Zafira Diesel MaxTow Limits

[Janine_5068537]

Hello

I wonder if anyone can help? 2 Caravan dealers have totally confused me,

My car a 2004 Zafira Energy 2.0dti has a kerbweight in region of 1400 which is why we bought it we thought it would make a good tow car!! Little did we know that Vauxhall had put a max tow of 1050kg on it.

We recently bought a Elddis Avante 505 and the caravan dealer did a thing on his computer and said no we can't tow the van with the car as it would be too heavy. Which we were very annoyed about but as our second vehicle is a land rover defender we just decided to tow with that instead.

But would have loved to have towed with the Zafira! Anyway this weekend whilst away with our caravan we popped into another dealer to enquire about a caravan and we got on to talking about towcars and he said the Zafira would tow the Elddis no problem and even put it on his computer to prove it and said as long as we didn't overload it with our stuff just put some things in the car then we would be fine to tow with it.

Now i dont know what to beleve?

What would happen to our insurance and things if we did tow with this car? We have seen zafiras towing some really big vans this weekend and wonder if we were advised wrong

Please help (Sorry to go on)

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Janine,

Firstly my source of information confirms that the max tow limit for your model of Zafira is 1050Kg. It is essential that you check with Vauxhall to confirm this for your specific model.

I am not familiar with the weights of your caravan but if you exceed the maximum permitted tow weight for any vehicle you will be illegal. If you exceeded it, your insurance will be void, You would then be open to prosecution for not having valid insurance as well as overloading you tow vehicle.

Sadly Zafira are noted for their relatively low towing limits, which is a shame because of their wonderful versatility.

 

[ben_5068392]

you are right that on paper the match looks ok. however you are also right about the 2.0DTi zafira having a maximum tow limit of 1050Kg which must not be exceeded. Even unladen the van would be too heavy for the zafira. Funny how the diesel has a lower limit than the other zafiras even less than the 1.6 petrol!

Ben

 

[Dave_5040236]

Everything that has been said is correct I had a 2001 Zafira 2.0TDI up until last year and when I went to trade my trailer tent for a van I was told I could only purchase one of the second hand vans on display as all the others would be illegal to tow. Even the van that was legal had to be towed more or less empty!!.

I discussed this with my dealer who stated its not the engine but the gearbox which limits the Zafira as it isnt strong enough with towing anything above 1050KG (apparantly the 1.6 petrol has a better clutch system??) When I did eventually tow I hated every minute of it as the van swayed all over the place I even went to the dealer and asked them to take it around the block and check I had loaded it correctly (I had) I was glad to see the back of it to be honest, a good day to day car but awful to tow with. Sorry to be so negative but I would not recommend the Zafira for towing

 

[Lutz]

I don't know where your dealer got the information regarding the reason for the low towload of the 2.0 diesel from, Dave, but I think he must have dreamed it up. Anyway, some models such as the 2.2 petrol have a much higher towload and tow perfectly happy with it, so one can't say the Zafira is, in principle, a poor towcar. However, if you want to go more than 1050kg with a diesel, wait until the New Zafira is available at the dealers.

 

[Janine_5068537]

Hello thank you so much for all the replies,my gut feeling told me not to tow with the car but when you go to a reputable dealer and they point blank tell you that you can tow with it i was really unsure where to go next.

I have a good mind to report this dealer (if i knew where to!) as he is obviously selling caravanas to people that are going to end up towing against the law.

Thanks again i think i will look into changing the Zafira and buy a more practical tow car, the defender is ok but not much luxury!

Janine

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello again Janine.

If a customer asks a specific question about the legality of a particular combination of car and caravan and the dealer states that it is a legal combination, and as result of that the customer makes the purchase, then if the combination is in fact illegal (assuming no changes to either car or caravan or the relevant law), then the dealer has misrepresented the product, and could be deemed to have obtained money by deception. Cast iron evidence would be required to support such a claim. Contact Trading Standards for more advice.

Irrespective of the above, the driver of any road going vehicle has the sole responsibility to make sure the outfit is road legal. Claiming the dealer or any third party said it was OK would not be a defence against prosecution.