european breakdown cover

yelnats · 22nd May 2015, 09:32

Taking the ZT-T and van to France for most of June and need breakdown and repatriation cover- bit of a minefield for me-any recommendations or suggestions from personal experience would be much appreciated.

klarzy · 22nd May 2015, 09:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by yelnats

Taking the ZT-T and van to France for most of June and need breakdown and repatriation cover- bit of a minefield for me-any recommendations or suggestions from personal experience would be much appreciated.

Make sure they will bring you home if the cost of repatriation is greater than the list price for the car. Many will not.

Dorset Bob · 22nd May 2015, 10:00

Yes, Klarzy is correct.
It seems to be in the small print on all of the policies that I have looked at.
I am yet to find one that doesn't.

ratchet · 22nd May 2015, 10:05

I had a quick scout around last week - many will only cover cars up to 10 or 12 years old. Cover for older cars can be found, but the costs will usually make your eyes water.

However, I did find a company who appear to be very reasonable for cars up to 15 years old.
http://www.vehicle-rescue.com/europe...n-benefits.php

I've not gone through their small print yet - the most important being as Klarzy has pointed out - will they repatriate cars of little value ?. I'm based in NE Scotland, so repatriation from France will be very expensive.

Edit - just read the small print

3. The costs of returning your vehicle to the UK if we believe that the cost of doing so would be greater than the market value of your vehicle in the UK, after the breakdown.
4. The costs of returning your vehicle to the UK if repairs can be done locally and you are not willing to allow this to happen.

Edit 2!
I wonder if you could get them to take the car to a French ferry port, and then use your UK breakdown cover to get the car taken home.......... there's probably something in the small print to stop this happening - but breaking the journey (and the liability) into 2 would probably mean than neither leg of the journey would exceed the cars value.

rovertone · 4th June 2015, 20:30

I'm getting a bit wrinkly so qualify for insurance through Saga and their European cover seems fine (I've read the small as well as I can). Use it on the car with caravan now and previously insured my 20 year old motorhome without quibble. I am away at the moment so can't check, think I pay about £110/£120 and I do 2/3 month trips twice a year.

Dorset Bob · 4th June 2015, 20:48

I have just had a look at the small print on the Saga policy and it the same old thing I'm afraid:

"We do not cover the following
If the insured vehicle is repaired before your scheduled return to the United
Kingdom then you will be responsible for returning the insured vehicle to the
United Kingdom at your own cost and for all associated costs.
Any amount to repatriate the insured vehicle that exceeds the current market value of the insured vehicle in the United Kingdom."

http://www.saga.co.uk/insurance/brea...nce-table.aspx

Download the policy booklet and it is on Page 15 "7.3 – Returning the insured vehicle to the United Kingdom".

rovertone · 4th June 2015, 21:30

Thanks for that. I will study further, it begs the question of how the caravan is treated, market value wise of the total outfit. I have had a breakdown on the way down to Portugal in April, i called saga who were very efficient in putting wheels in motion for recovery but I subsequently found I was fairly close to garage (amazingly ex Rover in the Pyrenees foothills) and campsite so stood them down.

Thanks again
Tony

Phil-Hex · 5th June 2015, 08:11

we were in france last month and looked quite a bit into breakdown cover. this is who the majority ended up going with

https://www.eta.co.uk/breakdown/sing...eakdown-cover/

one of the cheapest for a week, no age limit on the car but the same as every other one we looked at, limited to the value of the car

recovery from France should not be too expensive so going off Glasses guide the car value should cover it

as a guide we had the TF (clutch failure) recovered from Italy a couple of year ago and the cost about £1500 so france should be a lot less than that.

just dont expect your car home in a day or two, ours took over 3 weeks

another thing..... no matter who you deal with all calls seem to go through a central call centre. we were with Peter Best Insurance but it was the AA or RAC who answered the calls depending on time of day we rang

22nd May 2015, 09:32	#1
yelnats Avid contributor MGZT-T CDTI+135 AUTO Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: nr Lichfield Posts: 161 Thanks: 26 Thanked 16 Times in 12 Posts	european breakdown cover Taking the ZT-T and van to France for most of June and need breakdown and repatriation cover- bit of a minefield for me-any recommendations or suggestions from personal experience would be much appreciated.

22nd May 2015, 10:00	#3
Dorset Bob Senior Citizen Rover 75 2.5 Connoisseur SE,Chrysler 300C,124 Spider, Daytona 955i,Honda XL250 & Royal Enfield 650GT Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: The Kingdom of Wessex Posts: 6,976 Thanks: 2,391 Thanked 2,685 Times in 1,686 Posts	Yes, Klarzy is correct. It seems to be in the small print on all of the policies that I have looked at. I am yet to find one that doesn't. __________________ Let the good times roll............

22nd May 2015, 10:05	#4
ratchet Posted a thing or two ZT-T + CTDI Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Gone walkabout Posts: 1,185 Thanks: 179 Thanked 361 Times in 289 Posts	I had a quick scout around last week - many will only cover cars up to 10 or 12 years old. Cover for older cars can be found, but the costs will usually make your eyes water. However, I did find a company who appear to be very reasonable for cars up to 15 years old. http://www.vehicle-rescue.com/europe...n-benefits.php I've not gone through their small print yet - the most important being as Klarzy has pointed out - will they repatriate cars of little value ?. I'm based in NE Scotland, so repatriation from France will be very expensive. Edit - just read the small print 3. The costs of returning your vehicle to the UK if we believe that the cost of doing so would be greater than the market value of your vehicle in the UK, after the breakdown. 4. The costs of returning your vehicle to the UK if repairs can be done locally and you are not willing to allow this to happen. Edit 2! I wonder if you could get them to take the car to a French ferry port, and then use your UK breakdown cover to get the car taken home.......... there's probably something in the small print to stop this happening - but breaking the journey (and the liability) into 2 would probably mean than neither leg of the journey would exceed the cars value. Last edited by ratchet; 22nd May 2015 at 10:20..

4th June 2015, 20:30	#5
rovertone Gets stuck in Rover 75 Conne SE Auto CDTi Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Redditch Posts: 670 Thanks: 185 Thanked 135 Times in 109 Posts	I'm getting a bit wrinkly so qualify for insurance through Saga and their European cover seems fine (I've read the small as well as I can). Use it on the car with caravan now and previously insured my 20 year old motorhome without quibble. I am away at the moment so can't check, think I pay about £110/£120 and I do 2/3 month trips twice a year. __________________ 2003 Mk 1 Connie SE CDTi Auto Monogram Mirage 2/Sandstone Leather 511th CDTi out of 4744 produced 9th in Mirage 2 out of 17 produced Also 2004 Rover 25 SXi CVT, 1999 Megane Cabriolet and still missing my 800 Fastback.

4th June 2015, 20:48	#6
Dorset Bob Senior Citizen Rover 75 2.5 Connoisseur SE,Chrysler 300C,124 Spider, Daytona 955i,Honda XL250 & Royal Enfield 650GT Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: The Kingdom of Wessex Posts: 6,976 Thanks: 2,391 Thanked 2,685 Times in 1,686 Posts	I have just had a look at the small print on the Saga policy and it the same old thing I'm afraid: "We do not cover the following If the insured vehicle is repaired before your scheduled return to the United Kingdom then you will be responsible for returning the insured vehicle to the United Kingdom at your own cost and for all associated costs. Any amount to repatriate the insured vehicle that exceeds the current market value of the insured vehicle in the United Kingdom." http://www.saga.co.uk/insurance/brea...nce-table.aspx Download the policy booklet and it is on Page 15 "7.3 – Returning the insured vehicle to the United Kingdom". __________________ Let the good times roll............

4th June 2015, 21:30	#7
rovertone Gets stuck in Rover 75 Conne SE Auto CDTi Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Redditch Posts: 670 Thanks: 185 Thanked 135 Times in 109 Posts	Thanks for that. I will study further, it begs the question of how the caravan is treated, market value wise of the total outfit. I have had a breakdown on the way down to Portugal in April, i called saga who were very efficient in putting wheels in motion for recovery but I subsequently found I was fairly close to garage (amazingly ex Rover in the Pyrenees foothills) and campsite so stood them down. Thanks again Tony __________________ 2003 Mk 1 Connie SE CDTi Auto Monogram Mirage 2/Sandstone Leather 511th CDTi out of 4744 produced 9th in Mirage 2 out of 17 produced Also 2004 Rover 25 SXi CVT, 1999 Megane Cabriolet and still missing my 800 Fastback.

5th June 2015, 08:11	#8
Phil-Hex Gets stuck in Typhoon ZT-T CDTi Bittersweet 135 TF Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Ribble Valley Posts: 672 Thanks: 226 Thanked 141 Times in 117 Posts	we were in france last month and looked quite a bit into breakdown cover. this is who the majority ended up going with https://www.eta.co.uk/breakdown/sing...eakdown-cover/ one of the cheapest for a week, no age limit on the car but the same as every other one we looked at, limited to the value of the car recovery from France should not be too expensive so going off Glasses guide the car value should cover it as a guide we had the TF (clutch failure) recovered from Italy a couple of year ago and the cost about £1500 so france should be a lot less than that. just dont expect your car home in a day or two, ours took over 3 weeks another thing..... no matter who you deal with all calls seem to go through a central call centre. we were with Peter Best Insurance but it was the AA or RAC who answered the calls depending on time of day we rang