Tow car

I need a new tow car and am pondering what to buy. Ive come to the conclusion that I only tow about 10 times a year so I'd be better off getting a sensible car that may be on its limit towing 10 times a year than one like my Omega that costs a bloody fortune to keep but drives as well with a loaded trailer as without. I will also be going Japanese because I will be borrowing to buy and cant afford the car to conk out before the loan is paid (4 years).Spending about 4-5k.......current shortlist (of uninspiring but reliable rides) stands at...Toyota Avensis 2 litre, Mazda 626 and Honda Accord. Anyone got any suggestions/recommendations?

[Alpineandy]

I will also be going Japanese

I was going to say either a citroen (their hydo suspension makes the goo tow cars) or a renault 21 estate (cheap on ebay), but I guess I won't now...

I was going to say either a citroen (their hydo suspension makes the goo tow cars) or a renault 21 estate (cheap on ebay), but I guess I won't now...

I was going to say the same! My brother had a TD Xantia. Used it for towing a caravan. Owned it years and loved it. As AlpineAndy says, the suspension is a real bonus when towing. Well equiped, comfortable and can be picked up much cheaper than 4-5k now. Make sure the suspension is working properly before buying.

Ive had some great Citroens, but have also known people with nightmares.....they are a bit of a gamble whereas a Toyota will probably outlast me!!!!!!!!! Theres a VVTi Avensis in a garage near me that could be a possible.

Rover 800, luxury, powerfull (2.5 D, 2.7v6 or 2.0turbo), cheap to buy, every one can maintain then, cheap parts, goes on for thousands of miles. And nobody will nick it.

I paid far too much for mine, £700 in jan 04,128k on the clock, done 25k miles since, spent less than £200 servicing it (mostly oil), rear box is going rusty but hanging on, will last another year then i'll get another.
There are nutters out there that treat them like a Lexus and have to sell then for next to nothing. You'll get a hell of a lot for under a grand.
Have a quick look on ebay.

The point is Ive done the cheap car thing and won ,loads of times, but the towing and abuse my cars tend to get has left me with nasty bills for my current Omega. I want the peace of mind that spending enough money on something reliable will give.

Go for the Toyota, providing none of your family was a JPOW. Ours has passed the 227K mark, with so much of it original it's scary.

The Toyota diesel engine is terrible! The cars are fairly well put together but the engine is sluggish and noisy (and not as reliable as Toyota's image would make you think!). I highly recommend the Citroen (not just cos I sell them), but don't buy a C5 from before the middle of '02 cos a lot of them gave bother. Just check the history and go for it. I've taken a few Xantia's in with more than 300k on them, and one in particular had only had one set of spheres and regular servicing for almost 400k! Their bad rep is mostly undeserved! (And parts'll never be a problem if you get in touch with me! )
In case you're worried about the suspension, all new C5's have 120k 6year warranty on suspension and components. Once you get a Citroen with the self levelling suspension, you'll never want to tow with another car again!

If you want a good deal on a good car, I can source you one. In fact I have a 2.2HDi Exclusive with towbar and all if you're interested!

Ive no intention of going diesel.......I dont care how economical or torquey thay are they are just no joy!!!! They still all sound like tractors (except the Honda diesel which has recently been found to be less economical than their petrol engines!!!!) and wont rev. I'm currently swinging towards an 02 plate Avensis 2.0 VVTi....a dull car with a rather fine engine that has 150bhp and does getting on for 40mpg and its chain drvien so will go on forever.

Ive no intention of going diesel.

You need to drive a new one! They're awesome! I drive a 2.0 HDi 16v (138bhp and 236lb.ft of torque (which is more torque than the 3.0 V6 petrol!!!!)) and I can tell you that they go extremely well, all while doing about 50mpg. Don't rule it out till you've tried it!

Though you won't get a new one for the money you're talking about
The older 2.2 HDi 16v has very similar performance figures to the new 2.0 HDi 16v, but the ecomomy suffers a little (around 40-45mpg)

They still all sound like tractors

Again, drive a new one. They're much more refined now (so much so that a lot of the cars now have lower dB readings outside and at 70mph than many of their petrol counterparts - read Auto Express!)



If they made a diesel sports car (Bentley are considering it with the Conti, as are Merc, BMW et al) I'd probably buy one

I drive new style diesels at work on a daily basis (Peugeot HDI and Ford Focus) and they all sound like tractors at idle and dont rev...they are also quite nose heavy so the handling isnt as good as the petrol equivalent. Diesel is 4p a litre more expensive so some of the mpg advantage is cancelled out.
Mercedes already make a diesel slk and you can get things like the Peugeot 206cc in diesel too, but half the fun of a sports car is winding the revs up and listening to the sound of your engine roar with the top down.........it just doesnt work with a diesel!

The opportunist strikes !

As you don't like diesels, I thought I'd mention I will be selling my Citroen V6 3.0L XM Exclusive very soon (with tow bar fitted). It hasn't let me down in nearly 2 years of ownership.

Steve.

[Alpineandy]

Citroen V6 3.0L XM.

PRV engine