European Breakdown Cover: Yes Or No ?

You are taking your car to France and you return in 2 weeks. But there is a nagging feeling.. European breakdown cover for my car !?.

A two week single trip European breakdown cover policy is going to cost you more than those wonderful ferry tickets and your mind is working over time in order to forge a viable argument against buying a policy. The following thoughts come to mind:

(i) The 2 week policy is nearly as expensive as my UK breakdown cover

(ii) I have a new(ish) car.

(iii) I have never broken down before - Chances are I won't within the 2 week window ?! Right ?!

(iv) I will buy one whilst abroad if I need to. Whilst this works out as more expensive if I breakdown - people do this with UK breakdown policies.

It is not possible to look at the prices of the AA & RAC with a straight face. This is a bad joke right?

Ad infinitum

But there is still a nagging feeling.

The nagging feeling is the product of poor inductions. It is a similar curse to that which afflicts gamblers who rely upon the premise that nature has a memory- "the roulette wheel must return a black 9 soon it is "due"".

Of course, the anti-European-breakdown-cover-er isn't of the same breed as the fallacious gambler. But he is a cross breed. A cousin. They are of the same species.

Why the nagging?. The cause of the nagging is the expected consequence if you were to breakdown whilst you are abroad. It is in this possibility that we find a defeater for (i) to (iv).

The reason for the expense

(i) - is because there could potentially be huge associated costs to breaking down whilst abroad, not the least is the thought of missing your ferry and/or needing your car to be repatriated.

(ii) ? New cars, may, in principle, be less likely to breakdown from a mechanical fault. But there are innumerable ways in which your new car may prevent you from getting to the port on time flat tyre?. What about (iii)? This seems plausible. However, consider the following scenario. There is a certain road close to your home, it's not a busy road, and the chances are that you can put ear muffs and a blindfold on, and cross this road without being hit. And due to the quietness of the road, the chances of crossing successfully are better than those of breaking down abroad. Would you risk it .

Of course the "crossing-a-quiet-road-blindfolded-with-ear-muffs analogy" isn't perfect. There are no obviously associated benefits. But what about the "crossing-a-quiet-road-blindfolded-with-ear-muffs-for-40 analogy" ? Want to risk it?. Sure the analogy fails again, as there is no obvious link between your car breaking down and broken bones/death.

Any hope for (iv)?. Nope. It is usually stipulated that European breakdown policies begin and finish in the UK.

What about (v) ?. Shop around ! The AA and the RAC are not the only companies offering European breakdown solutions on the continent !!.