Given that we already have some experience with car repairs on the road, I decided to write this post about how to handle these situations.
Whenever there's a breakdown, we mainly try not to panic! :D It's good to stop in a place where you won't bother anyone. Of course, when the car doesn't run, there's nothing you can do about it. But it's still better to stand somewhere where you won't block the entire road!
How serious is the breakdown?
If you have some experience with cars and understand them a bit, you can start digging into it yourself. Just spend some time on it. Sometimes it's better to look at it yourself for an hour and figure something out than to call a tow truck right away, pay for it, and then also for the repair. So I recommend to anyone who would travel similarly to us to study up on cars a bit. I'm not saying go to mechanic school, but so you know how things work and how a failure of what manifests. Or at least take a manual with you! We couldn't find one for the Iveco anywhere, so we always google it anyway. :D
If even that doesn't work or you find it's not in your power to somehow fix the breakdown, then it's probably best to call your insurance company. If you're insured (with roadside assistance). Generally I wouldn't recommend going out with a vehicle-home for a longer time without insurance (with roadside assistance). Even a new car can break down and then you can be stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Those who follow us know we fix lots of things ourselves (read: Leo fixes), but we can't replace an engine ourselves, nor that fuel pump. That requires a bit different tools than what we carry with us.
Emergency backup
Besides mandatory liability insurance, we also have roadside assistance insurance added. In case of breakdown, they'll arrange a tow to the nearest authorized service center and arrange accommodation for 5 nights. Then in case of major breakdown, they'll contribute to repatriation with a substantial amount, or they'll arrange a rental car for a few days on site. These aren't bad terms when something happens. And the longer you're on the road, the risk of breakdown simply increases. Especially when you already have thousands of kilometers behind you!
It's definitely good to check out a few insurance companies and find out what assistance they provide. Sometimes it might be just a tow up to 50 km within the Czech Republic, other times repatriation of vehicle and crew from all of the EU. There are lots of offers. The reward for a bit of searching will be the certainty that if needed, you just need to pick up the phone and the insurance company will take care of you.
So last time we called the insurance company and they sent a tow service for us that took the Iveco to a local authorized service center. It sounds really fancy, but fortunately for us (and probably our wallet too) it was a larger garage where they repaired big vehicles. In Greece they mainly drive smaller cars, so they handle them more easily than some van. There they told us they don't have time until next week, but thanks to our insurance company's urging, they looked at it sooner and a week later we were already going to pick up the car.
All week someone from the insurance company communicated with us and tried to inform us about the state of affairs. At the beginning they even explained in detail what falls under our insurance so we'd know what we can afford. That's when we realized about the accommodation. Generally they tried to fulfill the meaning of the word "assistance," which is definitely appropriate in this situation.
So when I look at it in retrospect, the insurance (with roadside assistance) for our car certainly wasn't cheap, but it gave us that certainty and later also saved some money. But you've probably already noticed that we don't call them every time the Iveco decides to protest a bit! :D