AA roadside service and breakdown assistance

We decided to go for a strawberry farm on our first weekend after we arrived back in New Zealand after having two month trip in Russia. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t start my car for some reason that morning. May be it happened because Forester became 5 years old, or may be it happened because the car wasn’t driving for two monthes in raw, I don’t know. In theory, I could remove the battery for the period we left overseas so it should extend life expectancy of the battery but unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to do that (as usual).


So, instead of familiar and fast response and beautiful sounds of working Subaru boxer engine I got the starter spinning for nothing. I tried for 10 seconds, than wait for two minutes, then tried for another 20 seconds, then wait for another five minutes and then after fifth attempt I understood that unfortunately it’s time to call AA roadservices with a jump start and then drive to the nearest automotive shop for a new battery.

And now, a small story. In addition to car insurance I also pay $90 for AA membership which allows to call for a free roadservice and breakdwon assistance 24 hours per day, any day of the week. I think almost ever New Zealand township has AA Roadservice staff ready to come and help you when needed after you called 0800 500 222. It costs $195 to join at the roadside with a credit card or it costs $145 if your partner or spouse is an AA Member, though they must be living at the same address as you.

According to Murphy’s Law, your car will break down in the worst possible place, at the worst possible time. On average, AA Roadservice takes 660,000 calls for assistance every year. And the main advantage of AA membership is it does not matter what car you are in at the moment and it does not matter whether you are the driver or the passenger. In most cases AA will fix the problem at the roadside so you can go safely on your way. If an extra support is needed, they will tow your car to the nearest place of safety or repair. AA Membership covers you, not the vehicle. Just make sure you have your AA Membership card with you.

AA roadside services include:

  • Testing your battery/organising replacement if necessary
  • Jump starting your vehicle’s engine
  • Getting access to your locked out vehicle
  • Changing your wheel
  • Free delivery of fuel (you pay for the fuel)
  • Free temporary side glass replacement
  • Organising a windscreen chip or crack repair

Nuff to said, I haven’t waited for long – AA road service mechanic arrived in just 10-15 minutes after I made a call. I think when I spoke to him over the phone he said: oh, Kohimarama? Let me just finish my morning tea! 🙂 ” He parked his minivan outside of my garage, came in and said: OK, start the engine! I turned the ignition ON and.. the engine started! o_O I said, sorry, but it wasn’t starting just 10 minutes ago! And he said that’s OK, let’s test your battery since I’m already here 🙂 -Let’s do that, I replied.

The testing prooved that I need to replace the battery so I thanked the guy, said goodbye to him and drove to automotive retailer to buy a new battery.

That’s it, folks!

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Ivan Grigoryev's Blog
Living in New Zealand. Blogging about the country, beautiful places, everyday life.
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