Caravans & Volvo Assistance

[Steamdrivenandy]

I agree SJ.
What rankles me is not being able to by caravan rescue cover without including car cover, so effectively you end up with the car being covered twice.

[ChrisE]

That is my objection as well. Volvo promote Assistance as part of the service package but it is of no value to me as I need Caravan cover as well.

I do wonder which, if any, of the other packages RAC, AA, Green Flag etc etc would cover the caravan. Volvo Assistance is most probably only subcontracted to one of the other rescue companies. Mayday is I suspect the only guaranteed option.

[Steamdrivenandy]

You usually have to go somewhere deep into the small print to find out how a particular rescue company will handle caravans. I know from my time working for Black Horse Vehicle Management (now Lex Autolease) that car brands do occasionally change their rescue service providers. BHVM used to run the contract hire for Volvo, Saab, Fiat, Honda, Toyota etc as well as those financed by Lloyds UDT and the whole Lloyds TSB staff fleet. You had a little screen on your phone which told you which company the customer had rung and you then had to answer as 'Mr Volvo' or 'Mr Toyota'. Talk about split personality!
If I recall I think Volvo moved from the AA to the RAC or vice versa during my watch, but it was 15 years ago.
Green Flag are the contractors for the Caravan Club's Mayday service, but I've no idea who provides a similar service for the Camping and Caravan Club. Bearing in mind that they're both caravan orientated organisations I think you can count on them being able to handle caravan recovery, the others might be a problem.

[danielm85948]

Originally Posted by Steamdrivenandy

I wouldn't be at all surprised that it doesn't cover caravans. I'd only just renewed our Mayday Caravan Club cover (provided by Green Flag) a matter of days before purchasing the Volvo and being given Volvo Assistance for a year. If the Volvo package included caravans then I could've saved myself £100 or so by getting a refund under distance selling rules but as I'm fairly certain caravan's aren't covered I won't be bothering.

I once asked Mayday if they provided 'caravan only' cover as at the time my Kia was covered by Kia's assistance package, but Mayday, the Caravan Club's own service won't offer such a package. You'd think, given it's the CARAVAN Club that they would offer CARAVAN cover, but not so. I guess there's an awful lot of caravanners effectively paying double for cover. It might be worth asking a selling dealer for a discount as you won't need the Volvo Assistance package, but I doubt you'd get anywhere because it's presumably included in Volvo's wholesale price.

get breakdown cover from asda at £7.50 per month.

[Steamdrivenandy]

So that's £90 a year for Asda cover BUT which recovery company do they use and what is their policy re caravan recovery.

The Caravan Club Mayday service is £35 a year for 'Roadside Assistance', £68 a year for 'Roadside & Recovery' and £97 a year for 'Premium UK' and they all include caravan assistance.

[ChrisE]

Finding out the true position isn't helped because they all talk about recovering the caravan if it is attached to the faulty car but this is very different to coming out for a fault with the van if the car is fine. They don't make this clear in my experience. Since confidence is important in this case I am only confident about Mayday cover.

[sunshinetours]

Originally Posted by Simon Jones

Not sure why it's such a surprise that Volvo Assistance will only cover the vehicle itself. Otherwise you could hookup any old shed to the back and expect them to come out and repair/recover it when the wheels fall off.

You wouldn't expect your life insurance policy taken out in your name to automatically cover your partner just because they happen to have moved in with you.

My BMW Emergency cover would come out for minor fixable issue (puncture for instance) if van was attached to the back as classed as part of the vehicle that is the issue. This was also cover for Europe wide as well so a huge benefit

Your spouse would never be classed as an extension of you personally for legal or financial policies of course so that isn't the same thing !

Noone is expecting someone to come out and restore a caravan

Belts and braces (and attached cost ) if you holiday here and in Europe with a caravan and Volvo means you need Red Pennant I guess or C&CC equivalent

A significant hidden cost on my change to Volvo it seems

[Steamdrivenandy]

Touring in the UK you would only need Mayday or its equivalent, but if you went abroad you'd need Red Pennant, or its equivalent. Red P. is foreign cover, not UK.

[sunshinetours]

Originally Posted by Steamdrivenandy

Touring in the UK you would only need Mayday or its equivalent, but if you went abroad you'd need Red Pennant, or its equivalent. Red P. is foreign cover, not UK.

Apologies you are correct of course, although Red Pennant is needed from start of your EU journeys even if you have say 5 days I UK at start I believe.
So For the Volvo if using the CC cover i would need both Mayday and RP to cover me for the year and to ensure my caravan was covered

Either way its going to cost me far more than it used to with my old car for some cover that is at least comparable (RP would be cover well over and above what I had before I accept)

[Lamp Swinger]

I will vouch for Red Pennant. People will moan about the cost, until they have a breakdown. A few years ago we broke down on the motorway just south of Reims. It was Bastille weekend and a Sunday morning. I used the motorway phone to speak to the control room. Eventually they found an English speaker do converse with me. Within 15 minutes a breakdown wagon appeared, loaded the car (a Frontera) and towed the caravan to their yard at Chalons en Champagne. Using the RP telephone number the CC were able to converse with the guy. They instructed the guy to take us to a nearby caravan site and take the car to a Opel dealer the next day. I site reception received a call about mid afternoon informing them my car was ready for collection. The site manager ran me to the Opel dealer, I paid the approximately £8 bill and returned to the site. The problem was a seized jockey wheel bearing for the fan belt tensioner. We stayed an extra night at the site (£24 for the 2 nights)and continued on our way to Switzerland the next morning. The amount of the off motorway tow would have cost more than the RP fee.
From memory the RP covers you from the moment you leave your UK address. They will also pay for the return of the caravan to the UK if it becomes disable during your holiday. It is way more than just a breakdown cover, it covers medical treatment also.
I have always had Mayday (GF) cover for UK use, as I know the car manufacturers cover will not include my caravan.

David