"The AA was part of my planned holiday"

I’ll never forget the family holiday to Zaragoza in the north of Spain – and not just because it was our first one in Europe.

My wife and I had decided to drive there, as we wanted to see France as well. So I spent weeks planning the route and ensuring that all aspects, such as where to stop for breaks (our two children were very young at the time) were meticulously in place.  I very nearly dismissed the need to take out AA European Breakdown Cover, as our car was only 2 years old. Thankfully though, I did.

All seemed to be going to plan until, on the second day of the trip, I stopped the car high in the Pyrenees so we could admire the view. As soon as I got out of the car I could smell it – hot, burning oil. I checked the dipstick and that was fine, so it wasn’t the engine oil. After letting the car cool down for a while we decided to press on to our destination – with fingers crossed.

As soon as we arrived, I had the car checked at a local garage. Apparently the oil in the gearbox had burnt away due to a worn crown and pinion. The oil was replenished and I parked the car up for the rest of the holiday, which we all thoroughly enjoyed I’m pleased to say. But there was still the long journey home.

It was with some trepidation that we set off back to the UK. Would we make it? Or would we break down in the middle of nowhere? Once again, at the top of the Pyrenees we got our answer. To cut a long story short, I had to freewheel down to the French border, where luckily the gendarme just waved us straight through.

Even though the car was freewheeling, we were still managing to reach 60mph until we approached the seaside resort of St Jean de Luz where I had to slow down rapidly. I rounded a bend and there in front of me was a dealership for my make of car. We left the car with the dealer and got a hire car for the rest of the journey to Calais. Once in Dover we got another hire car home.

I contacted the AA to claim on my European Breakdown Cover and within a few weeks my car turned up on the back of an AA breakdown truck. A happy ending to a great holiday.

Gerald Burton, AA Member