RAC Recovery

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Landie_Man said:
I have seen the RAC use their standard Transit vans to recover cars, but why was it, when my 88" broke its throttle cable, I was sent a flatbed. The guy who spent an hour making a makeshift throttle cable and gave up (i am very pleased he even attempted, the RAC exceeded my expectations), his Transit had lift gear on it, but he did not recover me, and sent for a tow truck. Is this due to weight?
Click to expand...

There are a lot of variables that can effect the whats and whys of it all. If he had stuck you on his Rapid deployment trailer (RDT) and your landy had come off you would've moaned at that too. The last week or so have been flat out. An average shift is about 8 jobs. When your doing 25 jobs in a 12 hour shift you kinda know it's busy. At a guess I'd say that he got a flat bed out cos A) it was busy B) the wheels were too big to safely strap on a RDT C) It was too heavy to put on (especially given the recent weather we've had) D) the roads expected to be driven meant that travelling at a max speed of 30mph the whole way could have been dangerous.

stchris356 said:
I'm an RAC patrol, and I've lost count how many times I've been told "it's only the fan belt mate" only to find the alternator seized or a tensioner hanging off.
As much as I'd like to have a part for every car in the back of my van I'd need the Tardis model to carry them.
Once I did collect a part en route to a job on the insistance that the member who claimed to be a mechanic was adamant the belt was the only fault.
On arrival I found the PAS pump pulley hanging off and when I asked him for the £15:20 for the belt which I purchased out of my own pocket he refused to pay for it as it won't fix the car (although his old one was knackered).
It's still in the back of my van a year later, won't be doing that again!

As for sending the correct vehicle first time, if we send a patrol we get "I asked for a truck( sorry but were not going to recover you 200+ miles 'cause you never had your spare tyre repaired and you can get a part used one for £10 at home).
Or we send a truck and we get "I asked for a patrol as I have a spare cambelt in the boot for my V6 Vectra"

Guy's I don't claim were perfect but I do believe were the best as I've worked for the AA,Landrover Assistance (Mondial), and now the RAC
and we genuinely try to do the best for the member with the resources available at the time you breakdown.:)
Click to expand...

I'm 100% with you on this one. Whatever you do will be wrong. Unfortunately there are too many know it alls out there who think they are right in defining what can and can't be recovered.

I went out to a vw polo the other day that I was given as misfiring and now a non starter. She'd driven all the way up from cornwall with it misfiring. When I got there the starter motor was shot. She'd tried cranking the engine over non stop until her battery ran out and then she'd spent the rest of the afternoon with jump leads on it cranking it over until it started making strange noises and then gone dead. Then she decided it's time to call us out. I couldn't crank it over and the bonnet had been up all day so the engine was soaked.

The original fault was simply a coil pack going down. It's a common fault so I carry coil packs for em aswell as the rotor arm she'd now burnt out and also the dizzy cap that she'd badly scorched.

If she'd not left the bonnet open I could have got her going by changing the parts needed and then bump starting her. With the complete electrics soaked and no starter motor fecked there was nothing I could do.

Last night I got sent to an out of fuel. I carry 5 litres of petrol on board (my own money) and also 20 liters of diesel (again my own money). They were adament they wanted £10 worth. I got another can filled up, got 3/4 of the way too em and got cancelled. I'n now stuck with 2 cans of petrol onboard my truck.:mad::mad::mad:

I carry the spares I think I'll need. Many customers don't like buying spares. They think they should get them free. For this reason many of the spares I carry are from scrap cars. I can then fit em as being secondhand and I don't charge them for it.

I'll bodge cables pipes etc on the side of the road as and when required to keep people on the road.

I went out to a diesel astra the night before last. She pulled away from a farm and then cut out 100yds down the road. Cos she was on a hill she then coasted down for the next mile or so. I got there and popped the bonnet. A rat had eaten her fuel pipe from her filter. It was a 10mm pipe and was eaten to the halfway point for a stretch an inch long. I didn't have a fixe fuel pipe with banjo connectors on board. I fitted a special pipe bandage that I carry. You get 3 in a pack and they cost £9. That comes out of MY money. The company don't supply it. I wrapped her fuel pipe up and started her car up and then followed her home. That one bandage was £3 of my wages. Now work out that I go through a pack of them a week, plus exhaust clamps, jubilee clips, filters etc etc. That a fair whack of my own wages going on peoples cars. If I try and charge people for it I get the good old 'why should I pay for that, I pay for this service' Crap off customers.

Next time you get a breakdown service out to you guys and you've been waiting a few hours. Don't give the guy who's trying to help you ****. It aint his fault. He's badly underpayed and out in this ****ty weather using his own money to help you. GIVE HIM A BREAK.:mad::mad::mad:
 
Last edited:
ratty said:
There are a lot of variables that can effect the whats and whys of it all. If he had stuck you on his Rapid deployment trailer (RDT) and your landy had come off you would've moaned at that too. The last week or so have been flat out. An average shift is about 8 jobs. When your doing 25 jobs in a 12 hour shift you kinda know it's busy. At a guess I'd say that he got a flat bed out cos A) it was busy B) the wheels were too big to safely strap on a RDT C) It was too heavy to put on (especially given the recent weather we've had) D) the roads expected to be driven meant that travelling at a max speed of 30mph the whole way could have been dangerous.



I'm 100% with you on this one. Whatever you do will be wrong. Unfortunately there are too many know it alls out there who think they are right in defining what can and can't be recovered.

I went out to a vw polo the other day that I was given as misfiring and now a non starter. She'd driven all the way up from cornwall with it misfiring. When I got there the starter motor was shot. She'd tried cranking the engine over non stop until her battery ran out and then she'd spent the rest of the afternoon with jump leads on it cranking it over until it started making strange noises and then gone dead. Then she decided it's time to call us out. I couldn't crank it over and the bonnet had been up all day so the engine was soaked.

The original fault was simply a coil pack going down. It's a common fault so I carry coil packs for em aswell as the rotor arm she'd now burnt out and also the dizzy cap that she'd badly scorched.

If she'd not left the bonnet open I could have got her going by changing the parts needed and then bump starting her. With the complete electrics soaked and no starter motor fecked there was nothing I could do.

Last night I got sent to an out of fuel. I carry 5 litres of petrol on board (my own money) and also 20 liters of diesel (again my own money). They were adament they wanted £10 worth. I got another can filled up, got 3/4 of the way too em and got cancelled. I'n now stuck with 2 cans of petrol onboard my truck.:mad::mad::mad:

I carry the spares I think I'll need. Many customers don't like buying spares. They think they should get them free. For this reason many of the spares I carry are from scrap cars. I can then fit em as being secondhand and I don't charge them for it.

I'll bodge cables pipes etc on the side of the road as and when required to keep people on the road.

I went out to a diesel astra the night before last. She pulled away from a farm and then cut out 100yds down the road. Cos she was on a hill she then coasted down for the next mile or so. I got there and popped the bonnet. A rat had eaten her fuel pipe from her filter. It was a 10mm pipe and was eaten to the halfway point for a stretch an inch long. I didn't have a fixe fuel pipe with banjo connectors on board. I fitted a special pipe bandage that I carry. You get 3 in a pack and they cost £9. That comes out of MY money. The company don't supply it. I wrapped her fuel pipe up and started her car up and then followed her home. That one bandage was £3 of my wages. Now work out that I go through a pack of them a week, plus exhaust clamps, jubilee clips, filters etc etc. That a fair whack of my own wages going on peoples cars. If I try and charge people for it I get the good old 'why should I pay for that, I pay for this service' Crap off customers.

Next time you get a breakdown service out to you guys and you've been waiting a few hours. Don't give the guy who's trying to help you ****. It aint his fault. He's badly underpayed and out in this ****ty weather using his own money to help you. GIVE HIM A BREAK.:mad::mad::mad:
Click to expand...
fair play to ya mate i respect for that
 
ratty said:
There are a lot of variables that can effect the whats and whys of it all. If he had stuck you on his Rapid deployment trailer (RDT) and your landy had come off you would've moaned at that too. The last week or so have been flat out. An average shift is about 8 jobs. When your doing 25 jobs in a 12 hour shift you kinda know it's busy. At a guess I'd say that he got a flat bed out cos A) it was busy B) the wheels were too big to safely strap on a RDT C) It was too heavy to put on (especially given the recent weather we've had) D) the roads expected to be driven meant that travelling at a max speed of 30mph the whole way could have been dangerous.



I'm 100% with you on this one. Whatever you do will be wrong. Unfortunately there are too many know it alls out there who think they are right in defining what can and can't be recovered.

I went out to a vw polo the other day that I was given as misfiring and now a non starter. She'd driven all the way up from cornwall with it misfiring. When I got there the starter motor was shot. She'd tried cranking the engine over non stop until her battery ran out and then she'd spent the rest of the afternoon with jump leads on it cranking it over until it started making strange noises and then gone dead. Then she decided it's time to call us out. I couldn't crank it over and the bonnet had been up all day so the engine was soaked.

The original fault was simply a coil pack going down. It's a common fault so I carry coil packs for em aswell as the rotor arm she'd now burnt out and also the dizzy cap that she'd badly scorched.

If she'd not left the bonnet open I could have got her going by changing the parts needed and then bump starting her. With the complete electrics soaked and no starter motor fecked there was nothing I could do.

Last night I got sent to an out of fuel. I carry 5 litres of petrol on board (my own money) and also 20 liters of diesel (again my own money). They were adament they wanted £10 worth. I got another can filled up, got 3/4 of the way too em and got cancelled. I'n now stuck with 2 cans of petrol onboard my truck.:mad::mad::mad:

I carry the spares I think I'll need. Many customers don't like buying spares. They think they should get them free. For this reason many of the spares I carry are from scrap cars. I can then fit em as being secondhand and I don't charge them for it.

I'll bodge cables pipes etc on the side of the road as and when required to keep people on the road.

I went out to a diesel astra the night before last. She pulled away from a farm and then cut out 100yds down the road. Cos she was on a hill she then coasted down for the next mile or so. I got there and popped the bonnet. A rat had eaten her fuel pipe from her filter. It was a 10mm pipe and was eaten to the halfway point for a stretch an inch long. I didn't have a fixe fuel pipe with banjo connectors on board. I fitted a special pipe bandage that I carry. You get 3 in a pack and they cost £9. That comes out of MY money. The company don't supply it. I wrapped her fuel pipe up and started her car up and then followed her home. That one bandage was £3 of my wages. Now work out that I go through a pack of them a week, plus exhaust clamps, jubilee clips, filters etc etc. That a fair whack of my own wages going on peoples cars. If I try and charge people for it I get the good old 'why should I pay for that, I pay for this service' Crap off customers.

Next time you get a breakdown service out to you guys and you've been waiting a few hours. Don't give the guy who's trying to help you ****. It aint his fault. He's badly underpayed and out in this ****ty weather using his own money to help you. GIVE HIM A BREAK.:mad::mad::mad:
Click to expand...


Respect mate!
I know how you feel I've lost money 'cause I simply can't be arsed to argue over 2 or 3 quid!
And were helping them!
 
Always had good service from the AA. Clutch went in Cornwall, towed us up to Surrey with a Caravan on the back! Even dropped the caravan off at the storage place!

Mate was round here and locked the keys to his Focus inside.... Phoned em up bloke turned up and unlocked it

Always give them a couple of quid :) They do a brilliant job
 
big dave2 said:
YEARS ago going to caravan ,wife, little fella,all in MG bgt,engine cuts out ,tool box out checks round and finds battery flat,queer no red light on dash,so phones AA ,20 mins guy comes out whats up mate ,told him he jumps it starts first time ,AAH your alternator u/s mate ,aww **** sez i,thinks recovery to home ,holiday fecked,i can fix u up wiv a newun sez he,, i cudda kissed him,he fitted a b90 ex unit by the roadside,£17,i could,nt have bought i mesel for that price,3/4 hour on me way no bother he even took a personal cheque,fekkin diamond geezer,he musta bin cos i wrote to the aa to tellem what a great guy,musta bin impressed,,,,,,,,dave
Click to expand...

The AA have the same policy as us when it comes down to commendations, there always passed on to the patrol and their really nice to get!
 
I got recovered by the AA, they asked me if it had been modified, I said yes, they asked if it had been lowered:D
 
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