Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with AAA

What auto club is good in New Hampshire?

furious — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 07:13:48 -0800

Auto Club/Towing services in New Hampshire - use Triple AAA or is there a better service here? I'm in the Upper Valley area, but travel to various parts of New Hampshire and/or Vermont. I'm thinking I need an auto club membership - is AAA the way to go, or is there something better that people use around here for emergencies/tows/etc?

AAA alternatives?

danny the boy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:23:14 -0800

AAA alternatives? So I've just learned about the political lobbying AAA does, and I'd rather not support that if I can help it. In a slight tangent to this thread, someone mentioned Better World Club as an alternative to AAA (and their anti-bicycle, anti-environment lobbying). Anyone have personal experience with this or other automobile clubs?

Or do I even really need a car club membership? I haven't used any part of my AAA membership for 7 years...

Smoky...

Christ, what an asshole — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:27:13 -0800

As a non-AAA member, what are my cheapest options for transporting a broken vehicle 12 miles? Radiator cracked and began smoking off the freeway last night. Car is basically undriveable, and having already put so much money into fixing it, it's past the point of further maintenance. I just want to get it home and sell whatever's left of it on craigslist. Issue 1? Most inexpensive method to bring her 12 miles.

Thanks.

Am I just a victim of inept bureaucracy? Can I do anything?

miss lynnster — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:45:39 -0800

I have had a perfect storm of bureaucratic screwups take $400 and many hours of my life from me. Can I get my money back? I've been fighting up to now with no success so I don't even know who or what to do anymore. Help! (Companies involved: AAA, DMV, LA Parking Violations Bureau) Okay, so here's the deal. I hate that it's long because I do need people to read it to get my problem. But... it's a bit convoluted, unfortunately.

1) April 2008 -- I realized I hadn't gotten a car insurance bill from AAA in a while (even though I hadn't changed billing addresses in many years) and it should've been due. I drove straight from my father's memorial service to AAA with a checkbook and was told by a nice kid named Troy that everything was fine, I was good, I didn't need to pay that day, but I should wait for a bill.

2) May 2008 -- I paid my registration fees to the DMV. Strangely, I didn't receive any stickers in the mail.

3) June -- Still no stickers. I went to the DMV. They said I had no insurance. I didn't know what was going on. I called Troy. He said there was no problem. I was insured. It was their issue. I should go back to the DMV and get my stickers.

4) I go back to the DMV. Twice. They tell me both times that it's not handled. I try to fix it. The DMV insists it's still not handled.

5) June -- I call the AAA office. Troy is no longer employed there. People in the office won't help me. I call AAA's 800 number to complain. I'm told my account needs updating. My policy is "revised" and I receive a bill immediately afterwards which I pay. I'm told this should clear up the problem with the DMV.

6) July -- The DMV still won't give me stickers. I start to get parking tickets for expired registration even though I know I have paid my fees and have insurance. AAA tells me they are fixit tickets and it should be no problem, that I should be able to get my stickers immediately and clear them all up without paying anything.

7) For months afterwards I have a great deal of back and forth with the DMV and AAA. Hours of my life. Finally it's supposedly cleared up. By this time I have three fixit tickets. I'm told they'll be cleared easily when I have my stickers... so I keep making DMV appointments and calling AAA.

8) November 2008 -- I'm finally assured I should get my stickers. However, when I go to the DMV for the fifth time, they tell me that prior to giving me my sticker I now owe $300 in fees for the tickets due to the time that passed since they were issued. I tell them they were fixit tickets but I can't clear the tickets without the stickers. They tell me they can't give me the stickers if I don't pay $300 and I should call AAA because they'll take care of everything for me.

9) December 2008 -- I call AAA's 800 number to get an update on what's going on since nobody was calling me back. I'm informed for the first time that Troy had screwed up my policy and I actually *was* driving uninsured from March to June. Apparently this is why the people in his office wouldn't help me, because it was covered up. I find out my entire policy was REWRITTEN FROM SCRATCH in June and I didn't even know until December.

9) December until April 2009 -- AAA tells me they'll handle the problem and I shouldn't pay the tickets because it was their mistake, that I should get my stickers soon but I have to talk to the LA Parking Violations Bureau to find out what they need from AAA. LA Parking tells me what they need from AAA. I tell AAA. Then in April 2009 I am informed by e-mail that nobody at AAA can help to clear up the issue. It's suggested that only the DMV can fix it. DMV says I have to talk to the LA Parking Violations Bureau or AAA. LA Parking Violations Bureau says I should talk to the DMV. Everyone is pretty rude.

10) April 2009 -- After over a year of fighting this and having no registration stickers, I narrowly escape getting my car impounded by the police. I have a total breakdown of built-up frustration in a AAA/DMV office when I'm informed in a scripted tone that nobody can help me, that I now owe $400 and that I should've paid the tickets when I got them instead of expecting them to be fixed (even though AAA promised me they'd handle it). Yeah, thanks a lot folks.

*********
Sorry that's so long... but am I just out $400 and a year of my life because people suck? Should I just be a victim? Can't I fight this and get that money back? That's a lot of money to me right now and I didn't do anything wrong in the first place!

Thoughts? Advice? I want this in my past... but I'm also really pissed off beyond belief at how I've been treated and how much time of my life has been unapologetically wasted.

Thanks for listening to my tale of woe.

A VG AAA MP3 ASAP, OK?

sandra_s — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:51:28 -0800

Looking for a portable MP3/Media player that is NOT rechargeable, and takes AAA batteries. I have and love my Sansa M240 1gb. It's durable and performs great, but alas, only plays MP3s.

I'm looking to possibly upgrade and donate my M240 to my mother, but I'd like a more robust player. I'm aware of the 2gb version, but i 'm looking more for versatility and playability than storage.

The thing is,when I went with the Sansa M240 it was specifically because it takes AAA batteries. It is not practical in my situation for me to have my mp3 player plugged into a wall receptacle and I spend very little time in a car, so I wouldnt get the chance to charge it regularly.

As luck would have it, though, I have a virtually unlimited free supply of AAA batteries. My friend works for a place that services a kind of protective monitoring device in hospitals and such, and because of some kind of regulation the battery backup,which are AAA batteries, have to be changed every week or so. So I have access to literally buckets of unused batteries when I want them. So I've been using them for my MP3 player for years.

So, anyone know of a player that fits the bill?

AAA - more than roadside service?

kidsleepy — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:39:11 -0800

What practical uses, besides roadside service, have you used your AAA membership for? I asked for and got a AAA membership for Christmas. I wanted it mainly for the roadside service, which came in handy just yesterday for a dead battery. I know there are other benefits to AAA, like hotel discounts, free road maps, etc. Browsing around the AAA website, I found out that I can get a 10% discount from target.com! There are a TON of discounts listed on aaa.com. Which benefits do you actually use? Which are a waste of time? Does anyone know any "secret" AAA savings? I have "Plus" membership if that makes a difference.

Seattle - Florida driving routes?

astruc — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:51:00 -0800

I'm driving cross-country (again) and am feeling dubious about the Seattle-Florida route AAA mapped out on my behalf. I'd vaguely planned a southern route. I'd like avoid the really scary mountain passes and weather. This is what they gave me instead:

Seattle (98119) to Missoula, MT
Missoula to Sheridan, WY
Sheridan to Wall, SD
Wall to Sioux Falls, SD
Sioux Falls to Kansas City, MO
KC to Mt. Vernon, IL
Mt. Vernon to Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga to Jasper, FL
Jasper to Palm Beach (33480)

AAA only mapped it out stop-by-stop at my request, and the woman helping me didn't seem very confident in her knowledge of these routes or where to stop, in contrast to the 90 year old man who helped me in New York and knew down to the minute where I'd be best off stopping. I'd prefer to drive 6-7 hours per day, negotiable. I'm not in any real rush.

Jessamyn, I've already got my duct tape.

Never use AAA!

slow graffiti — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:50:18 -0800

Help me protect my credit report from corporate idiocy. I have been a AAA member for roadside assistance for several years. This year, I moved before it was time for annual renewal. Despite setting up mail forwarding with the post office, their three letters reminding me to renew never made it to my new address. They do not call to remind you to renew, ever.
About a month after my membership lapsed, I called for a battery jump. They didn't tell me on the phone when I called for a tow truck that my account had lapsed and I assumed everything was fine (that service is free for members and exactly what I had it for). Now, two months later, I finally get a letter forwarded from my old address telling me I owe them $50 for the battery jump and I have one week to pay or it goes to a collections agency. I explain to them that I missed my renewal and their letters due to a move and it was their fault they didn't remind me on the phone at the time of the battery jump, or I would have renewed right then. They didn't tell me I would be billed for the jump on the phone, and of course I never saw a bill. I offered to renew on the phone with the collections person today in return for having the $50 charge erased, but no dice.

So, I really don't want to suck it up and pay them the $50 because it's their fault and they wouldn't accept a very reasonable compromise (I offered to pay late fees on the renewal, whatever), but what kind of impact will it have on my credit if I don't pay? Is there a really good reason other than annoying phone calls not to let this go to collections? Should I try going through someone else at AAA first? I've read the previous AskMes on this, and answers range from "suck it up and pay" to "dispute it with your [State Bureau of Consumer whatever]" to "just ignore the phone calls from collections agents." What's best in this case, for my credit score and my sanity? I've read that even if I pay now, it might still show up on my credit report, and then I'm screwed over twice! I've never been late with any other bill or rent, ever, so I have good credit now (I checked and nothing bad showed up as of today). I'm in CA.

Maps vs. GPS - Choosing High Tech or Low Tech Travel

Dreama — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:02:02 -0800

Roadtrip technology. Which would you prefer, high-tech solutions (web-enabled phone/Palm, laptop, GPS) or low-tech solutions (maps, AAA Triptiks, GoogleMaps printouts) or some combination? I'm embarking on a bit of a road trip soon, and I'm trying to come to a conclusion about technology and what I want to schlep along and whether or not it's worthwhile to pay the premium for in-car GPS to the rental agency and so forth. I'm a map nerd, and the more detail the better, and I love having a paper map that I can take into a diner and pour over as I drink some coffee. On the other hand, I'm also a tech nerd, and the idea of a GPS that can say "Turn right in 50 yards" gives peace of mind, but I fear a situation in which a GPS put a friend in the parking lot of a KMart when they were aiming for the (easy to find) Pittsburgh airport.

If you were driving across four states through major metropolitan areas and making a variety of stops in unfamiliar places, what directional technology would you use? How would you combine options to have the best coverage and least opportunity for hair-rending moments of "where in blue blazes am I?!?!?!"

Car insurance through AAA?

Thorzdad — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 06:16:21 -0800

Anyone here have car and/or home owner's insurance through AAA? We're buying a (used) car this week and it's a good opportunity to take a second look at our car insurance. My wife recently joined AAA (in Indiana) and, thanks to the discount the membership provides, the quote from them is quite a bit lower than from any of the others we've received, even from our current insurer whom we've been with for over 15 years. They also threw in a quote on our home owner's insurance, as did everyone else.

Question...anyone here insure their vehicles through AAA? If so, have you had to deal with them on a claim and how was that experience? Additionally, if anyone has their home owner's through them, I'd be interested in hearing how that is working out.

These days, all insurance seems to be pretty comparable in coverage. The true test comes when you actually have to file a claim. With so many small insurers popping up all over the place, it seems nigh-on impossible to get any accurate information on them, in a timely manner. Consider this post a version of "ask your neighbors".

FWIW, the actual companies AAA is quoting from are:
Auto: Horizon Auto Select
Home: ACA Insurance

Thanks!

Why is my NiMH AAA so hot?

nile_red — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 11:01:38 -0800

I have a question about strange rechargeable battery behavior. I use rechargeable NiMH AAA batteries for my mp3 player, it only takes one, so I usually keep two extra, charged in a pocket I've sewn in my purse, so they don't rattle around. I was in the movies the other night with my purse in my lap and it suddenly felt like something was burning me, and one of the batteries that I wasnt using had gotten really hot, so I put it on the floor under my seat and picked it up after the movie and it was cool again.

I'm assuming it's not reuseable, but what happened? How can I keep future batteries from doing this, and is it safe to use, cause those things aren't cheap. I'm pretty sure it didnt get banged around any, and there's no visible damage to the battery.

900mAh AAA

krisjohn — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 05:04:06 -0800

Does anyone know a store in the Perth (Western Australia) metro area that sells 900mAh NiMH AAA batteries?