AAA for College Kid?

[goldberry]

DD will be having her car at college.  She will be about 2.5 hours away, and driving back and forth some.  Also, DH and I may be out of the state some, both this summer and while she is at college.

 

Has anyone had Triple A for their kids or themselves?  Is it the kind of thing where if you get a flat or dead engine, you have one number to call and it's actually useful?  How could I tell if it would be useful in the area she is going to?

 

Thanks!

[kiana]

AAA has been super useful for me. I call the number and I might have to wait a bit for a tow truck but I pay nothing at the time of service. It even towed me in Canada (they have an agreement with CAA). 

[teachermom2834]

We have had AAA (and old cars for years). It has saved me a few times. We keep college kid on it even though he doesn't have a car at school because it is a personal membership (I mean it isn't tied to the specific car). If he is out with friends and the driver's car has an issue he has someone to call.

[Arcadia]

My husband has AAA membership. Our car and home insurance is with AAA. Besides the free towing, we also get hotel discounted rates for AAA members that are the same as if we have the hotel chain membership. Some tourist attractions also give discounts for AAA members.

 

Gap used to give AAA member discounts.

[Laurel-in-CA]

AAA was a lifesaver for our oldest her first semester. We got premier service because she had a 45 mi commute and we were 9 hr. away. She got to know the tow truck drivers, unfortunately, as her car coughed its way to the junkyard. We've kept AAA until our kids are on their own and out of college, part of supporting them and their aging vehicles.

 

Lots of places give AAA discounts, but you have to ask.

[Vida Winter]

Very useful! Also, the membership is attached to the member, not the vehicle. So, if she is a passenger in a friend's car and it breaks down, she can use her membership to get towed, etc.

[Artichoke]

Extremely useful!   We've had the basic for years and went to the top level ( platinum?) for the last four since it covers one 200 mile tow per year.  Ds is in college 180 miles away.    Each of our children get this membership from us each Christmas.  It's been fantastic.   We unfortunately had to use their trip interruption insurance last summer, but it reimbursed a rental car and a hotel room for one night.   I can't say enough good things about it :-) 

 

 

ETA:  Their battery replacement service is also useful, but you have to live within a covered area.  

Edited May 4, 2017 by Artichoke

[elegantlion]

I've had AAA since I started college. I was commuting 40 miles a day. We upgraded to premium, I think that's what it's called, the second tier, because it pays for towing up to 100 miles versus just 3-5 miles. Even now, I feel more secure knowing I can call one number if necessary. 

 

You might check with your car insurance, some people have similar towing services on their policies. 

[Angie in VA]

We have roadside service w/ our auto insurance company. Once I locked my keys in the car and we didn't have to pay up front and wait to be reimbursed like we did when we had AAA. The rates for AAA kept creeping up. We pay A LOT less w/ what we have through our auto insurance. You should check out what your insurance offers. 

 

We don't get the discounts to hotels as mentioned above, but we shop deals for hotels online. 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2017 by Angie in VA

[Bootsie]

I had AAA many years ago.  The few times that I tried to use them, I found it was much faster and easier to contact someone on my own for assistance (and cheaper in the long run).  For a while we had roadside assistance with our cell phone provider; now we have it through our auto insurance company.  I have had varying degrees of luck when I have needed to use them.  Sometimes it has worked well.  Other times they have been extremely slow, claimed that a local provider wasn't available so I would have to pay a "surcharge", etc.  

[suzanne4]

We have had AAA for years for every family member. When my college son tried to use it this year, it was an awful experience. He waited for hours in a bad part of the city, and when they arrived they ended up doing more damage to the car. My husband finally gave up trying to get them to pay for the damage they did.  Needless to say, we are no longer AAA members. My husband ended up driving to his college city to help ds.

[Mabelen]

We have had it for the last 8 years. We all, including my college daughter, have been very happy with their road assistance services. It might depend where you are located. Here in Southern California they seem to be very good.

[daijobu]

I don't get it with AAA.  We have it only because dh insists, but I've gone years without a membership.  Flat tire?  Call someone to fix it and pay on the spot.  Dead battery?  Call someone to fix it and pay on the spot.  I have no idea what AAA costs, but I suspect these flat tires and dead batteries don't happen all that often.  Otherwise, how would AAA stay in business?  

[kiana]

A lot of people don't drive a lot and have them anyway, and also they get discounts with the towing companies.

 

I drive a massive amount and pay for the premium coverage and they have been worth every penny, including paying for a one-way rental when the engine blew on my car 700 miles from home. 

[Josie]

Our college dd is an associate AAA member on our membership.  It is good to know she could get help if she needs it.  We have the premium plan.

[Arcadia]

I have no idea what AAA costs, but I suspect these flat tires and dead batteries don't happen all that often. Otherwise, how would AAA stay in business?

It's $56 for NorCal AAA. $34 to add a family member. We had a dead battery once because I didn't check that the trunk was closed properly so the battery drained overnight. We use AAA for car insurance and it was easily to file an accident claim with them when someone hit our car. We don't use AAA for tours but people do use the AAA Saratoga branch for tours.

 

We also make use of AAA discounts.

E.g.

"Courtyard by Marriott

Members save 5% or more and earn Marriott Rewards® points when booking AAA rates!

Hilton Hotels & Resorts

Members save 5% or more and earn HHonorsâ„¢ points when booking AAA rates!

Ways to Redeem:

 

Dollar Rent A Car

Members save 10% on car rental in the US and Canada with advance reservation and 10% on navigation units at time of vehicle pickup. CD number must be included in reservation in order to receive car rental discount."

[greenbeanmama]

We have had AAA in the past.  My sister has had to use it several times on the way to or from college.  And while it was good to know "someone would come", they also have not been too prompt.  They ask if you are in a "safe area", and if she said, "well, the side of the road", they would persist to make sure it wasn't a shady neighborhood...which meant slower service.  Several times she had to wait over two hours (one time was a four-hour wait, in sub-zero temperatures - fortunately, a friend picked her up before that, but the AAA guy was miffed that she wasn't there when he showed up at her stranded car after those four hours...at 11:00 p.m. - who leaves a young female student on the side of the highway for several hours in the dark?!?)  So yes, they do come to help you, but it isn't always great service.

[Artichoke]

I don't get it with AAA.  We have it only because dh insists, but I've gone years without a membership.  Flat tire?  Call someone to fix it and pay on the spot.  Dead battery?  Call someone to fix it and pay on the spot.  I have no idea what AAA costs, but I suspect these flat tires and dead batteries don't happen all that often.  Otherwise, how would AAA stay in business?  

 

 

 

We pretty much consider it trip insurance for our family.  Ds and his wife drive cross country at least twice a year as well as visits back home which are about three hours each way.  Our family vacations usually involve driving as well as several 8+ hour scheduled trips each year.   When ds needed a new battery at college, they came to him and installed it.  He paid for it   but didn't have to get a ride to an auto parts store.  We all drive older well-maintained cars, but they still have problems from time to time.  When we were involved in a accident last summer, AAA towed the car, paid for a rental to get back home, and for an overnight hotel stay.  They also reserved the hotel and rental car for us as well as the ride to the hotel.  We didn't have to do anything that night which was a huge relief.  We did have to pay for the hotel and car upfront and then file to be reimbursed.  We give AAA yearly at  Christmas  to each of our dc.  Getting the premier plan for our entire family costs about $300 each year since some dc are still at home.

 

I will have to say that they're not always prompt.   We actually had one of our cars towed home last night because of a water pump and fan belt.  We went home, and they called us when the truck was in route. 

 

ETA:  We've not  had to call them for a flat tire.  All of know how to change tires. 

Edited May 5, 2017 by Artichoke

[DebbS]

We have our daughter on our AAA membership. I like that she can get roadside assistance by calling a central phone number should she have car trouble and not be able to get a hold of us for help.

I needed to get a car towed from my driveway recently and the first question I was asked when I called AAA for towing service was whether I was someplace safe or not. When I asked about that, they told me that customer safety was their first priority and that they would send some kind of help immediately if I was not in a safe situation - whether it be unsafe because of traffic or because of the neighborhood. That's comforting to know.

[MrSmith]

I think AAA just contracts with local companies who then come to provide service. So where you have the incident and the quality of the services provided is not really a reflection on AAA so much as it is on the local firms.

 

AAA itself is only for in person services (meaning you go to an actual AAA office).