Tow slag needed - thoughts?

[bqf]

I have to tow some stuff every now and again, and because of a recent separation from my missus I have had to jettison my brand new Touareg. I have a BMW 650i as an everyday motor but the need to tow stuff is still there. I'm not fitting a towbar to the bmw!

I've a budget of £5,000 or so. Thinking of an X-trail, old shogun or something similar. I have to tow a caravan occasionally but mostly a trailer.

It would be a cheap and cheerful shed type motor but would need to be relatively reliable - it has to visit France etc and can't leave me stranded.

Any thoughts?

[kambites]

What towing capacity do you need?

[Krikkit]

£5k for a shed?!

To be honest I'd be looking at something like a Volvo V70 with a towbar - diesel or petrol depending on your favourite fuel type. What about an A6 with the V6 diesel engines? There's some nice ones coming down to sub-£5k bracket.

[R0G]

Towing with a B or B+E licence?

[V8RX7]

May as well have 4WD so you get the bonus of a winter vehicle.

V8 Yank

Land Cruiser is the best tow car but for £5k it would be pretty old

[GreigM]

For that kind of money you could be getting a 05 plate 520 or 525 - both good tow cars, 525 has a 2000kg tow capacity which is useful. Reliable and a decent steer.

[GreigM]

Why don't you want to fit a bar to the 650? You can get removable ones which are completely invisible when not in use.

[B'stard Child]

GreigM said:

Why don't you want to fit a bar to the 650? You can get removable ones which are completely invisible when not in use.

Agreed - I tow my track car with a 99 E38 4.4 and it's actually a really good tow car (up to ~2100 kgs)

Tow bar was £100 for a fixed one (removable would have been nice but I found a fixed one at a good price) and £150 for the genuine BMW electrics kit and fitting took me a day.

I'd take that over purchasing an additional vehicle with associated running costs just for occasional use

[ZiggyNiva]

Diesel Musso on Veg oil

[mattdaniels]

What weight are you going to be towing?

[anonymous-user]

ZiggyNiva said:

Diesel Musso on Veg oil

He tows a caravan, he doesn't live in one.

[ZiggyNiva]

dme123 said:

He tows a caravan, he doesn't live in one.

And your point is?

I didn't suggest a transit

[bqf]

Towing up to 1800kg - I'm an old bd so B+E doesn't matter.

Not sure I could face a musso. BMW 525 is a good shout, but was really thinking a 4WD....

Landcruiser will be ancient for £5k...

[Fleckers]

Nissan Navara

[scarble]

Legacy.
Why are we even discussing this?

[Timbo_S2]

Get a van. Great for towing, useful for many other applications.

Every man should have a van.

[MagnaJeep]

Jeep Grand Cherokee springs to mind, they tend to be very cheap used. Can't comment on anything newer than a 95 4.0 tho, but ours was very reliable and dare I say kind of fun.

[Dog Star]

dme123 said:

ZiggyNiva said:

Diesel Musso on Veg oil

He tows a caravan, he doesn't live in one.

[Yamahadivvyrider]

4x4 volvo v70d5

[devnull]

All i read was 'towie slag'