Cheap Breakdown Cover Roadside assistance from £12/year

AutoAid £39 full cover for you & spouse Cheapest full cover pay 'n' claim for couples

Little-known company AutoAid is our overall top pick. This is a pay and reclaim policy, meaning it works very differently to the more traditional AA and RAC cover (see full pay and reclaim info).

It's backed by Equity Red Star, which also runs AutoNational's breakdown recovery.

Considering what's included, nothing really comes close for price unless you've a stockpile of Tesco Clubcard vouchers:

• It insures the person, not the car. This means vehicle age, mileage and reliability are irrelevant, plus caravans and trailers will also be towed if attached to your car.

• Free cover for a spouse. You'll also get free cover for a spouse or civil partner. Sadly, this doesn't apply if you're just co-habiting.

• Onward transport. Most budget policies only fix the car at the roadside or tow to a garage. With AutoAid you'll get transport to your destination for up to six people in total (inclusive of the driver).

• Home breakdown cover, limited to £65. It pays for labour and recovery, but not parts.

AutoAid's stated average call out time is 40 minutes, roughly on a par with others, and it pays back claims in around 14 days. It's now been our top pick for a few years and MoneySavers who use it almost universally report good feedback - add your experiences.

One forumite reports:

A couple wanting roadside assistance, cover at home and national recovery from the AA would normally pay over £100 - yet AutoAid provides the same for just £39 a year.

RAC £49 fully comp after cashback Big name provider deal with AT home and onward travel

For a limited time, buy an RAC 'personal' breakdown policy priced from £101 to £151 via Topcashback* and you can get cashback of up to £60.60 - but you must pay in full upfront, not monthly (see Cashback Safety Rules).

This means you can get the Home Start with National Recovery (which will take you, your passengers and the car to your chosen destination) cover, for £49.40 for a year.

How do I get it?

Rather than signing up with the RAC directly, get its £110 policy via Topcashback , which offers £60.60 cashback (for a limited time). Assuming the cashback goes through fine, this will cut the cost to £49.40. You must pay in full upfront, rather than by monthly payments but doesn't take an annual cut of the cashback.

Alternatively Quidco* pays £55 when you sign up for RAC breakdown cover costing up to £150. Again, you must pay in full upfront, rather than by monthly payments.

Do note that Quidco takes the first £5 you earn each year as an admin fee.

IMPORTANT - Cashback is never guaranteed. Cashback sites list retailers and product providers, get paid if you click through them, then give you some or all of this cash.

Make sure you read Top Cashback Sites guide before doing this. There shouldn't be problems, but the payout's never 100% guaranteed. If a cashback site doesn't get paid by the RAC, you usually don't either, so you'll pay full price. Check Cashback Safety Rules.

AA £53 fully comp after cashback Big name provider deal with home start and onward travel

For a limited time, buy an AA breakdown policy priced from £101 to £151 via Quidco* and you can get cashback of up to £48 - but you must pay in full upfront, not monthly (see Cashback Safety Rules).

This means you can get the Home Start with National Recovery (which will take you, your passengers and the car to your chosen destination) cover, for £53 for a year.

How do I get it?

Rather than signing up with the AA directly, get its £101 policy via Quidco* , which offers £48 cashback (for a limited time). Assuming the cashback goes through fine, this will cut the cost to £53. You must pay in full upfront, rather than by monthly payments. Quidco takes the first £5/year in cashback you earn.

Alternatively Topcashback* pays £45.45 when you sign up for AA breakdown cover costing up to £150. You must pay in full upfront, rather than by monthly payments and doesn't take an annual cut of the cashback.

IMPORTANT - Cashback is never guaranteed. Cashback sites list retailers and product providers, get paid if you click through them, then give you some or all of this cash.

Make sure you read Top Cashback Sites guide before doing this. There shouldn't be problems, but the payout's never 100% guaranteed. If a cashback site doesn't get paid by the AA, you usually don't either, so you'll pay full price. Check Cashback Safety Rules.

Cheap RAC cover using Tesco Clubcard points Cheapest non-cashback deal if you've got vouchers

If you're a Tesco shopper, hoard your Clubcard points then use them to slash the cost. Here, you can get roadside assistance plus home start and onward travel for £36/year.

How does it work? Spend Tesco Clubcard vouchers on goods or services listed in its Deals brochure and you get back up to four times their face value.

One of the deals offered is an RAC roadside recovery policy, meaning you can sometimes get it at about a third of the cost. For more info, read Loyalty Points Boosting.

Which policies can I get? You can't get every single policy type, so we have listed the ones available and their prices in Tesco points in the table below.

Green Insurance £26 full cover with code Cheapest full autoservice cover for cars up to 5yrs

It's cheaper than AutoAid, but this full service policy only covers a specific car that's five years and younger, while AutoAid provides cover for two people.

Green Insurance* is usually £28.80, but use the code EXPERT to get a further 10% off when you buy online via this link, taking it down to £25.92. It's scheduled to end on 1 Jun 2013.

This covers the vehicle, not people like AutoAid does, and includes home start and roadside repairs, plus onward recovery for you and passengers. We also have less feedback on it, so we can't vouch for its reliability - let us know your experiences in the forum discussion.