PSA: AAA for college kids

[DawnM]

Sigh.   My college kid (the one that is in VA, not the one whose college shut down due to Helene) had his car die.   We do not have AAA for him.   We think the battery died.   It is 10 years old and we knew it needed replacing and planned to do it when he came home for break.   Oops.

Thankfully his roommate gave him a ride to and from campus (they live 2 miles away off campus) and is giving him a ride to the Toyota Dealer for a battery (it is a Prius so it needs to be the right one.)

We will be getting both of our college boys AAA memberships for Christmas!

 

[scholastica]

Just now, DawnM said:

Sigh.   My college kid (the one that is in VA, not the one whose college shut down due to Helene) had his car die.   We do not have AAA for him.   We think the battery died.   It is 10 years old and we knew it needed replacing and planned to do it when he came home for break.   Oops.

Thankfully his roommate gave him a ride to and from campus (they live 2 miles away off campus) and is giving him a ride to the Toyota Dealer for a battery (it is a Prius so it needs to be the right one.)

We will be getting both of our college boys AAA memberships for Christmas!

 

Can you just add them to yours? Our kids are on ours.

[regentrude]

Our kids are on our family AAA. Might that be simpler and cheaper?

[DawnM]

4 minutes ago, scholastica said:

Can you just add them to yours? Our kids are on ours.

Yes, but I don't think it is much savings to do it that way, at least last time I looked.

[ScoutTN]

31 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Sigh.   My college kid (the one that is in VA, not the one whose college shut down due to Helene) had his car die.   We do not have AAA for him.   We think the battery died.   It is 10 years old and we knew it needed replacing and planned to do it when he came home for break.   Oops.

Thankfully his roommate gave him a ride to and from campus (they live 2 miles away off campus) and is giving him a ride to the Toyota Dealer for a battery (it is a Prius so it needs to be the right one.)

We will be getting both of our college boys AAA memberships for Christmas!

 

Yep! It was only $20 each to add my kids to our annual membership. Deal.

[gstharr]

Don't get the Basic AAA plan. Get the Plus Plan  that includes one 100 mile tow per year, or Premier that includes one 200 mile tow per year.  I've used the Premier plan to get towed from San Diego to Los Angeles. It is worth the extra $50/yr to be about to get a ride home , with your towed car,  from a short but longer trip. .

[DawnM]

On 10/2/2024 at 5:07 PM, gstharr said:

Don't get the Basic AAA plan. Get the Plus Plan  that includes one 100 mile tow per year, or Premier that includes one 200 mile tow per year.  I've used the Premier plan to get towed from San Diego to Los Angeles. It is worth the extra $50/yr to be about to get a ride home , with your towed car,  from a short but longer trip. .

I have basic right now.  

But I just signed up all 4 of us for the plus.  I don't think we need premier.   

Edited 21 hours ago by DawnM

[teachermom2834]

I keep getting it for my adult kids too (the 26 and 24 yos). I have given it at Christmas but it’s really a gift for them and for me (peace of mind!). 

[2squared]

The last time we tried to use AAA, they would tow our vehicle but not give the passengers of the car a ride. So, yeah, that would leave us stranded on the side of the highway. 

[Arcadia]

2 minutes ago, 2squared said:

The last time we tried to use AAA, they would tow our vehicle but not give the passengers of the car a ride. So, yeah, that would leave us stranded on the side of the highway. 

We needed a tow twice and the tow truck drivers were nice enough to give my husband and I a ride in their tow trucks. However, we do need to be able to squeeze in the front since the middle seat is tiny. For highways, the highway patrol is usually willing to give a ride to the nearby towns. Thankfully we have not been stranded on the highways while being far from any town. 

[saraha]

I think we use our AAA almost once a year, but we drive beaters so… it has definitely been worth it for us. Dh locked his keys in the car at Boy Scout camp, I’ve run out of gas, I had a flat and couldn’t get the lug nuts off more than once, and plenty of tows. We also use to use the discount all the time at Payless Shoes. I miss Payless Shoes. We also gift my mom AAA every year for Christmas. She’s used it a couple of times for car related issues but there is an actual office in her town so she uses the travel agents.

[Arcadia]

16 minutes ago, saraha said:

She’s used it a couple of times for car related issues but there is an actual office in her town so she uses the travel agents.

Our home and car insurance is with AAA and they give a 5% discount for members. 

[Bambam]

We had AAA once - probably 25 years ago. We had to wait several hours for them.  We've never considered renewing our membership. 

Our plan now - just use our cell phones to call for local help wherever we are and deal with it then. 

[Myra]

check your car insurance - mine includes towing services to nearest garage

[fairfarmhand]

1 hour ago, Myra said:

check your car insurance - mine includes towing services to nearest garage

Yes, we have roadside assistance added to our insurance.

[gstharr]

20 hours ago, DawnM said:

I have basic right now.   We literally have used our AAA once.

But I just signed up all 4 of us for the plus.  I don't think we need premier.   

Don't forget that each cardholder gets four service calls per year, including the one 100 mile tow per year. it is not by car or plan. So if use your tow on car A, and car A needs to be towed again, another cardholder  can use their tow for car A, but must make the service the call and be on site to show ID. Service calls count against the cardholder making the call.  I drive a lot. So, whenever we need a service call for any car, we use SO's card, so that my calls are reserved. 

[City Mouse]

AAA is no good where I live, but I am glad to hear that it is actually helpful in other places. 
My DH will never use AAA just because of the interactions he has had try8 g to help stranded tourists who insist on using their AAA. The people on the phone have no geography skills.

[DawnM]

14 hours ago, gstharr said:

Don't forget that each cardholder gets four service calls per year, including the one 100 mile tow per year. it is not by car or plan. So if use your tow on car A, and car A needs to be towed again, another cardholder  can use their tow for car A, but must make the service the call and be on site to show ID. Service calls count against the cardholder making the call.  I drive a lot. So, whenever we need a service call for any car, we use SO's card, so that my calls are reserved. 

Right.   I am just saying that none of our 4 (previously 5) cars have used it but one.    AAA is a safety net, I understand that.   We simply haven't needed it.   I doubt we will even use 4 per year for anything ever.   We have had ONE in 20 years of having AAA.   I got a flat once after midnight with the kids in the car and called my husband, who was asleep.    He said, "Don't we have AAA?"   hahahahaha.   So I called them.  It was late, I had kids in the car, and it took them over an hour to arrive.   

[DawnM]

18 hours ago, Myra said:

check your car insurance - mine includes towing services to nearest garage

Our insurance seems to say that they include towing due to an accident but not just for service to your vehicle, but I will call to make sure.

[DawnM]

On 10/2/2024 at 5:07 PM, gstharr said:

Don't get the Basic AAA plan. Get the Plus Plan  that includes one 100 mile tow per year, or Premier that includes one 200 mile tow per year.  I've used the Premier plan to get towed from San Diego to Los Angeles. It is worth the extra $50/yr to be about to get a ride home , with your towed car,  from a short but longer trip. .

That is what I signed up for yesterday.   DH and I have had basic all these years.   We upped it.   It was over $200 for the 4 of us, but whatever.

[DawnM]

On 10/2/2024 at 6:52 PM, teachermom2834 said:

I keep getting it for my adult kids too (the 26 and 24 yos). I have given it at Christmas but it’s really a gift for them and for me (peace of mind!). 

If they are under 25 they can be on yours, not sure if that saves any money, but I have a 24 year old on mine now and they said this is the last year.

[teachermom2834]

7 minutes ago, DawnM said:

If they are under 25 they can be on yours, not sure if that saves any money, but I have a 24 year old on mine now and they said this is the last year.

I think we just put him on his own because he lives over 500 miles from us full time and is completely independent. I can’t remember the reasoning at the time but we do still have out 21 yo on ours. 

[fairfarmhand]

4 hours ago, DawnM said:

Our insurance seems to say that they include towing due to an accident but not just for service to your vehicle, but I will call to make sure.

We've used ours for "my car won't start, please tow it to the garage." and "dd22 has a flat, please come put the spare on for her." It's delightful and since we have so many girls and we all mostly drive older cars, it's been a boon. My dh works about an hour's drive from where my dd lives and works, so he can't come rescue her when she has car trouble. 

[whitestavern]

On 10/2/2024 at 5:07 PM, gstharr said:

Don't get the Basic AAA plan. Get the Plus Plan  that includes one 100 mile tow per year, or Premier that includes one 200 mile tow per year.  I've used the Premier plan to get towed from San Diego to Los Angeles. It is worth the extra $50/yr to be about to get a ride home , with your towed car,  from a short but longer trip. .

As a family we own 7 older cars. Several have died when the driver has been out of state. We’ve used our Premier card so much we are wondering if AAA has ever dropped a family for overusing 🤣 Also after 4 members, you can add at least one free member. We only have 2 kids so I added my sister. 

[prairiewindmomma]

22 hours ago, City Mouse said:

AAA is no good where I live, but I am glad to hear that it is actually helpful in other places. 
My DH will never use AAA just because of the interactions he has had try8 g to help stranded tourists who insist on using their AAA. The people on the phone have no geography skills.

The app uses geolocation on your phone. Not only are they able to see your precise pinpoint, but once dispatched you can watch them come to you.

[prairiewindmomma]

We’ve had the Premier plan for over a decade, and every year it has made financial sense to have it. I’ve kept running tabs just to make sure, if it came close one year generally the next year was a doozy.

[gstharr]

45 minutes ago, whitestavern said:

As a family we own 7 older cars. Several have died when the driver has been out of state. We’ve used our Premier card so much we are wondering if AAA has ever dropped a family for overusing .

With a couple of cars I had in my 30s. I certainly tested the plan limits.

[City Mouse]

50 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

The app uses geolocation on your phone. Not only are they able to see your precise pinpoint, but once dispatched you can watch them come to you.

Yes, that is true. However, there is only one wrecker service (that is one guy) in our county that works for AAA, and if he is not available, AAA will try to send someone from outside the area. A 4-6 hour wait is normal here for AAA. This summer, there was a large Arvin the side of the interstate for 3 days because the owners wanted to wait for AAA to send a heavy duty wrecker from ???, but I acknowledge that AAA is good for people who don’t live in such rural locations.