After the many years to get Brexit agreed, still leaves questions, to what we can and can’t do if we choose to drive in Europe on Holiday or business. Well the good news, is that the larger breakdown cover agreements will still stay in place. Should your vehicle malfunction, then a mechanic will visit your vehicle and attempt to get you moving again just like before.
Actually, nothing has changed, unlike car insurance, driving licenses and licence plates.
In order to drive in Europe now, you need to ensure you have a green card, that comes with your car insurance, make sure you stay within the allotted days allowed driving on the continent. Your licence plate has to have the GB sticker in rather than EU as before. But should you choose to stay for a longer period then an international driving licence may be required.
However, with European breakdown cover, you will still call a UK umber or international one, where an English speaker will answer and call out the required service.
It is important to understand that all European call out are sub contracted to the different agencies that apply in each country you should visit. This means the quality of service may differ and time at the vehicle may also be different. These mechanics are just that, mechanics and may not speak English. Sometimes this can create complications as the OB211 equipment they use will be in their language not theirs. Luckily faults tend to be presented as a code, which is easily translated, but not always.
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As a whole, the service will be similar to that in the UK, and some have said better. Many European car insurance polices include breakdown cover as standard, so agencies of garage networks can be as big as her in the UK.
It should be obvious but if you have paid for a recovery service policy in the UK, it is unlikely to be valid throughout Europe. The process of recovering any car back to the UK, would not be cost efficient for any breakdown cover service provider, so drivers should just expect a roadside assistance type service whilst driving through Europe.
Checking through your policy, you may be allowed a certain distance of recovery, that may aid, getting the vehicle to your holiday destination, giving you time to sort out the problem or nearer the ferry. But this needs to be researched first before you travel so to know the expected service.
Many will be traveling some distance through the UK before going through the tunnel or on the ferry. Should a breakdown occur before your UK policy will be in force. You can only buy a European Breakdown cover policy as an extra addon to an existing UK policy.
It also may be possible to cover you or the car for a shorter period of time, should you choose to buy this as an extra service, each service provider will have their own spin on this.
Also check if the age of your vehicle impacts your European cover. That is because some of the agencies on the Continent have different rules for selling polices in their own country and the age of a vehicle is sometimes a factor.
Again as with all financial agreements, you should check the small print before buying.