Guarantees are as good as the paper they’re written on, or not in some cases.
You would expect a tow bar guarantee or warranty would be identical regardless of which company you choose to supply and fit your tow bar. Sadly, this is not the case. We have found that in many instances the guarantee isn’t worth the paper it’s been written on.
The fact is that the majority of tow bar fitting companies do not offer any guarantee at all.
What they state as their guarantee is the maker’s warranty that comes from the manufacturer.
Admittedly, some companies do offer some form of guarantee of the workmanship, this is normally between six months and a year from the date of fitment.
The manufacturer warranties are normally; for the tow bar, five years or lifetime of the vehicle. For the electrics; either six months or two years.
Sadly, many tow bar fitters do not supply any form of guarantee.
To be legally standing the law requires that guarantees supplied with goods sold in the UK must be written in plain English and must be easy to understand. The document must state how long the guarantee will last and the name and address of the guarantor.
Like with any form of guarantee you need to have a copy of the terms and conditions in order to make any claim. If you are having a tow bar fitted then make sure you get a written guarantee in either paper or email format. Word of mouth will be hard to prove if you need to make a claim from the company.
If the tow bar and electrics are type-approved and fitted correctly there should be no need to call upon the guarantee, but sometimes things can happen that are not the fault of the customer.
At Ultimate Towbars we give all customers a written TWO-YEAR guarantee covering the installation of the tow bar and electrics, this is in addition to the manufacturer’s warranties on parts.
We know that with correctly fitted approved parts the customer will have many years of trouble and worry-free towing.
While talking about guarantees and warranties we must mention vehicle manufacturer warranties and the effect having a tow bar fitted can have on them. If your vehicle is under a manufacturer warranty then you MUST have approved parts fitted. Failure to do so will render your warranty null and void. For instance, if you have universal bypass wiring fitted to your year-old Nissan Qashqai, the manufacturer’s warranty will be void. The dealers will refuse to do any work on the vehicle because unapproved parts have been fitted.
Our advice is that if your vehicle is less than eight years old then don’t risk having towing electrics fitted that are not approved. (No matter what the tow bar fitter said, or what the short-term savings appear to be.)
Here at Ultimate Towbars, we supply all customers with a written guarantee, plus a written certificate stating that the parts have been fitted to type-approval legislation.
Give us a call and get a price for your tow bar fitting on 0114 360 7080.
