26 May 2018
Our ability to fix vehicles at the roadside has been recognised by the consumer champion Which? in its authoritative survey of breakdown providers (June 2018).
The UK’s biggest breakdown provider has achieved Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) status for five out of six categories.
Not only is the AA’s own service a WRP but so also is Saga Breakdown (provided by the AA) as well as all three carmaker-branded WRP’s, for Hyundai, Toyota and Honda, as scored by Which? readers.
A higher chance of driving away from a breakdown
The AA achieved an overall score of 78 per cent according to the latest research and Saga Breakdown 75 per cent. Which? said: ‘if you are with [the AA] you have a higher chance of driving away from a breakdown compared with any other third-party firm’.
... you have a higher chance of driving away from a breakdown compared with any other third-party firm
Three-quarters (75%) of breakdowns suffered by AA Members were repaired at the roadside compared with the 69% average across all providers.
Car manufacturer cover
In car manufacturer-branded cover, it was almost a clean sweep for those provided by the AA, occupying the top five positions including all three WRP accolades.
The top slot was for Hyundai Roadside Assistance, provided by the AA, achieving an impressive 91% overall score and five stars for each of ‘arrival time’, ‘repaired at roadside’ and ‘knowledge and capability’. The other WRP accolades were for Toyota Roadside Assistance and Hondacare Assistance, both also provided by the AA.
An outstanding result
Edmund King, AA president, says: “Five out of six is, by any measure, an outstanding result.
“With more roadside mechanics and more specialist skills than any other breakdown provider we fix more breakdowns at the roadside than anyone else – reflecting the continuing multi-million-pound investment we are making in the service.
“That’s clearly what matters most to our Members and car-maker customers.
“The fact that eight out of 10 respondents in the Which? survey say they expect their car to be fixed at the roadside, clearly underlines the value of the AA’s service.
The fact that eight out of 10 respondents in the Which? survey say they expect their car to be fixed at the roadside, clearly underlines the value of the AA’s service
Amazing roadside and contact centre teams
“It is a fantastic testament to our amazing roadside and contact centre teams, who routinely go the extra mile to get our Members and customers back on the road as quickly as possible.”
Methodology
Overall, the AA was well represented in the survey with 3,103 drivers, half of the overall sample of 6,273 people, who had called out their breakdown provider within the last 12 months. The research compared:
- roadside repair rates
- call to arrival times
- knowledge and capability of mechanic, and
- value for money (not part of manufacturer category).
In the third-party (consumer) cover section, the AA was placed second and third (Saga Breakdown), significantly ahead of its main rivals –Green Flag in ninth and RAC in tenth places.
The AA was the only organisation with five stars for ‘repaired at roadside’. The smaller provider, GEM Motoring Assist (with a sample size of 40 breakdowns, compared with the AA’s 2,406 in the third party section) was the only provider ahead of the AA in overall score. That was thanks to its slightly better ‘time to arrive’ score, which was weighted more heavily in the scoring than ‘repaired at roadside’.