Comments on: Is a CAA Membership Worth Keeping?

By: graham cobb

graham cobb — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:19:29 +0000

I have found CAA people to be very courtious and helpful BUT as a senior I get the same discounts for hotels and travel as CAA provides including movies and meals and cannot combine the discounts with caa and the seniors – therefore I am also contemplating not renewing my membership. I’ve never used roadside and keep a cell phone handy so – $75 – 100 a year membership(after a year or two) will certainly pay for a tow down the “road” – like the pun? We’ll see what the future brings – probably less income and higher membership cost.
Graham C

By: KellieNguyen

KellieNguyen — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:21:21 +0000

I think most people buy membership because of fear, they don’t know who to call for help and they may get rip of by some tow truck driver. i cancelled my membership since i know this roadside assistant company that can get me help fast at a very good rate anywhere in Ontario. CAA don’t pay their driver like we do, because they get volume discount from the towing companies. This company i think is called NearestTowtTruck.com, they dispatch the nearest tow truck to us base on GPS coordinate among hundreds of tow trucks. I think NearestTowTruck get a cut from the towing company for the call but their rate is still better than calling the towing company directly. The driver were telling me when he get call from NearestTowtruck they don’t need to travel far and can provide the service for less. You get the best rate and the truck come very quick. They have a funny phone number and i can’t forget it is 1888 90TOWME.

By: Dean Gaylord

Dean Gaylord — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:21:54 +0000

I have used them many times in NS and have always got great service. My wife hit the curb and broke the windshield washer tank, she did not know what the fluid was so she called CAA. The driver was on time and told her she could drive the car since it was washer fluid, she refused and he politely towed her as she wished. Next the transmission cooler line started leaking one month later, again CAA was on time, no questions asks. After the car was out of the shop for the transmission line, it seems the mechanic broke a hose clamp on the radiator and the next day we had to be towed again. No questions asked. My co-worker has issues with a random stall in his new truck, he got towed 4 times until the issue was fixed. Another friend had issues with his new Accord quiting randomly, he got towed three times in a month, no questions asked. New or old, you never know what can happen. Funny though, my dad had a 1981 Malibu with a 4.4 L V8, 375,000 km and never had to be towed ..!!!!

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:05:42 +0000

Mike

As an ex CAA driver I can tell you it’s 4 call total no matter why you called

I can also tell you if you need more then 1 service at the same time the driver can’t charge you more then 1 call.

So lets say you locked your keys in the car with the lights on and the battery dies. The driver will unlock your car and give you a boost on one service call.

If the driver refuses call CAA and put in a complaint and demand you only get charged once or not at all due to treatment

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:11:18 +0000

but you know on their website where they give you the plans for each. beside the towing services it’s in brackets (up to 4 calls)
but other listed road side assistance they don’t state a limitation for them such as battery assist, flat-tire etc. so i’m just wondering if it’s in total that you can only call them 4 times/year or if that’s just specifically for towing services

By: Francois

Francois — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:01:55 +0000

@ Mike,

they told me it was 4 Calls, not 4 tows, no matter what they come out for, it’s 1 call each time they come

I had CAA for a long time, but no longer need it as I got another service with an extended warranty

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:13:30 +0000

I’m planning on getting a membership with CAA but just to make clear of everything, The road service they give you is up to 4 calls for towing services for that certain amount of km, but for all the other road side services say if your battery dies & you used up all 4 calls for the year they can’t reject their service because the call limit is only for towing right?

By: Noel

Noel — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:41:26 +0000

I have had CAA for now 15yrs never had to use then other than discounts Hotels,Airport Parking Maps,etc. I feel that it is worthwhile Insurance at least makes me feel at ease while teaveling.

By: Tow Man

Tow Man — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:06:37 +0000

As a Tow truck driver in Alberta, I see a lot of people in need. I’ve serviced AMA members that haven’t used the roadside portion of their membership before. I wonder how much money they have spent on membership dues over the years, only to require a simple lockout or boost. The big problem is that when it gets cold out- AMA goes into “code red” and the member waits for h o u r s for service-what a joke. When you need them-they are busy.

By: Curtis

Curtis — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:59:44 +0000

Definitely worth it. When you need it the most its there. Maybe it happens once every two years but it pays for itself. But if you are paying for it I would say your paying too much. Just by filling up at Husky/Mohawk gas stations this year I paid for a premiere RV membership essentially for free. The card saved my bacon twice in two years. Transmission failure last year, deer collision this year. Looking at the savings I had in hotel, rental car and towing between the two incidents the card would have paid for itself twice or more.

What I really want to know is if claims on the auto insurance are less hassle than ICBC? If not less at least not more hassle?