Unofficial site of the Automobile Association of South Africa

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Unofficial information about The Automobile Assosiation of South Africa.

The following information from the "Members' Handbook 2000" and focus more on the foreign travelers in South Africa. You can visit them at www.aasa.co.za
If you plan to buy or hire a car in South Africa it is aways wise to become a member of AA of SA.
AA Membership Benefits
Emergency Rescue Services:
Nowhere is the AA slogan "When you need help... we're all the help you need" more practically demostrated than by our Emergency Rescue Services. You are one of almost 500 000 AA members and we're on call, ready to help you, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
The AA's Emergency Rescue Services Control Centres are manned 24 hours a day. One toll-free call is all it takes to ensure access to reliable, efficient car breakdown assistance countrywide. When providing breakdown assistance the control centre will, on request, relay any messages to concerned family members, friends or colleagues.
Road Patrol Services:
Roadside repair services are availible in the road patrol service areas of Gauteng Province, Durban,Pietermaritzburg, Pinetown, East London, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Bellville. On arrival at your car, our road patrol will diagnose the problem and carry out minor running repairs to enable you to continue your journey or drive to a place of safety should more complete repairs needed.
Should your car breakdown outside the 40 km distance of an road patrol service area, arrangements will be made for your car to be repaired at the roadside, where possible, by an AAQA tow-in service provider.
Tow-In Service:
Should your car break down in a road patrol service area and it is not possible for minor roadside repairs to be effective, the AA road patrol may, where it is safe to do so, tow your car using a straight tow bar fitted to his service vehicle, within a 40 km radius of an AA road patrol service area.
Outside this 40 km area, you will be requiered to pay the tow-in service provider direct for the full distance travelled by him (including back to his yard), and you can then submit to the AA your claim for reimbursement.
(Refer to the Terms and Conditions For Emergency Rescue Services as listed on pages 12 to 15 in Members' Handbook)
Unlike mechanical and electrical breakdowns, the tow-in costs of collision-damaged cars and other insurable risks are not recovererable from the AA under personal membership and should be claimed from your insurance company.
AA MAYDAY
Medical Emergency Rescue Services:
The AA MAYDAY service is designed to provide medical assistance in an emergency, whether the emergency takes place at home , at the office, on holiday or in a car. Your spouse and children (up to the age of 26 years) are automatically covered at no extra cost.
The AA MAYDAY service is availible to all AASA members in South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. In the event that you you require medical emergency services in these areas, where we do not have a local/private ambulance service, we will endeavour to provide/mobilise the closest, most appropriate service for that area. Should you be travelling outside of these areas, please contact our Travel Services Departments or your nearest AA Auto Shop for information regarding our travel insurance products.
To access AA MAYDAY services from anywhere in South Africa, call the emergency toll-free number or when in Swaziland and Lesotho call the back-up number (nubers will be provided when you become a member). Keep your membership card with you, the operator will ask for your membership number.
There are also other services like the 24-Hour Alarm Centre, Telephonic Medical Advisory Service and Emergency Medical Intervention Service.
AA Travel and Accommodation
Call on the AA to take care of all your travel arrangements. Whenyou are planning a holiday, the AA can be relied upon to turn your journey into memorable experience. For accommodation reservations or advice on requierments for travel beyond our borders, simply visit any AA Auto Shop. These services are free of charge but excludes camping sites.
Local Travel:
As an AA member, a wide variety of detailed maps are availible to you free of charge. The AA produces some of the finest road maps availible and surrounding territories including the latest information on road conditions.
Other services to AA members and especially to foreigners are their AA Legal Services - vehicle related. Technical Services which offers a professional vehicle examination services at very low fees. They offer expert know-how and can provide you with a detailed and comprehensive vehicle report before you buy a car. Roadworthy Testing, the AA Technical Centres are now authorised testing facilities. A roadworthy certificate issued by the AA is valid throughout South Africa.
The AA Shop stock an extensive range of motoring, travel, safty, security and leisure products. These shops are conveniently situated in major shopping centres in metropolitain areas.
The AA does not provide vehicle insurrance themselves like Third Party and Theft, the cheapest insurrance in SA, but they will advise you where and who to contact.
This is all in a nut shell, contact the AA on their web address or when in South Africa, at their AA Shops. Unfortunately nowhere on their site or membership handbook does it appear what it all cost. On the 20th May 2000 it would have cost you an entrance fee of R51.30 plus R320.00 (basic membership) for a full year, membership is not transferable or refundable. Every month, on the 15th, the membership increases between R1.00 - R2.00, that is why they do not publish the membership fees.
My wife and I have used the AA's services and it was great.