a better auto club? Betterworld?

December 14, 2005 3:28 PM

Auto club/Road service/car club question. I've decided to join AAA or an equivalent, for the road service. A while ago, The Center for a New American Dream recommended Better World Club which sounds good, doesn't lobby against transit and for the car mfr coalition. And Car Talk likes it, or did, a few years ago. But how is their service?

I've googled and come up with almost not comments by any users. Does anyone have experience with them or know others who have actually needed service and used them?

posted by judybxxx to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

i dunno. i've never even heard of BWC, whereas seemingly every other gas station with a tow truck is AAA affiliated. pretty much anywhere you go, you can get a AAA truck to you and they've always been great to me. not all emergency-road-services are the same, either; once i got stuck and tried using the ERS that came with the rental, and after waiting for 3 hours and getting the run-around i decided to suck it up and use AAA who got there 10 minutes before the other guys. not saying that this will happen with BWC, but a good track record is important when the reason you're spending this money in the first place is reliability.

also, added perks of AAA: discounts on stuff like hotel rooms nearly everywhere you go, free maps etc, and in california at least, your very own no-line DMV counter at the AAA office. i see BWC has some of these perks but, just as an example, nearly every hotel i've ever stayed at has AAA discounts - for this other place, some might, some might not, and even if they do, most clerks at the check-in probably won't know about it.

not to rag on BWC, but the (geographically) blanket coverage and cultural universality are what make AAA useful, to me.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 3:50 PM on December 14, 2005

I've been a member of the Better World Club for a few years, because of the anti-environmental lobbying done by the Washington office AAA in the name of its "members."

My experience has been that BWC is perfectly adequate for road service, but that it falls short of AAA for discounts at hotels and other venues. So it depends on what your priorities for membership are.

On a related note, a couple of months ago AAA's Washington office put out a press release / statement calling for something progressive around oil dependency, fuel economy, mass transit. I forgot what the issue was specifically, but some friends of mine who work in Washington DC on the issue sent around an e-mail with the subject line saying something along the lines of "Hell Freezes Over."

(More gratuitous background: part of the problem with AAA is that membership is managed by distinct state organizations. All those organizations pay dues into a separate Federal Office. That Federal Office isn't directly accountable to members, but to the state orgs, and so it has apparently been hard to keep them in line. This has caused problems for AAA in states like California, where members don't want their organization to be opposing fuel economy improvements.)
posted by alms at 3:57 PM on December 14, 2005

Please don't support AAA. Some of their legislation is very anti-motorcycle (whether maliciously or just out of the same ignorance that causes drivers to say "I didn't see you" every time they almost kill us). There are many sources of roadside assistance available (cell phone companies offer RA that follows you, not your car, so can even assist you when riding with a friend or borrowing a family member's car). If you know any motorcyclists, they'll thank you.
posted by Eideteker at 4:29 PM on December 14, 2005

What's your goal here? I don't use AAA, I have a $2 rider on my car insurance that gets me tow reimbursal. I have to pay for the tow up front but I can use anyone I want and on the rare occassions when I have had to use it that means 20 minutes of wait vs the 3 hours AAA quoted me (via my girlfriend)

On the other hand, they only pay up to $50 per incident and you'll almost certainly go over that. Personally I prefer to save the $46 annually and roll the dice and so far I'm several hundred ahead over the last 8 years. You might want a little more security, however.
posted by phearlez at 4:31 PM on December 14, 2005

I'm a BWC member and I've been happy with the level of service.

Although I do my share of driving, I ultimately want to live in a world with more transit alternatives, stronger fuel economy standards and cleaner air.

Almost across the board, AAA is on the wrong side of these issues.
posted by krudiger at 4:40 PM on December 14, 2005

Do you have a cell phone? Check with your wireless carrier for a roadside assistance program. AT&T Wireless used to have "AT&T Mobile Assist" for like $2.99/mo (I forgot the regular price because I got it for free as an employee) and when I used it, it was pretty fast. On both occasions, I had a friend that had AAA call and was quoted a 2-3 hour response time, but when I called Mobile Assist, a tow truck showed up within the hour. Dunno exactly how the things work, but the system was easy to use. Just call #TOW (or something like that) and you're set.

Anyway, it's something to look into if you don't want AAA but do want decent coverage.
posted by drstein at 6:05 PM on December 14, 2005

I'm a BWC member although I've never needed their service. I joined for all the AAA-is-evil reasons, and because BWC offers a combined car/bike plan, where they'll (supposedly) also come pick you up if you get stranded out on your bike. This was attractive to me as I like to do long-distance rides, and since we don't own a car I can't easily call my SO to come pick me up if I'm in the middle of nowhere with a bent wheel.
posted by nev at 7:43 PM on December 14, 2005

I don't have a cell phone, and my interest is basically in the road service. I have had the rider on my insurance before, but have heard that at least during snowstorms, etc. (which is often when you need help) AAA gets priority, don't know if that would be true of BWC. I guess I'll have to ask around some more on that issue. At least it is good to know that BWC has been helpful to some of you.
posted by judybxxx at 7:58 AM on December 15, 2005

I've been with them 2 years now. Have not needed service. Customer Service has been fine for maps, etc. The discount on renting cars from Budget is very, very good.
posted by egk at 11:29 AM on April 16, 2006