Tow Car - What to buy?

[spookypt]

Thats Ok Phil... I'm enjoying what everyone has to say..... Like most things some people rate cars and otehr don't... But I like the constructive feedback everyone is giving.

Spookypt

[boxhead]

Originally Posted by Philm

Thanks Oz,
Sorry about the hijack spooky.

The Volvo only has a 2000kg towing capacity.

I will check out the Jeeps.

Thanks

Phil

If your keen on a Jeep Phil, let me know as I have a contact in a Sydney dealership. He is in sales too.

[tomcat racing]

Originally Posted by OZCOBRA

And Range Sport from all accounts also an average Rep,I know of 3 current owners all are less than impressed with their cars ,loved the looks and initial performance of the car but have all had prob's and of the 3 ....2 are going the Volvo XC90 route the other has already bought current Jeep Grande Cherokee 5.7ltr which I personally think is a terrific car!!

OZ

all i can say to that is i know of 2 other sport owners and myself, mines coming up to 15000ks and none have had an once of trouble. i think the earlier models had a few teething problems, theyve been sorted, on average no more problems than any other car. when you look at what a sport or disco achieves all round, i dont know of any other car on the market that can match it. if you want power go the 5.0 ltr v8 supercharged option, 510hp and a mountain of torque. on the jeeps, if you go off road and hang up 2 diagonal opposing wheels twisting the chassis and then open the door to get out, the windscreen cracks. of the 2 owners i know who own one theyve spent more time in the workshop than on road and they would never buy another one, so its all subjective really.

[jcraigau]

What - they go off road!

[Pills]

If you can stretch the budget, I would consider the Cayenne, even an older model. I have owned 2 jeeps, the last been the Grand Cherokee V8 (not the Hemi though). The Jeep was a great car to drive , pulled like a train, towsing ability is excellent, but they do have faults, especially the soft slopy ride. They are great value for what you get, but resale value is crap.
I now drive a Cayenne S and there is no comparison. The Cayenne is built like a tank and goes like stink. Every time I get in it to drive, It puts a smile on my face. You cannot believe the handling ability of these big hunks of steel and how easy they are to drive. I cannot comment on their off road ability, as I haven't taken it off road, as its not equiped with the right tyres etc. The Jeep however, I found verry capable off road, although I probably never pushed it as hard as Tomcat has indicated.
As far as the styling of the cayenne, if you like cobra's the cayennes big rear should fit well. As far as the nose, all I can say is you grow to love it, as it provides excellent forward vission, and polishing and washing is also easier due to the flowing smooth curves. My only negative comment would be that maintenance on these cars is expensive. However the 2nd generation cayennes are well sorted and have verry few issues.

[SoTxButler]

Pills is right and made the case for the Cayenne so much better than I did. This is my second Cayenne, the first was an S and this one is a Turbo S. I didn't tow with the S, but I know it had plenty of power to tow the Cobra. I put 68,000 miles on the S and now have 53,000 on the Turbo. Each one went to the dealer once for service other than routine maintenance. Neither item was major. A very reliable truck.

Do yourself a favor and drive one before you make a decision. I think you'll like it. If you decide to look for one to purchase...find one with air suspension. Five adjustable heights and a nice ride to boot.

Good luck whatever you do.

[Towmaster]

Spook,

Why did you not ask the Towmaster???????????????

I have been doing a bit of research for a while......

Value for money, fuel economy when not towing, towing capacity, reliability....

There is only one option....

For me anyway... A second hand option...

2005 onwards Jeep Grand Cherokee.
3 litre Mercedes V6 turbo diesel
510NM torque from 1600 - 2800 rpm.....
Only thing comes close is a V12 Turbo diesel Audi Q& $$$$$$$$$$$4
V10 turbo Diesel Towrag.. (no disrespect)
Yes the V6 turbo diesel towrag has similar figures but have you priced one?
Averages 10 l / 100k city / highway.
There are regularly examples for $30,000 on carsales.
There is one at Stanthorpe for $26,000...... 65,000k 2006.

Just my 2c

[Rog246]

Originally Posted by OZCOBRA

And Range Sport from all accounts also an average Rep,I know of 3 current owners all are less than impressed with their cars ,loved the looks and initial performance of the car but have all had prob's and of the 3 ....2 are going the Volvo XC90 route the other has already bought current Jeep Grande Cherokee 5.7ltr which I personally think is a terrific car!!

OZ

Well nothings changed with Range Rover's then !
Why can't the Brits make a complete car that doesn't end up with some drama somewhere
You just don't seem to get those sorts of dramas with the stuff from Japan, maybe that's why the Toyota Pious sorry Prius owners are screaming

[spookypt]

Originally Posted by Towmaster

Spook,

Why did you not ask the Towmaster???????????????

I have been doing a bit of research for a while......

Value for money, fuel economy when not towing, towing capacity, reliability....

There is only one option....

For me anyway... A second hand option...

2005 onwards Jeep Grand Cherokee.
3 litre Mercedes V6 turbo diesel
510NM torque from 1600 - 2800 rpm.....
Only thing comes close is a V12 Turbo diesel Audi Q& $$$$$$$$$$$4
V10 turbo Diesel Towrag.. (no disrespect)
Yes the V6 turbo diesel towrag has similar figures but have you priced one?
Averages 10 l / 100k city / highway.
There are regularly examples for $30,000 on carsales.
There is one at Stanthorpe for $26,000...... 65,000k 2006.

Just my 2c

HI TM. I've been waiting for you chime in.... I found the the car you mentioned above I THINK but it had 75thousand K's and he wants $31500....
I assume you've done a deal...??? If so, great price as there are alot there in the mid 30's ++++++.

I've decided to not do anything for a while. My FILaw is loaning me his 08 Ford Ranger for a while so I'm not rushing out to buy anything until I sell the house.... SpookyPT

[andyl]

Originally Posted by Rog246

Well nothings changed with Range Rover's then !
Why can't the Brits make a complete car that doesn't end up with some drama somewhere
You just don't seem to get those sorts of dramas with the stuff from Japan, maybe that's why the Toyota Pious sorry Prius owners are screaming

A mate in Sydney has/had a Range Rover Sport, reasonably late one and <50K on it, still under warranty. It broke down the other month and he towed it to the dealer who reported a brass bush in the fuel pump had flogged out. The quote to fix ... $24,000! Thats no typo, 24K. According to RR if this happens it needs a total rebuild of the engine as the brass goes through everything and traces are even injected into the engine clogging rings etc.

On asking for why it was not under warranty got back reply "because you must have put petrol in it instead". In the end he had the fuel tested and nope, all diesel to his delight so they did it under warranty.

If I owned one I'd be selling it pre-warranty expiration. He did the next week.

[tomcat racing]

Originally Posted by andyl

A mate in Sydney has/had a Range Rover Sport, reasonably late one and <50K on it, still under warranty. It broke down the other month and he towed it to the dealer who reported a brass bush in the fuel pump had flogged out. The quote to fix ... $24,000! Thats no typo, 24K. According to RR if this happens it needs a total rebuild of the engine as the brass goes through everything and traces are even injected into the engine clogging rings etc.

On asking for why it was not under warranty got back reply "because you must have put petrol in it instead". In the end he had the fuel tested and nope, all diesel to his delight so they did it under warranty.

If I owned one I'd be selling it pre-warranty expiration. He did the next week.

well what an exzageration, i think your mate is telling you porkies,i just booked my car in for its first service and incidently asked my dealer about the brass bush problem, heres the facts, the fuel pumps are built by an external supplier and are only fitted on earlier models. all of those cars have had a factory recall on them and are being repaired and paid for by the pump manfacturer. the engines do not need a full rebuild, and it does not cost $24000 to repair. even if the car was out of warranty it would have been fixed at no cost because it is a product recall in writing, why your mate was not aware of this i dont know, he obviosly didnt get the letter or failed to act on it or hes got a dodgy dealer. i found all this out with one simple phone call, get your facts straight before lodging threads about someones product secondhand, they cant be that unpopular if you want to order a new disco now, you might get one by december, they are probably the only car manfacturer worldwide that has been at full production even through the gfc..they cant build enough of em, i think that says it all.

[OZCOBRA]

Originally Posted by andyl
[quote]A mate in Sydney has/had a Range Rover Sport, reasonably late one and <50K on it, still under warranty. It broke down the other month and he towed it to the dealer who reported a brass bush in the fuel pump had flogged out. The quote to fix ... $24,000! Thats no typo, 24K. According to RR if this happens it needs a total rebuild of the engine as the brass goes through everything and traces are even injected into the engine clogging rings etc.
On asking for why it was not under warranty got back reply "because you must have put petrol in it instead". In the end he had the fuel tested and nope, all diesel to his delight so they did it under warranty.[ QUOTE]

Mmmm .......me thinkin someone came from the.....70% of the people DONT KNOW that they DONT KNOW, Or the 15% that DO know that they DON'T know!!

[andyl]

[quote=OZCOBRA;1054637]Originally Posted by andyl

A mate in Sydney has/had a Range Rover Sport, reasonably late one and <50K on it, still under warranty. It broke down the other month and he towed it to the dealer who reported a brass bush in the fuel pump had flogged out. The quote to fix ... $24,000! Thats no typo, 24K. According to RR if this happens it needs a total rebuild of the engine as the brass goes through everything and traces are even injected into the engine clogging rings etc.
On asking for why it was not under warranty got back reply "because you must have put petrol in it instead". In the end he had the fuel tested and nope, all diesel to his delight so they did it under warranty.[ QUOTE]

Mmmm .......me thinkin someone came from the.....70% of the people DONT KNOW that they DONT KNOW, Or the 15% that DO know that they DON'T know!!

lol well how about this update I got today. I had thought he had sold it but on talking to him today hes only *tried* to sell it. On driving it last week it went in to limp home mode but couldn't even do that (limp home). The dealer picked it up and now reports that the computer got upset because the tyres had worn unevenly! lmao. He said they said it with a serious straight face too! Im sure the remedy offered once they "find out for sure" will be to buy 4 new tyres.

[OZCOBRA]

[quote=andyl;1054681]

Originally Posted by OZCOBRA

Originally Posted by andyl


lol well how about this update I got today. I had thought he had sold it but on talking to him today hes only *tried* to sell it. On driving it last week it went in to limp home mode but couldn't even do that (limp home). The dealer picked it up and now reports that the computer got upset because the tyres had worn unevenly! lmao. He said they said it with a serious straight face too! Im sure the remedy offered once they "find out for sure" will be to buy 4 new tyres.

Well RR are not alone ,a mate of mine bought a brand spankin new VE SENATOR signed off threw him the keys got no more than 400mtrs down the road,phoned the dealer up and said come and pick me up!!!
Turns out the main computer in the car was trashed.
No prob's when it came to fix'n it and they gave him his pre-Delivery back as a good will gesture.

OZ

[FatBoy]

No contest, Range Rover TDV8. Then get it chipped by a reputable specialist i.e. JR Engineering and it will out run a Supercharged RR and still return sensible mileage.

I'm on my second RRS and I love it. I only live about 15 miles from where they're made, so they're a pretty common sight locally. My first was an early RRS TDV6, which suffered from soem niggling faults, but my TDV8 has been totally reliable and after being chipped, is a genuinely quick car for a big 4x4.
The Tow Assist is fantastic and you can tow at pretty much any speed with total confidence. The interior is a lovely place to spend time, especially the new ones.

Get a Range Rover, you won't regret it.

Paul

[andyl]

Originally Posted by tomcat racing

well what an exzageration, i think your mate is telling you porkies,i just booked my car in for its first service and incidently asked my dealer about the brass bush problem, heres the facts, the fuel pumps are built by an external supplier and are only fitted on earlier models. all of those cars have had a factory recall on them and are being repaired and paid for by the pump manfacturer. the engines do not need a full rebuild, and it does not cost $24000 to repair. even if the car was out of warranty it would have been fixed at no cost because it is a product recall in writing, why your mate was not aware of this i dont know, he obviosly didnt get the letter or failed to act on it or hes got a dodgy dealer. i found all this out with one simple phone call, get your facts straight before lodging threads about someones product secondhand, they cant be that unpopular if you want to order a new disco now, you might get one by december, they are probably the only car manfacturer worldwide that has been at full production even through the gfc..they cant build enough of em, i think that says it all.

Well thanks for your opinion, I've known this fellow for 19 years through business and I do trust that he reported faithfully what he was told, and in the later case also, I would not repeat it I did not trust it. He was the greatest fan of this car you would find prior to all of this. The trigger for him telling me this latest event was that called him this morning and caught him at the dealer to get a loaner. The facts are that it is what he was told regardless of what you may suggest. He lives in Sydney, whether his dealer is dodgy or not I have no idea, I didn't ask which one it was. I dont know the year or model etc beyond going in it, its one of those black sport diesel ones with the 20" wheels. I doubt it would be more than a few years old. Its interesting that you confirm fuel pump failures, only serves to add weight to what he has said. If you trust a dealer to not try it on, I have a bridge for sale you may be interested in also.

I have never owned one of these but it doesn't prevent me listening to what owners have to say. I have personally seen discoveries broken down while off-roading and on most occasions lent a hand which typically involved donating some water as more often than not they have broken down from overheating on a hot day. Some owners I've spoken to report very expensive repairs from sleeves walking after their own experiences with overheating events on V8 petrol versions. Again I am happy to report this even though it is second hand, and yes I trust a broken down owner on the side of a track to give the good oil on his own car too.

I'm sorry if you don't take kindly to negative feedback on a car you obviously like a lot but everyone's mileage varies and getting feedback on such things from far and wide is what these forums are for. If your criteria for recommending this car is the length of the waiting list, and that that says all you need to hear, then I don't count that as a complete assessment of this cars suitability for towing.

-Andy

[Towmaster]

If you think about what we used to tow with.... My parents used to tow a 2 horse float with an 1800cc 1979 Sigma.... Admittedly at 80klm/hr.
Every car can have it's flaws, no matter how expensive it is.
Although I think when you are comparing $100,000 plus cars with ones about half that price..... Should they do the job twice as well?

[tomcat racing]

Originally Posted by andyl

Well thanks for your opinion, I've known this fellow for 19 years through business and I do trust that he reported faithfully what he was told, and in the later case also, I would not repeat it I did not trust it. He was the greatest fan of this car you would find prior to all of this. The trigger for him telling me this latest event was that called him this morning and caught him at the dealer to get a loaner. The facts are that it is what he was told regardless of what you may suggest. He lives in Sydney, whether his dealer is dodgy or not I have no idea, I didn't ask which one it was. I dont know the year or model etc beyond going in it, its one of those black sport diesel ones with the 20" wheels. I doubt it would be more than a few years old. Its interesting that you confirm fuel pump failures, only serves to add weight to what he has said. If you trust a dealer to not try it on, I have a bridge for sale you may be interested in also.

I have never owned one of these but it doesn't prevent me listening to what owners have to say. I have personally seen discoveries broken down while off-roading and on most occasions lent a hand which typically involved donating some water as more often than not they have broken down from overheating on a hot day. Some owners I've spoken to report very expensive repairs from sleeves walking after their own experiences with overheating events on V8 petrol versions. Again I am happy to report this even though it is second hand, and yes I trust a broken down owner on the side of a track to give the good oil on his own car too.

I'm sorry if you don't take kindly to negative feedback on a car you obviously like a lot but everyone's mileage varies and getting feedback on such things from far and wide is what these forums are for. If your criteria for recommending this car is the length of the waiting list, and that that says all you need to hear, then I don't count that as a complete assessment of this cars suitability for towing.

-Andy

youre welcome to your opinion and im sure you trust your mate, but i was just pointing out that your original story was bull**** to set the record straight. secondly you do live in sydney its full of dodgy people. thirdly, i wasnt talking about older v8 petrol models, i wouldnt buy one of those either. and last, i live in nth qld where it gets a lot hotter than where you are and this place is 4wd city, the local 4wd clubs have got plenty of land rovers and if they are as bad as you say they wouldnt drive em. im a builder and used to towing different trailers on all manner of vehicles and have had my fair share of landcruises, their alright if you like massey fergusons, i dont care what you drive but youre giving your opinion on a car youve never driven, my opinion is its the best tow vehicle ive ever had bar none, so do yourself a favour go and hire or borrow a late model one hook up your cobra and go on a 2 to 3 thousand km trip like i do over country roads and ill await your opinion then.

[spookypt]

Originally Posted by Towmaster

If you think about what we used to tow with.... My parents used to tow a 2 horse float with an 1800cc 1979 Sigma.... Admittedly at 80klm/hr.
Every car can have it's flaws, no matter how expensive it is.
Although I think when you are comparing $100,000 plus cars with ones about half that price..... Should they do the job twice as well?

I should really have listed a budget when I started this thread.... The ole Portch Kayan and Range Sport has got alot of + feedback.

If I had the $'s and inclination I'd by A Dodge Ram V10 Ute.. All comes down to $'s and preference I guess.

thanks again everyone for their suggestions.

SpookyPT

[boxhead]

I still say my 1972 Valiant Station Wagon is the go, towed the Cobra to and from Melbourne with no issues apart from a failed 38 year old fuel pump.