Yes, trip tiks and discounts. We sat down with an agent before a road trip and planned everything, and she made all the reservations and had some great recommendations. It was something we could have done, but she made it extremely convenient. I agree with you and don’t want to waste money on duplicate coverages. That is really why I was trying to understand the various features/options...

 

Doug - back in the day, trip tiks were invaluable - these days though, most everything you need can be had online. I actually have AAA Plus so the cost is not insignificant. I'm probably dropping it on expiration .

 

I understand your point and frankly the one time they built a trip tik for us we didn’t follow it terribly closely anyway, favoring the car GPS and some alternate routes. But they can still get you some good deals during trips that can take a bit of research to locate on your own. They also had some good advice dealing with national park lodging & traffic. Anyway, I’m new to AAA and certainly not trying to sell anyone on it, but my wife and I found a definite value while planning a recent road trip. We will really have to think about the value before our next renewal. This first year membership was kind of an experiment for us anyway as we are traveling more these days and had never used AAA. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

Yeah probably worth the base cost just for the discounts but I definitely will pass on the PLUS option.

 

They say "Experience Amazing" in their fancy marketing. They sell you a shiny Lexus and hand you the keys with a smile. Then you might as well die on the side of the road waiting for their roadside assistance - Lexus doesn't care.

What I experienced today with Lexus Roadside Assistance is far from amazing, it was dangerous negligence toward customer safety to say the least.

Here are the facts of how it went down on August 22nd in La Jolla Shores, San Diego CA:

• 12:30pm PT - lost my car keys on the beach. Phone & wallet locked in the glove compartment.
• 12:45pm - called Lexus Roadside Assistance from another person's phone and requested a lockout service.
• 1:30-2:00pm - AAA service car arrived but couldn't resolve the issue.
• 2:00pm - called Lexus again and requested to either send a locksmith or a tow truck. Explained for the 2nd time that I'm left outside in the 90F heat, without water, phone, wallet or sufficient shade. Asked to put in an emergency request to send someone sooner.
• 3:00pm - still waiting, nobody showed up. Decided to run to the nearest coffee shop to get water and borrow someone's phone to call again.
• 3:15pm - got Lexus on the phone, tow truck should be arriving within 30 minutes. It's been over 2 hours at that point and I'm starting to feel unwell in the heat.
• 3:50pm - AAA tow truck finally arrives. But can't tow my car because I'm parked parallel between 2 cars. The previous AAA technician told me that would be no issue as tow trucks are "smart about getting cars out of all sorts of scenarios." AAA driver calls Lexus from his phone to discuss the situation.
• 4:15pm - "They told me to just leave you here and cancelled your request," AAA guy informs me of the outcome of that conversation with Lexus as he shows me on his tablet that my request disappeared from the system.

Sharing this here so other Lexus owners know - you cannot rely on them in a potentially dangerous situation and better off to get separate roadside assistance through AAA or your car insurance company.

After 3 hours of waiting for help, I was dehydrated, sunburnt, and close to having a heatstroke. My surfboard was stolen when I ran out for 10 minutes to get water and call Lexus again and again.

Shame on you, Lexus! I'm heartbroken at how your roadside assistance mishandled this.

I do want to give a shout out to AAA for being human in the situation and helping me at least get home safely, I had to leave my car on the spot.

 

Last Dec, I had a blowout - pulled off highway to a safe spot, called Lexus roadside and roughly 45 minutes later, spare was on the car and I was on my way. My only experience so far with them. I dropped my AAA coverage. I also have roadside with my insurance so already double covered.

 

Whew! This story is disappointing and unbelievable. The MOST disappointing part is when they erased you from the call sheet... Curious as to the resolution of this tale.

 

Thank you @bc6152 , I'll keep the thread updated once I hear from them. Lexus has not yet reached out to me.

 

Who came to help you? Lexus? AAA?

 

Literally all Lexus roadside assistance does is call AAA for you.

Having used other types of roadside assistance also, calling AAA directly, through American Express etc. they’re all about the same. This could have happened with any of them.

When AAA came originally why were they unable to remedy the issue? They weren’t able to get into the car?

 

I dialed Lexus and a AAA truck arrived timely and changed the tire.

 

I've seen some dealers with their own roadside trucks but agree usually it's just AAA they summon.

 

The whole scenario could have been avoided simply by using the Lexus app to unlock the vehicle

 

His phone was locked in his car.

 

So here's the solution all you Perry Mason fans.

You borrow someone's phone and download the Lexus Enform app. Sign in and get your profile temporarily on their phone. Unlock doors. Delete app from stranger's phone and buy them a drink. Solves the dehydration issue too.