Road Assistance, which is better

Canadian Tire has a towing service too. There is an offer in the Pay & Play app right now for 20% off the gold plan, which gives you 5 tows per year of up to 250km each to the location of your choice. It comes to $79.99 and they give you a voucher for a free oil change too.

It seems like a good deal if you drive an older car. Has anybody here tried Canadian Tire?

Our rental car popped a flat tire in Japser, Alberta last year on Canada Day...There was literally nobody open on that day as you would expect. I called up TD Roadside assistance (from the TD Gold Elite). They got a tow out to me (It took 2+ hours, but it was a holiday in the middle of nowhere), and they even called me after an hour to check and see if the tow had arrived. Our asses got saved by the roadside assistance, and it is the only reason I keep the Gold Elite from TD.

There's some things to be aware of when comparing roadside plans, and you also have to have a sense of what you want.

• Coverage for customer, or vehicle? Most plans cover the person subscribing (and optionally others), for any car they drive. The Canadian Tire plan is different, covering a specifically named vehicle (others can be added for additional cost). If you only drive one vehicle, CT may be an advantage. If you are involved in driving other cars, CT won't cover you if you need their service in those vehicles.
• Towing - how far and where to? Most plans will tow you to the "nearest service centre" (or some similar phrase) of their choice within a certain range. Companies usually have a basic level plan with a fairly short (5-20km) range, and a more expensive extended range (150-250km) plan. For most plans, that range is the maximum range for the nearest centre, but they won't actually tow further than that nearest service centre. CAA, on the other hand, will tow you to the destination of your choice, which can be much better. Canadian Tire also tows to your choice within range.
• Who's covering? Many plans are actually just packaging options from one of a few "white-label" providers, including Dominion/DAA, Sykes, AXA, etc. And the providers in most cases just have arrangement with networks of local tow companies. Figuring out what sort of service you might get isn't really possible - its mainly anecdotal, and would depend on where/when you need it in any case.

There's an older thread about this you might want to wander through. Aside from your regional CAA, some of the other plans out there in include Esso, Costco, and various others.

RickyBobby74 wrote: ↑ Canadian Tire has a towing service too. There is an offer in the Pay & Play app right now for 20% off the gold plan, which gives you 5 tows per year of up to 250km each to the location of your choice. It comes to $79.99 and they give you a voucher for a free oil change too.

It seems like a good deal if you drive an older car. Has anybody here tried Canadian Tire?

I bought a roadside emergency kit at Canadian Tire and it came with a free no-frills version of the Silver plan (2 calls instead of 3). It also came with a coupon for 50% discount towards the Gold Plan (which then turns out to be cheaper than the Silver Plan at the regular price). IIRC, in either plan, towings to a Canadian Tire repair shop do not count.

The "free" oil change is not entirely free (you still have to pay waste disposal fees of a couple of dollars), but it makes either plan worthwhile.

One important thing to note though: unlike some roadside assistance plans, all Canadian Tire plans are tied to the car, not the driver. It might be a plus (or a minus) depending on your situation.

I had a bad experience with D.A.A. Someone unqualified helped me tow my car. They couldn't get it in the drive way... I told them "MY DRIVEWAY IS IN A VERY TIGHT laneway..."

They sent a friggin flat bed town truck!!! IT struggled to get it in... Then we had a nightmareish experience of trying to push it up into the spot with the help of my friend... I had to get a temporary parking permit and ditch it on the side street...

Costco or Canadian Tire, depending if you want to insure a person (whatever vehicle they drive) or a vehicle (whoever drives it)