Well I've been over (yet again) most of the threads I can find on the matter of towbars. It makes pretty scary reading which it really shouldn't of course.

The main problem appears to be in the electrics. That leads onto the dealer fitted bar or going to an outside reputable fitter.

The cost of the dealer fitted bars is frankly ridiculous. The cost elswhere appears to be reasonable.

The dealers appear to be holding a gun to our heads by stating that unless we have it done by them it invalidates the warranty. Thanks to a fellow member I've been put onto Buchans who are experienced and reputable fitters. At present I await a quote but interestingly on their FAQs they show the following:

My local motor dealer says that my warranty will be invalidated unless I fit the manufacturer's towbar.

94/20/EC was designed to create free trade. If you fit a Type Approved towbar it will not invalidate the vehicle warranty. Under EC Block Exemption rules, a motor vehicle manufacturer cannot prevent a franchised outlet from supplying or fitting components deemed to be of equal quality to that supplied by the vehicle manufacturer - such as a Type Approved towbar.

So who's right here? Are the dealers just flying a kite? Could be but I'm no legal eagle.

Any further comments would be much appreciated

Hmm - looking at getting one myself, for a bike trailer - every website I've looked at say' refer to dealer' or similar - surely it can't be so difficult - after all, VWs have had bars fitted for years and it can't be that different, can it?

I'm not worried about warranty myself, as the Furby has just gone out of warranty but, obviously, I don't want to run in to any problems in the future!

The only part of the warranty it could possibly effect is the wiring where they connect to the car.

You can get ANY work done to the car providing they are VAT registered and they use approved parts without it affecting the warranty.

Some dealers will even farm out the job to a towbar specialist, then add their cut onto the final bill.

Unfortunately it is true that many dealers haven't got a clue how to code them correctly, but some are now getting there.

Make sure whoever fits it wires it in correctly (meaning no scotchlocks!!!)

This was widely discussed in the caravan press a while back ... the answer that came back was that manufacturers/dealers cannot make you fit their bracket for warranty purposes.

My own dealer uses a local specialist. They will fit the towbar to my Yeti, the forth Skoda they have done so on for me.

Even when having your car serviced outside the dealer network, they don't have to use manufacturers parts or parts approved by the vehicle manufacturer. The parts have to be of equivalent quality, though in the event of a warranty claim where a non manufacturer part could have played a part in the failure, it will be up to you to prove to the manufacturer that the parts were of equivalent quality to their own branded part.

What does happen, is that if you have a problem outside of warranty, the amount of any goodwill contribution from the manufacturer will be dependant on your loyalty to their dealer network.

Unfortunately it is true that many dealers haven't got a clue

Couldn't agree more