Best Car Breakdown Companies 2019
What are the best breakdown cover providers according to the users of this site?
We collected almost 7,500 of your experiences from breakdowns, whether they were a provider you chose yourself or manufacturer-supplied cover, and your ratings included not only the quality of the service provided but also value for money.
Thanks to your input we have ratings on 35 breakdown providers, with the top ten independent providers all scoring over 8.1 out of 10 and even the lowest-rated breakdown service provider scoring more than 7.1 out of 10.
1. GEM Motoring Assist 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.74
Placed first in our ranking table, even if by a small margin, was GEM Motoring Assist, with a score of 8.74 from 141 responses. GEM policies offer personal cover so there is assistance available in any of your vehicles or if you are driving a hired or borrowed vehicle, and there are membership benefits such as discounted motor and travel insurance too.
How much does Breakdown Cover cost with GEM?
GEM's cover is fullly comprehensive (aside from European Cover), with costs varying for the number of people that are included on the policy
| Number of People | Price |
| Single | £96.66* |
| Two people | £129.21* |
| Three People | £184.69* |
| Four People | £184.69* |
2. Rescue My Car 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.68
Finishing just a whisker behind the first placed GEM Motoring Assist, Rescue My Car scored an impressive 8.68 out of 10 from 25 respondents. Although this is a relatively low number Rescue My Car is one of the newer breakdown providers and will likely be scored by more users in the next poll. Rescue My Car gives the option of four different levels of cover including some with an excess, helping to keep the cost low unless you really need to use it.
How much does Breakdown Cover cost with Rescue My Car?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| Local recovery with excess | £16* |
| National & home breakdown cover with excess | £19.99* |
| National & home breakdown cover wihtout excess | £31.85* |
| European breakdown cover | £35.27* |
3. Britannia 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.64
Britannia Rescue is part of the LV insurance group, so it is no surprise to see it ranked so highly in this list. Ranked third overall based on 239 responses, Britannia scored 10 out of 10 with a large number of users. Anyone with an LV car insurance policy can add Britannia breakdown cover easily, with five levels of cover available. Britannia also claims an impressive average response time of 47.90 minutes to callouts.
How much does Breakdown Cover cost with Britannia?
| Recovery Type | Cost |
| Roadside Assist | £30 |
| Roadside & Home Assist | £61 |
| UK Recovery | £67 |
| UK Recovery & Home Assist | £93 |
| UK & European Assist | £134 |
4. Auto Aid
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.61
Auto Aid is part of a group of companies including Auto National Rescue and Euro Rescue all owned by Right Choice Insurance Brokers, but its strong showing here is based only on customers of Auto Aid. Its impressive score of 8.61 is based on 198 respondents, putting it in fourth place. Auto Aid's policies are based on covering an individual rather than a car but your spouse is automatically included at no extra cost.
How much does Breakdown Cover cost with Auto Aid?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| Roadside Only | £34* |
| Roadside & Recovery | £66* |
| Total UK | £78* |
5. Start Rescue
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.60
Start Rescue is one of the newer breakdown cover providers in the market, operating through Call Assist Ltd and recording an impressive score of 8.60 out of 10 based on 126 respondents. Start Rescue offers five levels of cover with prices starting from £16.45 for local roadside cover, making it a popular choice for anyone looking to keep costs as low as possible.
How much does Breakdown Cover cost with Start Rescue?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| Roadside assistance, local recovery | £26.90* |
| Roadside assistance, national recovery and home start | £28.95* |
| European roadside assistance in 42 countries | £68.95* |
| Four cars, roadside assistance, national recovery, home start | £106.52* |
Car Breakdown Cover: Who's Cheapest?
There are many different types of breakdown cover and the level is in the detail. That’s why we’re here to guide you through what’s on offer to get you the best policy at the keenest price.
6. Nationwide 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.57
This breakdown cover is offered by Nationwide Building Society as a part of its FlexPlus current account, so it is not available to those who are not customers. However, it received a rating of 8.57 out of 10 from 198 respondents, indicating a good level of service as well as impressive value for money. Because the breakdown cover is provided in a bundle of insurance products, the effective cost is currently £13 per month if you have a FlexPlus current account.
8. Green Flag 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.24
How much does cover cost with Green Flag?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| Roadside assistance, national recovery | £39 |
| Roadside assistance, national recovery and home start | £35.84 |
| Roadside assistance, national recovery, home start and onward travel | £44.80 |
| Roadside assistance in 39 European countries | £71.68 |
9. RAC 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.19
Completing the big three breakdown providers is RAC in ninth place, scoring 8.19 out of 10 based on 1,345 respondents which puts it just fractions behind its key competitors. The RAC offers a choice of personal breakdown cover or vehicle breakdown cover, and builds a price depending on the options you add in, with the cheapest form of vehicle cover costing £40 for 12 months.
How much does Breakdown Cover cost with the RAC?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| Roadside assistance, national recovery and home start | £115* |
| Roadside assistance, national recovery, home start and onward travel | £124* |
| Roadside assistance in 48 countries | £125.18* |
10. AXA 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.11
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