Towbar

[Doc]

Can anyone recommend me a towbar for an Octavia?

Should I go for the skoda bar or are there better value / quality options out there?

I would be towing a reasonable size trailer or a dinghy.

[flyingscot]

Hi there I know when my Dad wanted a towbar fitted to his Octavia his Skoda Dealer said any are O.K for Skoda's as long as they have EC type approval they do not invalidate warranty. He went to a local specialist and had a Witter towbar fitted including electrics for

[JayTee]

Hi Doc,

I have a detachable towbar fitted to my Octavai Estate as part of the purchase deal from the dealer.

I am not sure if it is actually a Skoda OEM product, but it is made by Brink who do supply a lot of the manufacturers as OEM product.

It is really good quality with a vey nice snap in plastic cover when not in use (i.e. 99% of the cars operational time) and I would definitly recommend this type.

The last towbar I had on my Vectra Estate was also detachable and it cost about

[bandit1]

BrinkMatic (The Best by a LONG Way) is

[Doc]

Thanks for the replies.

For the price of the Brinkmatic I'd want it to hitch everything up itself! How is it more than twice as good as the witter tow bars?

[bandit1]

Doc,

Go and compare & you will see !

You only get what you pay for.

You may also want to check that some of the prices quoted may not be for "Type Approved" fittings.

All cars registered after 31-12-1997 have to have a unique serial number from a bar that has been approved (very much like TUV).

It is illegal to Sell/Fit/Use any item that does not meet the spec.

The Police are aware of this & do check if they stop you.

The Brink is just far superior & will outlast anything else on the market.

Graham

[Kentish]

I had a tow bar on my old Octy estate. It was fitted by the myself and was the Skoda listed part and was a removeable swan neck which I believe is made for VW/Skoda by Brink ( I know the tow bar I have had fitted by the dealer to my new Superb is a Brink and swan neck).

I must say the quality of Brink tow bars is excellant, and for me having the ability to remove the neck and not bash other cars with the ball is definately worth the money.

At the end of the day, a tow bar is a tow bar, it just depends on how nice you want the finished job/back end of your car to look.

What you must remember though is that from 1998 all tow bar balls fitted to new cars (ie S plate and on)must be EC type approved, and this is easily seen as the ball is goldish in colour as opposed to just silver for pre type approval. I believe this is a MOT failure if picked up when they come around too.

Fixed tow balls/necks are cheaper then removeable/swan neck types, and all as far as I now require some trimming of the rear valance/bumper, fixed types usually more than removeables.

Cheers

Andy

[flyingscot]

Brinks aren't that much surely! The price differencial between Brink and Witter was minimal when I went investigating for my Dad. I know what a Witter costs since that was the one he went for, but the Brink was only about

[big k]

if you have the skoda tow bar and electrics you can wire them into reversing sensors so that when trailer/caravan is on the back the reversing sensors shut off.

[skodaw]

If you think

[Peril]

I've just ordered a detacheable tow bar from towsure.co.uk - costs

[JayTee]

Not as well as a diesel - but then I'm biased (and not jealous that I haven't got 180bhp!!)

John.

[MonkeyHanger]

Originally posted by skodaw in this post

If you think

[fen_l&k]

"More money than sense" was the expression that sprang to mind.

[Peril]

My local Skoda garage offered to fit the official Skoda tow bar and for Single electrics with a swan neck detacheable towbar the cost incl fitting is