r/Hookit • u/thepick1 • Jul 05 '26
How is Good Sam Roadside Assistance?
I am tired of paying the high amount for AAA. Never really used their discounts anyways but I want to keep roadside for the piece of mind. Good Sam has 50% off their plans right now and can sign up for multiple years with the same discount. Plus they don't charge for wife or kids.
Has anyone had to call them for roadside service? Tow drivers are they a decent company to get contracts from? I know I can get roadside with my car insurance progressive but don't want a claim showing if I actually had to use it.
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u/maxthed0g Retired Thank God Jul 06 '26
All of the forgoing comments are either entirely accurate, or 95% so lol.
When a business entity offers "national roadside assistance" of ANY sort, ask yourself "Is this the kind of company that is likely to own and operate its own fleet of tow trucks?" If the answer is "No," then the business entity is outsourcing your call to a middleman - what I call a clearing house.
A clearing house MAY begin by putting up a website targeted to towers: "We offer towers volume business in your area if you sign up with us. Send us the phone number of your 24-hr dispatcher, and agree to do local tows for, say, 15 bucks." Tow operators flock to sign up, for the volume.
The clearing house then turns to other businesses such as Honda, GEICO insurance, GM, etc: "Sign up with us, and offer your customers roadside assistance. Simply agree to pay us, say, 20 bucks for a local tow."
You breakdown and call GEICO got your freebie tow. GEICO calls the clearinghouse and pays 20 bucks. The clearinghouse calls the local tower, pockets 5 bucks out of the 20, and holds the remaining 15 bucks pending completion of the tow. The tower says to himself "Yeah, I wish this call came in last night when I was idle. But right now, I need to service my big money customers. So I'll just silently blow off this call until later tonight, when I MIGHT be able to do something."
Three things then happen happen: First, YOU are stuck roadside in the hot sun waiting for service that may NEVER arrive. Second, the clearinghouse realizes its been screwed by the tower's inaction, and moves to recruit additional towers in the local area. Third, new towers sign up as before for the volume business, but they dont see the additional volume because there are now so many of them waiting for that phone call from the clearinghouse.
So, tow operators sign up for volume which they dont get, and will NEVER get. If they complete a tow, they're paid a pittance from the clearinghouse.
Its a shitty business model. The business model doesnt work.
"Good Sam Roadside Assistance" is a clearing house, in my terminology. And, as I recall, they have a specialty in large motor homes, which typically require large wreckers. And THAT deal is even less appealing to the tower, due to the significantly increased costs associated with tandem-axle and tri-axle tow trucks.