On 09/06/2023 at 15:36, CS363 said:

I've towed a motorcycle trailer several times with 2 or 3 road bikes and barely noticed the trailer, in all cases this was for long distances and varied terrain and mostly using cruise control. The only downside was fuel consumption was a bit worse but that is to be expected.

In New Zealand the factory towbars are not legal, so we use locally produced (well Australian) towbars that meet local certification with a removable tongue. I believe the electronics package they fitted is the same as the ones used in Europe as it is a Skoda factory item.

Where did you get your tow ball from in NZ? Any pics? Gazley's seem clueless. 

On 02/11/2023 at 17:33, Filternz said:

Where did you get your tow ball from in NZ? Any pics? Gazley's seem clueless. 

 

I just ordered it through the local dealer (W.R.Phillips), it's the towbar with removable tongue and comes with the ECU/wiring kit.

From memory it was about $1850 all up fitted.

I'll take a pic later...

On 21/10/2023 at 11:51, GWoodhouse said:

There are other threads on here which suggest that unless towbar prep was specified from the factory that the vehicles are 0 rated for towing, which seems a somewhat dubious practice from Skoda. It's also been mentioned that the same applies to the Kodiaq, an SUV favoured by people who... like to tow caravans,  I think it may also have been suggested that this was an administrative error by Skoda rather than intentional. I'd be interested to know if more recent cars are coming out of the factory as 0 rated? 

 

I have a 21 plate which is 0 rated, I have no intention of towing a caravan or a trailer but do have a towbar mounted bike carrier that I might want to fit someday, again, other threads on here provide different opinions regarding whether one can attach a towbar mounted bike carrier to a 0 rated vehicle.

 

We had an aftermarket towbar fitted (for the bike carrier) on our 63 plate MkIII Octavia and it was faultless.

 

Well done Skoda 👍

Bought my ‘21 (71 plate) Octavia Hatch used in April. In my search I had to always call up and send the dealer out to check the VIN plate before visiting to look. Not sure there is any other record / way to tell in my research and discussions. Specifying Towing Prep at purchase only assured it didn’t have 0kg, otherwise it is/was random. Mine certainly wasn’t speced for towing prep yet is suitably plated.

 

Just had my Westfalia, detachable towbar fitted this week, bought from PF Jones who also arranged fitting. Not used yet. For cars with Towing Prep I understand the wiring is already in place in the boot to plug straight into rather than needing to run it upto the dash. Obviously didn’t have reason to look into but the parts and fitting was a fixed price in either case. Software updates required too -

this made my local fitters a lot more expensive than PF Jones’ price.

 

One thing I hadn’t appreciated is you lose the use of the rear towing eye as the steel crash bar behind the bumper is replaced by the towing bracket. Not yet check eBay prices for these but might even make some money back on that. 

On 21/10/2023 at 11:51, GWoodhouse said:

There are other threads on here which suggest that unless towbar prep was specified from the factory that the vehicles are 0 rated for towing, which seems a somewhat dubious practice from Skoda. It's also been mentioned that the same applies to the Kodiaq, an SUV favoured by people who... like to tow caravans,  I think it may also have been suggested that this was an administrative error by Skoda rather than intentional. I'd be interested to know if more recent cars are coming out of the factory as 0 rated? 

 

I have a 21 plate which is 0 rated, I have no intention of towing a caravan or a trailer but do have a towbar mounted bike carrier that I might want to fit someday, again, other threads on here provide different opinions regarding whether one can attach a towbar mounted bike carrier to a 0 rated vehicle.

 

We had an aftermarket towbar fitted (for the bike carrier) on our 63 plate MkIII Octavia and it was faultless.

 

Well done Skoda 👍

 

 

The latest octavia brochure has this in the Specs

 

 

** Please note if a tow bar or tow bar prep is not fitted..............................................

47 minutes ago, Stonekeeper said:

 

 

The latest octavia brochure has this in the Specs

 

 

** Please note if a tow bar or tow bar prep is not fitted..............................................

Surely not ,a VRS 2.0lt with 13" wheels 

8 minutes ago, RADIOTWO said:

Surely not ,a VRS 2.0lt with 13" wheels 

 

They don't appear to proof read their brochures.

On 04/11/2023 at 07:26, CS363 said:

 

I just ordered it through the local dealer (W.R.Phillips), it's the towbar with removable tongue and comes with the ECU/wiring kit.

From memory it was about $1850 all up fitted.

I'll take a pic later...

 

For anyone interested here's the pics of the towbar and install, and before anyone asks - the swing away style factory towbars are deemed illegal here by the powers that be...

On 30/07/2023 at 08:55, RADIOTWO said:

Hi Alan, 

That does not make sense, how did you discover it was plated zero for towing, where did you get that info?

this is true the vin plate states 0kg GTW i have the same issue after three years of crap towing

On 21/10/2023 at 11:51, GWoodhouse said:

There are other threads on here which suggest that unless towbar prep was specified from the factory that the vehicles are 0 rated for towing, which seems a somewhat dubious practice from Skoda. It's also been mentioned that the same applies to the Kodiaq, an SUV favoured by people who... like to tow caravans,  I think it may also have been suggested that this was an administrative error by Skoda rather than intentional. I'd be interested to know if more recent cars are coming out of the factory as 0 rated? 

 

I have a 21 plate which is 0 rated, I have no intention of towing a caravan or a trailer but do have a towbar mounted bike carrier that I might want to fit someday, again, other threads on here provide different opinions regarding whether one can attach a towbar mounted bike carrier to a 0 rated vehicle.

 

We had an aftermarket towbar fitted (for the bike carrier) on our 63 plate MkIII Octavia and it was faultless.

 

Well done Skoda 👍

it is not a typo as the vin plate says 0 kg GTW

On 28/07/2023 at 20:59, AlanOsborne said:

Hi, Just a cautionary tale, I bought a 2020 Octavia MkIV a couple of years ago to replace my 2015 model.  I had a towbar fitted to pull my caravan then discovered that the car was in fact plated at zero weight for towing!

same for me but towbar fitted by dealer

On 09/06/2023 at 15:36, CS363 said:

I've towed a motorcycle trailer several times with 2 or 3 road bikes and barely noticed the trailer, in all cases this was for long distances and varied terrain and mostly using cruise control. The only downside was fuel consumption was a bit worse but that is to be expected.

In New Zealand the factory towbars are not legal, so we use locally produced (well Australian) towbars that meet local certification with a removable tongue. I believe the electronics package they fitted is the same as the ones used in Europe as it is a Skoda factory item.

 

@CS363

Is your installer an official Skoda provider or some other third party installer?  I have price checked all three offical Skoda dealers in Auckland the cheapest is NZ$2600 something and the most expensive NZ$3400 -- for a tow bar! On the other hand, there is a third party installer in Auckland which quoted $1800 for a removable tow bar with all wiring and coding. The price difference is great but I am hesitant to go with a non-official installer in case it creates problem with warranty in the future.

 

Any other people in Auckland, NZ who can share their experience?

 

Edited 18 May, 20242 yr by HenryNZ

On 18/05/2024 at 14:13, HenryNZ said:

 

@CS363

Is your installer an official Skoda provider or some other third party installer?  I have price checked all three offical Skoda dealers in Auckland the cheapest is NZ$2600 something and the most expensive NZ$3400 -- for a tow bar! On the other hand, there is a third party installer in Auckland which quoted $1800 for a removable tow bar with all wiring and coding. The price difference is great but I am hesitant to go with a non-official installer in case it creates problem with warranty in the future.

 

Any other people in Auckland, NZ who can share their experience?

 

 

@HenryNZ The tow bar was supplied and fitted by my local Skoda dealer via Skoda NZ. Came with a wiring kit and towing ECU etc.

I don't think they did me any favours on pricing as the car was purchased in Auckland from Tristram's. Of course it was 3 years ago now, so like everything else I'm sure the price has gone up.

On 30/07/2023 at 20:29, RADIOTWO said:

I was asking the OP I know all about the towing figures I have been into towing for may years but not heard of them

marking them up as zero 

This is true the information is in the hand book is says if zero then the car should not be used to tow