AMA membership?

[2020]

Hi

Do any of you guys have an ama membership? Is it worth it?
I’m thinking of picking one up, the premier one with the free 300km tow distance for $170. Haven’t used a tow truck in a while, what’s the average charge for a tow nowadays?

Thanks

[Xtrema]

Hi

Do any of you guys have an ama membership? Is it worth it?
I’m thinking of picking one up, the premier one with the free 300km tow distance for $170. Haven’t used a tow truck in a while, what’s the average charge for a tow nowadays?

Thanks

To me not worth it other than their insurance is quite competitive last few years I checked so I didn't bother to move out.

My folks still like to get travel medical insurance and tour packages thru them.

To my relatives who some still drive beaters, I'm the designated free tow/booster/auto service, until AMA starts to deny service for cars not owned by members like CAA did in Ontario.

[vengie]

I drive a beater.

Worth it.
Plus quite a few places offer discounts for AMA members.

[killramos]

All I had to add is my wife tried to use ama a few weeks ago for a flat (her mom gave her a card for Christmas) and they told her it for be 4-5 hours to get a truck to her. In the heat, on the side of the road, with a baby.

Needless to say I found someone else to come help her which took about 30 minutes.

So fuck those guys.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Get a Canadian Tire "World Elite" MasterCard. It has no annual fee and includes roadside assistance for free. It's ridiculous.
You can even use it to pay Calgary property taxes.

[killramos]

I should get one of those just to use at Costco lol

[firebane]

All I had to add is my wife tried to use ama a few weeks ago for a flat (her mom gave her a card for Christmas) and they told her it for be 4-5 hours to get a truck to her. In the heat, on the side of the road, with a baby.

Needless to say I found someone else to come help her which took about 30 minutes.

So fuck those guys.

Yeah it always seems like a good idea until you break down at a time when EVERYONE else does and then you are on a wait list for hours.

Look at what happens during a cold snap when batteries die.. good luck getting AMA to help.

[killramos]

This was 2pm on a Thursday in the summer. If they are overwhelmed then, I couldn’t imagine what a busy time looks like.

[firebane]

This was 2pm on a Thursday in the summer. If they are overwhelmed then, I couldn’t imagine what a busy time looks like.

https://ama.ab.ca/auto/roadside-assistance

Currently shows almost 3 hours for a tow for Calgary.

[killramos]

The whole thing seems like a bait and switch to me. Sure, free towing. When we feel like getting around to it.

[jabjab]

If you drive any sort of modified or older car that is not under warranty i think its worth it. The piece of mind is great, even with boosts, lock your keys in the car and also discounts on certain things.

[Mitsu3000gt]

AMA is pretty useless for anyone who knows what they're doing IMO. They often take forever to show up (sometimes they tell you 12-48 hours), far longer than one would reasonably be willing to wait, and you still need to pay for a tow from somewhere you may desperately need it (like the middle of a highway) unless you have the premium plans, and even then the wait times are even more ridiculous. My whole family used to have it but every time we 'needed' it there was no point, so we cancelled it. If you have a dead battery or something, a passer by, friend or family member is almost always going to be able to help you long before AMA arrives. Waiting for a boost in the winter can be many hours when everyone else also needs a boost. Another bonus is they bombard you with spam for travel 'deals', etc. For a grandparent or something it's maybe not the worst idea but for the average person it's a waste of money IMO unless you have the desire and the means to somehow take advantage of every little perk.

[vengie]

FWIW the two times I've used the free towing they were there in less than an hour...

[ExtraSlow]

Got half off my lenses at lenscrafters recently. I carry the mega-ultra-super-plus RV membership to cover towing my trailer, which would be a massive bill if it ever hits, but haven't really used it.
Have the triangle card which has roadside assistance too. I swear I hve roadside assistance through something else as well.

[Xtrema]

FWIW the two times I've used the free towing they were there in less than an hour...

Same here. But my last experience with them is at least 5 years ago.

[killramos]

Got half off my lenses at lenscrafters recently. I carry the mega-ultra-super-plus RV membership to cover towing my trailer, which would be a massive bill if it ever hits, but haven't really used it.
Have the triangle card which has roadside assistance too. I swear I hve roadside assistance through something else as well.

Presumably new Ford has roadside assistance.

I think my insurance company as covers it

[suntan]

It cost me $800 to tow my trailer from Mt Kidd.

[vengie]

Also, small hack you can do if you don't want to buy an AMA membership right away.

If you break down, go online and sign up, then call AMA for your tow... They MIGHT charge you a small "immediate use fee", but the total cost is likely significantly less than a tow.

[2020]

I think the immediate use fee is $40 bucks and you only get the 5km tow regardless of what package you buy.



Doesn’t the Canadian tire MasterCard roadside assistance only tow the vehicle to the nearest crappy tire scam shop? Looking for a service to tow to my house.

[suntan]

Doesn’t the Canadian tire MasterCard roadside assistance only tow the vehicle to the nearest crappy tire scam shop?

That's actually worse than leaving it on the road.

AMA will tow to the destination of your choice. Longer costs more though, but in my experience the tow truck drivers are pretty lenient about it.

[4WARNED]

It cost me $800 to tow my trailer from Mt Kidd.

was that with the RV Plus membership?

[suntan]

was that with the RV Plus membership?

No membership at all. Just putting that number there so people can make a decision if they have a trailer.

[cam_wmh]

Hi

Do any of you guys have an ama membership? Is it worth it?
I’m thinking of picking one up, the premier one with the free 300km tow distance for $170. Haven’t used a tow truck in a while, what’s the average charge for a tow nowadays?

Thanks

Back in January, I was in West Bowl at Louise, and lost my flip key for my Golf R (pocket was open). Called AMA, at about 3pm, and driver showed at 5pm. He had to unlock the car, to get my condo keys, and then flat bedded it home. Would've cost me $1,200
I've used them almost once annually (vw's? :rofl:), and that has more than paid for it -- with the most recent, I'm way ahead.

Bonus? Put in a lost report at LL, and in the spring I get an email from them -- key found!!! So that saved me another $300

[2020]

Back in January, I was in West Bowl at Louise, and lost my flip key for my Golf R (pocket was open). Called AMA, at about 3pm, and driver showed at 5pm. He had to unlock the car, to get my condo keys, and then flat bedded it home. Would've cost me $1,200
I've used them almost once annually (vw's? :rofl:), and that has more than paid for it -- with the most recent, I'm way ahead.

Bonus? Put in a lost report at LL, and in the spring I get an email from them -- key found!!! So that saved me another $300

Lol, damn that would have been expensive. I think I’ve got my answer. I’ll go with ama with their premier plan, expensive but would be cheaper in the long run if I needed a long distance tow especially now that I have high mileage beater vehicles.

[killramos]

I imagine, in aggregate and long term, it’s not cheaper. But what do I know.

[asp integra]

If you have 1 tow over 5km per year it's worth it

[ThePenIsMightier]

I imagine, in aggregate and long term, it’s not cheaper. But what do I know.

Don't even know where all them Coulombs in that there wall come from!

100355

[Tik-Tok]

I was on the fence about it for a decade. Finally pulled the trigger after my truck spun a bearing while towing the trailer. I was fortunate enough to have been close to the campground and was camping with friends that weekend, so had someone else come back and get the trailer for me, but signed up for AMA to get the truck towed home. After that I realized with the amount of BC camping we do (pre-covid), better safe than sorry. I probably should have skipped last year and this year, but oh well.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Never had it and never had a situation where I couldn’t find a affordable solution either.

[suntan]

Regular AMA membership used to be about $50. At that price it was a no brainer.

[ExtraSlow]

Also, small hack you can do if you don't want to buy an AMA membership right away.

If you break down, go online and sign up, then call AMA for your tow... They MIGHT charge you a small "immediate use fee", but the total cost is likely significantly less than a tow.

That may be an urban myth. Didn't work for my trailer when I tried like a decade ago.

[vengie]

That may be an urban myth. Didn't work for my trailer when I tried like a decade ago.


I think the immediate use fee is $40 bucks and you only get the 5km tow regardless of what package you buy.



Yeah I looked into it afterwards, 2020 is right, you can do it, but they charge you $40 and you only get the basic coverage towing range.


Just pay up and buy the membership ya cheap bastids!!

[ExtraSlow]

If I only needed 5km of towing for a car, it's be cheaper NOT to buy AMA.

[Tik-Tok]

My truck was towed 46kms for the AMA membership plus $40 immediate use fee :dunno: (to a friend's property, then the rest of the way home two days later)

[NoSup4U]

Get a Canadian Tire "World Elite" MasterCard. It has no annual fee and includes roadside assistance for free. It's ridiculous.
You can even use it to pay Calgary property taxes.

This fellow is giving good advice. It comes with the CT “gold” plan.

[2020]

That's actually worse than leaving it on the road.

AMA will tow to the destination of your choice. Longer costs more though, but in my experience the tow truck drivers are pretty lenient about it.

Looks like I was wrong with Canadian tires plan. 5 tows anywhere within 250km and unlimited to their scam shops

https://i.postimg.cc/mgDGjTPY/DF606-E9-A-D1-BB-41-B5-A57-E-86-C9766-DAE3-D.jpg (https://postimg.cc/GHZNhwJt)

[G-ZUS]

I've used and abused my ama plans, i use all my tows up every year. It pays for itself in my case.

[Team_Mclaren]

Credit card roadside is cheaper and better than AMA.

[Anomaly]

They are always slow, but they've been pretty good for me. Car broke down in Calgary, they towed it ~35km back to Airdrie, and since I wanted it in my garage they brought a second smaller tow truck that could maneuver the car in to my garage. Pretty solid for the base membership that is only supposed to cover 6km!

[dromz]

I've had a membership for over 20 years, its just another insurance policy, you may need it, you may not!!!