Tesco reveals the true cost of vehicle recovery

Motorists without breakdown cover face an average bill of £65 (£64.80) per breakdown by relying on local garages to attend their vehicle, Tesco Car Breakdown warns today.

A comprehensive study conducted by Tesco Car Breakdown, which surveyed 128 local garages, across 11 regions in the UK reveals that getting a vehicle recovered at the roadside by an independent garage can cost motorists more than double the cost of an entire year’s cover with Tesco. In one case, a garage charged an incredible £500 to attend a recovery in Snowdonia National Park, Wales.

Tesco also finds that cost is not the only issue facing a stranded motorist with four out of ten garages polled unable to rescue stranded motorists.

Allan Burns, head of Car Breakdown Cover at Tesco says: "Many motorists have a tendency to take an ‘it’ll never happen to me ‘ attitude, but with thousands of car breakdowns attended every week, they could be picking up a very large bill when a garage picks up their car."

The study reveals that the most expensive region to break down is the West Midlands, with an average call out charge of £75.20. The least expensive region was the North East at an average of £47.84.

Region Average cost of roadside assistance

West Midlands £75.20

Wales £74.00

London £72.02

Yorkshire £69.00

North West £66.60

South East £64.60

East Anglia £62.60

South West £61.19

East Midlands £60.20

Scotland £57.45

North East £47.40

Some more alarming facts:

5 out of 6 garages refused to attend a call out to Loch Ness in the Highlands
Average recovery cost on a motorway is £72
40% of garages required payment up front
One garage stated that they wanted to take the customer to a cashline to withdraw money
A garage owner in London offered to send his brother in his car to pick up a lone female motorist

Burns concludes: "We’ve checked prices and service levels and found a worrying picture of motorists facing high costs, unpredictable service and in some cases risking personal safety. Quality breakdown cover is now more affordable than ever. For just 10p per day we can give motorists the peace of mind that your safety and your wallet will be well looked after should the unexpected happen."