What roadside assistance covers
If your vehicle breaks down more than a set distance from home — usually a quarter of a mile, sometimes one mile — the provider sends a mechanic to attempt a repair at the roadside. Most roadside repairs are quick: flat batteries, blown fuses, wheel changes, loose connections. Industry figures consistently show that around four in five call-outs are fixed on the spot.
If the fault cannot be fixed there and then, the vehicle is towed to a nearby garage. "Nearby" is the catch: policies specify a radius, commonly 10 miles, and the garage is the provider's choice. Getting the car from that garage to home is your problem unless you have national recovery.
What it does not cover
- Breakdowns at or close to home (that is home start).
- Long-distance recovery to your home or destination.
- The cost of parts, fuel if you have misfuelled, or garage labour.
- Onward travel, accommodation or a hire car.
- Most policies exclude vehicles that were already broken down when you bought the cover, and impose a 24-hour wait.
Who roadside-only cover suits
Roadside cover is a sensible choice if you mostly drive locally, your car is reasonably new and reliable, and you could get yourself and the car home from a local garage without much trouble. It suits second cars, low-mileage drivers and anyone who has recovery through another route, such as a manufacturer's warranty package.
It is a poor choice if you regularly drive more than 50 miles from home, tow a caravan, drive an older car, or would be badly stuck if the car was left 200 miles away. In those cases the step up to recovery is the best value upgrade in breakdown cover.
Roadside cover and electric cars
EVs cannot be towed on two wheels and most cannot be jump-started in the conventional sense. Check that roadside cover for an EV includes a flatbed recovery to a charge point if you run out of charge; some budget policies treat a flat battery as "running out of fuel" and charge extra.