I am surprised to read this about Good Sam ERS. The Good Sam magazine shows such great stories by people who write in! I hope they are there when/if we ever need them. They even say to call them if we have a problem with our car(s).
I have to jump in and say that we have had Good Sam ERS for about six years, and they have given us good service on three occasions--and all three times it was for one of our cars, not our RV or even the car we tow. Twice we had a dead battery, and the third time was a flat tire. The first time the tow truck driver got lost, and it took him almost three hours to get to us. The other two times someone arrived in less than an hour. None of these were really bad situations, and I hope we never have to find out if their service is as good if we're stuck 60 miles from nowhere on the side of the road.
My insurance company, USAA, provides roadside assistance as a rider for little to nothing. But everyone cannot qualify to become a customer. Nonetheless, I would think that if you could get coverage thru your insurance company at a reasonable cost, it would be best. That is a regulated industry as opposed to AAA. If I am not mistaken Good Sams uses GMAC which is also regulated.
QUOTE(Dave-and-Ellen @ Jul 19 2008, 04:46 PM) [snapback]12338[/snapback] I am surprised to read this about Good Sam ERS. The Good Sam magazine shows such great stories by people who write in! I hope they are there when/if we ever need them. They even say to call them if we have a problem with our car(s). Are we niaive? Um.... do you think Good Sam would print the letters saying that the service sucks????? Just asking..... JJ
QUOTE(DXSMac @ Jul 21 2008, 11:10 PM) [snapback]12359[/snapback] Are we niaive? Um.... do you think Good Sam would print the letters saying that the service sucks????? Just asking..... JJ I girlfriend had AAA. She left work for lunch and came out and the battery was dead. She called AAA and they said it would be at least 2 hours, maybe 3 before they could get to her. She was in town, not out on the road somewhere. She called a friend, got the car started and was back to work on time. I wonder if the state you are in makes any difference. This was in So.California. The incident that I described earlier where we could not get assistance was also in CA. I keep forgetting to the the CoachNet card from the Motorhome. Want the information in my purse so if I have a problem in the car, it will be available.
QUOTE(DXSMac @ Jul 21 2008, 09:10 PM) [snapback]12359[/snapback] Are we niaive? Um.... do you think Good Sam would print the letters saying that the service sucks????? Just asking..... JJ No, of course not. I just see the story behind the thing. I do know there have been a few items that are not so good. Anyway, I am a little bit sorry that there seems to be one company behind all of GS, Camping World, the Insurance and even some RV dealers! I am always suspect of the great reviews of almost every product in the CW and GS Magazines!
I have had several different services and never used any until this past winter when I got coachnet and had to use it a couple of days later to tow my car to the dealer for repairs. Had someone there within an hour and the car in the shop and repaired the same day.
Good Sam Emergency Service has failed me twice. The most recent was with a flat tire, on I-90, in North Bend, WA, 33 miles from downtown Seattle. They kept me on hold for an hour before telling me the "supervisor" wouldn't approve a dispatch. It took me another 2 hours to change a flat tire in the dark and cold beside a busy freeway. I let it go two years ago, the first time, because it was on a remove US highway in Nevada. But, the remote locations are the most desperate. If they won't go to I-90 33 miles from downtown Seattle, why would they send a tow truck to Dead Horse State Park.
QUOTE(HappiestCamper @ Jul 19 2008, 05:38 PM) [snapback]12335[/snapback] We just called for the first time using our RV Roadhelp membership. We were on the side of a busy interstate at the start of rush hour with a broken leaf spring, and we couldn't move the trailer (in fact, we were on a bridge and a couple of inches of the trailer was still sticking in the road). After 34 minutes of the lady on the other end putting me on hold, she said she couldn't find anyone to help us and for us to call 911. Now here it was approaching 4 PM the day before a holiday (July 4) and the emergency number for this membership I've been paying for the past 5 1/2 years is telling me they can't help me. I called the Camping World we had passed a few miles back, and asked who I should call. He got out there quicker than the original phone call and got our trailer back to CW. They did give me a claim number, and I sent in the bill two Mondays ago. Calling their automated line states they have no record of any claims yet. If they don't come through with reimbursement, I will be going with another. I see I never followed up on this - they did reimburse me 100% shortly after this post.
Can't complain about Good Sam road service. We had to call for service three times in five days last summer and they came very quickly and rendered good service. I certainly hope the necessity doesn't arrive to have to call them again, but if so, I am confident about their service.
Last year Good Sam's ERS call center contractor was Road America. This year they've switched to Allstate Motor Club as their contractor, so any experiences prior to January of this year may not apply.
We have had them for about 7 or 8 years and used them three times in about 50,000 miles. The service was excellent each time. Don't leave home without it.
We, too, have had good service from Good Sam ERS. We have called them 4 times: Twice for one of our cars (not our towd and not on a trip) for a dead battery and a flat, once for a dead battery on the coach, and once for a lockout problem. That is the only time we were denied the claim because it was for a locking gas cap. They said if it had been a locking gas tank door rather than just the cap, they would have honored the contract, but the cap was not covered because it was not part of the original coach. We were a bit disappointed this was not covered, but we still intend to keep the service.
I think I am going to get a locking gas cap. I can get $300 in there now. Strange because when I got it, I could only get $170. It must have a flexible tank.
One of the over nighters last night drove off our dirt drive and into the grass. Because we got a good bit of rain last night he got stuck. He called Good Sam, left a message and, within 15 minutes they called back with the name of a local wrecker service. That service was here about 3 minutes later and got him pulled out. I was surprised at the speed of service.
QUOTE(dalsgal @ Mar 29 2012, 08:19 PM) [snapback]29140[/snapback] One of the over nighters last night drove off our dirt drive and into the grass. Because we got a good bit of rain last night he got stuck. He called Good Sam, left a message and, within 15 minutes they called back with the name of a local wrecker service. That service was here about 3 minutes later and got him pulled out. I was surprised at the speed of service. \it is 5 o 6 years that I use Good Sam and I have no regret, they are business minded
Had to use RV Roadhelp for second time on last trip. Lost fuel pump on Yukon. It appears now that their call center is in Guatemala or someplace where they don't know US geography. Finally after about 30 minutes got them to send a tow truck, which took about another 45 minutes to get there (about 30 miles from Jacksonville). That tow truck driver called his shop, and got someone there to work with the RV Roadhelp people to get a second tow for the trailer. So, it took about three hours before we were finally all at the GMC dealer in Jacksonville (they let us keep the trailer on their lot for the night, but wouldn't let us sleep in it). Maybe Good Sam might have someone better on the phone, but I doubt they could've gotten anyone there much quicker where we were.
I had a mechanical failure on the north coast of California. It was remote enough that my cell phone would not work. Hiked a few hundred yards to a highway call box and the highway patrol called AAA for me. Told me it would be 45 minutes and sure enough that's how long it took. I've been a member for almost 20 years and driven almost everywhere in Canada and the USA and they have never let me down.
QUOTE(HappiestCamper @ Apr 24 2012, 05:26 AM) [snapback]29358[/snapback] Had to use RV Roadhelp for second time on last trip. Lost fuel pump on Yukon. It appears now that their call center is in Guatemala or someplace where they don't know US geography. Finally after about 30 minutes got them to send a tow truck, which took about another 45 minutes to get there (about 30 miles from Jacksonville). That tow truck driver called his shop, and got someone there to work with the RV Roadhelp people to get a second tow for the trailer. So, it took about three hours before we were finally all at the GMC dealer in Jacksonville (they let us keep the trailer on their lot for the night, but wouldn't let us sleep in it). Maybe Good Sam might have someone better on the phone, but I doubt they could've gotten anyone there much quicker where we were. I am using the Good Sam club and in 10 years I had to call them 3 or 4 times; I am very happy with their efficiency
We had good service from Good Sam just today. We are at home and had a problem with one of our cars which had become un-drivable due to a problem with one of the wheels. We requested that a particular tow service be called (it just so happened they were a Good Sam provider) and that the car be taken to our usual repair garage. These two requests were honored, and the tow truck arrived in about 45 minutes. The only caveat was that since the car would be taken to a garage we requested, GS would not guarantee their service, and if the car had to be taken somewhere else, the towing would be our cost. All this was fine with us. Now we are just waiting to hear the bad news from the garage.
