Club. Cheerful and resourceful

Now it has become fashionable to join different clubs. This trend also affected motorists. You buy a subscription card for a year from the car club for 200-300 dollars and drive around with peace of mind. You are sure that if something happens on the road, they will definitely help you. And it's free. However, free cheese, you know where it happens...

For beautiful eyes
Here, for example, is what happened to Leonid Solovyov, who became a client and member of one of 10 car clubs in Moscow. That is, he did not immediately become a client. First, Leonid, of course, bought a car. Opel Vectra 1993 release. But Mr. Soloviev didn’t really understand engines, and in general, Opel was his first car. Therefore, he did not have any necessary automotive acquaintances or “garage friends.”
Then he opened a newspaper and chose one from several companies that promised to take care of the car day and night all year round for a subscription fee. For $270 a year, she promised to repair minor breakdowns free of charge and even tow the car from the scene of the accident. In addition, there was a car service there. Not only club members could use its services.
Mr. Solovyov, having paid the money, received a beautiful plastic card and with confidence in his heart he went out onto the Moscow streets. He drove on them without problems for exactly a month.
The engine took off immediately. The Opel with Leonid inside stopped exactly across Golovacheva Street in Lyublino. It's good that it's at night when traffic is minimal. Although this is how to say it. Getting from Golovacheva Street to Moscow during the day is a big problem.
Leonid took out a card and, having difficulty finding a dilapidated pay phone, dialed the company number stamped on it. And forty minutes later a company car arrived.
“Assholes,” said the man in the yellow overalls when he looked under the hood. - Man, where were your eyes when you bought the car?
Leonid didn't know what to say. But I was sure that the faulty carburetor was exactly the minor breakdown that they promised to repair for free. However, everything turned out to be more complicated. Replacing the carburetor cost Mr. Solovyov the same amount as it would cost mere mortals. About $200 for labor and a new carburetor. True, Leonid did not have to pay $70 for evacuation, since he was a client of the company.

Client pays twice
Of course, saving towing fees is already a good thing. But besides this, car clubs advertise a fairly wide range of services for cardholders. A review of these services led us to the following considerations.
The first thing to understand is that whether you get your money's worth or not depends on what kind of car you have. Old or new? Domestic or foreign car?
Let's say you have a "penny" that has miraculously survived since the mid-70s. This car probably gives you a lot of trouble. At least with minor repairs, not to mention the fact that it can simply stall on the street. Is it worth joining the club in order to repair this fossil for free and evacuate it for free?
If you are its first owner, then over such a long time of ownership you have probably acquired a contingent of your own craftsmen or learned to dig under the hood yourself. However, such cars still change hands, and the buyers are usually inexperienced motorists. And eliminating minor breakdowns against the cost of the card can be beneficial for them. Really, does the penny buyer have an extra $250? In addition, for major breakdowns the club will charge you the same amount as a regular car service. Moreover, you will also buy the parts yourself.
Of course, an indisputable advantage for owners of “vintage cars” is free club towing. True, the average subscription fee of $250 per year will pay off only if you stall seven times this year... (a one-time towing for owners of domestic cars who are not members of the club costs approximately $40). Or maybe you should buy a newer car?
Let's take a new one. And in general a foreign car. Let's say an Audi 80, released in the early nineties. Such a machine will almost never break down or stop. In most cases, if there is a breakdown, you can drive to the workshop yourself. And even if you can’t leave, a one-time evacuation for foreign cars costs only about $70.
But if you have a new Moskvich or Lada or Volga! Then, especially in the first and last cases, you are a client of the club. These new cars can stop at any time (and new ones are more likely than old ones, where everything has already broken down!). At the same time, you are clearly inclined to save money (you have a domestic car), but you will most likely find $250 on the card.

Prices for car club services
The subscription fee for the Angel ambulance club card is $300 per year. For this money, you can call tow trucks and mechanics to the scene of an accident within the administrative borders of Moscow around the clock. That is, let’s say, “Angel” will also come to Zelenograd.
In addition, minor services are provided free of charge. For example, replacing wheels, drive belts, adjusting the carburetor, changing the fuel filter.
Those who do not have a club card pay from $43 for a domestic car and from $70 for a foreign car to call a tow truck or technical assistance.
Reso-Coris mechanics respond to calls to the scene of an accident or forced stop. The company's clients receive service cards. They cost from 100 to 380 dollars. The price depends on the term (3, 6, 12 and 36 months) and on the place of provision of services. The farther from Moscow, the more expensive.
The card holder is entitled to discounts for repairs at the company's car services. Their size depends on the scope of the repair and the expiration date of the service card. By the way, it gives you the right to 23 free services. But you can only use the card 2-3 times, depending on the validity period.
If you are not a client of the company, then if you contact us, you will pay for each service separately. 50 thousand rubles per call, 40 dollars per hour for providing technical assistance, 100 thousand rubles for loading and unloading a car, 8 thousand rubles/km for evacuation within the Moscow Ring Road and 15 thousand outside it.
The Medvedkovo taxi fleet deals exclusively with the evacuation of cars. Technical assistance is not provided on site. A kilometer “from the point of delivery” costs 10 thousand rubles. That is, only the tow trucks’ journey to the accident site is paid, and the return trip (with the car) is free. If you transport a car outside the city, you pay 15 thousand per kilometer. If you want to transport your car over a distance of more than 100 km, there is a 20 percent discount.
By making an entry fee of $30, you become a member of the United Automobile Club. Plus, you must purchase a service card for annual maintenance. The card holder is provided with evacuation and technical assistance services. The cost of cards ranges from $60 to $250. It all depends on how many times a year you use the club’s services. For example, 60 dollars is one time, 100 is three times, etc.
The cost of the most expensive cards includes life insurance in case of an accident ($1,500), partial compensation for the services of lawyers when determining the causes of an accident (up to $500), and partial payment of expenses in the event of a “foreign” accident (up to $700). In addition, club members receive discounts from 5% to 30% at a number of car companies participating in the discount system.
Free evacuation using the club’s service card is valid for 50 kilometers. If you transport the car over a longer distance, then pay 1.5 dollars per km. But this only applies to cardholders. And everyone else pays $80 to call a tow truck or technical assistance. Moreover, these services themselves are paid separately. Towing costs $1.8 per km, and technical assistance costs $20 per hour.
The Alfa-Rinaco company provides only one-time technical assistance and evacuation services. There is no monthly fee, but there are no free services either. The cost of transportation depends on the make of the car and the distance from Moscow. If the car is domestic, then its evacuation in Moscow costs 460 thousand rubles, from the Moscow region - 12 thousand per kilometer. If a foreign car costs 580 thousand in Moscow, from the Moscow region it is also 12 thousand per km. But you will have to negotiate the price of repairs with the master. There are no specific prices. If the driver who called the tow trucks does not have money on him, then his registration certificate is taken as collateral. And they return it when he pays.

Yuri KOLESOV

Magazine "Kommersant Money" No. 26 dated 07/09/1997, page 13

Club. Cheerful and resourceful