AAA is Worthless

Get a jumper/booster pack and you won't need to rely on another vehicle to jump you with cables. Mine has saved my bacon more than a few times, and is also a handy emergency power source in an outtage.

Get a jump pack. 🙄

I've used them for multiple dead batteries during covid, flat tires over the years, and some great travel discounts.

Definitely get a jumper/booster. Worth every penny.

OP, I always call one of my many, many gentleman callers first in sticky situations like this. Et vous?

AA Aerobics truly is a bad program. The people there can’t keep their balance!!

They're really just a puppet for Big Auto and Big Oil. They lobby against things like public transportation and legislation to lower carbon emissions.

Check to see if your auto insurance has roadside assistance. A few companies include it with your policy.

I live in a rural area and AAA sometimes has trouble finding people out here. The one time I did need them they got someone quickly. I've heard of other people having trouble, though. I bought one of those Halo battery chargers and it works great.

I think OP's problem is the remote area he was stuck in. AAA contracts with local tow (etc.) companies to come out and tow, jump batteries, replace batteries, etc.

Anyway, after many years, I'm letting my AAA membership expire. I added on emergency roadside service to my car insurance. It was way cheaper than AAA.

A portable jumper for batteries sounds good, but I am not good at hooking up the cables.

Depends on your area. But I find AAA to be a godsend.

They’ve changed many flats for me… sorry, not my thing.

It’s the annual expense I’m always happiest to pay.

I have a 1988 Chevy truck of dubious reliability. I also have a jump start battery pack which I've used occasionally. Most years I've gotten my money's worth from the $60 AAA Classic membership, but that's only because I have breakdowns regularly.

Thanks, all - great insight. I definitely need to invest in a battery pack.

Never had a problem with AAA. Also always had jumper cables when I owned a car—it’s like car ownership 101.

R12 Jumper cables weren't the problem. It's like you have to have another car to jump the battery. Like 101.

When AAA provided trip tics (a book style road map) to where you were going it may have had some value. I believe you should just purchase Towing coverage from your insurance company. It is cheap and you can choose who you use and they will reimburse up to $100 or so. Also it covers labor charges for changing your tire, jumping your battery, replacing your battery, locking your keys in the car and more. Just an FYI

I remember when I finally escaped my hick town. I had to take a taxi 35 mi. to a Greyhound station. I've never looked back.

Gays should never leave the city limits.

R14 I think you're right. Thank you.

I love AAA. I have the deluxe plan, which includes locksmith services for the house.

I keep one of these chargers in my car (or similar - the one I have is an older model). I also have a AAA membership. When my car battery died recently, I was in a well-populated suburb of a major city - and AAA still could not get anybody to me any faster than 90 minutes. I didn't want to wait that long. I had never jumped a car battery before, but I didn't want to wait for AAA, so I decided to try using the charger. It was pretty simple to figure out - it comes with a book of instructions - and it worked like a charm.

I had more trouble trying to figure out how to open the hood than I did using the charger.

Like others mentioned, definitely get a battery jumper and a battery-operated tire compressor. They are slow, but you can fill a deflated tire with it and get to a service station.

My ‘extra’ car is a vehicle that I had a hot wheels version of as a kid. We have a two car garage, so I park my day to day car outside…the hot wheel sits in the garage. I will eventually have to get rid of my hot wheel and get an electric car, and it makes me sad. The hot wheel doesn’t do well in the cold and snow. I moved it 2000 miles.

Oh yeah, r20 here. It was cheaper to put AAA on my car than to pay through the insurance company. I have also only had good experiences with them.

Yeah it totally depends on the area/proximity to the AAA contractor and time you are requesting service. Your wait on a Saturday evening is going to be way longer than if you request service on a weekday at noon.