I haven’t had AAA in 15+ years. I can’t think of any reason I’d need them.
My cars are in good condition, so they’re unlikely to break down while driving. If they do (or in the even more unlikely event that I run out of gas), my auto insurance’s roadside assistance will cover it.
I have electronic locks on my house and app controlled garage doors (plus a physical key on my car key fob) so I don’t have to worry about being locked out.
I did use AAA recently to get an international driver’s license. As a non-member I simply paid a fee (I can’t recall how much exactly, but I think it was about $40). Paying for one-off services like that is far cheaper than having an annual membership.
Don’t forget, AAA covers services for any car you are driving, not just your own. I have used my membership more that once for one of my parent’s cars. I just had to be there with my license and AAA card, although the last AAA battery truck did not ask for either.
FYI they are discontinuing cards. I was on my parents’ account forever, our kids have been on our account before they could even drive (NJ offers free 15+ and then a free year after they get their license). We all drive cars into the ground and only buy used, so membership always pays for itself. I still have a card, but my phone is so old that I can’t download the AAA app.
I just wanted to share my recent experience. Somehow I had not signed up 2 of my “kids” and my son had a flat hours from home that he couldn’t fix himself, I fixed it over the phone and asked for new cards for everyone. Only half arrived, and when I called to inquire was told they are slowly discontinuing them.
No one mentions maps and guidebooks? We’ve had AAA forever as a couple and I just pulled out our California map for a potential trip. I just like that physical map to help with planning. I like the big picture with all the details too. There were times when that glovebox map saved the day for alternate routes in traffic tie ups.
We’ve gone to the local branch when moving here, and when son moved to Seattle, to get a variety of area maps.
And yes, I have used them for dead batteries at home. Sometimes all it needed was a jump. That was handier in Illinois in winter than Southern California, but it was good to have them to call.
Hard copy maps aren’t as in fashion as they used to be, but I love maps! And recently, I did get one of the Canadian Rockies/vancouver. We were doing a long road trip and cell service wasn’t available for several stretches. And once it was helpful. My phone maps stopped working and we had no service to get it back going. Out came the map!!!
AAA is a bargain, IMO, for anyone with older cars. We have it for one our cars and our son’s car. We probably use it once or twice a year.
I absolutely love their road maps. They are the best. I never take a road trip without one. No GPS can match their quality for listing scenic routes and tourist attractions. Plus a paper map doesn’t break or run out of power.
Wow, this is some kinda lovefest for AAA - think I’m covered well with my insurance and save enough to cover other stuff but glad everyone is happy with their AAA service. I do like some of their travel trips so possibly would consider them for travel.
My parents, longtime AAA members, got me a AAA membership before I drove away from home to grad school in my newly purchased super used Datsun 510 station wagon 41 years ago. I used it when my car broke down 400 miles into my trip (after asking to use the phone at a house in the neighborhood off the interstate where my car broke down!). I’ve had it ever since. Some years I get my money’s worth and some years I don’t. I now pay for memberships for my 3 out of the house sons. I had roadside service taken off my auto insurance.
Oh, I also use AAA discounts when traveling. It’s peanuts, but hey, if I save $3 on a meal, that’s cool. Very often there are good rental car discounts, even abroad. Sometimes I’ve gotten amazing hotel discounts. As in, I can’t believe that’s actually the rate. Theme park discounts, museums, cultural sites, etc…usually have some kind of AAA discount. Little benefits that add up.
I never feel I am out of pocket. Their travel guidebooks are free and the best. The Guidebooks also list everywhere at your destination that offers a discount.
I’ve used several different emergency roadside assistance services, including AAA. Some of the differences between AAA and roadside assistance through my insurance are below. Yours may differ.
AAA is More Likely to Have Numerical Maximums On Service – For example, AAA has a maximum of 4 service calls per year. My insurance has no maximum. AAA has a maximum of 7 / 100/ 200 tow miles, depending on tier. My insurance has no maximum.
AAA Covers the Driver, Insurance Covers the Vehicle – This may increase costs with AAA for several drivers on 1 vehicle. This may increase costs with insurance for 1 driver who owns/drives several vehicles. This also has implications for roadside service when driving a rental car.
AAA Offers Extra Services Beyond Basic Roadside Assistance – This has been well discussed earlier in thread. The overwhelming portion of these benefits are not valuable enough to justify increased cost for me. The singular exception is DMV services. This is also the primary reason I have chosen AAA in the past. In the rare instances I need to go in person to DMV, I’ll get a AAA membership, if their office can substitute and save me a DMV trip.
Insurance Supports Changing Coverage by Day/Week, AAA Has Annual Memberships – As noted earlier in the thread, this can be used to temporarily change coverage when your risk level changes, such as during a road trip.
Cost – AAA is far more expensive than my insurance for 1 driver / 1 car. Specific numbers vary by AAA membership tier. In some cases, it may be 5x cost or more.
My personal experience with both AAA and insurance is emergency roadside service calls are acceptable overall, but not consistently exceptional. Either may have a short response time of under 10 minutes or may take over an hour. I expect it depends on the specific local organizations AAA/insurance calls for service, and whether that organization happens to have available drivers nearby at time of service request.
The service quality varies with the service of the tow operator they contract with, which is usually acceptable, but may have issues. For example, one AAA subcontracted tow driver damaged my car when the air jack suddenly collapsed, causing my car to rapidly fall to the ground. The tow company repaired the damage they caused at no cost. I don’t think AAA was involved in the repair.
Now that I am older and know more about cars, I am more likely to handle basic car services myself, without needing AAA. If my battery is low, rather than use AAA for a jump, I’d use my battery charger. I’d test and replace battery if necessary without using AAA (and without needing to pay excessive costs for the limited selection of batteries offered by AAA-sponsored drivers). When I had a flat while in desert ~100 miles from both Barstow and Needles last year, I changed to the spare myself (another driver who was nearby also supported with extra tools), rather than waiting hours in the desert for a service call + 100 mile tow. Had I instead used AAA, I would not have gotten to Bullhead City (Needles shops did not have correct size tires) before close of business day, forcing me to find lodging and interfere with trip. I still want to have emergency services available during a road trip, but I am not as dependent on AAA in the way I have been in past. My first thought is how can I resolve the problem? Not call AAA.
My personal preference is to pay for the emergency road side service I need with insurance, rather than pay extra for the non road side services that aren’t my priority with AAA. I have a similar philosophy with other monthly charges. For example, I prefer a lower cost mobile service provider that just provides data, rather than a higher cost mobile service provider that includes Hulu/Netflix or similar extras.
We also had AAA forever. I had a few flat tires in the past five years. Their service was ok most of the time. Recently, I had a flat while driving on a freeway. AAA was going to speed up the service since I was on a freeway. For some reason, everyone they contacted declined the job. My guess would be the rate AAA pays is low. After more than three hours, a highway patrol came along and changed the tires. He didn’t want me to be sitting on the shoulder of a freeway with fast moving trucks. I am reevaluating if it’s worth having the membership. We pay a lot, close to $200.