I just purchased a 2014 Toyota prius, brand new. When signing up for insurance they seemed to add this MBI to my policy, if I hadn’t ask for the breakdown they wouldn’t have even mentioned it (which makes me suspicious) Is it even worth having this, I declined the extended warranty from the dealer, and now these guys are attempting to tax me with this. Is it worth it? It seems like it’s only $14.60 every 6 months, which is pretty cheap. but I have new car coverage for 36k miles already (which will probably expire within two years cause of the amount of my drive time) does anyone have any experience with MBI?
Read the fine print. That could include bringing gas, unlocking doors, fixing flats, etc. If so it’s a bargain.
Agreed. If it’s what Rod Knox suspects, you’re basically getting AAA for less than half price.
If I didn’t have AAA I wouldn’t mind paying for it. But I haven’t heard anything about MBI in particular.
You would have to add towing to your Geico policy to get road service. And yes towing on any insurance policy is much less than AAA but it is not quite the same level of service.
I read about Geicos MBI but I seem to remember there were a lot of restrictions on it and you certainly don’t need it on a car under warranty.
One of the things I like about Geico is that you can make changes to your policy online or by phone 24 hours a day and they take effect at midnight.
I added collision back on a car that my granddaughter was using for a move to Florida and then took it off after the trip. Cost me $4
It sounds like roadside assistance, and I carry that on my GEICO policy. I used it a few times and found the service satisfactory. If you live in the DC/Baltimore area, GEICO will pay for a tow truck to start the car or tow it to the nearest Pep Boys or to the place of your choice up to the distance to the nearest Pep Boys. My old Buick wouldn’t start on the other side of town once. Pep Boys discovered an internal short in the battery and replaced it. They didn’t even try to upswell me any other services.
It sounds like roadside assistance,
That’s exactly what it is. I have it on all our vehicles. It’s cheap. Last I checked I was getting charged $8 every 6 months. Last time I used it was last winter…when my son put my 4runner down an embankment during a winter storm. Had it towed out…and drove away (no damage). Insurance paid for the $70 tow.
Yup, I don’t think it is what you think it is. It doesn’t cover repairs and so on but would cover towing costs. With State Farm its about $2 every 6 months. I have it in addition to the motor club just because its cheap and once in a while I used to use it in addition to the motor club coverage. If the motor club non-covered bill was $75, State Farm covered the rest. No big deal. Do it or not, won’t make much difference. You may want to consider the extended coverage though at some point. 36K is not very long.
Hey, GEICO does offer mechanical breakdown insurance in addition it emergency roadside service:
https://www.geico.com/getaquote/auto/mechanical-breakdown-insurance/
Toyota offers two years of roadside assistance as part of the warranty. Sounds like a dealership ripoff to me. I’d save the money.
Read the policy to see what is included and when it kicks in. Since you have to buy it before 15,000 miles, I think you are paying in advance for when the warranty expires. After you read the policy, writer down your questions and call GEICO. I don’t think you will have problems in the first 100,000 miles with a Prius, and I would cancel the MBI Rider if this was my car.
If you get two years free with Toyota I wouldn’t buy the Geico.
Well JT, I STAND CORRECTED. $30 a year is pretty cheap for the benefit. Even though most of the time you will not have a covered repair over $250 in 100K miles, it is still pretty good protection for the possibility of a new computer or transmission at 50K.
@Bing I have had the $2.20 ($4.40 per year) State Farm towing insurance for about 30 years. $132 in premiums, more than $250 in claims which were paid in full without blinking an eye. I wish all insurance worked like this! I have paid over $3,000 in the last 4 years for car insurance with no claims. I pay over $2400 per year for health insurance which is 30% of actual cost and claim about $600 per year. No wonder insurance companies are able to waste 100s of millions on their incredibly stupid commercials!
I paid AAA for 20 years because I was on the road and wanted my wife to have someone to call. The only thing I ever got was free maps. Saved a bundle by changing to towing on my insurance.
Still never used it.
I paid AAA for 20 years because I was on the road and wanted my wife to have someone to call. The only thing I ever got was free maps. Saved a bundle by changing to towing on my insurance.
I had AAA for 2 years. Until I had a breakdown on I90 in NY with my GMC S-15. And I found out that AAA is NOT allowed on the NY State throughway. So I had to pay for the tow myself.
Heh heh. I used to work for AAA but I have Amoco motor club myself. Nothing against the boys at AAA but their main focus shifted from promoting roads and travel to selling insurance. Like I said before, I’m not concerned about paying for towing but having one number to call 24/7 nation-wide and getting someone to me. I had a timing chain go on a holiday Friday and I wouldn’t have gotten anyone to come get me looking in the phone book without the motor club. Then most of the time you are not near a phone book. That’s worth something to me.
If this was through your car insurance call the agent and have it explained. It sounds more like roadside service and or towing which is usually $2.00 a month. Insurance company version of AAA.