Just been looking at the latest Skoda brochure for the Kamiq.

Their pricelist is covered with this warning

quote

Please note, if a tow bar or tow bar preparation is not fitted on the car, the VIN plate may not show any towing
weights and the car will never be eligible for towing. As such it may not be possible to retrospectively fit a tow bar
If the car is not fitted with tow bar preparation at Factory.

The 'may not be possible' reference is subsequently overridden by the optional equipment pricing which then states:

Tow bar preparation. Please note, it is not possible to retrospectively fit a tow bar if the car is not fitted with tow bar preparation at Factory.

There are ramifications from this. If you don't pay at least for the preparation then you will not be able to fit a towbar after you have bought it and neither will any subsequent buyer second-hand.

Steve

I've heard this before about other Skoda models and I'm not sure how much truth there is in it. I will ask my Skoda dealer as they have towcars and electrics fitted by a well regarded Stoke business that fits towcars for most car brand dealerships throughout Staffordshire. It may just be Skoda trying to whip up additional optional extra sales, like printer companies saying don't use 3rd party ink.

Whatever the dealer may say. Once you bought it, if the VIN plate does not include the towing weights its too late.

Hi Steve & Debbie

I also saw this yesterday in the brochure for the new electric SUV - the Enya or Enema or something like that.............................

Miket

Quote: Steve and Debbie wrote in post #3

---

Whatever the dealer may say. Once you bought it, if the VIN plate does not include the towing weights its too late.

---

The following crossed my mind inasmuch is this the start of a trend for all new vehicles that are going the EV route since towing won't be a realistic option?

By not making them legally able to tow it would avoid manufacturer criticisms and legalities regarding battery performance and range perhaps?

I think a similar system may apply to the Polestar 2. The car has to be certified for towing to have the accessory tow bar fitted after purchase. Obviously something to be sure on before purchase. Not that I am about to buy a Polestar (I wish!).

Looked into to this as I just purchased a skoda superb 2.0l TDI. Talked to several dealers and they looked into it for Mr and explained that upto 1.5l skoda can be fitted retrospectively with a tow bar. This issue is with the 2.0l models where it needs factory prep which had to to with extra cooling for the engine/gear box which is why it's not a simple retrofit. This is an option on new models £190 which allows you to fit an aftermarket towbar.

This is important information for those of us who tow with Skodas and are thinking of replacing our towing vehicle

I am toying with replacing our Karoq Scout with a new Octavia Scout. I was initially told that they were not coming to the UK, but yesterday found out that they will be coming. My Skoda dealer rang me today to try and interest me in a 2019 Octavia Scout as he misread my message about the new model. He was totally unaware that the new model Scout will be coming and promised to keep me informed when he hears anything arriving in the UK.

The bit about the towing is vital as it will be useless to me if it won't take a tow bar. Although you would suspect that they might come already fitted with Skoda's own excellent electric drop-down fitting which came on our Karoq Scout. Looks like factory fitted will be the way as I intend trying to source another 2 litre diesel before I take the plunge to EV

MikeT

Pre lockdown there were new models in the showroom to check before you buy.

Steve

Such an issue should be checked out by a selling dealer before a new order is placed as part of their duty of care. However there are two problems with that. One is that someone may have no intention of towing when initially purchasing a new car, but things, like covid, may change their plans and towing might be required. The second is that on the used market you end up with two different strains of vehicle and buyers may be unaware that they cannot tow with a car they intend buying, whereas another identical car they can tow with.

It does beg the obvious question, which is if it's only for want of a fan upgrade, why isn't it fitted as standard on all the cars and the issue disappears.

I'm happy when there's a model that can't tow full stop, but not happy where some of that model can and some can't and the only way of telling is looking at figures on a VIN plate.

Except it seems that Skoda dealership sales staff aren't all aware of the differentiation and a punter may not realise, given that it is a new situation in the UK. And it doesn't help the person who purchased with no intention of towing and then decides to buy a van. And as I said, if the towing prep cost option is £190, then it probably costs Skoda under £100 to fit, so why not make it part of the standard spec.?

I was looking at buying a Skoda and flagged up that I needed a tow bar. One dealer investigated and confirmed that it couldn’t be retrofitted and in fact had had to replace a car that they had sold where the customer had specified that they needed a tow bar. Our local dealer said it was no problem and they continued to fit tow bars and didn’t seem interested in the brochure wording. I suspect that in practice there would be no technical problems and the heating/cooling issue would only be an issue in hot countries where you were towing something at the heaviest range that could be towed. In the end due to these issues and that the Skoda dealer didn’t seem interested in selling me anything I bought a Toyota even though I have had 2 Skodas.