I would suggest having breakdown cover anyway, regardless of whether you think the car is likely to have a problem or not. In the big scheme of things breakdown cover, at least for basic cover for a worst case scenario, is not expensive. One small hiccup with even a trivial issue could easily put you in a very awkward situation which not only costs you more than the cover would, but also you end up having to sort everything out yourself instead of having someone local to do a lot of the tricky stuff.
I'm pretty mechanically savvy and can fix/diagnose quite a lot of things, but I always have decent breakdown cover. I've only had to use it once for a motorbike which refused to start when on a mountain top pass in the Pyrenees at 4.30 in the afternoon. the very nice Spanish gentleman with the breakdown truck got me down to the village and somewhere to stay and the issue was sorted out the next day.
I now have a policy which gives personal cover for any vehicle (car/bike etc) I am in/on including European cover for just £99/year (Aviva).