If you drive farther away from your house than the end of your driveway, you need a roadside assistance program and the one offered by AAA isn’t only one of the oldest and most well known, it’s also one of the very best available. Whether you’re a “gear head,” or someone whose knowledge of the mechanics of cars is limited to knowing where the gas goes, this is a service that you can use, and that will assist you with whatever level of skill or assistance you require.
The roadside assistance program has long been the cornerstone of AAA’s offerings. The association was founded in 1902, when driving was still an event and the road system was new. In these times, traveling long distances could be problematic if you didn’t have a support system in place. Remember, there were no cell phones, no yellow pages where you could look up a local mechanic – in fact, just finding a phone to call for help was sometimes a challenge.
As times have changed, so has AAA. While their roadside assistance program is still their best known offering, their other excellent programs are well worth consideration, including map services, travel discounts, insurance – including auto, medical, home and dental programs – and financial services, such as auto loans, CDs, IRAs and money market accounts.
AAA’s roadside assistance philosophy can be summed up by the phrase, “Go, Not Tow.” The roadside assistance they provide is designed to get you back on the road as quickly as possible. The following are some of the services offered:
Locked yourself out of your car? They’ll help you get the car open.
Flat tire? They’ll come out and change your tire, or if you don’t have a spare, they’ll tow you to a mechanic.
Run out of gas? They’ll deliver some to you, no matter where you’re stranded.
Involved in an accident? They’ll tow your car to a mechanic for you.
Car off the road? Not a problem – they can recover your car with a winch.
Dead battery? They’ll come out and give you a jump or, if that doesn’t work, they’ll replace your battery and dispose of the old one for you.
Yearly rates for AAA membership are very reasonable, and there are different membership levels available, depending on the level of services you want to have. Having to call a tow truck could easily cost more than the membership fees of your roadside assistance program, not to mention the monetary value of the time and inconvenience you’ll be able to avoid.
In fact, the service is so popular with today’s drivers that more than 3,400 service calls are made by AAA across the nation each hour. And, as an association, AAA also lobbies on behalf of its members, working to ensure legislation that looks out for drivers, and not just the auto industry.
In short, if you drive a car, your AAA membership is like a horn – chances are you won’t use it every day, but when you need it, you’ll be really glad it’s there.
