If you do some miles in your business car there are things to consider. First you have to make sure you get from A to B with the minimum of fuss and second if you do have a breakdown, you need to get it sirted and on your way ASAP, as it is not just the inconvenience but the money lost with the business contact, it is for this reason that many SME’s choose business car lease as an option.
Yes it is more expensive than buying the car outright, but having a brand new car has its advantages. First all new cars come with breakdown cover, with some covereing more than the first year. Next is the fuel consumption of the modern engine. In recent years and even months car manufacturers have put huge focus on fuel consumption because of the recent economic situation.
Business car lease is not for everyone though. If you do a huge mileage, you may find even buying a car and adding the breakdown cover policies several times will be cheaper than leasing a car. There are extra features to breakdown cover, in that teh car does not belong to you, so your lease provider would have the responsability of getting the car fixed, if it is not your fault.
Out of all the recent breakdown cover TV adverts arguably the Green Flag rapid cover one is the best. There is no singing, no cars emerged in water just facts and figures backed up with clever animation. The facts are quiet impressive also with breakdowns being attended to with about a half an hour.
But the biggest message is that currently Green flag are offering breakdown cover from £20 a year for their basic roadside service. This is backed up by saying tha 86% of breakdowns are fixed by the roadside, pretty much telling people that is all they need. Of course this is not always true, but I am sure they are getting serious business from this offer. Of course it is the Royal Bank Of Scotland that owns Green Flag breakdown cover and with so much TV marketing occuring with all their insurance products, there is a good chance that the Green Flag TV campaign is cost effective.
As we know the Green Flag engineers are all self employed garage owners and recovery agents, so even though response is quick you are really dealing with a lot of small businesses. Anyway here is the TV advert, you can make up your own mind.
It makes sense to show the RAC breakdown cover advert being shown on TV at this present time, to understand how the RAC sees the market. The music is Close To You, to represent the RAC not being far away in times of trouble, especially in the cold, dark and lonely places the RAC (Royal Automobile Club) has chosen to film cars that have broken down or are not that well.
The first thing that many notice is the amount of carbon emissions comming fomr these vehicles, when filmed in cold conditions. The point of the adverts is to show how they can get to you quick and get you on your way, with their breakdown cover service. But for many watchers, you wonder why these cars ever returned to the road and why they aren’t scrapped straight away to save the planet.
So you end up thinking that carbom emissions are close to you and almost depressed by the end of the advert. We have to admit, it is better than signing patrolmen, that the competitors have used in the past, but it risks deleviering a different message than planned.
If you want to know how the AA (Automobile Association) used to market themselves back in the 80’s take a look at this old advert. The first thing you will notice is the Ital vans (not the best decision) and the AA patrolmen used to wear uniforms similar to the army. In those days the AA was still seen as a motoring club rather than an insurance policy as it tends to be now, but you get the idea.
Ironically the price of an AA breakdown Cover policy was not that much different than it is today, when you take into account inflation, wage rises etec, it is quite astonishing how cheap breakdown cover has generally become. Your paper bill for the month is likely to be moer expensive that a full years roadside policy. This is the main benefit of running your business online and using the economies of scale of an insurance company. cars today are mor reliable and most of its problems tend ot be human related, such as flat batteries, locking themselves out or clipping a kerb and damaging the wheels. What is sure, even from this old TV advert, is even with more reliable cars, there is still a need for breakdown cover for mosts motorists.
We heard a rumour not so long ago that the AA basic roadside premium was going up above the £30 mark. But when we have checked today online it is reading a clear £28. For those who do not visit the AA breakdown cover website very often may be a bit confused on pricing as it often tends to be cheaper than the prices advertised on TV. You have to presume it is the administration costs of running a sales department, or possibibly to cover the costs of TV advertising we are not sure. But what is certain, you can always get the cheapest option direct from the AA by visiting them online, even when their prices are in line with press and TV.
It is also possible that both Green Flag and RAC did not follow with a price rise at the end of summer, so a quick U turn was needed to bring them into line with the other national breakdown cover suppliers. This tends to be a quiet time with breakdown cover as long summer holiday journeys are no longer occuring and it is not cold enough yet to have starting issues. So we wait for busier times.