Towing car for under £4000

[GrahamJay]

As you may or may not know I am 16 so working on a budget here!

I'm selling my Land Rover Defender 90 for £5000 and putting about £1000 into the westfield to get it raceworthy!

So come january, I'm going to need a good comfy towing car for about £4000! I've been looking at a Land Rover Discovery as I can still take it off road with my mates and it's a comfy good tower!

The other car I was looking at was a volvo S40, but 17 in a Volvo doesn't really sound right does it?

Any Advice!

Cheers

Graham

[Nevin]

Any number of family saloons will do you, but none of them will be particularly exciting, if that is your complaint with the Volvo. My Laguna does a pretty good job of towing stuff, and is good at motorway cruising, but it ain't a sports car. That's what you've got the other car for anyway though, so what does it matter?

[maranellouk]

I was about to ask how you manage to own and drive a 4x4..............then I checked your profile. Now it all makes sense.

Back to the subject. The Volvo should be seriously reliable and you are buying it for a purpose(namely to transport your PH car to the track).

I wouldn't worry about what other people think. When the time comes you'll be more prepeared to handle serious cars than any of your mates. You could just get a "my other car is a Westfield" sticker on your car(next to the PH sticker of course)

[GrahamJay]

This is true, I like the look of the volvo as the one's I've been looking at come with air con, and since my work experience at Porsche I promised myself I wouldn't have a car without it!

Insurance is the other matter too! I'm not really sure about what size engine I will need, either a 1.8 or 2.0 will give good towing but the 2.0 will be astronomical on insurance! AAAAAAAAAhhhhhh decision s decisions!

What's the laguna like???? Can you give me a few more details?!?

Cheers

Graham

[maranellouk]

Correct me if I'm wrong but is the S40 is the estate right? If so, I'd go for that as that was the first time I've ever looked at a Volvo and said "nice car". Didn't it win a European design award or something? Check out some quotes on a list of cars you're considering. This might point you towards which one you might buy. Good luck with it.

[Nevin]

Laguna is pretty good all round really. I've got a 1.8 RT and it pulls away pretty quickly, will cruise pretty happily over 100 and I haven't had any problems with it at all. Its a really comfy car inside compared to some I've driven, and spacious as well. I can get my bike in the boot no problem. Driving position is good if you're tall etc.

Insurance for me, a 27 yr old parking on the street and living in London with 2yrs NCB is 427 for third party fire and theft.If you want anything more specific just let me know.

[Nevin]

I considered a Volvo as well when I was getting the Laguna, but my friend has one and he gets laughed at for having an old mans car. I would get an s70 mind you.

[Nevin]

Another thought is that you could probably pick up the Laguna for about £2000 - £3000 just now as well.

[GrahamJay]

WOW, I've just been checking out the laguna's in auto trader, they seem really good and well priced too especially the one with low miles and air con for £2500!

As for the S40, I've been looking at the saloons but I have to say I think the Laguna takes it on this one!

Whats the running costs and reliability like?

[Nevin]

In thw two years I've had it the only thing I've had to do was replace the radiator, which I knew was dodgy when I bought it and which would have cost less if it hadn't blown up in the middle of the Scottish Highlands. Other than that, I had a service last month for the first time in two years and it cost £130 or so, which I reckoned was pretty good seeing as it included an MOT.

I actually reckon the Laguna looks pretty damn good from some angles as well, and there are a huge number to choose from.

If you are going for something in tshi category though, make sure you don't get a Peugeot 406 or similar. I drove one last week and hated the driving position, controls, power etc. It was boring to the max.

[GrahamJay]

Well I think I'll be going for a Laguna in the new year, I see that you can pick up a very nice motor at about £2000, which is good news and means more money into the westi and probably means I can get all me racing gear (helmet, suit, shoes, underwear, gloves etc) without having to rob a bank!

But what do you think, 1.8 or 2.0, and it will be a manual, CANT STAND AUTO's, never in the right gear at the right time, and it's boring, my left hand would be very fidgety when the auto box changed!

Edited to change spelling mistakes! The keys are too close together

>> Edited by GrahamJay on Wednesday 9th October 00:23

[Nevin]

Remember you may need to get the towbar fitted as well, so factor that in to your costs. Obviously if towing then the more power the better, so go for the 2.0 or above. Manual obviously. As you say, you should be able to get a decent example for under 2k.

I spent a lot of time looking at various cars when I was getting the Laguna as I had a very limited budget (thankfully not a problem anymore) and for the looks, practicality, power and comfort at the price I couldn't find anything better. I'm sure some would disagree, but I think its a pretty good car.

Looking forward to getting the Cerbie before Christmas mind you.

[GrahamJay]

What's the MPG on a 2.0 Laguna like, I think I'll get the 2.0 as anything above that, the insurance will go into orbit!

Towbar doesn't amount to that much, there is a local place near me who does them cheaper than I can find and just as good!

Cheers for all the help!

Graham

[spnracing]

I towed with a Mondeo 2.0 for three years (Golf GTi on Brian James Trailer). It was OK but not ideal - I was forever changing gear to get up hills on the motorway and the cruise control kept cutting out.

Can you afford a Laguna TD instead? It'll be a much better tow car, loads more torque.

Then again a Westie is a lot lighter than a Golf, how heavy is the trailer?

[Podie]

406 diesel? or even a 405 diesel. Pug diesels are pretty good, solid and reliable... and with loads of torque it should help the towing.

[Ali_D]

Buy an Omega - they are dirt cheap but are actually a good car - I've just got a CDX 2.5 V6 Auto Estate which is a stunning car with loads of gadgets and all for £1895, a bargain!

Insurance on these will be huuuuuuuuggggggggeee but then it will be on anything at 17 its just one of those things.

[dern]

I towed an MGB on a big trailer with my mondeo v6 for a hundred or so miles and it was perfectly happy both along the motorway and through the new forest. Would cruise at 80mph no problem. I even like the car for day to day driving.

Regards,

Mark

[dennisthemenace]

What about a citroen xantia HDi estate they are very cheap come loaded with toys A/C etc and hydro suspension which is ideal for towing .

[GrahamJay]

Cheers everyone,

I've written all the different cars down on a list and will do my homework and see whats what with each of them! I think I'll get a diesel, more torque and MPG!

[mondeoman]

quote:
I towed an MGB on a big trailer with my mondeo v6 for a hundred or so miles and it was perfectly happy both along the motorway and through the new forest. Would cruise at 80mph no problem. I even like the car for day to day driving.

Regards,

Mark

Snap!!