AA No Longer Cover Trackdays

Ed Doe

Ed Doe

Veteran
 Ashbourne or Frimley
Hi All,

Probably only affects the minority of people on the forum, but thought it worth posting up.

I've been an AA member for years now - probably honestly to my detriment really given the cost of membership in that time vs the cost of recovery on the one time I've actually needed my car recovered(!)

The only reason I'd maintained my membership all these years is because the AA were the only company to offer recovery from Trackdays. To that point I did use them approx 5 years ago when I had my M recovered from Goodwood after a top-end failure.

I always wondered when that cover would end - looks like Feb 2024 they updated their T&Cs - extract below;

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Given that my renewal has come up and my cover (joint cover for my wife & I, not including home start) is now £20 a month, and no longer covers recovery from trackdays, I think I'll be looking elsewhere. A real shame.

Anyway, TL:DR, if you have AA cover because they used to recover from trackdays, they no longer provide that service, so don't get caught out!
 
I’m looking at doing a speed day next year and a couple of other track based events..hardly surprising that anyone will cover those things..on ty4 basis of WCPGW? :rofl:
 
I'm with the AA, if you'd asked me I'd never have guessed they even used to cover track days!

When i used to do motorbike track days some folks would take their number plates off then if they had a drama they'd drag the wreckage off site and throw it in a ditch, put the plate back on then ring up for recovery (and also make their insurance claim....). Companies soon got wise to a suspicious number of "accidents" close to race tracks.
 
Rockhopper said:
I'm with the AA, if you'd asked me I'd never have guessed they even used to cover track days!

When i used to do motorbike track days some folks would take their number plates off then if they had a drama they'd drag the wreckage off site and throw it in a ditch, put the plate back on then ring up for recovery (and also make their insurance claim....). Companies soon got wise to a suspicious number of "accidents" close to race tracks.
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Yep we've all heard those stories. Not something I want to even vaguely entertain - I'd rather know I'm sorted in the event something untoward was to happen - hence paying over the odds for breakdown and recovery from the AA so I'd be covered in that eventuality.

Anyway, I guess the irony is if I'd put my monthly fees into a savings account I'd have enough to pay for recovery many times over by now!
 
Been recovered from tracks a few times... AA recovered me when my alternator packed in at Donington. Had rac recover me twice prior before they stopped.

Seems like there's a market there, should a recovery company choose to fill it.
 
brillomaster said:
Been recovered from tracks a few times... AA recovered me when my alternator packed in at Donington. Had rac recover me twice prior before they stopped.

Seems like there's a market there, should a recovery company choose to fill it.
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Yup, agreed on that.

I think going forward I'll get a shiply quote a week before from the track I intend to drive, speak with the driver and say 'look I'll bung you some cash to keep the slot free in case I need you.
 
Ed Doe said:
Anyway, I guess the irony is if I'd put my monthly fees into a savings account I'd have enough to pay for recovery many times over by now!
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A bit how I feel about spending £300 pa extra on insurance in order to insure cars I am not driving!
 
so... are there any breakdown/recovery services that do cover trackdays, has anyone found?

just checked greenflag, and they specifically exclude any vehicle involved in a trackday also.

it really does seems strange to me that given the huge popularity of trackdays, no one is willing to recover a vehicle that breaks down on one.
 
brillomaster said:
so... are there any breakdown/recovery services that do cover trackdays, has anyone found?

just checked greenflag, and they specifically exclude any vehicle involved in a trackday also.

it really does seems strange to me that given the huge popularity of trackdays, no one is willing to recover a vehicle that breaks down on one.
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If you can afford to do trackdays surely you can afford the recovery costs?
 
Fred Smith said:
If you can afford to do trackdays surely you can afford the recovery costs?
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That's just a silly statement. The idea of purchasing breakdown & Recovery cover is to mitigate that cost so you don't need to 'afford' it.

If I had had a problem at a trackday at Donington (back when I lived in Guildford) the recovery could easily have been well over £500, especially calling a recovery service on the day.
Recovery from the 'ring can easily run into the thousands.

It's just common sense to mitigate the risk of that cost. Just because people do trackdays doesn't immediately mean they've got thousands just hanging about to recover their car in case of the worst. You could apply that logic equally to any driver on the road - 'you have a car and you drive it, why can't you afford recovery from Land's End to John o' Groats?!' :lol:
 
It's more the finding someone who's available when you need them. But yeah, that's what I'm currently doing with my track car, will arrange recovery from someone if and when I need it.

Be easier if AA just covered it though.
 
Ed Doe said:
Fred Smith said:
If you can afford to do trackdays surely you can afford the recovery costs?
Click to expand...

That's just a silly statement. The idea of purchasing breakdown & Recovery cover is to mitigate that cost so you don't need to 'afford' it.

If I had had a problem at a trackday at Donington (back when I lived in Guildford) the recovery could easily have been well over £500, especially calling a recovery service on the day.
Recovery from the 'ring can easily run into the thousands.

It's just common sense to mitigate the risk of that cost. Just because people do trackdays doesn't immediately mean they've got thousands just hanging about to recover their car in case of the worst. You could apply that logic equally to any driver on the road - 'you have a car and you drive it, why can't you afford recovery from Land's End to John o' Groats?!' :lol:
Click to expand...

You have kinda half convinced me... but on the other hand, sorry, if you can afford to stick a new engine in the car, and stick new discs and pads on anytime you need to, then you can afford recovery. And if you can't afford those things is it not a bit risky doing track days?

With hindsight I agree with you that if you can get AA cover and include track days then it would be insane not to.

I suppose my issue as much as anything is my general belief that insurance is primarily for when you need it legally (car) or when the cost of insurance is tiny compared to the absolute massive loss if the worst happened (eg makes sense to have buildings insurance, because however unlikely a massive fire is, not losing hundreds of thousands in a fire is a really good thing.)

Most other things are either really unlikely to happen, and if they do it's only a few hundred to buy a replacement, or they are likely to happen and the fair cost of insurance is massive. If an insurance company could easily be on the hook for £500 in recovery costs if they cover track days I would want £500 premium for the year and that covers 2 or 3 track days at most... at which point maybe your better off taking your chances again.
 
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