Who has not got coverage.?

I have used these guys since i first arrived and had nothing but great service from them.

Just now "hence the fred" i broke down with a flat battery in Markham. Typical me running too many things from my cig lighter sockets all day. Dohh! FIVE mins after i call im going again. Now thats service.

Found them to be useless, on all three occasions I called them out, they were no help at all. The final time they told me my vehicle was classed as commercial and would not cover it, despite taking my premiums.

The other two occasions were years ago, I had young kids with me, broke down on the freeway. When they came out the vehicle only had room for two pax, one had to be me as the policy holder and one of the kids. As we were too far away to get a ride from someone else, I asked which child they suggested we leave by the roadside!. Get a taxi was the suggestion, the taxi ride cost more than calling out and paying for a tow truck that could take us all.

Now use Spot Messenger roadside assistance, they know where I have broken down to within 3 metres.

I do and, the single occasion we have required them, they were excellent.

Ditto....

Ditto too.

I have called them twice - once because I locked my keys in the trunk, and once after I made an unscheduled excursion into a roadside snowdrift. Both times they arrived promptly and had me on my way in no time.

AMA (same thing) and I have mixed reviews.

Last time it went a little like this:
Are you in a safe place? No!

Are you in Danger? Yes!

Ok let me take some details, I have to tell you it could be two hours but as the tow company is in the town your in in should be 20 minutes.

An hour later...

Are you in a safe place? No!

Are you in Danger? Yes!

45 minutes into it a tow truck turns up but can't take us and just drives away.

Another phone call later we get told it's going to be another THREE hours - we were stuck on a very busy junction in the middle of the afternoon. We arranged our own tow and are now waiting for reimbursement.

On the other hand, we have been towed in a timely manner and also OH has had his keys rescued from the inside of a locked car, also in a timely manner.

The last one was really awful though, Are you safe? No! Oh well, I hope you don't die

CAA have been great for us the few times we have needed them, but I am starting to think that maybe some of the cheaper options out there are worth checking out too.

If you find one....let me know....

Canadian Tire offer some sort of recovery service AFAIK..

We did look at the Crappy Tire deal a while ago but as far as I can remember, it was inferior to the cover offered by CAA...and cost difference was minimal. That was a few years back so may be worth looking at again

Wasn't there a similar thread to this a few months ago ?
I've been a member for many years. I've used their roadside service a couple of times and had excellent service.
Their "Triptics", maps and travel books are very good too, even though I have GPS. The discounts on hotels are usually worthwhile and help to off set the annual cost.
There is a reciprocal arrangement with the AAA too so you get continent wide coverage.
All in all I think it's reasonable value for money but, like all forms of insurance, it's an expense until you need it.

I get the gold CAA card so I can get service if I'm out fishing. The regular membership is only good for a short tow but I can get up to 140 km or something. Buying a provincial park pass at CAA gets $5 off next years dues and if you buy gas at Husky or Mohawk you get a bit off as well. Four service calls a year, and I haven't used one in years but the protection is there. I don't waste it on anything I can take care of myself, just in case I need it badly sometime. I have a Motomaster Eliminator 700 amp booster that saves a lot of time and trouble. They're $70 when Can Tire has them on sale for half price and I recommend it to everyone, as well as CAA.