The adac: on the dark side of power?

Last week a lady from ADAC called me. Recently I had a question, actually got an answer and the call was for quality assurance. Whether I was satisfied. Or had any problems. Interesting. And good. I like.

In the recent past, the only thing you heard from ADAC was some headlines about board members misbehaving, about an association acting like a big company, about behavior that didn’t live up to its own standards. And in the meantime it has become a little quieter again. Reason enough to do a little soul-searching and think about the ADAC thing for me. I would like to do these considerations alone and in peace. Leiste me thereby company.

You have to be able to praise sometimes

This is definitely NOT a sponsored article!

Last week a lady from the ADAC called me. Recently I had a question, actually got an answer and the call was for quality assurance. Whether I was satisfied. Or had any problems. Interesting. And good. I like.

In the recent past, the only thing one heard from ADAC was some headlines about board members who behaved wrongly, about an association that acted like a large company, about behavior that did not live up to its own standards. And in the meantime it has become a little quieter again. Reason enough to do some soul-searching and think about the ADAC thing for me. I would like to carry out these considerations alone and in peace. Keep me company.

I am in the ADAC and admit it

Yes, I am already for some time ADAC member. And not only member. I have a Plus membership. Let me explain: If you break down as a regular member, a roadside assistance worker comes and patches your vehicle. As a Plus member, a catering service comes to provide you with appetizers and background music during the waiting time. Or so.

Well, maybe not quite. But there are indeed advantages to being a Plus member. In addition to such stories as medical evacuation, what counts for me as a motorcyclist is the possibility of pan-European roadside assistance. A real bonus if you overdid it a bit on the Assietta border ridge road and put the BMW down badly.

What I had so far from the ADAC?

Schatzis Suzuki lashed for the home transport

Well, I had already the one or other time difficulties on the way. The most elaborate was when I went on vacation with my wife once. Then the morning after the first hotel stay, she pushes her bike out of the garage, somehow stumbles and then has the whole Suzuki on her knee. Knee naturally broken. Was of course a small problem. At the end of the world we are standing there. My wife can no longer walk and I can’t drive home on two machines. Then the automobile club comes just in time. The home transport of motorcycle and my wife was quickly organized and worked smoothly.

Another case: Swiss Alps, 31. July. Saturday afternoon. Continuous rain, torrential. It comes as it must come. At the end of the world my Suzuki goes out. (What I didn’t know: drain hole clogged, now the spark plug is in the water). Now one must know that it concerns here the day before Swiss federal holiday. The country is paralyzed. And so does my motorcycle. Nevertheless, after a call to the ADAC, it somehow worked out that the breakdown service came on the spot, took care of my machine and I was able to continue the journey again in the end. It was not a matter of course that everything still worked out on such a weekend.

So you can say what you like about the past scandals, in any case the “problem solving on the spot” still works smoothly.

And what else does the automobile club?

Well, I personally like to use my ADAC membership for travel preparation (campsites with associated tests) and for information gathering. After all, I receive the club magazine monthly and always find useful info on the online portal as well.

The classic “travel packages”, with rudimentary map, country info and whatnot, that you can have put together for your vacation, I personally don’t find that useful now. Does not bring me so much. After all, everyone uses the internet these days. There I get the same information without having to drive to an ADAC branch.

Therefore I can say without further ado that the “additional services” apart from the breakdown service also work quite well.

What doesn’t work out so well?

Well, here it is worth to have a closer look. The club also offers insurance, especially car insurance, legal protection and travel health insurance. If you look a little closer here, you’ll notice that these insurances are all more expensive than those from third party providers. Here I would simply state that it is not worthwhile to take out car insurance through the automobile club, even for members.

What does the club membership cost?

If you simply want to join the automobile club, with the classic breakdown service, you are in for 49€ per year. But I would not recommend. Just we as motorcyclists are also again and again in the friendly foreign country on the way. Here the breakdown service does not seize however. You get help, but then you have to pay extra for it afterwards.

If you are a Plus member it will cost you a bit more. Here you are from 84€. Advantage: the whole ADAC services are also available for you in whole Europe without extra charge. If you ever had a breakdown abroad and had to rely on help, you will know what is advantageous about it.

Summary

Once again: This is not a sponsored article. Is it a promotional item? Maybe, but now not as you think. Lately, first only bad, then nothing at all was written about the automobile club. And that’s when I realized that “not enough is enough” doesn’t necessarily apply. I may also say, if I like something once. And that’s why I’m allowed to do automobile club advertising if I want to.