Don't believe everything even from a reputable website!

[Surfer]

We punched in details of our Lunar delta TI caravan and also that of the "proposed" new car into "Whattowcar" and it came back with a 100% match. Based on this we arranged to
meet the dealer and sign for a new Antara 2.2L auto however Janet on another forum
raised the issue of nose weight which then made me dig a bit deeper.
I then went to the CC website and punched in the same details
however the caravan was 40 kgs heavier and a total mismatch for the
car. I then checked in the owner's service manual and it stated MTPLM
of 1695kg. I then raised the issue with the CC technical team and eventually they confirmed that Lunar had told them the MTPLM for the 2011 Lunar Delta TI was 1735kg.
As I was convinced I was right as I had the owner's handbook, I decided to check my archives and found a copy of the 2011 Lunar sales brochure. Gleefully I looked up the MTPLM expecting to be able to prove I was right, but to my horror the MTPLM was confirmed as 1735kg!
We
purchased our caravan in October 2011 and I am assuming that the dealer
lost the original owner's manual and service book and substituted it
with the 2012 manual. This also explains why we were overweight by
40kgs on the weighbridge even after double checking every thing and
weighing each item. The weight of all the contents added together plus
the MIRO should have had us within the MTPLM, but we were always over by
40kgs on the weighbridge and I could not figure it out.
If we had signed for the new vehicle we would have been thousands of pounds out of pocket! Thanks to the CC this never happened. all this time wasted because the dealer supplied the wrong handbooks. To compound matters the original manufacturer's plate befroe wwe upgraded it to 1800kgs showed the MTPLM of 1695kg. We assume that they took the figure from the handbook which of course was for the 2012 model.

 

[otherclive]

How did 40 kg make it a total mismatch? Could you not just carry 40 kg less in the van and perhaps put it in the car or leave it out altogether? You don't have to load up to the makers MTPLM the cars governing limit is its maximum towing weight or train weight.

 

[Parksy]

I'd agree that no one should ever pin their faith completely on information from any website whether it is regarded as reputable or not Surfer, especially when sums of money could be involved.

All computer generated information or calculation works on the principle of gigo

Glad to learn that you found out the correct information before spending money but it looks to me as though the caravan dealer's information was not to be relied upon rather than that produced by the 'reputable website'.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I have frequently raised the issue of the unreliability of third party websites when it comes to tow-matching cars and caravans.

NONE of them are 100% accurate.

When using third party sites, it's always important to know the make, model, Body style, Year the trim level (i.e SRI GLX, GLS, GL, GLS, Van-dem-plas, executive, S SE, etc), engine size, power output fuel. Similar details should be known for the caravan as well.

If you cant get an exact match for you car and van, the result is automatically invalid.

The matter is compounded by the fact that Kerbweight is not an officially recognised measurement, and that most car manufactures will not quote a definite figure for it, instead either giving a typical range, or not giving one at all. You also have to wary about what is or isn't included in the vehicle.

The most reliable sources of information will be your vehicle data plates, and failing that, for cars at least the V5 document. Where data is not included ask the manufactures don't to forget to quote your VIN number in any correspondence.

As this thread has suggested Dealers cannot always be relied on, so if you do get information from them always insist on having it written on headed paper and signed by at least a manager, or preferably a director. That should focus their minds a little.

 

[Martin24]

So what are you going to get instead?????

 

[JohnM20]

It's not only websites that can be inaccurate. Some years ago I bought a brand new Peugeot paying particular attention to the kerb weight as shown in the car sales brochure. To cut a long story short, when I took delivery of the car the kerb weight as shown in the handbook was considerably less than shown in the brochure. I spoke with the dealer who didn't seem over interested and so I then wrote to Peugeot. Their answer was that the handbook was correct and I should have referrred to that and not the brochure in the first place. How, I asked, is one supposed to look at the handbook before taking delivery of the car and why should anyone have any doubts about any quoted specification in the brochure.
What it meant was that the car / caravan match was considerably altered, still OK but not as good as I had expected.

 

[proterra]

You have the weight on a plate stuck on your can which often are sited by the door. Plus tyre pressures.