DON'T buy a 2017/18 150PS, 4WD, MAN, 7 Seat if you tow....

[Rooted]

14 years ago someone buying a 1.9 diesel hatch with some poke for that era was not that much different from someone buying a big 2.0 diesel suv with not that much more poke. There were clues to the need to question what you were buying and what it could or could not tow.

Take nothing for granted obviously.

[andyvee]

5 hours ago, VAGCF said:

Come on Phil. Whilst I agree that you shouldn't assume anything, as stated earlier most folks buying something like a Kodiaq wouldn't give it a second thought that they couldn't tow anything with it at all, dependent on model.

 

A reduced towing capacity is one thing but this is just unbelievable and is just a mighty b*lls up by Skoda.

 

Chris

.... but it was in the published specs that it didn't have a towing weight and towbar was not available as a factory option.

[PirateSyrett]

2 hours ago, andyvee said:

.... but it was in the published specs that it didn't have a towing weight and towbar was not available as a factory option.

 

Completely agree, but also it's only us geeks enthusiasts who drill so deep into the detail that we often know more than the dealers! Why else would I have been whinging for so long that the Kodiaq I want (7 seat, 190 DSG SEL, 4x4 with 2500kg tow weight) doesn't exist?

 

Fortunately, as has been pointed out previously, my 170 Yeti has all the leather, Xenons, toys and sufficient towing weight (2100kg) that I don't actually need a new Kodiaq that seems unable to pull the top off a rice pudding!

 

;-)

[Ryeman]

If the salesperson knows his/her stuff there's no problem I guess but, even assuming that, it'll keep catching second hand buyers also making a reasonable assumption.

[Dr Zoidberg]

I take it there's no explanation of why it can't tow from skoda yet?

im curious whether it was a technical reason that won't ever change, or a procedural one that may be resolved on newer cars. 

[CWARD]

1 hour ago, Dr Zoidberg said:

a procedural one that may be resolved on newer cars.

 

This ^

 

Later you may get type approval for towing and it be rated. Those already produced still wouldn't have it so not be to tow legally. It's all in the EU red tape but it is one of those things that are there for the public safety.

[Dr_Pepper]

It's unacceptable that skoda won't give an actual reason, but as usual do they care? It seems not..

[Rustynuts]

20 minutes ago, Dr_Pepper said:

It's unacceptable that skoda won't give an actual reason, but as usual do they care? It seems not..

 

It wouldn't make any difference if they gave a reason though, so it's not something to get hung up about.

[Dr_Pepper]

Don't really agree, if it's a genuine technical reason then that's arguably ok, albeit still pretty pathetic for anyone not thinking to check that their huge powerful 4x4 SUV wouldn't even be able to pull a little trailer.

 

If it's just a **** up somewhere their end due to incompetence then they should be apologising and doing something about it.

[Rustynuts]

 

11 minutes ago, Dr_Pepper said:

Don't really agree, if it's a genuine technical reason then that's arguably ok, albeit still pretty pathetic for anyone not thinking to check that their huge powerful 4x4 SUV wouldn't even be able to pull a little trailer.

 

If it's just a **** up somewhere their end due to incompetence then they should be apologising and doing something about it.

 

Like what? All the people who bought one without checking towing weights get to hand them back and pick another one which has the capability of towing? Or they get a cash handout to compensate them for not being smart enough to ask a valid question about the car they just bought? I can't think of anything that Skoda might say which would do anything but compromise their position. Fact is, people bought (and still are probably) buying a vehicle to tow their caravan etc, and not asking a simple but very important question... "What's the towing weight please, just before I spend £20k plus on a car."

Of course, if they asked the question and were given false or misleading info by the dealer then they have a very valid case, but that's with the dealer and not Skoda UK.

 

If you bought a car and assumed it had Climate Control and then found out it didn't, would you blame Skoda for building a car which didn't meet your expectations? Or would you think "I should've asked before I bought it, because it's clearly listed in the specifications that this model doesn't come with Climate Control."

[Dr_Pepper]

39 minutes ago, Rustynuts said:

If you bought a car and assumed it had Climate Control and then found out it didn't, would you blame Skoda for building a car which didn't meet your expectations? Or would you think "I should've asked before I bought it, because it's clearly listed in the specifications that this model doesn't come with Climate Control."

No but that's not the issue here. Nobody's complaining they expected a towbar fitted and didn't get one. People don't routinely ask their local climate control company to retrofit climate control because the factory fit one is laughably expensive, but if they did and they found out that it was, for a totally unknown reason, actually illegal to fit it JUST to the specific model they've bought, then yes I think they'd be p***ed.

 

The brochure and pricelist I was given in December didn't mention towing weights AT ALL. Even if it had, I wouldn't have paid much attention, because I've never heard of a car that can't have a tow bar fitted in my life, and I don't tow a massive caravan, I carry bikes and occasionally pull a 100kg trailer.

 

Thanks for the not smart enough label though.

Edited 6 May, 2017 by Dr_Pepper

[Rooted]

Those UK Motoring Journals & Journalists are that busy big upping the great new Skoda (VW Group) SUV and the likes of What Car/ Auto car (Haymarket Media Group)  giving awards that they never bothered to check out the towing limits or no towing limit.

Thats what you get when they are so much interested in trips abroad rather than their readers.

 

The Media  Department/ Launch / Factory Employees or the company hand out 'Media Packs' and then the figures get repeated from then on.

Even Typo's and Weight & Measure errors get missed by Journalists / Reviewers and even by Skoda UK Website Designers and Skoda UK Employees with various models.

Edited 6 May, 2017 by Awayoffski

[Ryeman]

The problem is, surely, too many vehicle choices with too many 'features'......(just check out the list) for any salesperson to be familiar with EVERY aspect of every version to the tiniest detail.

From a buyers perspective, a garden trailer isn't a weights issue demanding an examination of towing capacity......it's a given.

Its a stuffup that Skoda haven't noticed themselves OR that they haven't thought through the buying process and the obvious consequences and brought it to the attention of ALL dealerships and thus salespeople.

and

Its a product of men to be sold to women also, don't forget.

Edited 6 May, 2017 by Ryeman

[Rustynuts]

It's not that hard though. If you want a vehicle to be fitted with a towbar and to pull something behind, ask the question before handing over thousands of quids.

Problem with caravaners et al is that they seem to think they can work on an 85% rule to gauge what they can reasonably tow, and that disregards anything stamped on the VIN plate or the details of the type approval. If people make simple mistakes when buying a tool for towing, then really there's no one to blame but the people making the mistakes. The Climate Control analogy is pretty much the same issue, just that it's rather easier to live with a car without Climate Control than a car which is incapable of having a tow bar fitted.

[bigboss]

To be fair, I've never heard of any car not being suitable for a towbar. So I don't think it's appropriate to blame people for not being aware of it, especially if they don't intend to pull a caravan. I'm not a caravan person (perhaps they have better knowledge on this). I've specced a towbar in my 1.4L TSI DSG purely for a bicycle rack. I'm sure there are quite a few like me, wanting to attach a bicycle rack or a luggage rack.

[Rustynuts]

Yep, you specced a towbar and had the dealer order the car with it fitted. Sensible. But the issue here is people buying the car without asking and then complaining when they find out. If they asked for a towbar to be fitted at the time of ordering and the dealer said "We can't spec it with a towbar, the system won't allow it because the vehicle doesn't have a tow rating." then this situation would likely not be in the news. It's only the smart people who assume the car is all they need without checking or reading the specifications who are moaning that Skoda have made a **** up and should be apologising for it.

[Ryeman]

^^^^exactly

Can anyone think of a car that couldn't have a towbar fitted?.

[bigboss]

No, I believe Skoda haven't been explicit enough in advising customers of this issue. 

[Gizmo]

37 minutes ago, Ryeman said:

^^^^exactly

Can anyone think of a car that couldn't have a towbar fitted?.

 

The MKI Fabia vRS for one.

[Rustynuts]

Ford Ka, from memory.

[bigboss]

8 minutes ago, Rustynuts said:

Ford Ka, from memory.

I really want to see one of them pulling a caravan!

[Rooted]

Mk2 Fabia vRS Hatch & Estate can not have a tow bar fitted for towing.

Sister cars with the same engines, gearboxes, brakes, suspension etc in the  VW Polo GTI, Seat Ibiza Cupra & Audi A1 185 PS can tow.

[andyvee]

2 hours ago, Ryeman said:

^^^^exactly

Can anyone think of a car that couldn't have a towbar fitted?.

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/blog/33264-five-cars-wed-love-to-tow-with-but-cant

 

Not as uncommon as you may think

[bigboss]

3 minutes ago, andyvee said:

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/blog/33264-five-cars-wed-love-to-tow-with-but-cant

 

Not as uncommon as you may think

None of them with an SUV style though. Any SUV style cars which cannot tow?

Edited 7 May, 2017 by bigboss

[Gizmo]

2 minutes ago, bigboss said:

None of them with an SUV style though. Any SUV style cars which cannot tow?

 

Only one springs to mind... Kodiaq 150TDi, 4WD, Manual 

 

You are clutching at straws now though.

 

IF I was buying a new car (especially one costing as much as a Kodiaq) then I would certainly ask the question of how much the towbar was and what it can tow.

 

I can imagine this may well catch a few second hand buyers out but there really is no excuse when buying new... unless the dealer has mis-sold the car, which in that case you have reason to reject it.

 

To assume makes an ‘ass (out of) u (and) me'