Hi all,
Just buying second hand,private,car in B.C.
Are there breakdown companys here similar to Uk,like RAC/AA etc,if so can anyone suggest who is best/worst etc,any advice welcome.
thanks
mick

Yes. CAA. The Canadian Automobile Association. Canadian Tire also has a roadside assistance program.

You'll see it noted as BCAA in BC....

http://www.bcaa.com

If it's anything like the Alberta version, cheap and good

TD Canada Trust has its own Auto Club....

http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdvisa/autoclub.jsp

http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdvisa/..._auto_club.pdf

Exclusive Deluxe TD Auto Club Benefits: Automatic membership in the Deluxe TD Auto Club to all TD Gold Elite Visa cardholders
Unlimited Service Calls — 24 Hours a day 7 days a week.
Family Coverage — For you and your spouse and unmarried children in your household up to 22 yrs of age and any car that you or your family members drive - even if they are not cardholders.
This is a retail value of $79.00 or $118 per couple.
In the event of a road emergency, or if you're planning a trip anywhere in Canada or the continental U.S. help is just a phone call away - 24 hours a day.

Get your Deluxe TD Auto Club Membership Card here.

"We offer two plans:

Deluxe TD Auto Club Membership (included free with the TD Gold Elite Visa Card): Emergency Road Services: All the benefits of the Standard Plan plus traffic accident towing, emergency transportation car rental, emergency accommodation and meals, hazardous weather services, and many other features - $79 a year ($118 couple) + ($39 for Authorized User Cardholder Deluxe Plans)...see note 2.

Standard TD Auto Club Membership: Emergency Road Services: roadside assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, towing up to 20 km, battery boosts, flat tire changes, fuel delivery (not including the cost of fuel), extrication/winch service, lock-out assistance and breakdown towing -$59 a year ($30 for Authorized User Cardholder Standard Plans)..see note 2.

For detailed benefits and conditions or to enroll today, call 1-800-265-1289 or consult your TD Auto Club Membership handbook.

With the TD Standard or Deluxe Auto Club (1) you and your family will know that in the event of a road emergency anywhere in Canada or the continental U.S., help is just a phone call away -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


1 Provided by Sykes Canada Corporation.
2 Current as of August 1, 2006. Subject to change.
* Includes free Deluxe coverage

If you have 5 grand to spare and leave on deposit (at a minuscule interest rate)....you can get free premium banking from TD (pay no bank fees whatsoever). Premium banking also comes with a free TD gold elite card, which itself comes with the free auto club...I think we win.

Just to add to the above post - if you make the most of the other extras (eg free safety deposit box, US $ bank account - useful if you then get the USD credit card and bank transfer money between your accounts so as to minimise currency loading charges when purchasing from US websites or when visiting the US), TD Select Service really comes in to its own - particularly when you take in to account how little you'll get in terms of interest income on the $5k.

Even if you shop around for the other services you may actually *use* (and this is the key bit), the Select Service account may well be worth it for you.

From when I was researching it,TD's recovery service appears highly comparable to CAA. We've not had to use it yet, but note that it also covers you in the US.

(yes, we're TD fans - their opening hours and very good customer experiences have both worked very well for us so far!)

Another vote here for TD. The Gold Elite gives cashback too of 1%. We are getting a cheque back from them for $350 for the year - yay! We pay everything on credit and then pay off completely each month. Also have the free USD account and US visa too. Have used autoclub 3 times so far - no issue - same local people that CAA use infact. Well worth having the select serv.