New-vehicle warranties include breakdown coverage as part of the warranty

NATIONAL COVERAGE

ALLIANZ Global Assistance is the only national breakdown coverage available with decent rural/remote coverage. Its Premium coverage offers up to 200km towing if it’s in a remote or regional area. Allianz will tow a vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes but will only provide a tow or bogged vehicle recovery where a 2WD vehicle can reach.

MANUFACTURER WARRANTIES

NEW-VEHICLE warranties also include breakdown coverage as part of the warranty. These for the most part provide better coverage for breakdowns than the state motoring organisations in that if you need to be towed most do not cap towing distance – provided that it’s to a manufacturer’s dealership.

However, all specify that if you’re bogged or broken down you’ll only get a tow where a 2WD recovery vehicle can get to as part of the coverage. Any additional costs to get you out of where a 2WD can’t go are on you.

The manufacturers’ breakdown policies are all similar, but a few have conditions you should be aware of.

Ford only offers breakdown coverage for 12 months of its three-year newvehicle warranty and from then on only if you get Ford servicing – so when you get a service at a Ford dealer, you get 12 months’ complementary state motoring organisation membership with it.

For Land Rover, breakdown coverage is for the three years/100,000km warranty period, but no vehicle modifications can be made from the manufacturer’s factory specifications to be eligible for the warranty’s breakdown coverage component.

Like Ford, Mitsubishi’s Diamond Advantage Roadside Assistance is only active for 12 months from the purchase date of a new vehicle (despite the newvehicle warranty being active for five years/100,000km) and contracts the work to the state motoring clubs. You get a bonus 12 months coverage if the first annual service is done by Mitsubishi.

Despite a similar vein running through the various breakdown coverages available, there are some glaring differences. None really offer adequate coverage for remote bush travel. Unfortunately for that, it seems, you’ll have to get your own insurance.