Cheap breakdown cover
Basic and full cover from £57/year
Many are paying over the odds for breakdown cover as they let it auto-renew year after year. This guide reveals the cheapest full-service policies, how to get AA and RAC cover for less, and other tips to really drive the savings.
If you’ve never had a breakdown cover policy before, or want to find out more about it, you can read our full guide below.
Alternatively, if you know what you’re looking for, you can jump straight to the following sections:
Want the cheapest full service policy? See our top-pick deals below.
Only want the AA or the RAC? Compare cheap breakdown cover from the AA and the RAC.
Euro cover. Our top European breakdown cover comparison.
Discount codes. Check out our special deals below.
What is breakdown cover?
Breakdown cover will help you if your vehicle breaks down, with roadside assistance and breakdown recovery typically the main components. These cover the costs of a mechanic arriving at the scene to fix your car (roadside assistance) or for towing it to a garage (breakdown recovery) if they're unable to fix it there and then.
The exact services you get depends on the level of cover you buy – for example, you may get a temporary replacement car with a comprehensive car breakdown insurance policy. More on the difference between basic and full service breakdown insurance policies below.
Is breakdown cover included with car insurance?
Breakdown cover isn't typically included with car insurance, though it's worth checking with your provider.
Car insurance primarily covers the costs involved if your car if it is stolen, broken into, or if you have an accident – plus those of other motorists and road users if you damage their vehicle or property. In contrast, breakdown insurance helps with the immediate recovery and repair costs when your car’s broken down.
Can I buy breakdown cover and use it straight away?
This depends on the provider, but many do offer instant breakdown cover – though you may have to pay a surcharge if you don't already have cover with them.
Some providers have different rules, however, and may impose a waiting period – typically 24 hours. So, always carefully check an instant breakdown cover policy before buying it to make sure it suits your needs.
Breakdown cover need-to-knows
With the days of mutual motoring clubs long gone, roadside assistance and roadside recovery policies are big business. So forget loyalty and focus on getting the top deal. Here are seven need-to-knows to read before checking our top picks...
When it comes to haggling, don't think you need to be in backstreet bazaars – haggling successes are high with vehicle breakdown cover providers. In our latest poll conducted in December 2024, the RAC was rated the easiest to haggle with, with the AA a very close second. For more, see the top 10 service companies to haggle with.
Our Breakdown cover haggling guide will help prepare you in taking the correct steps to saving big. Here's how MoneySavers fared with the major breakdown firms in our last poll.
PROVIDER | NUMBER OF RESPONSES | SUCCESS |
|---|---|---|
RAC | 440 | 83% |
AA | 1,055 | 83% |
Green Flag | 175 | 73% |
Other | 229 | 52% |
Poll carried out in December 2024.
We hear of lots of successes of breakdown cover customers successfully getting a better deal with nothing more than a quick call and a bit of charm. Here's inspiration before you begin.
Thanks for the haggling advice. Just spent five minutes on the phone to the RAC and got my renewal slashed from £252 to £151. Just over £100 for about five minutes' work – that'll do nicely!
AA renewal came in at almost £200, final cost around £120, same price as new customers. Always haggle!
Just this morning got twenty quid knocked off my renewal and onward travel added to my RAC policy. Always worth a try.
Haggled RAC renewal down by 25%.
Read our full Breakdown cover haggling guide for tips on how to haggle successfully.
If you've recently bought a modern, reliable car, you may already have vehicle breakdown cover as part of your package, as many manufacturers offer it for the first year. If that's the case, there's no point shelling out for a new policy, but do check if the policy is what you need.
Similarly, you may find that your car insurance policy offers a deal on breakdown cover. Read more in our How to get cheaper car insurance guide.
If your car's older, or has a history of breakdowns, you should consider a full service policy.
The best way to reduce the risk of needing breakdown roadside assistance is to maintain your car – checking oil and water, and tyre pressure regularly.
There are three main UK cover types. If a policy just has the first, we classify it as 'basic'. If it has all three, we call it 'full service':
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Basic cover. It typically means your car, van or motorbike will be fixed at the roadside (for example, if you have a flat battery, puncture, or flat tyre) or towed to a local garage. But it won't usually cover you if you break down close to your home.
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Home start. In addition to basic cover, you will be covered for a problem if your motor won't start at home.
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Onward travel. If your car's kept in a garage for repairs, this generally means you'll get a hire car for up to three days, plus a night's accommodation. It also covers costs if you need to continue by public transport.
You can either opt for cover for a specific car, van or motorbike or you can take out personal cover which protects you no matter what car you're driving, or if you're travelling as a passenger. Buying personal cover is typically more expensive, so only go for this if you think you'll need it.
If you never swap motors the pricier policy is pointless, but if you regularly drive other people's cars, it's worth thinking about.
It's also worth pointing out that, if you're towing a caravan, your policy will usually extend to this as well. Most specialist caravan policies don't include vehicle breakdown cover so, as a rule, if your caravan hits a pothole and damages its chassis (so it can't move), then your car breakdown or roadside assistance policy will cover you for being towed home or to a garage.
With motorhomes and camper vans, you need to check with the provider. RAC and AA personal plans cover motorhomes under 3.5 tonnes, but with varying width and length restrictions.
Getting a spouse/partner policy (or one for the family) usually works out cheaper than buying individual policies for each person in the home. For example, Eversure Gold* and AutoAid* will cover you and your spouse for about £58/yr, the same price as for an individual.
Alternatively, the AA* offers basic cover from about £80 for an individual or just under £100 for a couple. The RAC* equivalent is similarly priced from about £75 for an individual or slightly over £85 for a couple – though be aware, quotes are based on your age and address, so you'll likely pay more. You can often undercut these costs (whether buying as a single or joint policy) using cashback sites, but these examples show the principle that joint policies often beat two singles.
The same can apply to car insurance policies, though not always. See Multicar insurance for what you need to know.
Many premium bank accounts, which you have to pay a monthly fee for, come with a host of bundled products which can include breakdown insurance. So check you don't already have it in place before shelling out on a new policy.
It's worth weighing up getting a current account with benefits instead of buying cover separately. But do the maths and ONLY buy cover via your bank or building society if you'll use all the features (which often include mobile phone and travel insurance too) and if it works out cheaper than buying separately.
One of the better accounts is Virgin Money's Club M account, which costs £150/yr and includes personal European breakdown cover with home start and onward travel, as well as mobile phone & gadget insurance and worldwide travel cover.
For a list of other premium bank accounts that include breakdown cover, see our Packaged Bank Accounts guide. In the past, sometimes this type of account was mis-sold, so to check if you've got a claim, see our Packaged Accounts Mis-selling guide.
If you're planning to travel to Europe regularly, consider taking out an annual breakdown policy with European cover.
Yet if you'll only need cover for a few days or a couple of weeks each year, a cheap UK policy that you can upgrade to cover Europe when you need it may be better. Always check the option is available before taking out the policy and ask how long it takes to add before it comes into effect – some impose exclusions against claims in the first 15 days from the start of the extension, so planning is key.
See our Cheap European Cover section for the best deals for annual and single cover.
Finally, don't forget to arrange travel insurance and notify your car insurer to get that extra protection while you're abroad.
Breakdown firms have the right to refuse service to drivers of uninsured or untaxed vehicles. At best, you may be towed onwards for a hefty fee, or towed to the nearest safe area if you've broken down in a dangerous spot. However, typically providers will have a clause in their terms to say they're not obliged to attend to any unroadworthy or unlawful vehicles.
To avoid any problems in an already stressful situation, make sure your road tax, insurance and MOT are all up to date.
Never auto-renew – car breakdown firms are easiest to haggle with
If your car's newish and less likely to have problems, basic cover may be sufficient. If older, and less reliable, aim for a full service policy
Always check whether you're covering a car or a person
A joint policy can be cheaper than two (or three or four) single policies
Some fee-paying bank accounts offer car breakdown cover, so check if you already have a policy there
Driving in Europe? Make sure your policy covers breakdowns there too
Keep your vehicle road-legal to ensure your cover is valid
You could save £100s on your car insurance costs by switching car insurer. Our advice has always been to never just auto-renew – instead combine comparison sites to scour 100s of insurers and save money in minutes.
MSE's Compare+ Car Insurance tool is designed to take the hard work out of finding cheap car insurance online. You can...
Fill in just one questionnaire. We've borrowed MoneySupermarket's (so if you've used it before, your answers can be auto-filled).
Get MSE cost-cutting tips as you answer. Like our 'best time to buy' analysis tool which tells you the likely cheapest time to get quotes.
See insurance quotes as a benchmark. These are from MoneySupermarket's comparison. But of course we want you to beat them...
Use personalised tips to cut costs further. These include whether you should add an additional driver, check multicar policies, or tweak your job title, often with one-click checks to see if it helps.
See whether other sites can further slice down costs. We give you our latest comparison site order of others to try, as MoneySupermarket may not be your cheapest. Plus, if you've time, we suggest to look at Direct Line, as it's not on most comparisons.
If you prefer to do more of your own research when it comes to getting quotes, there's still our tried-and-tested steps to getting the cheapest car insurance premiums below, including the comparison sites to check out.
Top-pick breakdown cover deals
We've split the breakdown cover deals into full service from across the market and the basic and full service deals you can get from big names AA and RAC. Plus we've a section that covers you for European travel, with options for each level of cover. Use our best buys below to compare breakdown cover and find the policy for you.
Top-pick deals with full service cover
We're classifying policies as 'full service' if the cover includes breakdowns at your home, plus have roadside assistance and onward travel (which usually includes a hire car, overnight accommodation or public transport costs).
Always diarise a month ahead of your renewal so you've time to benchmark the cheapest price and switch, or use the benchmarked prices to haggle with your existing provider.
Let us know your experiences with these providers in the forum discussion.
WARNING. Most policies give discounted pricing for the first year. They might also offer new-customer perks, such as free spouse cover or battery replacement. At renewal, prices will usually increase and some perks will disappear, so ALWAYS stick a date in your diary to shop around for a better deal before the policy auto-renews.
PROVIDER | HOW GOOD IS IT? + COVER COSTS (i) |
|---|---|
| Get full service cover for you & a partner for £57.28/year via our AutoAid* link. This has been a top pick for nearly two decades – it covers you and your spouse or live-in partner in any car you/they drive, including roadside recovery, home start and onward travel, plus mis-fuelling cover and help if you're stuck (for example, in snow/mud). Though it's less good if you've an older car as there's a £25 call-out fee for cars aged 10+ years, and you pay £21.90 more for the policy if your car's over 16 years old. So if your car's between 10 and 15 years old you might be better off with Eversure below. We've great feedback for AutoAid, though it doesn't have its own recovery fleet (it notifies local recovery operators instead). |
| Full service cover for any car up to 15 years old for £57.50/yr, via this Eversure Gold* link. This policy gives full service cover in any car you or your partner drive, or are passengers in. It also gives mis-fuelling cover. But Eversure doesn't have its own recovery fleet – it notifies local recovery operators. As Eversure is a relatively new addition to MSE, please tell us your experiences. |
Cheapest way to get new AA/RAC insurance
The big names in the car breakdown cover market are the AA and the RAC – and below we've detailed their basic and full-service policies.
Bought directly, they're among the most expensive policies but you can usually get a decent saving on their policies if you go via a cashback site. So where available, we include the best cashback offer (or at least for the closest comparable policy).
Yet with cashback offers changing so regularly and quotes direct from providers now hinging on your age and address, it's hard for us to keep up with exactly what savings can be made on your policy. In short, check what you could get direct, then have a look at the cashback sites to see if there's an effective discount.
Though note, where we quote a cashback price, this is the equivalent price assuming the cashback's paid. However, you should budget to pay the full price upfront, as cashback can take a few weeks or months to be paid out. Always treat cashback as a POTENTIAL saving rather than an actual saving until the money's in your account, as things can go wrong.
Let us know your experiences with AA and RAC breakdown cover in the forum discussion.
Cheapest AA cover
Cheapest basic cover from AA - full review below | |
From £97.72 | |
Buying via Topcashback* or Quidco* | From £61.52 |
Cheapest full cover from AA - full review below | |
From £210.56 | |
Buying via Topcashback* or Quidco* | From £118.33 |
Remember, cashback is never guaranteed.
AA's basic breakdown cover* only offers roadside assistance. Recently, the AA has begun basing quotes on age and address – £97.72 a year was the lowest price we could find at this cover level for two people, so you'll likely be quoted higher.
Full service AA breakdown recovery* includes roadside assistance as well as breakdowns at your home and onward travel. The cheapest price we could find here was £210.56 a year direct but, again, you'll likely be quoted a higher price.
There are savings to be made by purchasing AA breakdown cover via a cashback website, though how much you could save depends on how much you're quoted. Typically the higher the quote, the more cashback you'll be offered, though it's done in bands so you may find that getting a slightly higher quote gives a lower total cost.
For example, you could get up to £28 cashback on the £97.72 basic breakdown cover quote above, giving an effective price of £69.72. But there's up to £40 cashback available for quotes above £100. We found a quote for £101.52, which when factoring in the higher cashback amount, brought the total cost down to a lower £61.52.
Likewise, we found you can get up to £84.50 cashback on the £210.56 full AA breakdown cover quote above, which brings the total cost down to £126.06. But we also noticed that you could get a quote of a higher £252.83, which pushes you into the next band and gets you £134.50 cashback, bringing the total down to £118.33.
Check out Topcashback* or Quidco* to see which is cheapest for you.
Cheapest RAC cover
Cheapest basic cover from RAC - full review below | |
From £85.39 | |
Buying via Topcashback* or Quidco* | From £70.95 |
Cheapest full cover from RAC - full review below | |
From £210.56 | |
Buying via Topcashback* or Quidco* | From £166.45 |
Remember, cashback is never guaranteed. | You can also get RAC insurance using Tesco Clubcard vouchers at twice their value.
RAC's basic breakdown cover* only provides roadside assistance. The RAC has also recently started tailoring its quotes based on where you live and how old you are. £85.39 is the cheapest breakdown cover quote we could find for two people, so you'll likely get quotes higher than this.
Full RAC insurance cover* includes roadside assistance as well as onward travel and homestart. 'Personal' cover for you and one other person you live with, as driver or passenger, starts at £210.24 a year. Yet, again, you could well be quoted a higher price.
Interestingly, quotes received via Quidco* or Topcashback* will not be affected by age or address. All basic personal breakdown cover for two costs £150.95, with full cover coming to £326.45 – both slightly below the most expensive quotes we could find direct. However, it's possible to receive up to £80 cashback via these sites for basic RAC breakdown cover, which brings the total cost down to £70.95 (a potential saving of £14.44 compared with going direct), or you can get £160 cashback on the full cover, which effectively lowers the total cost to £166.45 (a potential saving of £43.79 versus going direct).
There's usually very little between them, so check both to see which wins for you. The RAC's breakdown policies allows a maximum of six call-outs per year.
Top-pick deals with European breakdown cover
Here, if your vehicle breaks down when you're driving on the continent, it'll be repaired at the roadside, or perhaps at a local garage. The prices below are based on a three-week trip to France in a four-year-old Honda Jazz, to give an idea of how providers compare. If you're going for longer, to more countries and/or have an older car, prices tend to be higher.
If you're planning two or more trips or regularly drive to Europe (for example, you live in Northern Ireland and regularly visit the Republic of Ireland), then it's worth getting an annual European breakdown policy (or checking if cover via a packaged bank account is worth it).
Always diarise a month ahead of your renewal so you've time to benchmark the cheapest price and switch, or use the benchmarked prices to haggle with your existing provider.
Let us know your experiences in the forum discussion.
PROVIDER | HOW GOOD IS IT? + COVER COSTS |
|---|---|
| Compare multiple breakdown providers, plus a 15% discount via our link. This site zips your car's details off to a few providers to help you find the best price. Cover starts from £23.70* for three weeks in France, after the 15% discount. However, as we don't vet the companies it features, we can't vouch for their service. Let us know if you try it. |
RAC* (ii) | Big brand roadside assistance that includes a hire car or hotel if your vehicle can't be fixed there. The RAC* charged £81.02 for our example of three weeks in France, though your exact quote may differ slightly depending on the age of your vehicle and how soon the trip is. The policy gives you 24/7 access to an English-speaking helpline, and a contribution towards costs if it needs to be fixed at a garage (the amount depends on which level of cover you go for). |
| AA roadside assistance that again pays for a hire car or hotel if needed. The AA* quoted £93.67 to cover our example of three weeks in France, though again, your quote may differ depending on the age of your vehicle and how soon the trip is. You may also pay less for a single trip if you're already an AA member. This policy gives you 24/7 access to an English-speaking helpline, plus you can pay extra to get a contribution towards the costs of getting the car fixed at a garage. |
(i) We have little feedback to share on Compare Breakdown Cover. (ii) You can also get RAC Europe cover using Tesco Clubcard vouchers at twice their value.
Looking for one-off or specialist policies?
If you're looking to cover a one-off journey, or need something more specialist, MoneySupermarket* allows you to compare car recovery quotes.
It misses some of the best deals, so it doesn't always get the very cheapest, yet if you've specific needs it can quickly find a competitive quote.
Check special breakdown cover deals
A few companies have special cheap breakdown cover and some car insurers bundle free breakdown with their car insurance cover (see Compare+ Car Insurance). These currently include:
Provider | Deal information |
|---|---|
| 20% discount for newbies via our link. You can either choose to cover all vehicles you own or, if you'd rather have cover for yourself in any vehicle you're driving or are a passenger in, you can opt for personal cover. |
| 21% discount for new annual policies via our Start Rescue link. It offers vehicle cover or personal cover, so you can choose which you'd prefer. Breakdown assistance is provided by Start Rescue if the car's more than a quarter of a mile away from your home as standard, or you can opt to include 'Home Assist' for additional cost. And please let us know how you get on. |
| 15% discount for new policies via our link. Compare Breakdown Cover* is a broker, and offers a range of policies with different assistance providers. It therefore allows you to choose a variety of levels of cover for UK-only and Europe. Let us know if you try it. |
We have little feedback on these providers, so please let us know your experiences in our forum discussion (via the link against each provider).
How to complain about your insurance provider
The insurance industry doesn't have the best customer-service reputation and while a provider may be good for some, it can be hell for others.
Common problems include claims either not being paid out on time or at all, unfair charges, or exclusions being hidden in small print.
It's always worth trying to call your provider first. Alternatively, you can use free complaints tool Resolver. The tool helps you manage your complaint, and if the company doesn't play ball, it also helps you escalate your complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.
Car breakdown FAQs
Nobody can predict the future – even the most reliable companies can fall into bad times. As with any purchase, you should consider if you've any protection should the company you buy the cover from go bust.
We've checked with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and, sadly, you wouldn't be protected on breakdown cover if the worst happened.
While this is unlikely, it's still worth knowing the score. If your car's taken away, you'll usually be given a document to sign when it's returned to you.
If you think the car's been damaged by the recovery company, refuse to sign the document and report the issue to the recovery company. It's crucial to do this as soon as you can, even if you're still at the roadside.
Get as much evidence of the damage as possible. Take photos – even a decent camera phone can be handy for this if there's no alternative – and write a report of what happened ASAP.
Take notes as fully as you can, including the name of the recovery firm, times and dates. Then contact the firm to find out how it plans to rectify it.
What if it doesn't repair the damage? If you aren't happy with the way it's dealt with the incident, it's time to submit a written complaint. The formal procedure for this will be set out in your policy terms and conditions – these will have been sent to you, but if you can't find them, just ask for another copy.
If it still doesn't resolve it... Even though you can't claim money back from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), if these companies are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). All companies we include are FCA-regulated.
The independent free ombudsman service settles disputes between consumers and businesses, without costing you a penny. You need to leave eight weeks between registering your complaint with the firm and going to the FOS. See our Financial Ombudsman guide for full info.
If you're unlucky enough to break down while your pets are with you, you'll still be able to receive roadside assistance. But transporting Fido and Tiddles is at the discretion of your insurer.
The RAC says it'll always attend vehicles carrying pets, but will decide on a case-by-case basis whether it's safe for the pets to travel in the recovery vehicle, or your vehicle if it's being towed.
The recovery driver has discretion over whether the pet can travel in the vehicle. However, pets are usually allowed to travel with the recovery driver unless they are distressed or vicious, or the driver has allergies. Unless there's a safety risk, guide dogs will always travel with their owners.
The AA says it'll transport any animal with its owner, unless it's not possible for health and safety reasons, at the risk of the pet owner. However, it does not offer transport for livestock and horses (for obvious reasons).
If you have pets in the vehicle with you when you break down, let your insurer know when you contact it for assistance.
For more information, check page 16 of AA's policy booklet and RAC website.
How safe are these policies?
What happens if the breakdown company damages my car?
What if I need roadside assistance and my pets are in the vehicle with me?
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