There can hardly be anything more annoying: The family starts their holiday full of anticipation and already has the holiday destination in mind, and then the car breaks down on the way there.
Suddenly, the engine stops, cannot be started after a stop at a service area or smoke even rises from below the hood. What is to be done then?
First of all, it is important to keep calm and bring the car out of the line of fire. If, for example, the breakdown happens on the motorway, then the hard shoulder should always be visited and the car secured by means of a warning triangle and switching on the hazard lights. Car occupants should put on safety vests and go behind the protective barge or far enough away from the road so that they cannot be caught by rolling traffic.
Request professional help
The next step is to request professional help like a semi towing truck company nearby. There are several options for this. Motorists who are members of an automobile club, such as the ACS or the ACE, can contact the roadside assistance service of these associations. The easiest way to do this is via mobile phone or an emergency telephone. If the breakdown happens abroad, the domestic automobile clubs can also be called, which will notify a cooperating partner service in an emergency. If you are not a member of the ACS or ACE, it can still be called. In this case, however, a membership application must be completed and signed before the help can be used. However, this is only possible in the home country.
If you are not a member of an automobile club with roadside assistance and do not want to join one, you can request any breakdown service, but in any case, you have to bear the costs for the use yourself. This can be a few hundred euros. The amount incurred depends on the country in which the breakdown occurs, whether a quick repair is possible on-site, or whether the car has to be towed to a workshop. Therefore, membership in an automobile club is always the better alternative. If there is no emergency telephone nearby abroad and the appropriate telephone numbers for a breakdown service are not at hand, then the police can also be called, who will provide information and, if necessary, also inform the service technician or tow truck company.
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Have the damage to the car repaired
In some cases, damage can be repaired by a breakdown helper directly at the scene of the accident, but in most cases a trip to a workshop is unavoidable. If the repair takes several days, because spare parts may have to be requested, then at least the larger workshops offer rental car service. In any case, it should be clarified before a major repair whether a temporary repair is possible, so that the car may only be made roadworthy for the return journey. This can be useful to save costs. Many people prefer a repair in their traditional workshop, which they can trust and where they know that no unnecessary measures are imposed on them.
Even people who can make repairs to their car themselves should only have the bare necessities done, and rather repair the overall damage at home. Almost all car parts can also be ordered online, which is almost always cheaper than buying them in brick-and-mortar stores. If, for example, the exhaust breaks on a trip to a holiday, then it can actually only be patched up provisionally on the way and an exchange only takes place after the end of the holiday.