With the increase in sales of hybrid and all-electric vehicles, there appear to be many cars being sold that are not suitable for towing, even though the salesperson was informed the car would be used for towing.
The big problem is that most car salespeople know very little about tow bars, ask them about the vehicle’s top speed or how the stereo connects to the internet and they will impress you with their encyclopediactric knowledge on the subject.
Let’s get one thing clear from the start… Most cars can tow and you can get a tow bar for them. Having said that, there are quite a few vehicles that can’t tow, or where a tow bar is not manufactured for that particular make.
Our advice is, if you are buying a car that you intend to tow with, or even intend to use a tow bar-mounted carrier then check with your local tow bar company, before you commit to buying.
Quite a few of the all-electric vehicles are not capable or homologated for towing. This will mean that tow bar manufacturers will not produce a tow bar for these vehicles.
In some cases there may be a tow bar manufactured that will fit the vehicle but would be illegal to tow with due to the vehicle not being homologated for towing, for example, the Hyundai Kona EV is not homologated and must not be used for towing.
If the car is a new model then tow bar supply can be an issue. Aftermarket tow bars are designed and manufactured after a new model has been released. From initial design to manufacturing can take at least several months, this could mean having to wait months to have a tow bar fitted.
It’s not only new or electric cars that you can have issues getting a tow bar for…
Many sports cars and high-end vehicles are not designed to have tow bars fitted to them, or the vehicle manufacturer has not considered a tow bar when designing the car.
The website ‘car dealer magazine’ recently reported a situation where a car sales customer purchased a £140k Bentley Bentayga to tow their caravan with. The car sales company confirmed that the car was capable of towing before the sale was completed. It turned out that although the owner could get a tow bar fitted there was an issue. The ride height of the Bentley was too high due to the vehicle needing a software update, that was not available for aftermarket tow bar fitting. After a lengthy legal debate, the company ended up having to fully reimburse the customer for the vehicle and associated costs.
Our advice is to check the towing capacity on the vehicle’s VIN plate. See > https://www.ultimatetowbars.co.uk/maximum-tow-weight/ whilst remembering that whatever the maximum tow weight you still need to check that a tow bar is available for the particular vehicle.
If you’re buying a car for towing and are unsure then contact us at info@ultimatetowbars.co.uk or get in touch with a tow bar professional and double check you can get a tow bar and any aftermarket coding.
Keep on Towing
Team Ultimate.
