Broken down in London? No membership needed.

First, get safe

• On the North Circular, A40, A10 or another fast road: try to reach the hard shoulder, a lay-by or a side road. Put your hazards on. If you’re stuck in a live lane, get everyone out on the passenger side and behind the barrier if it’s safe. Then call 999 before you call us.
• On a motorway: follow the same steps, and leave the car on the side away from traffic. Don’t put a warning triangle on a motorway.
• On a quiet street: hazards on, handbrake on, and stay with the car if you feel safe.

What happens next

Tell us where you are and what the car is doing: no power at all, cranking but not starting, a warning light, smoke, a noise, or a wheel that looks wrong. The price you’re given covers the call-out. If it can be fixed on the spot, the operator fixes it. Flat batteries, minor electrical faults, a loose hose or a puncture with a usable spare are common roadside fixes. If it can’t, the car goes on the truck to your home or a garage you choose.

Why people call us instead of their cover

• They don’t have cover, or it ran out last month.
• The quoted wait was three hours or more and they have kids in the car.
• The policy doesn’t cover the vehicle: a van over 3.5 t, a modified car, a motorbike, or a car that broke down at home.
• The patrol came, couldn’t fix it, and the tow to the garage would take another few hours to arrange.

Breakdowns we see most often in London

Stop-start traffic is hard on cars. Clutches and dual-mass flywheels wear out, batteries never fully charge on short trips, and cooling systems overheat in jams on the A406 in summer. Short trips also clog the diesel particulate filter (DPF) on modern diesels. Add potholes that crack alloys and pinch tyres, and you have most of our weekday calls.