[Bammerman]

My Volt is past the GM-provided 5-year coverage for roadside assistance. My USAA car insurance will pay "up to
$ 50 per disablement" for Towing & Labor. Is that enough? Does it make a difference (in terms of cost) that the Volt has to travel on top of a truck? How do other Volt owners handle this? What has your experience been? What was the tow truck cost? Thanks.

 

[RePo]

I always shop around. If you need a tow, call 3 places for a quote. Know how many miles you need towed. If a truck just shows up, ask him the price. Say "No Insurance". They'll quadruple the fair market value for an insurance tow. If they try to force a tow, refuse it unless a cop is there to require it. NO ONE tows my car without my permission. In Texas I use all necessary force to protect my property.

Last time I paid $80 for a 20 mile tow.

 

[tonyc]

depends where you are? where I am, $50 covers 1/3 of a tow, maybe.

 

[obermd]

Talk to USAA about removing that limit. My USAA policy recently paid over $300 for two tows on the same car for the same incident. The first was to an impound lot just to get it off the street and the second was to a repair shop.

 

[JuneBug]

I just call Geico roadside assistance. They take care of everything, I don't have to deal with towing companies, or paying the tow truck driver anything. They keep me informed as to when the tow truck will be arriving. Back when I had State Farm, I would have to call the towing company, I would have to pay the driver out of my pocket, and only when I brought the receipt to the SF office would they reimburse me. PITA.

 

[greenvolt33]

Depends on the location and the towing distance. However, I doubt $50 is enough.

USAA Roadside Assistance is provided through Cross Country Motor Club, Inc., Medford, MA 02155. You can call them and ask about the price. (https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/insurance_auto_coverage# footnote 1.)

I use AAA roadside assistance.

 

[Jefferios]

I always remove that from my insurance, when it comes time I need a tow, I can figure it out and find the best price within an hour and hopefully they show up an hour later.

 

[dannycamps]

I've been a AAA member for many years and I find it well worth the peace of mind in the event I ever need a tow (and I have needed them in the past).

 

[emartin00]

In regards to the Volt costing more than other vehicles, no it shouldn't.
90% of the time tow companies are going to use a flat bed anyway. It's just easier.

Is $50 enough? Unlikely. The last time I had a vehicle towed I think it was $75, and it was only about 5 miles.

 

[emg77]

I just do AAA. It's about $90 a year for plus (which covers towing my camper if I have a problem with that) and includes 4 tows of up to 100 miles each, plus unlimited flat changes, jump starts, lock-outs, etc. There's a cheaper version to, that limits it to 4 tows of up to 5 miles. I usually manage to get about $50-60 a year of that back on discounts for hotels or entertainment, etc. I used it last week to change a tire when my wife's car picked up a piece of razor blade in the tire and I had a flat within 10 minutes. Yes, I could have changed it myself, but I prefer to let someone else with an impact gun and a real jack get dirty rather than me. It covers any car you are using, even if you don't own it. You just have to be there with the car. It's pretty cheap to add other household drivers too. I've had it for 20 years, and it's pretty handy when you need it. It's typically faster than the GM roadside too, and GM always wants to tow you to a dealer, which aren't always open.

 

[Maidenlocks]

I've been a AAA member for many years and I find it well worth the peace of mind in the event I ever need a tow (and I have needed them in the past).

AAA is the way to go. when i need a tow i do not want to be calling around price shopping. i want the issue dealt with ASAP. membership is money well spent and i say that knowing most years i don't even need them.

 

[Jim_N_Tonic]

AAA is the way to go. I've never had them ask how far I needed to go. Although that may be because I told them up front how far from home I was???? Hmm....