Just spend 3 weeks in France & had to make use of the AA European breakdown service, They were absolutely useless.

The car went into limp mode so we called the AA & agreed the nearest Skoda dealer to take the car to & set off with the understanding that the AA would call them imediately to ensure they could see the car & call us back if there was a problem

We limped the car about 50 Km to the dealers as agreed but they forgot to ring the dealer to say we were coming, Most of the workshop staff were on holiday, its a thing the French do in August so the dealer was overbooked & could not look at the car for a week, hed also only been a Skoda ealer for acouple of months.

We rang our dealer in the Uk & Skoda UK, both confirmed it was an emissions error, explained to us what needed doing & if the ferkin AA could have found someone to remove the fault code the car would have come out of limp mode, we could then drive the car at 40-60 mph for 5 mins to clear the fault. The AA could not find anyone in the city to clear the limp mode, we tried the local VW dealer but they refused to touch it in case there were warranty issues so we returned the car to the Skoda dealer for them to look at in a WEEKS TIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!.

They could not find a hire car that evening so it was a taxi back to the hotel. Next day they arranged a Taxi to take us 40 Km to a hire car that wasnt booked & they had no ther cars so 40 Km back to the hotel, in the afternoon a taxi drove us 120 Km to Marseilles airport to get a hire car as it was the nearest one they could find !!!

A week later we returned to collect the fixed car, trhe ealerhad replaced the particle filter when all he needed to do was to drive it !!

Hats off to Skoda Uk who tried in vain to sort out the AA & also tried to persuade the French dealer to help.

Suffice to say AA European assistance isnt all its cracked up to be so anyone using it Be warned !!!

My AA Membership will not be renewed

Stuart that a real pi$$er mate, I hope you still managed to enjoy a little of your holiday.

I know Sean broke down returning from the Ring a few weeks ago and his experience has been less than smooth - Don't know if it was AA though.

Cheap EBay laptop and a VAG-Com cable may be cheaper for next year

Cheap EBay laptop and a VAG-Com cable may be cheaper for next year

A cheap code reader is even cheaper but in fainess it's not what you expcet is it.

This is one reason I'm taking two mechanics with me to Prague and not bothering with EU cover through the AA, or any other breakdown service. Actually, thinking about it, I'll see if he can bring along the snap-on fault code scanner/clearer as well.

A cheap code reader is even cheaper but in fainess it's not what you expcet is it.

Are you bringing your laptop & VAG-COM on our trip?.

I can if required.

Are you bringing your SPS Plus?

I can if required.

Wouldn't hurt would it!.

As for the SPS plus, I don't have one (I believe you are refering to the Select Plus!)

You know what I mean.

Surely you mean the 'more power/grins device'

This is one reason I'm taking two mechanics with me to Prague and not bothering with EU cover through the AA, or any other breakdown service. Actually, thinking about it, I'll see if he can bring along the snap-on fault code scanner/clearer as well.

Its worth having some form of recovery in case the car cant be fixed, more important with a modded car or if it gets dimensionaly adjusted !!

Cheap EBay laptop and a VAG-Com cable may be cheaper for next year

Or ditch the filter !!

This is one reason I'm taking two mechanics with me to Prague and not bothering with EU cover through the AA, or any other breakdown service. Actually, thinking about it, I'll see if he can bring along the snap-on fault code scanner/clearer as well.

i'd like to see vag-com repair a blown up gearbox or failed alternator. that'd be a very worthwhile bit of software.

This a service that Skoda provide as part of the warranty. Therefore its their responsibility to get onto the AA and give us some faith in their ability to fix problems. Mind you, on that occasion they WERE french. That speaks volumes

That may not be true. They may well argue that it is a service provided in addition to the support they offer in the UK.

i get breakdown cover with my bank account but its not up to my local foriegn cashier to get my car fixed in berlin. they only pay for a service that another company provides so not really their problem if the other company fails to provide a worthwhile service.

I'm in Skoda capital of the world. Nothing I won't be able to get, although finding a pd130 gearbox in the Skoda museum's gift shop might be a challenge.

Basically, nothing BIG is gonna fail on this trip. We're all gonna drive there, straight there, no worries, no stops apart from fuel/bladder/tummy and it's gonna be hell of a weekend.

When I took my 320i over to the Ukraine, Neither the AA, or RAC would provide cover for my 18 yr old shed. so I went anyways witha socket set in the boot.

TBH this stuff is really just a comfort blanket for drivers. dont waste your money if you are fairly competant with a spanner.

unless you are in the middle of no where, can't speak to local dialect, its 2am and raining like its never rained before. then the random looking locals are looking at wondering what to steal first.