Good Sam ERS vs. Coach-Net

[Half Dimes]

Our GS ERS is up for renewal. We've never really had a problem with them but I've also heard good things about Coach-Net. As long as you are a member of one of a number of RV groups, the Coach-Net price is actually a little better than GS. Anyone care to comment about any pros and cons of each?

[Half Dimes]

Our GS ERS is up for renewal. We've never really had a problem with them but I've also heard good things about Coach-Net. As long as you are a member of one of a number of RV groups, the Coach-Net price is actually a little better than GS. Anyone care to comment about any pros and cons of each?

[paz]

I've read good and bad about both. We have Coach Net, used it once, and were very pleased. One of the things that drew me to Coach Net was that they have techs who will help you over the phone, if appropriate. I will always prefer to help myself if I can because it's likely to be faster. I understand GS has something similar now, too.

One thing to remember is that all ERS is contracted out. In remote locations, there may not be many service people to choose from and the major ERS companies may be using the same subcontractor. If the only available service subcontractor in a given area is slow or incompetent, you're not likely to get good service no matter which ERS you have.

[RVThere]

Used Good Sam ERS twice. One they bailed me out with a tow dolly flat tire on the side of I-77 in Galax, VA.

Next time was on the Mass. Turnpike. They could not send their vehicle onto the Turnpike but reimbursed me 100% for my out of pocket towing fees.

[Richard Noble]

I've had GS ERS for over 10 years. Have used it three times. 1st time towing truck & 5er 100 miles, 2nd time truck (different one) and 5er (same one) over 60 miles: 3rd time - flat tire (wife used it here). I'll never be without it.

[Rick Long]

Good Sam does a great job.... Once I used it to tow my daughters car to another town even though it could have been repair in the town we were in... it's an expensive car and I wanted it worked on by the dealer... Good Sam agreed and towed it an extra 15 miles to the dealership.

[two2go]

Had slide-out failure in Silver City, NM. Good Sam sent RV repair guy from two hours away, and he spent three hours before we finally got the slide-out retracted safely. The mileage and part of the service was free, and I paid a reasonable amount for extra time. With no spare tire on the coach, I would not be without some emergency coverage.

[Bob N Deb]

I have coach net and used them once . It wasin Canada and the service was great they first had a technition call me on the phone but that didn't solve the problem so they sent out a truck that took me to a campground as it was too late for any shop to look at it , actually the towtruck driver figured what was wrong and sugested how to fix it the next day and it worked. so I am very happy with coach net . I realize that particular tow service works for AAA, coach net ,and good sam, and maybe others. He said coach net paid well and quickly so he was happy to do calls for them
Bob

[GaryKD]

Hi Half Dimes,
The important thing is what Bob N Deb posted. The tow trucks contract to many of the parent road service companies. If all one needs is the emergency road service, it is a commodity purchase. For commodity purchases price plays an important roll in the decision.

[Bob N Deb]

I think it is important to also check closely exactly what is included in your coverage. We have kids at college and they are covered under our Coach net so that was a factor for us. But you have to check things like how many calls you get before they drop your coverage or won't renew and wther they will tow you where you want or to the closest and if you run out of fuel will they give you a gallon which would be worse than useless to a motorhome. You would get 5 miles down the road and have to call again.
Bob

[MtManLee]

I have coach net and have used them twice, once last year to tow our car into a shop for repair and once this year to pull our rv out of a mud hole in an rv park. They also called me back on the second call to make sure that help came to assist me.

[SSteve]

This is just my experience and I ask none to draw a conclusion from it. But, beware.

I decided to go with Good Sam ERS and today signed up online and I am already nonplussed and unimpressed!

I registered (bought the plan) online. Waited for the email confirmation...and waited...and waited.
Decided to log on to ERS to see if there was a system problem. There was. The system problem appears to be with the Affinity Group (aka Good Sam and sister companies). As I clicked my way through the layers of the site, I finally found the message "This process takes anywhere from 3-7 days. Please try again later".

As I mentioned in the note I sent to the ERS folks, I don't understand how something that takes most (in my experience) companies 3-7 seconds takes theses folks 3-7 days.

If you have decided that Good Sam ERS (The Affinity Group) is for you, I would advise against the online avenue to sign up and opt to speak with a person to whom you could ask some questions. And be prepared to ask a lot of questions. 3-7 days to confirm, to me, is not acceptable.

I hope an approval for any claim I might make doesn't follow this time frame.

Steve

[RVDude]

This might be a deciding factor for you. The Affinity Group (parent to Good Sams, CampingWorld, etc...) is having significant debt troubles. S&P has downgraded them 3 times in the past 11 months and their credit is now rated CCC with a continued negative outlook as of April 7, 2009. They have a large debt payment due in June which is very troubling. One can expect significant business restructuring (i.e. selling of assets) as the likelihood of a debt refinance right now is extremely low, especially for anything in the RV industry, but not impossible.

Here's one quick and easy news link.

Also Google "affinity group debt" for numerous other news posts. There is plenty of it.

[Izzyblueye]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVDude This might be a deciding factor for you. The Affinity Group (parent to Good Sams, CampingWorld, etc...) is having significant debt troubles. S&P has downgraded them 3 times in the past 11 months and their credit is now rated CCC with a continued negative outlook as of April 7, 2009. They have a large debt payment due in June which is very troubling. One can expect significant business restructuring (i.e. selling of assets) as the likelihood of a debt refinance right now is extremely low, especially for anything in the RV industry, but not impossible. Here's one quick and easy news link. Also Google "affinity group debt" for numerous other news posts. There is plenty of it.

RV Dude: It was. I am up for renewal and have been wondering about this problem.