RAC Breakdown Cover Review

RAC breakdown cover plans explained

Basic, Extra and Complete

Every tier is built on 24/7 roadside assistance more than a quarter of a mile (in a straight line) from home, with fitting and labour free at the roadside. Basic is that roadside help plus a tow of up to 10 miles to a local garage when the fault can't be fixed at the kerb — and it caps you at 5 callouts a year. Extra adds the two upgrades most drivers actually need: At Home cover, so a patrol attends when the car won't start at home or within that quarter-mile radius, and national recovery, taking you, your passengers and your vehicle to any single UK destination — plus unlimited callouts. Complete adds Onward Travel, so a replacement car, alternative transport or overnight accommodation keeps the journey moving when the car can't.

Two wrinkles from our checked prices. Onward Travel can also be added to the cheaper tiers, and Extra plus that add-on covers the same four headline features as Complete for less (£170.50 against £181.50 a year on vehicle cover) — worth checking what else Complete bundles before paying the difference. And RAC's live line-up includes a Standard tier between Basic and Extra that we don't currently track, advertised from £8.99 a month on RAC's own site.

Prices and the small print worth knowing

On our checked prices (21 September 2026), RAC vehicle cover starts at £77 a year for Basic and the full personal Complete bundle reaches £219.45 — see our guide to the difference between personal and vehicle cover if you're unsure which you need. RAC advertises lower from-prices (Basic from £5.29 a month on its site); as with any from-price, the quote for your car may land higher — our tracked Basic deal works out at £7 a month.

• Not all cover starts at purchase: roadside assistance applies from the policy start date, but At Home, Recovery and Onward Travel benefits only apply to breakdowns from 24 hours after the start date — and some add-ons from 7 days.
• You must contact the RAC first: claims made more than 24 hours after the breakdown may be refused, third-party costs aren't reimbursed unless the RAC agreed them, and onward-travel hire cars must be arranged within 24 hours of the breakdown.
• Repeat callouts for the same fault aren't covered — after a temporary roadside repair, getting the fault permanently fixed is your responsibility. Breakdowns at home need the At Home tier or carry a callout charge.
• Replacement parts, fuel and batteries are charged even though roadside fitting and labour are free, and driver-induced faults — wrong fuel, lost or locked-in keys — are excluded as standard, with paid add-ons (Tyre, Battery and Key Replace) or a chargeable misfuel service instead.
• Vehicles must be UK-registered, taxed, insured and MOT'd, under 3.5 tonnes, 6.4m long and 2.55m wide; motorbikes 49cc and up. Caravans and trailers get a roadside repair attempt but no recovery of the caravan or trailer itself, and some policies carry an excess, disclosed before purchase.

EVs, the app and the extras

Electric and hybrid vehicles are covered, and the RAC's EV Boost vans can give a flat EV up to a 10-mile charge at the roadside. The app lets you report a breakdown, plan routes and get real-time traffic updates, and there's a 24/7 battery replacement service — delivery and fitting included, with a 10% member discount on the battery. European breakdown cover is a separate product, advertised for 48 countries. Behind the brand, cover is arranged by RAC Financial Services Limited and provided by RAC Motoring Services and/or RAC Insurance Ltd, all FCA-regulated — and the business has been owned by private equity and sovereign wealth investors since 2014, with no formal connection to the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall since 1999.