breakdown cover

Our cheapest breakdown cover starts from £7.95 a month. This is our Basic cover for 1 vehicle. Exactly how much your breakdown cover costs depends on:

• The level of cover you choose – Basic, Extra or Complete

• The type of cover you choose – personal cover usually costs more than vehicle cover

• How many vehicles or people you cover – the more you add, the more it will cost

• Whether you need add-ons – like Onward Travel, Key Replace, Battery Replace or Tyre Replace

The easiest way to get a breakdown cover quote is online. You can get started here – and it only takes a few minutes.

Alternatively, you can call us on 0330 159 1111.

If you get a flat tyre, you can call us for help. We’ll try to fix your tyre, fit your spare tyre for you, or help you find a replacement tyre.

You can also buy ‘Tyre Replace cover’. This covers you for up to 5 new tyres a year, worth up to £150 each, if yours are punctured or damaged.

Yes, you can. Some car insurance providers allow you to buy breakdown cover as an added extra. You may find that they only offer basic breakdown cover, and you need to pay extra to upgrade. Before you buy breakdown cover, you should check that it’s not already included with your car insurance. RAC Car Insurance and RAC Temporary Car Insurance both include the option to add breakdown cover.

Roadside assistance is a type of breakdown cover. You might also see it referred to as ‘roadside breakdown cover’. It means that we’ll rescue you if you break down at the roadside, and tow you up to 10 miles if we can’t fix you on the spot.

Other types (or ‘levels’) of cover are also available. These include At Home, which covers you on your driveway (or if you breakdown within a ¼ mile from home). And National Recovery, which covers you for a long-distance tow (instead of just 10 miles).

If you have vehicle breakdown cover (which covers a particular vehicle), you can transfer your cover to another vehicle. You can do this on your myRAC online account, or by calling us on 03301 591 466. There’s no charge for this.

If you have personal breakdown cover (which covers you personally in any car), you can’t transfer your policy to another person.

Breakdown cover is separate from car insurance, so it won’t affect your no claims bonus.

Car insurance doesn’t include breakdown cover as standard. Unless your car insurance offers it as an extra, it’s worth buying a separate breakdown cover policy to make sure you can get help if you break down.

Yes. There isn’t an age limit on the cars the RAC cover. Only our Battery Replace cover is limited to cars less than 15 years old (and no more than 150,000 mileage).

The short answer is yes. Breakdown cover can save you money, time and stress if your car breaks down. You’ll have 24/7 roadside assistance if you're stranded on the side of the road and need help.

If you don't have breakdown cover and something goes wrong with your car, getting help can quickly become expensive. You may have to call out an expensive recovery firm who could charge by the hour for their services.

Breakdown cover includes the cost of fixing your car at the roadside (which our patrols can do for 4 out of 5 vehicles). We just have to charge for any replacement parts, fuel and batteries. But if your car needs further repairs at a garage, your breakdown cover won’t include the cost of those.

Unlike insurance, you don’t have to pay excess on most breakdown cover. Your membership covers you for 24/7 access to roadside assistance and includes free fitting and labour if you need repairs at the roadside.

If we need to use any replacement parts to fix your car at the roadside, you’ll have to pay for these. But you can help avoid unexpected bills by choosing one of our breakdown cover extras, such as Tyre, Battery or Key Replace.

We provide car breakdown cover for vehicles of any age. We also cover hybrids, electric vehicles, classic cars, motorbikes and vans. Your vehicle must be:

• UK registered
• a maximum of 3.5 tonnes, 6.4 m long (and 2.5 m wide – that’s roughly the weight and size of a Ford Transit long wheelbase van)
• a motorcycle over 49cc (or 121cc in Europe)

For caravans, campervans and motorhomes, we can offer roadside assistance and recovery with our RAC Arrival product.

View our vehicle eligibility page to find out which vehicles are excluded.

Roadside Assistance and At Home cover begin on your start date, as long as you haven’t already broken down. You can select this when you complete your purchase.

With Extra and Complete cover you also get National Recovery and the option to add Onward Travel which both start 24 hours later.

Key Replace, Battery Replace and Tyre Replace cover start 14 days after your breakdown cover start date.

If you’ve already broken down, do not buy online. Please call 0330 159 8743.

You can choose to pay on a monthly basis or pay upfront for the full length of your plan.

Your RAC membership also comes with exclusive discounts on car maintenance, travel and leisure. This includes 25% off airport parking, up to 51% off theme park tickets and more. See all your RAC Rewards.

You’ll need RAC Business Breakdown Cover instead. You can choose a 12 or 24 month contracts for commercial cars, vans, taxis, minibuses and more.

European cover doesn’t come as standard with your UK breakdown cover. Luckily, we also offer the best European breakdown cover on the market.³ To make sure you’re covered if you travel to Europe, you can:

• add European Rescue to your existing policy
• buy European breakdown cover as a standalone policy

You’re covered in Ireland, France, Spain, Italy and many other countries in Europe. If you buy European breakdown cover as a standalone policy, you can choose between single-trip cover for a one-off journey – or annual cover for multiple trips during the year.

If you break down and have pets in the car, we’ll come out to help you. If we can’t fix you there and then, you may need a recovery. In this case, pets can travel in the patrol or recovery vehicle at the discretion of the patrol or recovery driver and their owners. But please bear in mind that this is solely at the owners’ risk. Our patrols and recovery drivers also have the right to refuse to take any animal in their cab.

We recommend that you let us know if you have pets in the vehicle when you call us.

Yes. There isn’t an age limit on the cars we cover. Only our Battery Replace cover is limited to cars less than 15 years old (and no more than 150,000 mileage).

You can set your roadside and at home cover to start immediately. But you can’t buy breakdown cover if you’ve already broken down. If you’ve broken down without cover, call 0330 159 8743 and we’ll arrange emergency cover for you.