Good Sams towing not what it seems to be.

[lumpy75]

On our recent trip one of our cars broke down and I got the first chance to use my Good Sams roadside. Found out I got a bag of dung with this service. It is unlimited mileage which I thought was good but found out it is unlimited to the nearest place not your place of choice. So if Billy car service and coffee shop is the closest place that's where you go. Had AAA for many years and never had this issue. We ended up towing to get it off the road then I picked it up the next day with a car dolly to get it to a service place of our choice. This is just a heads up for others that have been BS by Good Sams that the towing is the same cause it is not. Will be changing back when the thing runs out. Has anybody else ran into this. If not I need to look into why they did this to us.

 

[Grumpy374]

If you read your Good Sam Info, it is unlimited milage to the NEAREST professional service  place.  If the nearest service facility happens to be Billy Bobs Garage and Pool Hall than that's where there going to take you.  It also states that you pay for any further milage to another facility. weather it's one mile or a hundred miles.
Don't know why your in such a tizzy, it's all there in your info.
Grumpy

 

[OLDRACER]

Well, a few years back they towed my MOTORHOME about 1 1/2 hours to a Ford dealership with the biggest wrecker I ever saw, got me parked and never charged a nickel. Guess I will keep my membership, that one tow covered all I ever paid over the many years I have had it.

 

[Grumpy374]

I think the OP had a car towed, in which case Billy Bobs Service and Pool Hall could be considered  a service facility.  Trailer or motorhome would be a different story.  It would have to go to a facility that could handle it.
I've got the Good Sam Platimum and have never had an issue with it.
Grumpy

 

[colbrew]

Does AAA cover RV?

 

[Jammer]

By all means read the fine print.

I was surprised about a year ago when we were declined a tow because the site (with an electrical pedestal) in the grassy municipal campground where we stayed was considered "off road."

 

[rebelsun]

Well, a few years back they towed my MOTORHOME about 1 1/2 hours to a Ford dealership with the biggest wrecker I ever saw, got me parked and never charged a nickel. Guess I will keep my membership, that one tow covered all I ever paid over the many years I have had it.

I had a similar experience as you.
My Class C experienced a sensor problem, approx 20 miles from home, while coming across the causeway, from a day at the beach, to the mainland, on the way home.
Because it was late on a Friday afternoon, Good Sam came out, towed the RV to my home, then came back the next morning, and towed it to a shop of my choice (which happened to be 6 miles from my house). 
The only other time I used them was when I experienced a flat on one of the dually tires on I-95.  I exited the interstate, parked in a parking lot of a hotel on SR520 in Cocoa, Fl.  I called them, walked over to the McDonalds, and waited for them.  They arrived within an hour, fixed the flat (a defective valve stem), and reinstalled it.  I haven't had a problem with  that tire since.
I couldn't be happier with the response and service I've received from them, and like you, it paid for itself after the first road service call.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Does AAA cover RV?

It does if you have the AAA RV policy. The regular AAA road service is automobiles only.

 

[lumpy75]

Having some kind of towing insurance since 1975 I have used AAA, Allstate, and AARP and never ran into this practice. As to Grumpy's comments yes I suppose it is in the fine print which you receive after you are already signed up. I was told on the phone that the service is the same as AAA and the fact is it's not. When I called Good Sams it was to get the camp membership only but needed towing insurance at the time so got up sold on it. Anyone that has dealt with GS knows they have lots of products to sell you after the fact. As far as a tizzy is concerned this was not cause I was in a tizzy it was to inform others. I was sure there would be others out there that did not get the experience I did but when you are sitting on the side of the road with cars whipping by at 70 miles an hour that is not the time to find out there is an issue with your towing insurance. As it was it was my 2nd car my daughter was driving so we towed it to Billy's and I came back with a car dolly the next day and towed it myself to a repair shop of my choice. I will be going back to AARP. They did tow the camper as well when I broke down with it. No extra charges and towed where I wanted to go in the 50 mile stated zone discussed when the policy was sold not in the fine print after the fact.

 

[gwcowgill]

Not everyone has had a bad experience with GS and hope they never do. I personally have had 2 bad experiences and would never go back to GS as my road service. I think a lot depends on who the provider is in a particular area. I personally like Coach-Net but then again stick with what works for you. Happy Trails....

 

[lumpy75]

As in I am kind of stuck with this for awhile if you do not mind sharing what was your two issues?

 

[Mopar1973Man]

My vehicle insurance company provides towing as well so I don't need to get wrapped up with a secondary provider like Good Sam or AAA. At least with my coverage its where I want to be towed to. But in all reality I've only called a tow truck once in my life. With my current 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 its never been towed and never broke down yet. 230k miles and still rolling. Thanks to my strict maintenance schedules and inspections.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

They all have some limits on how far they will go off-road to do a tow, as well as where to tow. Obviously they need to have some limits, i.e. can't let you choose any place you like anywhere in North America.  I've found Coach-Net to be reasonably flexible and willing to consider different tow destinations if I had other ideas, but sometimes the local choices just aren't that good.  And one time I elected to cancel their tow because I found a local shop that was willing to attempt onsite repair, but wasn't on Coach-nets list of qualified diesel motorhome repair services. Cost me $150 out of pocket but avoided a 100 mile tow and several days of delay at a busy shop (the local guy found and fixed the problem in under 30 minutes). I probably could have gotten partial reimbursement for the service call, but was so happy I didn't even submit the claim, even though CN said I they would consider it.

I see more complaints about GS than Coach-net, but both services have some unhappy customers.  GS moved their roadside program to Allstate Motor Club a year or two ago and AMC is big and professional. That doesn't mean you are going to like all the rules, though.

 

[gwcowgill]

As in I am kind of stuck with this for awhile if you do not mind sharing what was your two issues?

I was left stranded alongside of busy roads because GS could not find a provider. I posted earlier on this issue. I was happy with Coach-Net when I recommended a local provider in another incident where I had gotten stuck in soft mud. I honestly believe the quality of service depends on the providers in the area you are in.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

If Billie Bob's Auto Repair and Pool Hall is the only game in town, having a different road service isn't going to make much difference. However, if there is a choice of Billie Bobs or Professional Auto but Professional Auto is 10 miles further away, I would like to think I can make the case for the longer tow.

The tougher question is "how do you know?" Billie Bob's might bend over backwards to get you fixed up and back on the road, whereas Pro Auto might be one of those shops where every little thing ends up being a high-dollar repair that takes days or weeks.


Edit: fixed typo

 

[mikef]

I have had GS Platinum for the last 4 years and have never had an issue, whether it was for my car, or my motorhome. There is a limit, regarding the nearest provider and I believe it's 25 miles. In other words, if a certified provider falls within that radius, that's where you are going. If not, you pay the extra charge to go to the provider of you choice. My Bravada broke down 45 miles from home and they towed it back to my house, no extra charge. I think it depends on the agent who serves you. They can and do, make exceptions. Just hope they understand English well enough. I have had an issue once or twice, and made sure I called customer service and voiced my complaint.

They also have no limit to the number of incidences. They will only provide the tow, once per incidence. AAA has limits.

 

[Jammer]

If Billie Bob's Auto Repair and Pool Hall is the only game in town, having a different road service isn't going to make much difference.

The broader point here is that GS, CoachNet, AAA, etc., do not have a magick wand to wave that summons service techs from the interstellar ether.  They may have people contracted on a regional basis but ultimately they are relying on someone answering the phone and being willing to do the work.  You may be able to do better by calling around yourself, because you are not limited in how much $$ you can offer and are not constrained by contracts that assign regions to particular services.

After the last episode I've become much more careful to bring tools and a self-recovery kit along while traveling.  Not the answer for everyone I realize but if I'm stuck in the mud I'd rather have a comealong, a shovel, and 200 feet of chain in the trunk than a coachnet card in my pocket.

 

[Tin man]

I have Good Sam and was thinking of changing to Coach Net before our Alaska trip, but because of the excellent service the last three years I opted to stay with Good Sam.  As for the car I also have AAA (like the maps and books).  My auto insurance also has towing. So I could probably get a total of three tows if needed for the car. 

You know what they say; the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, because there is more BS there.

 

[rebelsun]

Not everyone has had a bad experience with GS and hope they never do. I personally have had 2 bad experiences and would never go back to GS as my road service. I think a lot depends on who the provider is in a particular area. I personally like Coach-Net but then again stick with what works for you. Happy Trails....

The way all these roadside assistance service work, is pretty much similar.  I can tell you horror stories about most of them from my previous professional experiences, in which we would call the department's duty wrecker for safety purposes, to at least get a disabled vehicle off the roadway, from an accident or mechanical breakdown.  It was up to the owner of the vehicle, if they then wanted to wait in a safe place, such as a business parking lot for AAA, GS, Coach Net, etc., or to have our duty wrecker tow them to a local facility, and try to recover their out of pocket expenses later from their roadside assistance provider.
If we had a vehicle disabled in a bad neighborhood, or a young female, we would advise them to take advantage of a department tow, for their own safety, we tried to stay with them as long as possible, but couldn't guarantee we could stay until their roadside assistance arrived, if we were needed at a higher priority call.  On one such occasion, a young female was sexually assaulted and almost killed while declining assistance from out duty wrecker, to wait for AAA.  The result was a change in department policy regarding roadside assistance vs. department  tow being mandated, for the personal safety of the vehicle operator.  A lawsuit was filed by the victim, and a significant jury award was given to her against AAA, who also changed their policies regarding providing roadside assistance.

The way all these roadside assistance companies work, is they have a list of service providers in various areas, they will call at least three, and solicit prices from them, the one that gives them the best price for that particular road service call, gets the job.  It's not always the closest, or the one that can respond the fastest, but the one that gives them the best price.  Our department tows, on the other hand, were the one that could respond the fastest, regardless of price, and if they couldn't perform, they were removed from the list, after several delays of 10 minutes or more.
And of course, with the road service providers, such as AAA, and the others, in addition to price, the area you're requesting road service, might mandate you get whoever they can get in a rural area, which has less providers with equipment that can handle the size or other requirements of the job, than in a more suburban, metro, or urban area, where there are many more road service tow companies available to provide the service required.

 

[pdgx]

Just this morning after returning home with our F350 it appeared the turbo or the fuel system had a problem. I called the dealer to see if I could get it in, but then it wouldn't start at all, so I called GS via their  phone App.
After confirming who, what vehicle, and the problem, I was asked if the closest service loc was ok or if I wanted a specific business to deliver to. The agent said Goodyear was the closest authorized location, but when I told her the Ford dealer was right across the street, they said no problem and there would be no additional charge. The GS agent put me on hold, called a wrecker, then came back with an ETA of 11:10a.
I also received a text confirmation. Their GPS location was only about 1/8 mile off actual.
At 11:15a I received an automated phone call wanting confirmation of completion, in-process, or not resolved yet. Since the wrecker had not arrived yet, I selected option 2 - not resolved yet. Then an agent came on line, who then called the towing company, and found they were about 10 mins away. He arrived in less than 15 mins.
The guy loaded it up, took it to the Ford Dealer, and unloaded it without any problem.
There wasn't even any paperwork on his end - said it was taken care of !
As a comparison, the last time it was hauled in - before the GS contract - it cost $189 for the tow.
Hope it works this well if ever needed on the road.