Overall Rating
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Good Same Roadside Assitance
Summary
Good Sam is an auto and RV roadside assistance service that offers its services throughout North America. Yup, you read that right. Even if you’re driving in Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico or even the US Virgin Island, this service covers you.
Contents
If you own a car, chances are that you’re already familiar with the way things change fast when you’re on the road. There are so many things that can go wrong even with a brand new, well-serviced car. From a flat tire to keys getting locked in and fuel running out it’s always important to be prepared for the worst. And that’s where roadside assistance programs such as the Good Sam one come in.
They claim to have a network of more than 40,000 spread throughout this region. This ensures that they can get you to a well-equipped service center within a few minutes of getting to you. Worth noting is that the company has an average turn-around rate of 45 to 60 minutes i.e. that’s the time they take to get to you once you give them a call.
All this sounds good on paper. But how exactly does the company fare when put an unbiased test? Read on to find out.
Good Sam Roadside Assistance Service Review
This is a membership-based service that’s provided on different tiers. Of course, the higher the tier, the more the benefits you get and the more you have to pay for it in terms of subscription but more on that later.
The company provides coverage for all kinds of vehicles. We’re talking about cars, trucks, SUVs, travel trailers, motorhomes, RVs, and 5th wheels.
The idea is that when you give them a call, they have a toll-free line for that, they’ll be able to dispatch a team to assist you wherever you are. So, if you’ve just suffered a tire blow out and don’t have a replacement tire or don’t know how to replace one, all you need to do is give them a call and they’ll get that done for you in a couple of minutes.
Likewise, if your car has developed an advanced mechanical problem such as if it’s overheating, they can send their technicians to you, address the problem in such a way that you can drive to the next service station for assistance.
At the same time, if you’ve just been involved in an accident or incident that left your car immobilized, they’ll send their towing services to you. Basically, the idea behind their services it to help get you moving again so that you can at the very least access professional car repair services (which explains why they’ve partnered with over 4,000 service centers across North America).
Towing
If your vehicle isn’t in a drivable condition or isn’t safe to be driven, your best bet is to get it towed. One thing that makes the Goodsam towing services different is the fact that they provide you with unlimited distance towing. Competing roadside assistance services only provide you with a limited towing distance e.g. 100 miles per two for AAA of Colorado.
With towing mileage restrictions in place, you either have to settle for the nearest service center even if you don’t like it or alternatively pay an additional feel to get your car delivered to your garage of choice. That can be kind of awkward and beats the whole point of investing in such a cover in the first place.
Family Coverage
It’s one thing to have your car covered against any mishaps that might happen halfway through your journey. But what about you and your beloved family? This service covers you for being a primary member plus it also protects your loved ones i.e. spouse, fiancé or domestic partner. It also protects your kids whether living with you at home or away.
That’s quite a nice deal compared to what you’d get under competing services. Typically, other roadside assistance facilities only cover you, the primary member, and you have to pay an additional fee for each additional beneficiary.
Vehicle Type Coverage
Not all kinds of vehicles are normally covered for roadside assistance. So, it’s important to confirm with your preferred service provider whether they’d accept your type of car to their program. Most companies only cover normal vehicles (autos), motorcycles, and RVs. But in addition to that, the good guys from Goodsam provide boat trailer coverage as well.
So, if you love boating or kayaking, this is definitely something worth thinking about. And the more the choices, in terms of vehicle coverage, the better.
Regional Coverage
The importance of a wide regional coverage might not seem relevant until you get a flat tire in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness and you realize that your roadside assistance of choice doesn’t offer its services in such remote parts of the country. Think of it this way, most companies only provide coverage in the mainland US and parts of Canada.
If you’re adventurous, such kind of coverage can be quite limiting. That said, we happen to believe that the company in review offers a generous, North American coverage. With them, you not only get roadside assistance in Alaska and Hawaii but also in Mexico and Puerto Rico. How cool is that?
Flat Tire Services
Even if you normally carry a spare tire with you, flat tires can leave you immobilized when you least expect it. Luckily, if you’re a member of a credible roadside assistant service, you’d get a team coming to your rescue probably carrying an extra tire or two for you.
In some cases, they can even assist you in repairing and changing the tire. And that’s because the overall objective of getting roadside assistance services is to get you moving safely once again.
In that regard, Good Sam not only provides you with flat tire change services but also delivers spare tires to you at no extra cost. Their competitors, on the other hand, only offer flat tire change services only. So you’ll have to purchase a replacement tire separately.
Other Roadside Assistance Services
Besides all the services already mentioned above, this provider avails the services of jumpstarting your battery. We all know just how frequently batteries choose to misbehave. On top of that, they provide you with on-demand locksmith services just in case you locked your car keys in the car.
Segue, in case you get sick while on the road, the awesome guys from Goodsam will be sure to get you the medical referrals you need to get better. How cool is that?
And that’s in addition to trip interruption assistance. In case you run out of gas, these awesome guys will bring you gas ensuring you waste little time waiting by the roadside.
Pricing & Plans
This provider has 3 plans that you can subscribe to. Of course, each one of the plans has its own perks and the more you pay for the subscription, the more the services you get in return.
The Standard Tier
This goes for a regular rate of $129.95 although you can get it at $79.95 if you opt for the annual subscription. What you get here is an entry-level package that provides coverage for your recreational and non-recreational vehicles.
Platinum Tier
This is an almost similar package to the standard one only that it comes with some extras. Not only does it cover all your vehicles whether recreational or otherwise but also takes care of leased and rented ones as well.
So, if you’re planning to rent an RV one of these fine days, this is a really important kind of cover to have. Likewise, if you own multiple RVs, this cover can take care of all of them. And the icing on the cake is that you also get extra technical assistance from the providers very own Certified RV Technicians.
The platinum package costs a one-off fee of $159.95 but you can get some 45 bucks off if you opt for the auto-renew option.
Platinum Auto
If you only own a household car e.g. car, van, SUV or pick-up, this is the kind of cover you need to settle for. It doesn’t provide you with the cover for RVs and neither do you get technical assistance from the RV technicians either. But on the other end, it provides you with services like towing and roadside service.
What’s more? Your entire family is covered along with you. Your children, spouse or domestic partner are also included free of charge (note: the children have to be under 25 years of age). This tier will cost you $99.95 for a one-time purchase or $69.95 if you opt to be auto-renewing it.
Pros
- Affordable service plans
- Expert technical assistance provided for RVs
- Wide branch network across North America
- Awesome customer support
- Unlimited towing mileage
- Awesome turn-around time
- Coverage provided for your entire family for free
- They have an intuitive mobile app
Cons
- The service can be costly if bought as a one-off package
Final Thoughts
There’s no doubt that road assistance is an important part of safe driving. And in our view, the Good Sam Roadside Assistance service is probably one of the best ones available on the markets currently. It provides you with continental-wide coverage and we absolutely love the effectiveness of their customer support and dispatch teams.
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