Vehicle breakdown cover is a very useful thing to have.  It's not just something you should consider if you have an older car because new cars have a tendency to break down too.  I know this because I have seen fairly new cars broken down on the side of a motorway quite a few times.  You just never know when your car might break down, so it's peace of mind.  This is especially comforting if you're female and often drive alone or have young children.

I used to have AA breakdown cover with my Lloyds TSB bank account but recently decided that it's actually cheaper to go direct instead of paying a monthly fee on my account - especially as they recently put up the fee!  I remember when I got my first car nearly 15 years ago and my parents insisted on paying for my first year of breakdown cover, it was over £100!  These days you can get cover for around half that.  There are quite a few ways to get cheaper cover which is mainly via cashback websites or special offers.  You can often get a special discount if you buy online too.

FREE cover and £1.85 in your pocket!

There are many companies that provide breakdown cover but I've only researched the well-known ones.  Of course the price you pay very much depends on the sort of cover you require.  So take a look at all the options and chose the one that most suits your needs and pocket.

Firstly there is the AA which at the moment you can get basic AA Roadside cover online at a discounted price of £30 (normally £47).  However if you were to go via Topcashback for the basic cover you would get £21 cashback and they offer cashback for other packages too.  So if you add the cost of the MOT and your cashback you could actually end up with FREE cover and £1.85 in your pocket!  Also, as an added bonus, the AA are now offering a Free MOT with AA Breakdown Cover for a limited period to new customers who purchase a minimum of national recovery and cover at home.

If you prefer the RAC you can get their basic Roadside vehicle cover online from £29.99 (normally £50).  Again you can go via a cashback site to make it cheaper; Topcashback are offering £5 cashback for basic cover, more if you opt for a higher level of cover.  If you shop in Tesco and have a Tesco Clubcard, you can use your vouchers to pay in full for a variety of cover.  Basic roadside cover will cost you £18 in vouchers which isn't bad but personally I'd rather use my Tesco vouchers on other deals as you can get 4 times the value.

Other options are Green Flag whose basic Rescue cover normally costs £27 a year and you can get £5 cashback via Topcashback or there's Autonational whose basic Roadside Superservice is £30 a year and if you're a new member you'll get 15 months for the price of 12.  Topcashback are also offering 17.5% cashback which equates to £5.25.

On top of breakdown cover all of the above providers offer special discounts on various things such as approved garages, car insurance, holidays etc...

SPECIAL OFFERS

RAC are currently offering new customers 6 months FREE cover when you take out a 2 year membership between now and 31st May 2013.  Terms and conditions apply.

The AA are offering for a very limited time, until 31st May 2013, a FREE MOT to new customers who purchase a minimum of national recovery and cover at home.