In the UK, I was always a member of the AA or the RAC in case of a breakdown.

I originally though that with the distances I am travelling in Canada it was worth joining the CAA.

When I suggested this to a work collegue, he laughed and said that the CAA was just for old women, and that men generally did not join.

Is there any truth to this?

I join each year as to most of the men I know.

I guess your work mate drives a truck?

One of things I find curious about the organization in Alberta is that one can wait until a breakdown occurs before calling them, paying with a credit card, and joining. I have often thought why don`t I just do this, but each year I renew.

I have roadside recovery with my GPS Messenger, so can call even when there is no cell service or phone and they know where I am to within a few metres.

http://www.findmespot.ca/en/

You could call and join the AA in England when you broke down but they would always stack you with additional charges.

I was always caught out when I would forget to renew or call them out and realise I had certain options and not others. I think the one time it was an additional 80 GBP to add the towed to any destination option on the spot and would've been only 30GBP had I taken it in the first place.

I have recently joined the CAA. I am not, to my knowledge, an old woman.

Ditto....

Ive had it for years. I may or may not be seen as an old woman, depending what mood you find me in.


There are cheaper alternatives though, Canadian Tire offers something similar for less for one.

Thanks for your responses.

I know it is a bit silly, but it is hard to judge these things sometimes.

The people around me enjoy laughing at my lack of understanding of things they take for granted, So I usually do my best not to make it too easy for them.

By the way, he does drive a truck among others things.

Its for worrying nellies and people who have crap older cars. With CAA I think the phrase that comes to mind is, "I saw you coming."

I agree, with a newer car that likely has its own roadside assistance program I wouldnt bother. And it does seem like a waste of money right up to the point you break down miles from home

It doesn`t cost a huge amount and, essentially, it pays for itself with the discount one can achieve from discounts obtained when staying at most hotels.

Now, if one doesn`t earn much or doesn`t travel, one could argue that it is a waste of money.

I had a mailshot from CAA recently that I gave a cursory glance to before filing away for future action. IIRC the annual cost for breakdown coverage was $70 or so. Given that I recently spent $60 recovering my vehicle from the work car-park where it had two tires slashed, to my house, a distance of 23kms, it would seem to be a relatively good deal. I have a 2005 vehicle with no factory recovery service left on it. The flipside is I don't actually drive very far so perhaps the risk for me is less. I'll check out the Crappy Tire version and would likely get something before we venture across the province on various summer trips.

There are also lots of travel publications, maps, "triptiks" and so on available and included in the annual fee. Even with the net and GPS availability they are useful for planning trips.
As AC said, I reckon I get my fee back with discounts that you can get by being a member.

My long distance phone plan has cash back that goes towards the CAA bill, so that helps minimise the real cost.

http://www.comparaction.com/en/

They find the lowest cost of the Rogers, bell and Primus services, and as we used to use primus anyway as the cheapest option for us, its just an extra bonus as far as we are concerned. Of course if you have highspeed and use Voip I dont suppose thats much help... we dont have that luxury at home.

I have a credit card, Gold Elite, with TD and it comes with free TD autoclub cover. The card cost is $100 I think but it includes the cover and variuos other things - we get the card free anyway.
I have called them 3 times to date and they contract out to local companies for help. I had a flat and then locked my handbag in the car :-).

And I am not old either