Hi there,
I am a wheelchair user , moved to UK from Europe last year. I drive VW Touran 1.8 TSI and trying to find a good breakdown cover sercives.
Because I am a wheelchair guy so I want to join online and have a possibility to fill every form online.
Have heard many good things about :
https://www.startrescue.co.uk/
Does anyone use thi one?
Any opinion will be appreciated.
Krystian
Yes, heard of them. Although highly recommended by Which? (I believe) this was the rescue service used by a family I met in Switzerland summer last year. Their experience was diabolical.
1. A family of tuggers on their way to Italy, experienced a car problem in France. Not being very mechanically minded, they were advised by Start to keep on travelling.
2. Oil pump, I believe it was, blew up just into Switzerland. I met them parked up at Le Bouveret. They had a hire car but they weren't allowed to take it out of Switzerland and they couldn't get one with a towbar so they were effectively stranded.
3. Car was taken to a Swiss garage who wanted +-£450 to clean the engine before giving a quote.
4. Thanks but no thanks - car taken back to France to be repaired. But of course, France is on holiday in August isn't it? They were unable to source parts, then when they did they took ages to be delivered.
5. The repair took approx 2 weeks and during this time communications from Start were non-existent. Calls to them were replied 'we'll call you back and let you know' but not once did they do so. I dread to think what these folks' phone bill was.
6. Inevitably the holiday was drawing to a close and they had to make a plan to get back to UK with or without the car and caravan. Start had no contingency plan and suggested they should all (2 parents, 2 grown up sons and 2 dogs) head up to Calais with the caravan on a towtruck (800km approx). No idea how they were going to get across channel and back home from there.
7. After much threatening and carry-on the car was actually repaired on the day they had to leave. Well into the afternoon, Start eventually sent a taxi to take them to the repair shop (not being able to take the hire car into France) but no-one knew where the repair shop was.
8. Some approximate directions were eventually given and late on the Friday afternoon they found the garage quite by chance. (They recognised their car parked on the forecourt on the other side of the valley they were travelling along.) The bill was about £250-300 I believe. Add that to the £250 speeding fine they got it was an expensive and not very enjoyable holiday for them.
So no I wouldn't chance it with Start.
My personal experience of breakdown in France was with RAC (via MHF Insurance) and the service, care and attention to detail was impeccable.