Current car suitability

May 29, 2018
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Hi all.

I’m looking for advice on suitability of our current car as a tow car.

We have a 2010 Kia Sportage 2.0 crdi AWD (its a first edition of the newer shape)

It currently does not have a tow bar fitted. It has done 93000 miles and apart from usual wear and tear items we’ve had no major issues (fingers crossed)

We are just wondering if, due to the age, mileage etc, we are better off changing our car before choosing our caravan. (We are looking at something around 1450 MTPLM)

Any experiences, advice, brags about your motor running forever will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Kia's have a good reputation for reliability and longevity, and if it has a comprehensive service history should be able to go on for many miles yet. But saying that a Forum member has recently had a similar age Santa Fe with a few less miles fail its MoT with a differential problem. He's tried to find options to recondition it/exchange it but Hyundai seems to have so many different combinations that the general trade doesn't have the knowledge to repair/recondition it. The cost of a full Hyundai new parts and labour has almost made the car worthless. So I guess that Kia's may have a similar configuration issue.

No one can tell when car is going to give problems and the older the car gets the more significant the problem becomes as its the old dilemma of car's worth versus cost of repairs. Of course the Santa Fe owner wasn't happy to consider used parts which could be very much cheaper but do have some risks.

Difficult choice but caravans do add more stress on cars although driving style can also be an important factor in looking after the car too.

I think that it really comes down to your decision on what the options would be if the cards don't fall nicely.
 
Jun 2, 2015
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Hi, it was my Sante Fe that died, I shed a tear as the car breaker took it away today.
So back to your car, I have been looking at sportages as a replacement and the newer AWD vehicles have a sufficiently high kerb weight to give you a 85% match of around 1400kg,the advice is to not exceed 85% of the car's kerb weight unless you are experienced. This is a guide rather than a rule.
You should check the legal towing limit for the vehicle as well, that is set by the manufacturer and you cannot exceed this.
 
May 29, 2018
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That’s great. Sorry to hear about the Santa Fe. Ours is an older model. I’m more concerned about reliability of oldr cars. I think the kerbweight is ok and it can tow plenty more than we would need (although I’ll pop and have a look at the V5 now)
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Steve.

I echo Clive's thoughts on the matter, but wold add that if you are looking at a caravan with an MTPLM of 1450kg, then realistically you need to look for a car with an unladen weight or kerbweight of about 1700kg.

There are some goods ones out there, and be blinkered into thinking you must have a 4x4 unless you need it for other hobbies or work.
 
Dec 6, 2013
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Reliability of older, high mileage cars will always be more of a concern but if it has a full service history this will do a lot to mitigate that. If you plan to tow mostly for weekend trips to places a relatively short distance away, with maybe one or two longer trips each year that will only add up to, at most, a couple of thousand miles which really isn't going to significantly stress your engine more than your normal use of the car would. The most significant wear is likely to be on the clutch and perhaps the brake discs.

If you're planning to take a trip across Europe lasting several months then perhaps it would be appropriate to consider a new, or newer car - but again, the same would apply if you weren't planning to tow with it.
 
May 7, 2012
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I tend to agree with Other Clives assessment. A car with 93,000 miles on the clock is not going to need a lot to go wrong before it is not worth repairing, and at that age there is certainly a risk with any make, but on the other hand it might go on for years, you simply do not know. A towbar and electrics fitted costs over £500 in most cases although if you can fit it yourself there is a saving there.
Sorry but I am afraid there is no right answer to this one and you just have to assess the car and hope you make the right decision.
 
Nov 16, 2015
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I replaced my Vectra 3.0 v6 with a Santa Fe with 45k miles, It carried on for another 50 k miles without a problem, but I could " feel" it getting slack, I was happy to carry on with it and maybe get an extended warranty through a company/ agency but decided to replace it with a new Santa Fe. I have checked and the old SF. its still running and taxed 4 years later, but its only 10 years old. Probably got about 130 k. Miles on it.
 

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