Roadside Assistance - My Experience

[pmason]

Hello All,

I called the MOA roadside assistance number this weekend and wanted to relay my experience/warning...

I've owned my 2015 R1200 GSA since new and have been a MOA member since then. I have the platinum roadside assistance add-on, for a total of $109 annually.

This weekend was the first time I've needed to call for MOA roadside assistance after I picked up a nail in my rear tire. My roadside assistance experience was not so good.

First, I was given the option of being sent a text message so they could precisely geo-locate me. Makes sense. The text message also had a link to a form for me to add more details, including address. First problem: It would not accept my 'state' selection. I'm in California. I was able to select Colorado, Delaware, etc but not California. I have an iPhone, so this was a little weird. I gave up that approach and chose the option to speak with a real person.

I got connected to a very helpful person quickly and they took my details. I spent 15 minutes on the line, including a couple of 'please holds', before I was told that they recognized my name and address, but they couldn't verify that I had any roadside coverage at all. They offered to send a tow truck on a cash-basis, suggesting I square it away with my 'provider' later and seek reimbursement. I respectfully declined.

I called AAA instead. Their online form was much easier to complete and they arrived within 30 minutes.

So, be aware if you rely on the MOA roadside assistance. Ridiculous as it sounds, call them to make sure they have you covered before you need to rely upon them. I'm still going to maintain my MOA membership, but will drop the roadside assist and spend some of the savings on an upgrade to my AAA membership.

 

[179212]

Roadside assistance

I don’t have the MOA roadside assistance but do have the upgraded AAA and more than once my experience with AAA was similar to yours with the MOA plan.
However other times the AAA service has been great.
Check your motorcycle insurance policy I was able to add roadside assistance coverage for around $10 a year

 

[Moretti]

This thread reminded me to check my roadside coverage; I see that I have this with ‘trip interruption’ from Progressive for $15/yr. Note that the coverage includes towing within 100 ft of the road. Now, I’ll have to track down what exactly is meant by a ‘road’ when I’m riding my GSA… (I have MOA coverage, too.)

 

[lkraus]

This thread reminded me to check my roadside coverage; I see that I have this with ‘trip interruption’ from Progressive for $15/yr. Note that the coverage includes towing within 100 ft of the road. Now, I’ll have to track down what exactly is meant by a ‘road’ when I’m riding my GSA… (I have MOA coverage, too.)

I'm pretty sure that the Starbucks parking lot qualifies.


My Progressive policy excludes "11. disablement that occurs on roads not regularly maintained, sand beaches, open
fields, or areas designated as not passable due to construction, weather, or earth movement;

I think the 100 foot limit is to be in reach of the winch. Road surface is probably somewhat at the truck driver's discretion. Any sort of government maintained road would be OK, two-tracks probably not. They are not going to chance getting stuck to get you out.

Give them a call. They were happy to answer questions when I saw no mention of towing distance limits in the policy, told me the "nearest qualified repair facility" would include the nearest BMW dealer.

 

[pglaves]

When a European tourist turned his Unimog on its side on Old Ore Road in Big Bend National Park, it took a waiver from the NPS to grade a flat spot (that took a couple of weeks) and then a crane, a bulldozer, and a few other big machines to get it out and tow it several miles to the paved road. I would not want to see his credit card bill.

 

[52184]

When a European tourist turned his Unimog on its side on Old Ore Road in Big Bend National Park, it took a waiver from the NPS to grade a flat spot (that took a couple of weeks) and then a crane, a bulldozer, and a few other big machines to get it out and tow it several miles to the paved road. I would not want to see his credit card bill.

I’m trying hard to feel sorry for him, but it’s not working…

Best,
DeVern

 

[k12lts]

On my way to Springfield I picked up a nail just north of Hot Springs Arkansas. I pulled the nail out and plugged the hole quickly. When I aired the tire I heard a hissing sound but not around the plug. The nail was long enough that it hit the inside of the wheel, bent over and punched another small hole in the sidewall near the rim. Can’t fix that.

I called my Progressive roadside and they sent a truck in about 45 minutes. While waiting I called a Honda dealer and a Yamaha dealer. Honda didn’t have a tire and seemed uninterested. The Yamaha store has a tire the right size but it was a Dunlop OE sport bike tire. I’ll take whatever I can get. It was late afternoon and they were closing but could do it first thing in the morning. The road side truck had the right equipment to haul the bike and the experience was good.

I also carry trip interruption coverage and they paid the $170 hotel bill. Pretty happy for $15/year.

 

[Moretti]

I also carry trip interruption coverage and they paid the $170 hotel bill. Pretty happy for $15/year.

Yeah, pretty easy to check that box when signing up.

 

[Geoff Weeks]

Roadside assistance fail

This is a timely post as last week I had very much the same experience. Picked up a screw in the rear tyre of my 1250GS. After trying to air it up at a gas station I was hoping to make it home but soon realised that it wasn't going to work so next step call MOA roadside assistance. I also opted for the app to be sent to my i-phone as I thought the geo-location would expedite matters. However when trying to use the app the drop down menu was worse than useless. First off when selecting the state of Arkansas it kept defaulting to Colorado. Once I resolved this issue the next problem was the drop down menu for requested service. The only option was "gas" and lo and behold this could not even be selected and without a selection the app would not advance beyond that point.
After messing around with the app for several minutes I finally decided to call my insurance company, Progressive, and use their service. Like MOA they sent an app to my i-phone the difference being this was after I had spoken to a live person. Funnily enough they also said they could not see that my policy had coverage for roadside assistance and I would need to pay upfront and then claim a refund. Maybe this is standard operating procedure with these companies ! So I duly paid and then waited 2 hours for the tow truck to show up. Got home and filed a refund request. It looks like the refund is on the way.
Anyway, last week I phoned BMWMOA to explain what happened and to give some feedback. It seems that this issue may not be that uncommon so I suppose the moral of this story is caveat emptor.

 

[stevenrankin]

MOA Road Side

My one and only experience with the MOA road side service was to say the least one of the biggest pain in the butt I have ever had.

I ran my phone down to nearly dead trying to get them to help then trying to find out why the help the people they kept telling me were on the way weren't showing up. Finally the last call I made was to my friend who made a rescue 200 miles out of his way to get me and the bike home. He wrote up a shop bill which I turned into MOA and at least got paid for his time and effort.

As for AAA, they were not much help with a motorcycle either. Even the anonymous book was not much help. I would say that particular day the planets were way out of alignment. St.

 

[wanaride67]

Question - is the MOA roadside assistance the same thing as the BMW roadside assistance when you buy a new bike? I bought my 1250GS new in March, haven't needed roadside assistance yet, and this thread has me concerned.

 

[mtraphagen]

In answer to the last question: No, MOA towing is not the same as BMW roadside assistance.

I gave up on AAA completely during an RV trip -- a tire blew on the back of my Class C (towing a motorcycle), and I exited off in what was apparently a rough neighborhood near St. Louis just as it was getting dark. We called AAA and, eventually, they told us no one would go out to help us -- our best bet would be to call the police. Seriously??? An hour or so later, an extremely good man on his way home from working in his tire shop stopped -- he had the equipment to jack up the RV, and change the tire with the spare. He wouldn't even accept payment for his time. I dropped AAA after that (RV, motorcycle and car coverage) and never looked back.

My only other towing experience was with MOA. I stopped at a strip mall about 12 miles from home, came out of the store to a flat tire on my R1100R. The rear tire valve stem was cracked -- no way to fix that in a parking lot. Called MOA towing and was told someone would be out within 45 minutes. They sent a text with the contact info of the towing company. After an hour with no tow, called the towing company and was told they declined it because they don't tow motorcycles. Would have been good to know that an hour or so ago.

So, called around to find a towing company that would tow motorcycles. One said they'd be there in 30 minutes. Called MOA and said we have someone coming, will you pay them? No, we were told -- but if we submitted our receipt, they would reimburse us to a max of $250. The tow was $270, literally right to the door of my motorcycle garage (plus a nice tip). We submitted the receipt and just over 10 days later, got a check for $250 from MOA towing. Was it ideal? No, but I can't complain -- for what little I pay each year, they ultimately lived up to their part of the bargain in paying for the tow.

 

[mtraphagen]

As for BMW Roadside Assistance... I purchased a new G310R at BMW Richfield (Minneapolis) in late October and prepped it to ride home to New Jersey. Late October can be pretty cold up there. My first day was 200 miles to a motel in Wisconsin. The next morning, it was 28 degrees...I started up the brand new bike and got a check engine light on the dash. 201 miles on the odometer.

Called BMW Roadside Assistance and they suggested I open the fuel cap and then firmly close it again. That took care of the problem -- the cold must have shrunk an o-ring in the fuel cap and closing it firmly was enough to make it happy. They asked that I call to follow up, I told them the problem seemed to be solved. The person told me that if I wasn't comfortable with it, I could just stay put and they would send a truck both for the bike and for me.

I've read a few stories about BMW Roadside Assistance that weren't as pleasant -- but they impressed me -- to the point that I purchased the extended warranties (which includes BMW roadside assistance) for both that G310R (now my wife's bike) and a subsequent G310GS.

 

[Omega Man]

If interested, using the “Tag Cloud”- https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?75890-Do-you-ever-use-the-quot-Tag-Cloud-quot
There is 10 or so threads on roadside service.
I don’t know of any roadside assistance “providers” that have their own fleet of service vehicles. It seems that they all seem to sub-contract to vendors that have service vehicles. These local vendors usually have to work at less that normal rates for the “providers”. This skews the operations.
If you use a service, and the operator does well for you, I recommend giving the operator a cash tip.
It’s frequently a thankless job.
OM

 

[m_stock10506]

They say that a negative experience is repeated way more often than a positive one, and I will continue that.

I joined the AMA for the roadside assistance program. They ended up leaving me stranded and without assistance at all, even when I offered to pay the service provider. This was because I told the representative that my bike had stopped running after a deer encounter. Once I said that, they said the AMA roadside program only covers breakdowns and not collision. Even though the bike was fully intact and no different than a failed battery, or flat tire (it was the fuel pump), they would not provide service and wouldn’t refer me to a service provider even if I would pay. I have since upgraded my AAA plan to their RV plus package and they have assured me that they would take the call even if it was the result of a deer.

By the way, I checked with my insurance agent regarding my Progressive mc policy. Perhaps this varies by the different state coverage, but Progesterone roadside assistance ONLY covers assistance for fuel or mechanical breakdowns. So they would not have responded to my needs when I was hit by the deer either. I would like to think that they would at least refer me to a service provider to pay on my own, but I hope that AAA will work if called.

 

[lkraus]

I'm surprised they would not even give you names/number of local companies, just as a customer courtesy. I'm not surprised that the cost would not be covered by a roadside assistance plan. The towing should be covered by your collision insurance, or the other party's liability insurance.

 

[m_stock10506]

I'm surprised they would not even give you names/number of local companies, just as a customer courtesy. I'm not surprised that the cost would not be covered by a roadside assistance plan. The towing should be covered by your collision insurance, or the other party's liability insurance.

or the other party's liability insurance.

The DEER?

Just my take on it..... disabled bike, need a tow, roadside assistance is warranted. I get it, if a collision occurs, that's different. Not what happened in my case.

 

[pmason]

Not the point...

If interested, using the “Tag Cloud”- https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?75890-Do-you-ever-use-the-quot-Tag-Cloud-quot
There is 10 or so threads on roadside service.
I don’t know of any roadside assistance “providers” that have their own fleet of service vehicles. It seems that they all seem to sub-contract to vendors that have service vehicles. These local vendors usually have to work at less that normal rates for the “providers”. This skews the operations.
If you use a service, and the operator does well for you, I recommend giving the operator a cash tip.
It’s frequently a thankless job.
OM

So, I think we can all understand that BMWMOA don't have their own set of trucks sitting around waiting for us to call. This also applies to AAA and other services provided by auto insurance companies such as Progressive etc. Don't confuse the insurance provider with the service provider. My problem is that, when I called the BMWMOA helpline they had no record of me and the coverage I had paid for, I called AAA and there was no problem. In reality, it would have most likely been the same local tow service being dispatched either through BMWMOA or AAA. BMWMOA had never heard of me or my dollars spent for their service. AAA were, like, 'No problem - see you in 30 minutes'. Again, let me be clear, we all know that BMWMOA don't directly run the roadside assist program but they contract it out to a provider. I paid for that service for 6 years and the first time I needed it I was told they didn't know who I was and I had no coverage. That's the bottom line: BMWMOA roadside assist, post-warranty, is of questionable value, to be polite.

 

[Omega Man]

So, I think we can all understand that BMWMOA don't have their own set of trucks sitting around waiting for us to call. This also applies to AAA and other services provided by auto insurance companies such as Progressive etc. Don't confuse the insurance provider with the service provider. My problem is that, when I called the BMWMOA helpline they had no record of me and the coverage I had paid for, I called AAA and there was no problem. In reality, it would have most likely been the same local tow service being dispatched either through BMWMOA or AAA. BMWMOA had never heard of me or my dollars spent for their service. AAA were, like, 'No problem - see you in 30 minutes'. Again, let me be clear, we all know that BMWMOA don't directly run the roadside assist program but they contract it out to a provider. I paid for that service for 6 years and the first time I needed it I was told they didn't know who I was and I had no coverage. That's the bottom line: BMWMOA roadside assist, post-warranty, is of questionable value, to be polite.

When I renew my roadside assistance- https://coach-net.com/, I have to call and make sure that funds have been received and I am good to go for another year. Yeah it is a PITA but as they discontinued sending an actual benefits/membership card, I feel it’s what I have to do.
OM