"AAA's rural response times can definitely be hit or miss—got stuck in rural Oregon once and waited almost three hours."
Yeah, been there... waited forever once in upstate NY. I've looked into local insurers briefly, but honestly, I worry about coverage limits with my car. Might give it another shot though, especially if reimbursement's that easy.
"Might give it another shot though, especially if reimbursement's that easy."
Yeah, reimbursement can be pretty straightforward depending on the company. I'd suggest double-checking exactly how they handle it beforehand—sometimes there's fine print about towing distances or specific repair shops they'll cover. Had a similar experience with AAA in rural PA... waited almost two hours once, middle of winter, not fun at all. But local insurers do sometimes surprise you with better service. Worth looking into again, you never know.
"Had a similar experience with AAA in rural PA... waited almost two hours once, middle of winter, not fun at all."
Yeah, AAA's definitely slipped a bit over the years, at least from what I've seen. Used to swear by them, but lately I've heard more mixed reviews than good ones. Had a friend stuck outside Madison last summer—waited forever despite being pretty close to town. On the flip side, my local insurer surprised me recently when I had issues with my '68 Mustang. They reimbursed towing without any hassle and didn't push me towards specific shops either. Guess it really depends on your location and luck of the draw with dispatchers. I'd say shop around a bit—never hurts to see what's out there.
I've noticed response times can vary a lot depending on the contracted tow companies AAA uses in each area. Maybe rural regions have fewer options, causing delays... Did your friend near Madison ever get an explanation for the long wait?
From my experience, AAA response times really do vary significantly based on location and available contractors. I had a similar issue when traveling through rural Pennsylvania—waited over two hours without much explanation beyond "we're working on it." Your theory about fewer options in rural areas makes sense, though. Did your friend ever reach out directly to AAA afterward? Sometimes contacting customer service later can shed more light on what caused the delay.
