Towbar - good or bad thing ?

pajero12

mondeo wrote: »

I see plenty of newish E class Mercs with towbars on the back. Makes me sick:P. Hard breaking can make your trailer contents hit the back of your car. It can be painfully obvious when the back of the car is full of deep scratches and little dings.

It's Much more likely these "Little dings" are from carelessness reversing upto the trailer hitching up!

VolvoMan

zilog_jones wrote: »

The front and rear of modern cars are designed to crumple on impact in order to absorb energy away from the passenger compartment. The same goes for bumpers. Tow bars are not, and hitting one is much more likely to do structural damage to the car with the tow bar as you are concentrating force on a small surface area which is directly mounted on the subframe.

+1

I don't understand people who fit towbars to cars for these reasons. Even with the lightest of impacts you are risking causing damage to the chassis which will be irreparable.

Run_to_da_hills

Good:
Protects the arse of the car in a tip.
Protects the rear bumper for those idiots that drive by ear.
Useful for towing trailers etc.

Bad:
Puts people off buying and may devalue the car if sold with evidence that it had one.
Will make mince meat of anything that rear ends you.
Could possibly do serious damage to chassis (subframe) if the car gets a nasty thump from behind as tow bars are bolted to the underframe.
Will give you a nasty sore ankle if you walk into it at night.

Daegerty

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Will make mince meat of anything that rear ends you.

That'll learn em!

BostonB

We've had towbars on cars/van for years and never had any of the problems described here. I wonder how many have actually experience of these problems themselves.

Daegerty

BostonB wrote: »

We've had towbars on cars/van for years and never had any of the problems described here. I wonder how many have actually experience of these problems themselves.

Tis just folks who don't have towbars speculating about the potential downsides

Guy:Incognito

Mr.Boots wrote: »

Its a real dumb Irish attitude...Use your cop on, just because a car has a towbar it dosnt mean it was used to tow a 3 ton trailer.
I have one on the car for my bicycle carrier......

It's more liekly to have pulled a lot of weight than one without a tow bar..........

Mr.Boots wrote: »

On the continent you see alot more cars with tow bars than you do here....they are more into leisure activities than we are and need towbars for caravans,boats,jetskis,trailer tents,bicycle cariers, ect.
So do you think allllll these cars have knackered engines?
Of couse not.

A car thats been pulling a caravan up and down Germany will have had a harder life. The weight doesnt float along. Every time the car is put in 1st and takes off, theres all that extra load on the gearbox and engine is working harder than if the weight wasnt there.

Why bother when you could pick one up that hasnt pulled the weight?

amacachi

zilog_jones wrote: »

The front and rear of modern cars are designed to crumple on impact in order to absorb energy away from the passenger compartment. The same goes for bumpers. Tow bars are not, and hitting one is much more likely to do structural damage to the car with the tow bar as you are concentrating force on a small surface area which is directly mounted on the subframe.

Fair enough, but I'd guess it would cost more to replace the entire front end exterior of a car and the two things that were leaking that to replace a bumper and a bootlid.

GERMAN ROCKS

parents buy a new vectra, well insignia now every 3 years and in every car they have they get a towbar. the towbar never once gets used.the only reason they have it is for parking so they dont bang it into anything else. was in with the mother one day in a high rise car park and she reversed in and next thing bang and i sais was that. she said she hit the back of the wall and she said she always does it to know shes back enough and then drives about 3 inchs forward and shes parked

Mr.Boots

GERMAN ROCKS wrote: »

parents buy a new vectra, well insignia now every 3 years and in every car they have they get a towbar. the towbar never once gets used.the only reason they have it is for parking so they dont bang it into anything else. was in with the mother one day in a high rise car park and she reversed in and next thing bang and i sais was that. she said she hit the back of the wall and she said she always does it to know shes back enough and then drives about 3 inchs forward and shes parked

You should tell her about parking sensors:D

Del2005

Mr.Boots wrote: »

You should tell her about parking sensors:D

Or better yet, eyes;-)

David09

People had very strange "wisdoms" when buying cars... Personally I couldn't care less if a car I was buying had a towbar or not. If anything it would be a useful added advantage.
My friend bought a brand new 11 reg subaru impreza diesel and insisted on having a towbar fitted before he took delivery. His reasoning? Well it's better to put his rubbish for recycling into his small trailer rather than it making a stinking mess of the car boot. I agree with him, but sadly the person buying it secondhand in a couple of years time won't see it this way.

If I would ever be concerned about buying a vehicle with a towbar, it would be a van bought from a builder or tradesman. When was the last time you spotted a private car hauling a dangerously overloaded trailer???

David09

Mr.Boots wrote: »

You should tell her about parking sensors:D

Good god. :eek:
If I'm ever looking at buying a vectra with a towbar, I'll double-check to ensure the rear chassis ain't buckled..

Guy:Incognito

David09 wrote: »

If I would ever be concerned about buying a vehicle with a towbar, it would be a van bought from a builder or tradesman. When was the last time you spotted a private car hauling a dangerously overloaded trailer???

It doesnt have to be a dangerously overloaded trailer. What about caravans?

Mr.Boots

What about a medium sized car with a small engine used to ferry some lad and his four mates around rural country roads....flat out.
Thats a bigger strain on the components than a small trailer or average sized caravan.

Iompair

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

It doesnt have to be a dangerously overloaded trailer. What about caravans?

Slight difference between someone with a caravan and some idiot towing a couple of ton of sand behind him (with a few shovels stuck in for good measure).

Guy:Incognito

Mr.Boots wrote: »

What about a medium sized car with a small engine used to ferry some lad and his four mates around rural country roads....flat out.
Thats a bigger strain on the components than a small trailer or average sized caravan.

Seriously. These are ridiculous comparisons.

We buy cars based on what we can tell about them. For the most part we cant tell how many passengers people regularly crammed in to the car but any savvy buyer does check suspension compnents and look for other signs of abuse. A towbar is a very outward and obvious sign that the car MAY have been used to tow something heavy(or used as a parkign sensor :rolleyes: ).

Iompair wrote: »

Slight difference between someone with a caravan and some idiot towing a couple of ton of sand behind him (with a few shovels stuck in for good measure).

Both of which may have been pulled with a towbar, whats your point?

Again, do you know what definately didnt pull either of those things? A car with no towbar.

BostonB

You should be checking for chassis damage, gearbox problems on any car regardless if it has a gearbox or not. A car thats been abused will have a lot more other signs than simply it has a tow bar.

darragh o meara

aujopimur wrote: »

That was Des Cullen motor dealer driving the Ferrari in the Lotto ad.,he's getting on a bit now but still a nice guy with a long history of motor trading & motor sport.

Was that not a Lamborghini owned by some farmer in Waterford? I remember seeing it at a car show years back and it was wrecked. Probably stuck in a shed somewhere left to RIP (rust in peace)

Eric Cartman

on a 4x4 id check for wear on the tow ball to give a rough indication of how much its been used , would be a little offputting but would only encourage me to haggle more, not walk away from the car

on a saloon car its a big no no for me, especially on luxury cars, I dont think id ever buy a lexus, merc , 5/7 series with a towbar.

a 4wd estate like a subaru or an audi allroad or something would bother me less but id still be a little put off by it