I don't recommend it
I was very happy when I chose this company, and I thought I had made the correct decision. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life.
I had a car breakdown and called them. At the beginning, they were friendly and quickly arranged an Abschleppdienst, but they insisted that I find a Werkstatt myself. I explained that I did not have one yet because I had bought the car only two months earlier. They told me to try and said that if I could not find a Werkstatt, they would support me.
I contacted many places and finally found one. However, the Werkstatt later informed me that they could not repair the car and that I had to remove it. I called the ACE again and asked if they could take the car to another Werkstatt. They said no, stating that it was my decision to take the car to that Werkstatt and that moving it to another one was now my responsibility.
I told them to please organize it and send me the invoice, as I had no idea how to do this myself. The employee only gave me a phone number and told me to call them on my own. I contacted the Abschleppdienst and had to pay 250 euros to move the car for a 10-minute distance from one Werkstatt to another. At that point, I already saw the “benefits” of this ACE insurance.
I called them again and explained that I had paid for premium insurance and that, according to the contract, I was entitled to a rental car until my vehicle was repaired. They said they would call me back once a car was reserved. After about 10 minutes, the car rental service called me and informed me that my insurance had contacted them and that a car was reserved for delivery the next day at 10:00. I agreed.
Two hours later, I received another call from the ACE saying that they had received a rejection and could not find a car for me that day, but that they would try again tomorrow. I told them this was impossible because the rental company had already confirmed delivery for the next morning. The employee then said, “Oh, okay, then everything is fine.”
The next day at 10:00, no car arrived. I called the rental service, and they told me that my insurance had cancelled the reservation the day before and that there was no car for me. I called the insurance again, and they denied cancelling anything. I felt completely misled.
An ACE employee told me to stay at home and that she would fix the issue. I did not believe her and went to work anyway, although I was already four hours late because of this situation. After another four hours, the rental service called and said they now had a car and could deliver it the same day. I told them I would be working late, so they suggested delivery the next day. Afraid that the same situation would happen again, I decided to pick up the car myself and return to work afterward. This turned out to be a very bad decision.
The trip from my workplace to the rental company took one hour by buses and trams. I arrived at 16:40, and they informed me that I had a MANUAL car reserved for only ONE DAY. This was unacceptable, as I had clearly stated to both ACE and the rental service that I cannot drive manual cars and that my driving license allows me to drive automatic vehicles only. My request was ignored, and it seemed they assumed I was only asking for an automatic car by preference.
The rental service employee then said that if I waited, an automatic car would arrive at 18:00. I had no other option and waited. Before that, I called ACE again to explain that the car was not suitable and to ask why it was reserved for only one day, even though they already knew that the repair would take at least one week.
I waited until 18:00, and the car finally arrived at 18:30. After signing documents that I did not even have time to properly read or review, I received the keys. Before that, I had to pay 200 euros deposit and 20 euros for additional insurance. This insurance was not mandatory, but I was told that without it, even a small scratch could cost me up to 800 euros, so I agreed to pay it.
I was away from work from 15:00 until 19:30, missed an important meeting at 18:30, and had an extremely stressful day — all of this to receive a rental car for one day only and to pay 220 euros.
Two weeks later, I received an additional invoice of 60 euros from the rental company, without any clear explanation of what this charge was for.
I do not recommend this ACE service. In my experience, it was misleading and extremely unprofessional. I already sent a Kündigung, which was refused, and I am now stuck with this contract until December next year. Since I paid annually, I am unfortunately forced to continue dealing with this situation.
Reply from ACE Auto Club Europa e.V.
Dear Samah Bendada,
thank you for taking the time to describe your experience in such detail. We understand that a breakdown situation involving several service steps and external partners can be particularly challenging, especially when mobility is urgently required.
Your account outlines a complex sequence of events related to workshop selection, vehicle transport and rental car coordination. In order to assess the process objectively and comprehensively, it is important for us to review each step and the associated communication in detail.
For this purpose, we kindly ask you to provide your full membership details via the Trustpilot information form. Only with this information can we correctly assign and review the case.
Please note that, due to upcoming public holidays and an increased volume of enquiries, the review process may take a little longer than usual. We appreciate your understanding.
Thank you again for sharing your perspective.
Kind regards
ACE-Team