I need a towcar just until the end of August. Preferably an estate. This is to tow a caravan to the South of France at Easter and then leave it there - and then to take us back down to the Sth for 6 weeks in the Summer. I wont need it anymore after that. Any ideas of what I should/could get for about £4500?
Need a towcar until the end of August!!
- Thread starter richardpalmer
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Damian
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- Mar 14, 2005
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http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201149434210374/sort/priceasc/usedcars/model/sedona/make/kia/page/1/quicksearch/true/radius/1500/postcode/nn110xg/image-id/1875130409?logcode=p
Just a quick look on Autotrader and this is just one of many.
The price is not as advertised, read the full description, but stil a good tug and good price
(and before you ask, NO it is not mine)
Just a quick look on Autotrader and this is just one of many.
The price is not as advertised, read the full description, but stil a good tug and good price
(and before you ask, NO it is not mine)
What weight of caravan? The car you'll need will depend on the weight. We tow an average weight van with a 2006 Ford Mondeo turbo diesel estate, which cost us way less than £4,000 to buy in March 2009 when it was just three years old! It's been reliable, (well apart from the reported episode - on this Forum - with French diesel) and should be easy to sell on.
Many thanks everyone (blimey this is so helpful!)Does anyone have any experience of a 2005 (55) SAAB 9-5 2.0T VECTOR ESTATE as a towcar?
Roughly 1500 pound not exactly a lot of money when you consider,you have to buy your car in the first place,insure it,then lets hope it doesnt breakdown,yes im sorry to dishearten you,but you,ve just bought a car you dont know alot about,then the fuel bill and just to do it once.Then the hassle of reselling it.
From Dover docks to south france is roughly 600 miles plus the distance on the uk side,i doubt it would be a grand.Hassel free.Even by doing it yourself you will only save 30 pence per mile.Doesnt make sence to me,perhaps yes if you already had the tow car.No chance of hiring a suitable car for the job or even lending one?
There are several specialist towing companies, who will take a caravan to/from the South of France. One such is CTS Services and another is Cornwall Caravan Towing Services. Their costs are not outlined on the websites however.seth said:
Calais to Beziers is 650 miles - so a round trip on the French leg would be 1300 miles plus whatever miles from home to Dover (say fifty for the sake of a calculation). If you were paying someone even Damien's quoted £1.00 a mile thats at least £1,400 pounds at £1.50 per mile you're talking almost £2,000!
To do the journey himself, the ferry cost would be around £72.00 in one direction with the caravan and around £27.00 without the caravan on the return leg. Fuel for a car the size of our Mondeo (34 mpg towing) which is capable of towing a moderate weight van would be around £130 each way, plus tolls of around £60 each way. Even allowing for an overnight stop in each direction (caravan on the way down, tent camping on the way home) at £12 per night, the total costs of doing it himself would be less than £500. That's still a heck of a saving to me!!!
- Jun 20, 2005
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Richardrichardpalmer said:
Try and find a well looked after Vauxhall Omega Estate 2.5 .A lot will come with tow bar already fitted. When you've finished with it I think there may me be a high flyer on here who may be interested unless he's found a better one than you
Right whats that in a perfect world?How about all the other costs you havent mentioned?
1300 miles,will it need a service before it goes?Perhaps a fresh timing belt,couple of tyres,bit of this bit of that.Lets face it not as though your going to north wales from chester is it?
Then there is the chance of a mechanical failure,it would be an unknown quantity.
Then of course the resale value.The hit.
Sorry to be a spoil sport but you have to be realistic with these kind of things.
I do agree it would be cheaper buying your own,but not by much and its a big risk for such a small difference in outlay.
1300 miles,will it need a service before it goes?Perhaps a fresh timing belt,couple of tyres,bit of this bit of that.Lets face it not as though your going to north wales from chester is it?
Then there is the chance of a mechanical failure,it would be an unknown quantity.
Then of course the resale value.The hit.
Sorry to be a spoil sport but you have to be realistic with these kind of things.
I do agree it would be cheaper buying your own,but not by much and its a big risk for such a small difference in outlay.
- Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Richard
I don't agree with all of Seth's points, I think he is being overly pessimistic. Most modern cars are far better put together than the offering of 20 years ago, and the catalogue of catastrophes he suggest is pretty unlikely. On the plus side with a good second-hand car you might make most of your money back on it when you come to sell it.
However I do concur with him about the possibility of hiring. Some hire companies do have vehicles with tow hooks. It could make some sense.
I don't agree with all of Seth's points, I think he is being overly pessimistic. Most modern cars are far better put together than the offering of 20 years ago, and the catalogue of catastrophes he suggest is pretty unlikely. On the plus side with a good second-hand car you might make most of your money back on it when you come to sell it.
However I do concur with him about the possibility of hiring. Some hire companies do have vehicles with tow hooks. It could make some sense.
"the catalogue of catastrophes" I didnt say any.I pointed out the likely stuff that might not be 100% on a used car.The post was aimed at a cost point of view to another reply and no other reason.
"is very unlikely" How can someone predict what could and could not happen to a vehicle on a trip like this one especially when they side to the point of saying they disagree with my post as regards to having a major service done on the vehicle before it leaves.
I strongly disagree that vehicles have got better as regards to reliability of late.Is this true?Yes nicer to drive,much more power,cleaner maybe.But i dont remember dpf,dmf,turbo failures,injector failures,ecu problems 25 yeas ago.I do remember Lucas CAV pumps that would run for 350k no trouble,and simple points ignition and such a thing as a throttle cable instead of 6 wires.
Anyway this is slightly devaiting from the op question.I agree with John hiring is a good solution.
"is very unlikely" How can someone predict what could and could not happen to a vehicle on a trip like this one especially when they side to the point of saying they disagree with my post as regards to having a major service done on the vehicle before it leaves.
I strongly disagree that vehicles have got better as regards to reliability of late.Is this true?Yes nicer to drive,much more power,cleaner maybe.But i dont remember dpf,dmf,turbo failures,injector failures,ecu problems 25 yeas ago.I do remember Lucas CAV pumps that would run for 350k no trouble,and simple points ignition and such a thing as a throttle cable instead of 6 wires.
Anyway this is slightly devaiting from the op question.I agree with John hiring is a good solution.
Many thanks. Am now looking at a 2.5L Mondeo Zetec estate. Anyone know how good they are at towing?
Our 2L diesel Mondeo Zetec Estate (2006) is a fantastic towcar. It's never been a problem. It was a high mileage, one company, one woman driver, car - which had been meticulously serviced by Ford and came with a full service history when we bought it. Everything had been replaced before it could go wrong, and it was immaculate inside. (It isn't now, unfortunately!).
We use the A75, towing our caravan, through France four times every year, and other people have complained that their cars are underpowered for the hills. We've sailed up (and down) them without problems at all. Not only that but they're cheap as chips (sometimes!), servicing is not expensive, and Ford parts can be bought anywhere - including France should you need anything.
We've had Mondeos - both Estate and Saloon - for years. They were provided as part of our choice of company cars, we always chose another each time we had a replacement, and we chose to stick with one when we bought our own car when OH was made redundant two years ago.
Our caravan has a MTPLM of 1375 - which is lowish by today's standards, but it's a 2000 model and was quite heavy at the time - but it is absolutely no problem for our current Mondeo. The only thing I would say is don't buy the petrol model. We always had diesels, but when our diesel Mondeo was recalled and taken to the Ford factory for investigations they provided us with a petrol replacement and it wasn't anything like as good as a tow car.
We get good fuel consumption too - especially compared to some of the figures I see quoted on here and other forums.
We use the A75, towing our caravan, through France four times every year, and other people have complained that their cars are underpowered for the hills. We've sailed up (and down) them without problems at all. Not only that but they're cheap as chips (sometimes!), servicing is not expensive, and Ford parts can be bought anywhere - including France should you need anything.
We've had Mondeos - both Estate and Saloon - for years. They were provided as part of our choice of company cars, we always chose another each time we had a replacement, and we chose to stick with one when we bought our own car when OH was made redundant two years ago.
Our caravan has a MTPLM of 1375 - which is lowish by today's standards, but it's a 2000 model and was quite heavy at the time - but it is absolutely no problem for our current Mondeo. The only thing I would say is don't buy the petrol model. We always had diesels, but when our diesel Mondeo was recalled and taken to the Ford factory for investigations they provided us with a petrol replacement and it wasn't anything like as good as a tow car.
We get good fuel consumption too - especially compared to some of the figures I see quoted on here and other forums.
Thanks for that Val. The one I'm looking at is the 2.5L 2002 Estate Zetec S, but it's Petrol. I wonder if anyone has any experence of this particular model? I have heard that some models are not suitable for towing but I can't find anything definitive!
Well the Mondeo was a no-goer! Now looking at a 2.0L TDCi Diesel Ford Focus C-Max. Any thoughts on that as a tow car?
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