Towbar - dealer vs independent

[RedPete]

I am thinking of fitting a tow bar with detachable head to my Blackline vRS.  Got a quote from an independent (mobile fitter) for £400, claims Skoda dedicated wiring, CANBUS compatible, disables fogs and reversing sensors when fitted.  Dealer quote is £800 and say it's the cost of the parts including wiring back to the fuse box and approx 5hrs labour.

 

I was expecting dealer to cost more but twice as much is excessive.  Has anyone got experience of paying around £400 for an independent fit and has it been trouble-free?

[FUBAR]

A year or two ago I was quoted £400 from a good independent for a detachable and £440 or £460 from main dealers (mine was specifically for single electrics as I am not a pikey. Wish I had of done it now would have saved me a lot in the long run moving my bikes around Europe. I held off out of some stupid fear that an independent cutting into the electrics in any way might be a warranty drama if they messed it up. I do regret my decision now.

 

I would call around a few dealers/indys again, but £400 seems spot on.

[aladins78]

Why not get an Independent to quote for vehicle specific wiring? as long as they have experience with it and can code it in afterwards then i see no problem.

If its for a Caravan then the dealer probably wont add the extra split charge feed or earth for pins 10 and 11

The Westfalia wiring kit uses the same control units and wiring connections as Skoda. Expect Vehicle specific wiring and a detachable bar to be around the £500-550 mark

[James I]

I had my tow bar fitted as an option when the car was new, on closer inspection it would seem that the dealer charged £800 odd for the tow bar but they just sent it to an independent tow bar fitting company anyway, who did the wiring and the fitting of the tow bar.

 

 I would go straight to the independent and save a few quid.

[Web Ferret]

As above dealer will just send to an independant and then charge you double.

 

Pick one from that is a member of the The National Trailer & Towing Association

for some backup.

 

List of members here

http://www.ntta.co.uk/buyers_guide/search.aspx

[Codgson]

I am thinking of fitting a tow bar with detachable head to my Blackline vRS.  Got a quote from an independent (mobile fitter) for £400, claims Skoda dedicated wiring, CANBUS compatible, disables fogs and reversing sensors when fitted.  Dealer quote is £800 and say it's the cost of the parts including wiring back to the fuse box and approx 5hrs labour.

 

I was expecting dealer to cost more but twice as much is excessive.  Has anyone got experience of paying around £400 for an independent fit and has it been trouble-free?

Hi Pete. I had a scout fitted with a towbar and had no problems whatsoever, I had mine fitted at fast fit in bromsgrove, West Midlands and skoda were fine with it. The scout had reversing sensors and these were not affected. I have just purchased a mk3 vrs estate and skoda are fitting through an approved contractor they recommend who fits on their site a swan neck for £399 so I would dispute the excessive cost.

[DanSej6]

As above dealer will just send to an independant and then charge you double.

 

Some may do, not all.

 

I've fitted dozens of towbars in my time and I know dealers will loose out on labour just to get the work through the doors. Even single electrics on a Fabia comes out at around 4.5hours labour. If the dealers are charging £80 an hour thats a fair old bit of money just in labour, so I've known them to put a cap of around £600 for twin electrics on a Superb/Octavia just to try and get the work.

 

IIRC you can order a new car from the factory with towbar fitted or towbar prep, but thats for single electrics only and won't do the whole charging the caravan battery thingy.

I don't know what does what, just know how to fit the darn things!

[GroundHog]

Factory fitted tow bars tend to come with a single 13 pin socket, but you can get splitters to allow this to work with 2 x 7 pin sockets. The factory fit towbars also enable the towing bit of the stability control system - is this enabled with aftermarket solutions?

[DanSej6]

All the genuine Skoda towbars I've fitted have always been 13pin sockets, regardless of weather they're single or twin electrics FWIW.

[Jeeves]

Hi Pete. I had a scout fitted with a towbar and had no problems whatsoever, I had mine fitted at fast fit in bromsgrove, West Midlands and skoda were fine with it. The scout had reversing sensors and these were not affected. I have just purchased a mk3 vrs estate and skoda are fitting through an approved contractor they recommend who fits on their site a swan neck for £399 so I would dispute the excessive cost.

Would be interested to know who did your Scout in Bromsgrove as I plan to replace my Scout with a new one when it comes out.

I got factory tow bar prep on mine, bought a Westfalia detachable, and then the control box from the dealer who coded it for free. It was a relatively straightforward fit following some handy instructions on this and other sites. If there's enough info avai.able by the time the new Scout comes out, I'll gladly tackle the job again - although a recommendation would be handy.

I only tow a bike or small trailer, so have always found the 13-pin socket adequate (although remembering the adapter is often a problem)!

[Codgson]

Would be interested to know who did your Scout in Bromsgrove as I plan to replace my Scout with a new one when it comes out.

I got factory tow bar prep on mine, bought a Westfalia detachable, and then the control box from the dealer who coded it for free. It was a relatively straightforward fit following some handy instructions on this and other sites. If there's enough info avai.able by the time the new Scout comes out, I'll gladly tackle the job again - although a recommendation would be handy.

I only tow a bike or small trailer, so have always found the 13-pin socket adequate (although remembering the adapter is often a problem)!

Fast Fit in Bromsgrove fitted a fixed bar with alko ball, think it cost £295 three years ago, finish and service was good. However the same company couldn't supply a towbar for my Mk3 Vrs saying it was not available for three weeks. I think fast fit are a nationwide group so worth a call anyway.

[technician25]

Just had a detachable fitted to my blackline for £260 by an ntta fitter. Great job and went for the simple wiring