’m the one most likely to need it. It only costs us $55/year, so worth it.
Over Christmas, my brother and I were driving across two states back home when my three year old threw up in the car. We stopped at a nearby gas station to finish cleaning up and then our battery went dead. We were in a city where we knew it would be difficult to get a hotel room and tow truck, plus it was New Years weekend. We don’t have AAA, but my brother does. Within twenty minutes, we had a tow truck, a mechanic who fixed the car the next morning, and a hotel room. We’ve been too frugal to get AAA, but after this experience (and thank goodness my brother had it), we feel it is worth the money.
I was in a similar situation. We were just under 100 miles from home with the young kids when our car was totaled in a parking lot by a flash flood (I kid you not). Not only were we 100 miles from home, and had our 2 young kids, everything in the car was ruined…diapers, snacks, spare clothes, etc. We couldn’t even wait in the car since it was full of water. AAA towed it all the way home and brought my husband home. (friends came for me and the kids) If we had been further away, they would have paid for a hotel room, luckily it did not come to that.
One thing I hate are unexpected expenses. (like having your car totaled by a flash flood on a sunny day in June
) Emergency fund or not, I hate them. I can plan around the AAA expense. I can’t plan when I will pull onto the shoulder on the road to let police pass, and run over something sharp and get a flat on vacation.
I would say yes and that it has been worth the money spent. We have used our account for flat tires, dead batteries, locked doors with keys inside and tires. Our sons drove older cars when they were at home, so this was great for them. There were also instances that they were out with friends who had flat tires, ran out of gas or locked their keys in the car and they were able to call AAA for assistance. The Premier level gives you a rebate on your auto inspection.
In addition to trip maps and amusement park discounts we’ve used our account for discounted movie tickets (Lowe’s), hotel discounts, restaurant discounts and Payless Shoe store.
Check your insurance coverage. Mine offers roadside assistance so I don’t buy the AAA anymore.
I buy used, take good care of my cars and drive them forever. AAA has saved me and driving members of my family more times than I can count. Regardless of the age of the car, you can have a problem and the cost of one tow could pay for the membership for a year. Also, I like knowing I can get my car to MY favorite mechanics (and not be taken advantage of elsewhere). I also love their prepaid debit card and the discounts available at merchants.
I just rennewed my AAA membership–$58, which sounds like a bargain compared to other comments. I don’t always use the roadside assistance benefit, but it has been very reliable and efficient when I’ve needed it.
The different discounts are very nice, too, but I really appreciate the travel information and trip planning. It’s so convenient to set off on a trip armed with up-t0-date state and city maps, information-packed tour books and personalized strip maps showing the precise locations of things like gas stations and hotels along my route, as well as any road construction and detours. And it’s concvenient: one stop at the AAA website will get all the travel info/maps/routings you want delivered to your door.
I guess it depends on where you live and where you travel. We pay $142 per year for 2 cards since the Plus RV is the only membership available in our area. We do not have an RV but rented one for a two week trip in Alaska and the peace of mind was worth it even if we did not need it. Also, if you travel overseas, AAA partners can be used in amny other countries as well.
We have only ever used AAA for repairs once when driving a UHaul across country. The repairs could not be made in the middle of the night but AAA did find us a hotel and reimbursed the expense, which is something I did not see anyone else mention.
My stepdad swears by AAA. He had roadside assistance through his insurance so he thought everything was good. And then he got stuck in a snowdrift in a parking lot. Since he wasn’t within a certain number of feet from the road, they wouldn’t cover his tow. After that, he got AAA so he could get a tow no matter where his car is (or what car he’s in).
FOR SURE! Not only are the roadside benefits amazing but you can show your card and save all over the world! We’ve saved on hotels, food, souvenirs (Hard Rock Cafe), admission fees, and online shopping. Their books and maps are awesome and we use them for every trip we go on. $140 is a lot…but we save at least that a year without even having to use the roadside assistance.
I just went through this decision last month. We haven’t used the service for like 5 years. But if I broke down in the middle of nowhere with 2 kids in the car I wouldn’t know what to do so I went with peace of mind.
Still, it does seem pricey when you never use it.
I definitely think it is worth the money, even if you do not use it every year. For me it gives peace of mind when I, or my daughter are on the road.
I’ve always wondered if AAA was worth the money so I did some digging and found that we get almost the same services with our AT&T roadside assistance for $2.99/mo and this is with 4 incidents per year and goes with the phone not the car. So we can use it on any of our vehicles as long as we have the phone with us. We also have roadside assistance with our USAA account that covers everything except a battery jump start. Then with my State Farm insurance, we’re covered when we need a rental for car repairs. We don’t get the discounts though which would be nice but all in all I think it’s worth taking a look at what you already have.
We use AAA for so much more than roadside assistance. We use it for free passport photos, discounted movie tickets, discounts at The Gap, Reebok, Barnes & Noble, Williams Sonoma, and dozens of other stores, discounts on prescriptions, hotel/car rental discounts, the dry cleaners… We even saved 20% on our gym membership by showing the AAA card!
If you only think of your AAA card to tow or jump start your car, you definitely aren’t getting the most of your membership.
PS I forgot. WE’ve actually used it 4 times in those three years. My husband spun out in an ice storm. Yes, it took some time for the tow truck to get there and get him out of the ditch. But the AAA guy came and we owed nothing.
I think of it as other insurance policies… you have home insurance, auto insurance and health insurance and you hope to never have to use those either. If you have an option such as through your insurance co. or ontar etc… and they are cheaper I would go for that too.
I also like that I call the phone# on the AAA card and they dispatch a tow truck to me, I don’t have to carry phone numbers with me (I do not have a smart phone). OH – here’s one more, when I needed a tow to a repair shop the AAA dispatch said “I see you have a 4 wheel drive, we’ll sent a flat bed tow”… OK I didn’t know why – but the driver said you can’t tow a 4 wheel drive by the front wheels – it needs to be carried. I had no idea. I
Remember that you may have an emergency fund which can cover the cost of the tow but you aren’t carrying that money on you, so how do you access it in the middle of nowhere, or in the middle of the night.
We have AAA and have kept it, though downgraded our plan when we bought a newer car. If you go with another roadside assistance plan I suggest you google ratings for that plan. I say this because we once had a plan with our cell phone company. When we actually broke down during a trip and called they needed an address and would not send a tow truck out without one. We could hardly hear the rep. on the phone, either. We ended up getting a local business to help us find a tow truck, repair shop and car rental office. We signed up for AAA right after that and have been with them for ten years+ since. It was cheaper than buying a more reliable car and though we have not used them as often as I might have thought, when we have the service has been excellent.
I agree that $140 seems excessive. Our plan is $84 for the basic AAA membership. I agree that if you are stuck in the middle of nowhere, locked out of your car or with a flat tire, or run out of gas, it’s very important to have AAA. You know that someone you trust will come out to fix the problem and you won’t have to worry about how much they charge.
We have the AAA basic plan for my car and roadside assist through auto insurance for DH. He travels a good portion of the year (in a company car) and it costs us $10 for his truck. Since he is not driving it much – better than paying more for AAA.
I have the AAA for my car and although I have only used it 1 time in the past 4 years, it has been worth it. Flat tire, with a 3 yr old, on the busy part of the interstate. Not risking my life and limb to get out and change it myself in that case. I am not quick or proficient and I would probably be chasing lug nuts on the road
My mom has it and has used it for her car that wouldn’t start in cold weather, a flat tire and a tow – all within 10 months. In 15 years prior she didn’t use it at all. You just never know!
I had towing service on my car insurance policy. I used it once. I also filed a claim to have a cracked windshield repaired . I had never had an accident and then one day I did, and Geico dropped me. They considered me “high risk” because they said I “filed too many claims”. For the next three years I was “high risk”. Everywhere I went to get insurance the cost was between 2-3 times more than what I had been paying. I had only had one accident in my whole life and I was nearly 30 years old. The add on’s to car insurance sound great, but they aren’t always as wonderful as you might think. I don’t have AAA anymore, but after reading all of the post above, I think I might go get it again. I think it is a really good deal for the money if you take advantage of the discounts it affords.
I haven’t read through all the previous comments, but AAA actually saved me money a few years ago. I received a speeding ticket where I would have had points on my license. I was caught in a speed trap and pulled over in a school zone. Ugh. My fines and court fee would have been over $250. After speaking to a friend, I found out that AAA will pay for an attorney. I paid an attorney $200 to represent me in court and received a check from AAA to cover $100 of that. So, I walked away with no points and no mark on my record for just $100 out of my pocket. I learned my lesson and drive the speed limit now!!! I know I won’t be that lucky next time.
To clarify, each AAA office is independently operated which is why the pricing and benefits vary, as well as the rules about joining at the roadside and getting immediate service etc.
If you are only using AAA for roadside assistance, you are missing out on TONS of discounts! There are truly hundreds of stores, restaurants, websites, services and more that give AAA discounts. You should ask every time you pay for something!
Also, be careful of the roadside plans through auto insurance companies. A lot of them consider your roadside assistance calls as a CLAIM and will ding you for it later. So you can wind up paying a lot more in the long run. AAA also sells auto insurance (either their own or through Progressive, Geico, etc) AND you get a AAA member discount off the insurance premium!
I think if you really do some research into all the benefits AAA provides you would see that it’s a worthwhile investment since you’ll save money all year.
Maybe I missed it when I skimmed all the posts but some phone companies offer optional roadside plans. We have it through Verizon. It is $3 per month per line and they tow up to 10 miles if I am not mistaken. I have not used it so I can’t offer any review of the actual service but for us it is still cheaper than AAA.
I use AAA for the discounts as much if not more so than for roadside (although I get my monies worth with that too!!).
The one I use the most and get the most value for is AAA offices have tickets for LOWES, Regal, and other movies. You can go and purchase a ticket for around 6.50 and use it at your local theater. Even if it is for a ‘no passes accepted movi’ ie new release, #D, imax etc. you would just give them the ticket and pay the difference. They come in packs of 5 or 6 so you are paying around 40.00 up front for the tickets. If you got them in the theater it would be closer to $60. Also the ticket bundles make great gifts! I always keep extra on hand to stick in a card.
Also, I have used discounts to local water parks, Six Flags etc. There are tons of discounts, and you can look them all up on the website
We have AAA. It is worth it.I had a flat tire in the rain and i was pregnant and by myself. I called AAA and they were there within 30 minutes.We use it for hotel discounts,amusement park discounts, and certain restaurants will give a discount.
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