Free Roadside Assistance

Access to roadside assistance is essential for every driver. Fortunately, there are ways of getting roadside assistance coverage for no money down at all. For example, when you buy a new certified pre-owned car, free roadside asistance coverage ususally comes as part of the package.

You can search on Edmunds.com, for example and see a list of roadside assistance coverage for each car manufacturer. The roadside assistance specs are different for each company, and the length of time the coverage will last may be determined by milleage or by vehicle age. Sometimes, roadside assistance can be thrown into a used car deal, however, this may require having the vehicle undergo a separate inspecton. The downside of these deals is that the plan usually covers towing to the nearest dealership, which will mean higher repair costs, both for parts and labor.

GM has linked a free year of roadside assistance with wireless and GPS technology. If a vehicle breaks down, the driver is connected top a GM service call center that sends out towing and other roadside services. The center can even unlock doors remotely and help to pinpoint the locale of a stolen auto. After the free year OnStar costs $200 or more a year, depending on (how many|which} features the car owner wishes to {buy|acquire|purchase}.

Many cell phone companies and credit card companies also offer roadside asistance plans. However, anyone purchasing one of these plans is encouraged to read the fine print carefully as there have already been law suits. by customers who thought they were getting a free roadside assistance plan only to discover they were being billed on their credit card. One type of cell phone plan requires that the call for asistance be made from their phone.

Some cell phone plans are actually little more than dispatch services, and costs for the roadside asistance must be paid separately. So it behooves the consumer to carefully inspect any "free" roadside asistance plan he is signing up for.