Hi,

Following on from the Tow bar thread below, I am considering having a goose neck put on my new Octy2. The same as fitted on my old Bora which never affected the VW warranty. They even suggested the independent dealer!

A forum member has commented on the last 'tow bar' thread that the electrics warranty is lost if the Skoda parts aren't fitted. Has anyone else had a problem with this.

Advice please....

Well the swan neck bracket on my Octy was fitted by an independant specialist recommended (and arranged by) the dealer.

There was a lot of chat about this in the caravan press a few years ago. At that point a lot of makers were insisting that own brand brackets were fitted, sometimes at inflated cost.

I THINK the status quo is now that it shouldn't effect your warranty. But you should satisfy yourself this is the case. My understanding is that the towbar maker themselves would offer a warranty to cover any shortfalls. How this goes for the electrics side i'm not sure. However the only time I have had a problem with towing electrics was with a bracket fitted and wired by a VW dealer on my then new Golf GT TDi.

I am happy with my bracket/electrics and didn't want Skoda's offering.

Thanks for that.

I guess I will have to get some verbal commitment from the dealer before I take the plunge. I know that with VW I would not have had a problem, but it seems Skoda may be a bit more picky......

The situation is perfectly clear. If a fault occurs which has been caused by the fitting of the towbar or its associated parts then the warranty will not cover those parts affected.

Octavia-vRS.com - Skoda UK New Car Warranty

I am considering having a goose neck put on my new Octy2

If it's not too late I'd recommend that you order your new car with a factory fitted tow bar, this way it gets put on as the car is produced - why take a new car apart simply to fit something that the factory can do for you - IIRC this is the most cost effective way of a getting one fitted too.

If it's not too late I'd recommend that you order your new car with a factory fitted tow bar, this way it gets put on as the car is produced - why take a new car apart simply to fit something that the factory can do for you - IIRC this is the most cost effective way of a getting one fitted too.

Even if you order a new car with a tow-bar it is not necessarily fitted during the build but at the dealer's premises prior to release to you. I don't know if this is the case with Skoda but it certainly applies to Suzuki.

I have first hand knowledge with this from the Suzuki angle when the dealer tried to deny a warranty claim on the towbar electrics because it was more than a year old although the car was warrantied for two years.

The best bet is to read all the small print and then ask questions.

A factory fit towbar is exactly that.

There have been some instances where dealers have sourced a car from UK stock or have forgotten to order it when they ordered the car then they use a thrid party company but unless previously agreed I would not accept that myself.

Even if you order a new car with a tow-bar it is not necessarily fitted during the build but at the dealer's premises prior to release to you

Hence why i said "factory fitted" - It will then show on the "codes" as 1D2 (removable and lockable towing attachment)!

The situation is perfectly clear. If a fault occurs which has been caused by the fitting of the towbar or its associated parts then the warranty will not cover those parts affected.

Octavia-vRS.com - Skoda UK New Car Warranty

This is where I believe the towbar manufacturers warranty kicks in.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I was always aware that should the independent tow bar installer foul up the job it wouldn't be down to Skoda to sort it out.

My concern lay with this addition to the electrics themselves ie the single tow bar electrics and whether that would null and void any electrical warranty repair. ie would Skoda say no to any electronic repair because I had used another retailer to add to the electrics.

I gather from your replies that it would only negate any electrical problem that could be associated with the tow bar electrics.

Thanks again.....