Comparing Coach Net, Good Sam & FMCA Roadside Assistance Coverage

[hermanmullins]

Too close to DC. ?

Herman 

[rlbarkleyii]

On 4/2/2017 at 7:50 AM, keithmq said:

Does anyone know why Coach-Net will not serve in Maryland?

I didn't know they did not work in MD. How did you find out?  Hope someone has some info on that!

 

[hayesfamily]

On 5/1/2017 at 10:33 PM, rlbarkleyii said:

I didn't know they did not work in MD. How did you find out?  Hope someone has some info on that!

 

Yeah I'd like to know where that came from because I almost went with them and they were going to gladly serve me in Maryland. 

[jleamont]

My guess, probably some law on the books in MD, that state is out of control with its crazy laws.

[manholt]

Herman, said it !

[hayesfamily]

2 hours ago, jleamont said:

My guess, probably some law on the books in MD, that state is out of control with its crazy laws.

I will be the first to admit that Maryland has some of the craziest and stupidest legislation but when it comes to this type of business I'm not exactly sure this one is Maryland's fault if it's indeed true. If that's the case Good Sam, Triple A and some of the other smaller outfits would not do business here either and all of them gladly accepted me and my older coach. I went with Good Sam for some money saving reasons but ... Never the less coach net was competitive they just did not offer a multi year deal at the time.  

[livncoast2coast]

I have Good Sam, but will switch when my plan comes up for renewal.  We had one of our rear dullies on our motorhome blow out last year, in the middle of no where, going up to through West Virginia heading to Pennsylvania.  It was close to 6:00pm.  We heard a very loud crash like sound, and then our tire alarm went off showing 0 pressure, and we knew the tire had blown.  We pulled off to the shoulder and called Good Sam, thinking we'd be taken care of...  Well, that's when we realized they don't have any special access that we don't.... they basically did what we could do ourselves, look up and call all the tire places in a radius around us.  Good Sam didn't ever call us back with any status, we kept having to call them.  At one point there was a shift change at the GS switchboard, and we had to go through our whole story again.  In the end, we slept in our Motorhome on the side of the road, and it was nearly 24 hours since we called before they had someone out to us with a new tire.  

Since we weren't getting real communications from Good Sam, we were also making our own calls.  We basically did the same thing they did, because the few tire places that answered the phone said they'd also been called by GS.  In chatting with the tire and towing places I called, I found out they all do service for all the RSA providers, and there is no special agreements or discounts, etc. with any of them.  So the only value-added by the RSA providers, in this situation, would be to keep communications open with us, and assure us everything possible was being done, and that we hadn't been forgotten as we sat on the side of the road all night.  In this respect, Good Sam failed miserably.  

Oh, and FYI, the bill came to over $800 dollars...

[wildebill308]

I agree Good Sam seems to be the bottom of the pile as far as service.

By the way welcome to the forum LIVNCOAST2COAST.

Bill

[elkhartjim]

I had CoachNet for several years. First time I needed to use them I had excellent service; a couple of years later I needed them and it was a complete disaster. I switched to Good Sams two years ago and I've needed them three times (two tire changes and one lock out) for the toad. Excellent service. I asked each service company what their trip charge was and it ranged from $95-$130. I'm way ahead of the game and pray I won't need them ever again.

Livnocast2coast, you mentioned the bill was over $800 but didn't Good Sams cover the service call expense? Sounds like your major complaint was they didn't call you back with a status update on some sort of schedule. I would rather them be calling somebody to help me than calling me to tell me they hadn't found anybody yet. BTW, some motorhome tire sizes are not easily found during normal working hours much less after 6pm.

[livncoast2coast]

Elkhartjim, the $800 + bill was what was charged to my credit card, after whatever little GoodSam actually covered.  The tire itself was just under $500.  'My major complaint' was they were the ones saying when to expect a call with a status update, and they never called.  I found out when the new crew came in after shift change, (again me having to call them), that nothing was being done.  They were just going to check again in the morning.  I was told they would be checking into getting us safely towed off the side of the road, and that didn't happen.  I fully understand tires can be hard to come by, but letting us know their plan would have allowed us to not worry all night what was going on.  When you are in that situation, communication is key.  For all we knew, and it turned out pretty accurate, we'd been forgotten on the side of the road.  Horrible customer service.

 

 

[tbutler]

I've had both GS and CN.  I've had good experiences with each and also bad experiences with each.  It's a tough business to deal with road emergencies and the person on the other phone is key to what kind of experience you have.  Clear communication on our part helps them understand what is needed but sometimes good listening and asking a few questions if they don't fully understand us is also required.  We've all had situations when what we said left our mouth and somehow came into another persons ears with a completely different meaning. 

Having switched back and forth several times, I've registered my displeasure several times.  I'm currently with Coach Net and sincerely hoping that I never need them to come to my rescue.  Given the current state of the internet and the various apps available, we may be nearing the point of DIY road service.  I had one GS event where they sent someone with the wrong size tire and I was then told I'd had my service call.  End of discussion.  I got on the phone to the nearest dealer for my tires, paid them to come 50 miles for road service and they brought a new tire that I could keep as opposed to tossing the almost right size used tire.  The cost for the road service was more than paid for by not having to buy a tire that I couldn't use for anything other than getting safely off the road.  There are times when you are truly in need of emergency help and it usually occurs at the worst time.  That is why we have a road service contract.

[livncoast2coast]

Thanks WildEBill308 for the welcome.  I didn't really want to dwell on complaints with Good Sam, just wanted to communicate my experience, and explore other options here.   A lot of the good comments I've seen from others around their particular good RSA experience seems to confuse what the RSA program itself did, with what the particular business that came out to do the service did.  As I've come to realize, that business that responded and provided the good service, could very likely have  been the same business regardless of which of the RSA programs contacted them on your behalf.  So I'm looking at the differences between the RSA programs themselves, how what, they themselves provide, differ between the programs.  Will be catching up on the other posts here.

 

Thanks, and glad to be able to add my part to the forum.

 

 

[livncoast2coast]

Funny (not really) coincidence, since I just posted a couple weeks ago about a previous horrible GS experience..  Just came out of a store to a flat tire on our toad.  It's a Smartcar without a spare.  I bought it used, and while it's supposed to have run-flats, it came with regular tires.  I was going to be changing them out with run-flats later this year.  I called Good Sam, since I have another couple months on my plan.  The rate in this area to patch a tire is about $15.  The woman at Good Sam said they recommend a new tire, and if we go against their recommendation, it's not covered.  That's crazy!!!  There is no visible damage, it has to be just a nail.  So I asked them just to have the car towed to my RV, and I'll arrange the repair myself.  Was told a tow truck should arrive in a couple hours.  They made absolutely no effort to try and find someone that could come sooner.... It's 90 degrees in this parking lot, and we are in the middle of a small city.  I really don't even see a purpose of Good Sam at all.

[mweiner]

Sure, it's expensive, but, it's hard to beat the service of AAA Premiere RV and towing.  The only thing is that each regional office has different service levels... 

They have a great trip interruption plan... again, you will have to weigh out the benefits for yourself.

I've been a member of AAA for over 35 years... their roadside assistance team has NEVER let me down. 

[livncoast2coast]

Thanks MWeiner for the info on your experience with AAA , will explore their options when it's time to renew.  I've learned there are a lot of times when it's not a good idea to just go with the lowest price.   

[mweiner]

LIVNCOAST2COAST- 

I've learned over the years that price is only ONE FACTOR,  and you have to consider performance...I don't think you'll be disappointed with AAA. 

As far as I know, they are the oldest roadside assistance motor club established 115 years ago.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Automobile_Association

[kaypsmith]

I've been with AAA for many years, have the premiere RV plan, and have had several times that the service was impeccable, the last time I called, I finally met that guy that didn't have a clue as to what a motorhome was, much less what was needed. In reality, Mama was right when she said there would be days like this. I tried GS for a few years, and that's where the last guy came from that lied to get a job at AAA. LOL!

[five]

The only problem I've heard about AAA service, and I've heard several of these complaints, is they are not familiar with MHs.  Therefore they send a truck incapable of towing a MH and/or a driver that has no idea how to rig the MH for towing so as not to ruin the Allison.  I've heard enough complaints that I will not use them.  Coach Net or GS....it's a toss up.

[kaypsmith]

I wasn't going to, but here is what happened, mind you, twice before I had no problem, right tow truck and very knowledgeable driver. But on the last call, a lady took the call, and of course asked all of the questions on her cheat sheet, one of course is what brand motorhome, mine is of course a converted MCI, which is what I told her, I was put on hold for about a minute, a male voice came back on the phone and he proceeded to tell me that they didn't cover commercial carriers and that mine is a commercial carrier. I explained that it was converted and is definitely a motorhome. He answered, ok, I will send somebody to verify that it is. About 30 minutes later a tinkertoy wrecker showed up with two people on board to verify that is was a motorhome, they came aboard and looked it over and called AAA back to verify that it was a MH. By this time two hours have passed and it is now pitch dark on a secluded curvy mountain road with my coach two thirds onto the road. The guys told me that they would be back within an hour with the proper equipment to tow it to a place of safety, two hours passed and they did not return, it was about that time that AAA called me back to inform me that I would have to leave it there till morning because there was not a wrecker large enough to tow that night. Meanwhile my daughter and son in law got involved and was able to get a person to come check and possibly fix the problem, which was the purge valve on the drier. He was able to get the bus to air up finally and at least got me on my way. I had to keep fanning the brakes to not allow the valve to let off pressure again to my destination. Sorry to be so long, but this was the only time that AAA was not Johnny on the spot, can't really blame them, as they did at least try and I believe that a proper tow truck would have arrived the next morning, this was within 2 miles of my home, and I know all the services around the area, and did verify that it was a bad day to try to get a large wrecker that night. And again, I do not hold AAA to blame, I will continue to use them in the future.

[mweiner]

FIVE-. I guess anything can happen...I guess everyone's experience will vary. 

The response time for AAA is extremely good.. local offices may have communication issues...I make it clear what I'm driving. 

[mweiner]

K- I can see how they would take one look at your Greyhound conversion..and think that it's a commercial vehicle.  It's enormous..and probably VERY INTIMIDATING for a lot of tow truck drivers.  Good for you to continue with AAA...you can't blame the whole company on a pair of clowns.

[kaypsmith]

The tow truck drivers was not a problem, they reported that it was in fact a motorhome. It was the clown at the call center who could not believe that it was a motorhome.

[mweiner]

K- next time someone argues with you about that offer to send them a digital picture.

[wayne77590]

I had a good experience with Good Sam.  We were 22 miles from home and stop engine light came on, next thing I'm dead in the road, busy intersection. Enough time passed that I was able to start it and pull into a bank parking lot. Sunday, not many business open. GS of course asked if I was in a safe place and I was, Could fire the generator, put the slide out, level etc.   Sat back watched TV and next morning promptly at 8:30 big tow truck showed up. Driver definately knew what to do, disconnect drive shaft, hook up air line for suspension, etc. 

Cummins dealer was 40 miles away. When we got there I asked what it would have cost me personally if I had paid for it.  Answer was $750 total.

Thanks Good Sam!

[five]

On 7/18/2017 at 4:47 PM, MWeiner said:

FIVE-. I guess anything can happen...I guess everyone's experience will vary. 

The response time for AAA is extremely good.. local offices may have communication issues...I make it clear what I'm driving. 

AAA is probably okay for you.  But what will tow you, will not budge a 50K DP.