The Growing Importance of Car Breakdown cover

The Cars go wrong and then are the time when we are in a panicky situation maybe at night hours on a Highway or in the city stranded trying to call our Garage Technician or the Helpline number of the Manufacturer. Again most of us today really don't keep these numbers handy and the amount you spent with the time is awesome to get your vehicle started or towed to the nearest Garage.

Today in India with New generation cars coming up and the importance and the standards of after sales service growing very rapidly.

Breakdown cover is also provided by the Manufacturers along with every new car sold. Breakdown assistance services are generally provided by the manufacturers through their existing wide spread dealer network across the country. Almost all the dealers have their breakdown vans well equipped with adequate spare parts and technicians nominated to attend these calls. Some manufacturers also have 24/7/365 Toll free numbers for such services.

But there are also new companies, which have emerged over past years in India which are devoted only to attend breakdowns of Cars and Two wheelers. These companies attend Breakdowns 24/7/365. They have vans, which are equipped with fast running spare parts, tools, towing ropes, fuel etc. The mode of communication is with the help of Radio transmitter Sets which are given to every technician on the van. The reason for giving radios to the technician is that as these providers attend Breakdowns of all kinds of cars and two wheelers it is very easy for the technicians to communicate between themselves and the control room in charge in case of any typical problem in the car or the two-wheeler. Almost most of these Assistance companies also give in-house training to their technicians. The reach time what they promise is 30 mins from the time of receiving the call which they adhere to as again they have the fleet ready only to attend the breakdown calls. The reach time is possible as these providers have a fleet operating 24/7/365 ranging from min 5 cars for a smaller city to max of more than 40 cars in bigger Metros. Again all the Breakdown calls are recorded on a in-house built software which are capable of generating history of a particular car, time taken to attend the breakdown, Customer care exe report, control room in charge report etc. generally the customer care executives and the control room in charge are the people who are from the After sales service industry with sound knowledge on the diagnostics of the car. These companies also have a Telemarketing dept to make outbound calls for the sale of Memberships, promotions teams, field executives, cold calling teams, etc. Some of them also have short codes on the local mobile networks of their control room.

It is very interesting to note that the demand for such services is rapidly increasing amongst the car owners.

The most common list of services they offer are as under:

1. On road minor repairs.

2. Arrangement of up to 5 Liters of fuel at cost.

3. Replacement of a flat tire.

4. Lockout assistance.

5. Towing service.

6. Jump-start.

7. Route guidance.

There are some companies who also arrange Ambulances, legal advice etc in case of accidents. Now all of these services are offered by these companies just at a mere Starting Annual membership fees of Rs365/- to Rs 2500/- depending on the coverage area and the services that are offered by the providers. Some of them also provide discount coupons for Free Washings, Spare parts, Servicing, Accessories etc. These Memberships are vehicle based and the services are restricted only to the vehicle that is registered under particular programme.

It's cheaper in the long run to make sure you properly service your vehicle and you need to make sure that it remains legally roadworthy anyway. You may also find you can save a lot of money by making an investment in breakdown cover, as it costs a lot less than paying once to a tow truck to rescue you if you have a breakdown.

What you need to know

You need to make sure your car is in good working order - even the most reliable car can break down! You also need to be aware of some the dangers whilst driving such as not parking in deserted areas or not using your mobile phone whilst driving.

What you can do

&bull Make sure that your car is regularly serviced

&bull Keep your breakdown service phone number in the car and programme it into your mobile

&bull If you do breakdown, find a safe place to stop and use your mobile or find a phone box to call for help.

&bull If you're traveling alone, make sure you tell the operator as they will make the call a higher priority than others

&bull If you can, let your family know what has happened so they aren't worried if you're back late

&bull Remember to be aware of what is happening around you

&bull Don't accept a lift from a stranger

&bull Stay with the car - if parked safely, sit in the passenger side and lock your doors

&bull When help arrives, always check their ID before you leave the car.