I had AAA during the years my kids were little. My wife needed a single point of contact to analyze and solve whatever problem when she was out with little kids. My job required frequent travel so I couldn't always be the first-responder. Her most important call was when she locked the kid and the car keys inside the car in 110 degree weather. She described it as an emergency, AAA got there in 20 minutes, and they had slim-jimmed it before I got there with the other key. Daughter was fine, she was entertained by all the concerned people milling around outside the car.
Outside of that time period I have self-insured. This means I called anybody in the phone book showing the AAA logo assuming that excluded the real dummies. I paid retail, ($75??) to have someone bring me gas and jump start the AMC Eagle in heavy cold rain, the time I learned its gas gauge meant empty when the needle hit 1/4.
I always told my wife to do the same, just call a AAA-listed tow service and pay them their standard rate for any emergency. As far as I can remember the gas and lockout episodes were the only time we have ever needed a towing service.
Their maps are excellent. I used them widely to find obscure locations all over California. In my work I went to the offices of big contractors and subcontractors, sometimes several unfamiliar ones in a day, and always in industrial or rural areas. Pre-GPS those AAA maps were a lifesaver.
In sumary being self insured, ie pay-as-you-go to obtain AAA quality service when needed, has been a lot cheaper than subscribing to them annually.
