AAA advantages/pros and cons

Whether you got your money’s worth depends on the best alternative to AAA for that situation. If it’s like CA AAA in my area, the battery cost is well above what you’d pay for a comparable battery in an auto store. If you charged up the battery, then drove to an auto store or Walmart Auto, many will install a replacement battery purchased at the store for free, without as high a price markup and with a larger selection of batteries to choose from.

Another alternative is to get AAA-like roadside assistance via your auto insurance. My auto insurance lets me add/cancel on a day-to-day basis, rather than annual like CA AAA. So I can choose to have roadside assistance during weeks when I am on a roadtrip, but not have roadside assistance during more typical weeks when I working from home and not driving outside of my small town. My auto insurance once towed my car 500 miles, with no additional fee beyond basic roadside assistance, unlike AAA.

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