<p>We are huge AAA fans. This past spring, our car died on the way to the airport for a vacation (for those of you who know Philadelphia, it was on the Platt Bridge, where there is no shoulder. That was not fun.) AAA was there promptly, and since we were so close to the airport when it happened, the guy let all four of us squeeze into the cab of his flatbed truck and then dropped us at the terminal. We all practically fell out when we opened the door (it was a long way down), and then the AAA guy got out and started unloading our luggage for us. The people waiting to do curbside check-in must have thought “these people <em>really</em> want to go on vacation!”</p>
<p>We were sure H was going to have to stay with the car until it could be towed to our mechanic, and would then have to try to get another flight to Florida to meet us (good luck with that during spring break.) But the AAA guy called his supervisor and they agreed to keep the car at their lot until our mechanic could get it towed back to his place. Our vacation was saved, and we gave the AAA guy a very big tip!</p>
<p>Instead of investing in jumper cables…have him buy one of those portable power battery chargers. They have cables attached, can recharge your cell phone, run spotlight, etc…keep it in the car.</p>
<p>Last year, I went out to my school’s parking lot to get in my car and drive home. Turned the key…nothing.</p>
<p>I had not left any lights on, and I didn’t know what a dead battery sounded like. Luckily my parents got us both AAA memberships as soon as we started driving. I called my mom (out of sheer panic) and she told me to call them. The guy was very nice and helped me figure out that the problem was I needed a new battery (and jumped me so I could get somewhere to buy said battery).</p>
<p>The roadside assistance through our insurer is much less costly than AAA. With the prevalence of Navigation systems, GoogleMaps and Mapquest, the AAA map service is not needed.</p>
<p>We have AAA, mostly for my W and Ds, but I’m not a huge fan of them. The couple of times we’ve called them their dispatch people had great difficulty in understanding where we actually were (and it wasn’t that difficult), didn’t track the actual progress of whether the tow truck arrived or not, and we had to call back several times when the tow truck didn’t arrive at the promised time - off by a factor of 2x-4x the projected timeframe (sometimes hours). In reality AAA just contracts with local tow places and the places have ‘always’ been swamped hence their slowness. These are probably often the same places the other ‘road service’ companies use.</p>
<p>My mother however had a good experience with AAA. She needed a new battery and used the AAA battery replacement service to replace it at her home in her garage. The cost was fairly reasonable and very convenient.</p>
<p>If this is a brand new Honda, I doubt that leaving the lights on would drain the battery. Most new cars shut the headlights off automatically about 30-90 seconds after you turn the car off. Plus the car died in the amount of time it took to go out to dinner - I don’t think headlights will drain a brand-new battery in an hour. Probably a short somewhere else or a problem with the starter. It sounds like Honda will cover it under their warrantee regardless, so all should be ok.</p>
<p>When I buy a car I always have them lift the hood. You would be surprised how many times I have found a car with no oil, or no window washer fluid, the electrodes had a plastic protector piece on the switch to the air bags and window wipers that was not removed during PREP.
They dont always prep a car correct.</p>
<p>Your new vehicle probably has a roadside assistance plan for the first 3-4 years. Get the particulars and have that info handy and have your son have the info handy in the glove box and in his dorm room. It’s a 1-800 number and your done. Its better than triple AAA.</p>
<p>Adding AAA adds about 50 dollars a year, a little more for the upgrade that will get you the extra 100 miles of towing. We were never AAA fans until we had teens driving, and cars well out of warranty. Between keys locked in cars, a flat tire, a dead battery, and an accident (mine–I was hit by a teen 90 miles from home in a rural area rendering my car immobile) it has already paid for itself times ten.</p>
<p>My friend got that call. In her case after yelling at her husband for sending the dear D off with a car with a problem, they found out that the car was just out of gas!</p>
<p>After waiting a while for the tow truck guy to come and then seeing how easily he started the car with his portable power batter charger, I went out and bought one. Haven’t had to use it on my own car, but it has come in handy for others.</p>
<p>I bought one of those “plug it into one car’s lighter socket and also into the other car’s lighter socket” thingies, but it didn’t work. Very disappointed…</p>
<p>I got a call this morning from H who is visiting our kid in Boston. He locked the key inside his rental car. Called the rental agency, and they told him to call the police or AAA. Since he did not have AAA membership (I do), he called the police departnment first, and they referred him to AAA. He called me and asked to call AAA. I called them, added him to my account for $15.50, and his car was unlocked within 30 minutes. Problem solved. I’ve been a AAA member for years. Even with a navigation system, I like to have a real map with me. And many times I found that AAA rates for hotels and car rentals beat everyone else’s rates. Plus we get good rates on auto and home insurance through them. I find their service in our area pretty reliable. When our “fancy” car had a problem, the fancy car maker’s roadside assistance “white glove” service told us to wait for 4 hours, and AAA was there on the spot in less than 30 minutes.</p>
<p>Another AAA fan - and my kiddos don’t leave home without it. To date AAA has jumped a battery for our family at least 4 times, taken care of an empty gas tank, unlocked a car with keys in it probably more times than I know of (once with a rental car), towed a car with a dead starter and responded to a flat tire on a freeway bridge during rush hour. There were years I may not have gotten my monies worth - but since the kiddos started driving we’ve more than made up for that!</p>
<p>And adding or re-enrolling at the last minute is an option, AAA was very kind about letting me do that one time in an hour of need.</p>
<p>I’m also one who likes a paper map - I like to see the big picture. AAA travel site does indeed offer some better deals at times, so it’s another site I cross reference with when making travel plans.</p>
<p>As for portable battery chargers, I have one that connects to the battery that works very well. I think you have to have the right configuration for the cigarette lighter socket - though newer cars may all be that way, I don’t know.</p>