What breakdown cover does not cover in Australia is important to understand, because many drivers assume it covers everything like car insurance, but it does not. Breakdown cover or roadside assistance does not cover accident damage. If you crash your car, you need to call your comprehensive car insurer, not roadside assistance, although some premium breakdown cover will still tow your crashed car as a goodwill gesture but will not pay for repairs. It does not cover the cost of parts and major repairs. If you need a new battery, alternator, tyres, or engine parts, roadside assistance will jump start or diagnose the issue, but you must pay for the new parts yourself, with batteries costing $200 to $500 and tyres $150 to $400 each. It does not cover vehicles that are unregistered, unroadworthy, or illegally modified. Most basic breakdown cover does not cover towing beyond a short distance, for example basic cover only includes 10km to 20km towing to the nearest workshop, you pay $3 to $6 per kilometre beyond that. It does not cover bogged or off-road recovery on beaches, in mud or on 4WD tracks unless you have specific 4WD or remote cover. It does not cover servicing, oil changes, or pre-existing faults you have ignored after being advised to fix them. It does not cover lost key replacement, only lockout opening, you pay for new keys. It does not cover fuel costs, some providers deliver $5 of fuel free but you pay for the fuel. It also does not cover trailers or caravans unless you have caravan cover.
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