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Green Flag sits among the likes of the AA and RAC as one of the most significant breakdown services in the UK.
By comparing its services, costs, reliability, and more, this guide will evaluate the company to see if it’s worth your time. Find out if Green Flag is one of the best UK breakdown cover providers or if you should avoid it and opt for a different alternative.
When compared to the likes of the AA and RAC, Green Flag is a relatively new company, having formed in 1971 as an alternative to these companies that were beginning to monopolise the breakdown cover market.
Instead of employing patroling mechanics, Green Flag uses a network of local garages and mechanics to provide recovery and repair services, making them a bit unique from the others.
In 1999, Green Flag became part of the Direct Line Group, which includes Direct Line and Churchill insurance brands. Despite this acquisition, Green Flag remains a distinct entity from these brands and has grown to be one of the largest providers of breakdown cover in the UK.
Like other breakdown cover providers, Green Flag offers levels to their cover that include different features and benefits. They offer a standard level of cover, which includes the basic benefits you’d expect from a breakdown service. However, they also have more comprehensive levels that offer you more for a greater price.
At its basic level, you’ll be able to get roadside assistance. This means that you can call out one of Green Flag’s many mechanics in their network and have your vehicle fixed at the roadside. This assistance is offered 24/7, and the time it takes to get seen by a mechanic should be under an hour, although many people are seen within 30 minutes. If the mechanic cannot fix your car at the roadside, you’ll be towed to the nearest garage to have work done on your car there. The garage can only be up to 10 miles away at the basic level.
It is possible to get a national recovery with Green Flag. This is where you can get your vehicle towed to any garage in the UK. So if you want to get to the specialist garage for your particular car manufacturer, you can. National recovery is an additional level to your cover that you’ll have to pay extra for.
Green Flag also offers home start cover. This means that if your vehicle is struggling to start and you can’t get it off your driveway, you’ll be able to call a mechanic to your home to fix the problem. Like national recovery, this isn’t offered as standard and will be something that you’ll have to pay extra for.
There’s also their onward travel service that you can add to your breakdown cover. This is where Green Flag arranges either a hire car, alternative transport, or even accommodation to help you get on with your daily life if your vehicle is out of action getting serviced and fixed.
With Green Flag, you can add all of the above into one policy to help you get a complete cover, or you can simply choose the specific levels you want to help you build a breakdown cover that’s unique to you.
When building your cover, you can also include add-ons, such as European breakdown cover that protects you if you break down while on a European getaway. You can also add things like tyre replacement and battery repair; however, each add-on you include will increase the price.
The total cost of your Green Flag cover will depend on the level of cover you get, plus any add-ons. Despite this, on average, Green Flag is one of the cheapest options regarding breakdown cover in the UK.
When getting cover for a single person, their basic rescue policy can be as cheap as £54.88 for the whole year, which is drastically cheaper than the AA and RAC, which can cost a lot more for the year.
Even its most expensive policy, Euro Plus, which offers comprehensive cover, is around £108.64, which is far cheaper than elsewhere.
Plus, if you’re happy to go digital, you can save up to 40% on your costs if you decide to get your cover through their website instead of over the phone. Doing this may be a lot more convenient and may save you even more money as a result.
Remember that the prices quoted here are for a specific individual. The prices you’re quoted will change depending on your circumstances, such as your age, where you live, the type of car you drive, and more.
To make sure that Green Flag is still the cheapest option for you, get a quote from all the breakdown cover providers you’re considering and compare them.
Green Flag operates differently from other breakdown services. Instead of having its own fleet of patrolling vehicles, Green Flag connects you with local mechanics that can come to your aid and help your broken-down vehicle.
To get aid, you’ll first need to contact Green Flag, letting them know what’s happened and your location. You can do this either over the phone or use their handy app, which makes getting someone to you a lot easier.
Once you’ve registered your issue with Green Flag, they’ll organise for a local mechanic to get to your car as quickly as possible. You can also schedule a specific time to help the repair work around your commitments. Once the roadside specialist has arrived, they’ll work hard to repair your car there. If they are unable to fix it, they’ll tow your vehicle to the nearest garage, as long as it’s under 10 miles away.
Green Flag’s network of mechanics is quality controlled, meaning that you should get people who know what they’re doing and have the skills to repair your car.
Green Flag is a reliable company, and on average, you won’t be waiting long to get seen by a specialist. For most people, the time it takes to get roadside assistance is around 30 minutes, which is actually faster than the average time it takes the AA of RAC to get to you.
They also have a high success rate in getting your car fixed on the roadside. Currently, 86% of all cars are repaired on the roadside. This means that you’re unlikely to need to have your car taken to the garage, which can speed up the recovery process and get you back on the road in no time.
When weighing the positives with the negatives of Green Flag, it’s clear that it’s a decent roadside assistance and recovery service that does a lot of things right. Despite these perks, Green Flag has a few negatives that must be considered before signing up for it.
PROS
CONS
Green Flag ranks as a very good UK breakdown cover option. Its low prices make it affordable, and its reliable service means that you aren’t compromising on much for that low price.
Green Flag has a lot of satisfied customers and users on Trustpilot, a website that gathers all reviews of businesses to give it an overall star rating, ranks Green Flag as 4.2 out of 5. This is the same as the AA – a vastly more expensive service – and it’s higher than RAC.
Despite being the third biggest breakdown service in the UK, Green Flag is definitely a contender for being the best in the country.
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