AAA Encinitas Insurance and Member Services

BEWARE DMV services - I turned in a custom license plate for a standard one. One month later I get a citation notice for a parking ticket against the Plate number issued After I turned it in. Went to AAA for help twice - none (very indignant) and would not let me talk to a supervisor or manager. I suspect this is not a first occurrence. - BUYER BEWARE - while I have to contest this : (
Feb 15th, 2024

I highly recommend getting your passport photos here. I appreciate the wonderful service I received especially from Candace. She was very friendly , and extremely efficient. I love AAA
Jan 30th, 2024

I love having AAA! It's very helpful if your having car issues, or even just getting your car registration. FYI if you choose to get your car registration bring cash. I also use them for car insurance and it's been great so far!
Nov 22nd, 2022

I called for roadside assistance as I am a member of Auto Club.  I am in North County San Diego.  I asked for someone to come out and help me as my car was making a loud sound when I attempted to go to the store. I was afraid to drive it and wanted them to come out and give me advice to see if it would be ok to drive it to the repair shop. I have been a member for 27 years and really never used it.  When I called it took four tries, as they kept hanging up on me and I got about 5 text messages each time I tried to call.  I am 70 years old and last time I called AAA it was so different. I am not very good with technology, I just wanted to talk to someone to get help.  When someone finally did answer she seemed like she did not know how to help me, she kept putting me on hold over and over.  I asked her to please send someone to help me and after many, many times being put on hold, and she sounded like she was completely confused, she said "we can only tow".  It would have been less expensive for them to send someone to just help me and give me advice and they may not have to tow.  She would not help me!  I cannot believe how bad AAA is now, terrible service.  I am cancelling my account.
Jan 18th, 2023

This review is regarding: (1) Trip planning & assistance; (2) Roadside Assistance; and (3) Auto Insturance.Really wanted to love this company. (1) TRIP PLANNING & ASSISTANCEWanted to love AAA cuz of the fond memories from my childhood.  When I was in second or third grade my folks and myself visited our local AAA the day before our amazing roadtrip across the midwest. (where we'd see sights and get a slice of Americana)  The nice AAA lady pointed us to the rack where we could grab **free** folded paper maps for the various states we'd be driving thru. She opened each map and helped us plan out our tip! With a red marker she traced the highway paths plus circled the town/city we'd be near at the end of each driving day. Then she gave us a list of hotels/motels for that city, as well as suggested sights and things to do. The excitement for the next morning's trip was mounting, and AAA helped plan our journey!So yes, back in the day, AAA (aka the "auto club") actually felt like a club, like an organization that we were part of and that actually cared about it's members.Enter modern times. First, no more free paper maps--they now charge for maps. But that's okay cuz maps are old school, nowadays my iPhone and Siri can guide me anywhere. Second, no more travel assistance and trip planning. I guess the whole "club" thing is now non-existent, but somehow they still refer to themselves "the auto club". The historic "warm and fuzzy" feeling is now gone. AAA is now all about profit, and no longer embraces "the customer" or customer service. In fact AAA walks on it's own customers in many ways, as you'll see in the remainder of this review as well as in dozens of other reviews by fellow Yelpers.(2) ROADSIDE ASSISTANCELike other reviewers mention, we experienced long waits for the jumpstart guy to show up.  AAA has been very aggressive on selling batteries, which fyi turned out to be a scam as can be seen by literally thousands and thousands of consumer complaints on ConsumerAffairs-dotcom, BBB,TrustPilot, ComplaintsBoard-dotcom, and other places. The jumpstart guy used a handheld tester with printer to give me a battery check plus a mini hardcopy report of my battery including a simple graph. The report showed the batter was gone. What I didn't notice was that he did the battery check within 10 seconds after jumping the car, when the dead battery was just begging to charge back up. Jumpstart guy told me their replacement batteries were superior, and were well-priced cuz AAA buys them in bulk. I fell for it hook line and sinker. Part 2: The replacement battery lasted less than one year. So I Googled and found the many thousands of complaints on the above mentioned complaint websites.  And a master mechanic explained to me the AAA guy should have waited for the battery to charge a bit before doing the check and hardcopy report! Knowing that, on a subsequent AAA roadside service call, when the guy did the battery check moments after he jumped the battery, I asked him to do a second battery check after the battery had charged up a bit. Now, holding the 2 reports side by side, the first report's summary said FAIL while the second report's summary said the battery was good!! (3) AUTO INSURANCEAt my local AAA office, the auto insurance agent showed me a list of professions and asked if I was any of those. Yes, I was, and so I qualified for a 10% or 15% discount, woo hoo! My Engineering degree qualified me for a discount. However, since I did't have documentation proof of my degree with me, the agent suggested we go forward without the discount then I can show proof anytime in the future and get a rate adjustment. However the proof that I later brought to the agent (my college "final transcript", plus proof I was in the Alumni Association) was not accepted. He said I needed to bring in my diploma, an original not a copy, which I had no idea where that might be. Attorney's and doctors post their diplomas on the wall behind their desk, while most everyone else has their diploma stored away somewhere, perhaps up the attic boxed with their yearbooks, or in one of a dozen storage totes in the garage, or wherever. Unfortunately the insurance agent made it as difficult as possible for me to prove my engineering degree. Come on now, my college transcript wasn't accepted nor was my proof of being in the alumni association? .... End of story: Year after year my auto insurance policy cost me $150 more than it should have. After 6 yrs this amounted to about $1,000 bucks. That's one of the reasons I left AAA for Geico. (who incidentally was significantly cheaper than AAA)SUMMARYClose-by Location . . . . . . 5 starsTrip Planning Help. . . . . . 0 starsAuto Insurance Cost . . . . 2 starsAuto Ins Cust. Service. . . 0 starsRoadside Asst Wait time. 2 starsRoadside Asst Honesty .. 0 starsRoadside Asst Battery. . . 0 stars- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TOTAL . . . . . 1.4 stars.
Oct 31st, 2022