Roadside Assistance Experience?

TomCat · Post by **TomCat** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:46 am

The 2 year Roadside Assistance Program sounds great, but would like to hear from anyone who has actually used it. How was the experience?
Thanks,
Tom

SockyTX · Post by **SockyTX** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:45 pm

My clutch cable snapped and I had to use the service to get my Stella to my shop. It was a smooth process to submit the request. However the towing company didn't know they were transporting a 2 wheeled vehicle. They sent out a 2ton rollback and the driver had never moved a 2 wheeled vehicle. I worked with the driver to get her loaded and at the end of the day I was happy with the service. To me that's a win for Genuine's program.

Lokky · Post by **Lokky** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:28 pm

Well it really depends on where you live because they will be sending whatever towing company they contract there.had some good experiences but also some horrible ones, had my paint job scratched by people without proper towing gear and road america (genuine services) didn't help me settle the dispute at all. Also got left stranded 80 miles from home by a tow company that wanted 300$ cash to get me home (because people carry cash like that anymore, riiiight)

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 2:36 pm

My experience was 100% positive. I called Road America's toll-free number, and the operator's first question was 'are you in a safe location?' She then took down my location (home) and dispatched a local towing company. 25 minutes later, they _did_ show up with a flatbed, but they had proper tie-downs for cycles. He got it nicely strapped-down and ran it over to my local dealer. Easy-peasy.

My warranty and roadside just expired last month. Genuine/Roadside wanted about $60/yr to renew. I've got towing through both my Progressive insurance and AAA-Plus-RV, so I'm pretty sure I'm OK.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:26 pm

As noted, they contract with various local tow companies and basically reimburse them so your experience may vary.

Overall, it works—they will send someone out to get you and your scooter.

Stitch · Post by **Stitch** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 5:47 am

I used it when my Stella snarfed the crank. On Memorial Day weekend. Took a couple hours, but someone came out, and towed it to my local dealer. The Roadside assistance did its job.

Drum Pro · Post by **Drum Pro** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 6:21 am

Can't answer as I haven't used it. Fingers crossed, I never will...

chub1965 · Post by **chub1965** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:39 pm

used it when the battery died on the 220.no problems at all.

iMoses · Post by **iMoses** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 7:32 pm

I used mine way back in 2009, they sent a flat bed tow truck...it was AWESOME to see my Buddy 125 on a HUGE truck. The driver was very nice and accustomed to towing motorcycles. He was happy that my scoot was so light!

No issues with the tow service, and the local Genuine Dealership (ScooterWorld) had me back on the streets quickly.

ALL of it was covered by the warranty... so I paid $0 out of pocket.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:02 am

As others have said, I suspect it's hit or miss.

I tried to use it one time while out in the sticks. The scoot died and wouldn't restart. I placed the call and waited for 2 hours while I kept on trying to get the scoot running. Finally got it going, took off and made it home. I don't know if the service truck ever showed or not.

That being said, we have also been members of AAA for years, along with their free towing service. While I wouldn't pay for AAA out of my own pocket, it's been a long standing Christmas gift from a relative. We've used this service several times ... sometimes with quick response, sometimes not.

Rob

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:25 am

My only experience with "towing" (not roadside assistance) was on my last crossing of the Mackinac Bridge, when high winds and a partial closure of the non-metal-grate lane prompted me to get a ride from the bridge authority. They sent a pickup with two guys who had never transported a motorcycle that way before (and neither had I), which meant a bit of improvisation to tie it down properly.

Skippy · Post by **Skippy** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 5:52 pm

Haven't used it yet, but when I got the RA card in January (November 2012 purchase), it was effective from June 2012-June2014, so it's only 18 months for me, plus my name was incorrect on the card, don't know if that will affect usage. Genuine was a no-reply when I tried to correct these problems.

TomCat · Post by **TomCat** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 7:39 pm

Skippy, I would follow-up on that.
What if something happens in the missing final 6 months and you need RA?
As for the wrong name,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,maybe just change yours to match the card?

scubadoobie · Post by **scubadoobie** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:43 pm

I used RA a few months ago....long boring story, but the bottom line is that I ran out of gas in the middle of rush hour traffic, near the Texas Medical Center on Main Street!

I called for assistance using my RA card from Genuine and waited about 45 minutes, which seemed pretty reasonable considering rush hour. It would have been no cost to me, but I tipped the guy anyway.

Just a little positive story about that experience. I was in the center lane when I hit bottom and had to move over to the curb. Honestly, I was terrified of getting hit. We are talking about three lanes of bumper-to-bunper traffic, notoriously bad for weaving in and out of lanes at the slightest opportunity as they all rush to get to the freeway system access points downtown. Would you believe that not ONE single horn honked?? Instead, everyone was patient as I rolled it to the outside lane and sort of levered it up onto the curb using the center stand, which actualy took a few minutes to get done. It was a daunting experience, but one that could have been MUCH worse.

...I had no complaints about the experience with my Genuine RA.

Collette · Post by **Collette** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:03 am

ericalm wrote:As noted, they contract with various local tow companies and basically reimburse them so your experience may vary.

Overall, it works—they will send someone out to get you and your scooter.

Yep.

I used it when I locked my keys in my trunk (before I found out *the trick*) and I was on hold for about 40 minutes then had to wait an additional 3 hours for the assistance to arrive. Then the guy pulls up in an unmarked car, tells me war stories about his scooter in Lebanon, and hands me a part that he didnt feel like putting back on (the guard) and tells me "You dont need that."

BUT, they came.

DudeDog · Post by **DudeDog** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:05 pm

Used it last week for a flat tire.

Genuine picked up the call right away, asked if I was in a safe location. Then asked if they could use their GPS system (I think that's what it was) to locate me since I was calling from my iPhone with GPS turned on. That worked pretty good.

Then I had to wait 45 minutes until they called back saying they had a tow truck coming. Then another 45 minutes for the guy to get there. But he had everything he needed for his flatbed to tie down the scooter and knew exactly where my dealer was located.

All-in-all I rate it a very positive experience. Luckily I remembered to keep the card in my wallet. Out of pocket expenses were $3 to take the bus to the dealer the next morning and $120 for the new tire (with slime being put in both tires).