Towing car on a limited budget??!! Suggestions!

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colouredhat

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Hi all,

I passed my B+E test last year and am now on the hunt for a 4x4 to tow with.

I've got one 16.1 TB and a Ifor williams 505 to tow.

Ideally something not too expensive to insure, age 24 it can be a problem!

I'd love to have the ability to tow two (just incase!) - but understand I'm on a limited budget and if I can't legally then I just can't!

Now come the biggest problem! ...

I've only got £2000 (ish) to spend!

Any suggestions?!
I'm not worried about looks or whether it is ecconomical, it is only for towing (at least once a week, sometimes more in the summer) I've got a company car for everyday!

Thanks in advance
 
If you want to tow two then you need something with a reasonable sized engine, so that cuts out Freelanders. The older 300 Discovey (up to S reg) is a good towing vehicle and more reliable than the TD5 and you'd probably find one for £2k easily. If a Disco is a bit big for you, Daihatsu Fourtraks and SWB Isuzu Troopers are great, they have bigger engines than Discos so are more powerful and they are well known for their reliability but they do get the rot in them! Also, avoid Troopers with a 3l engine, look for a 3.1l. I've PMed you :)
 
I'll be watching this thread with interest as I am also looking for a towing vehicle.

I've heard lots of people say how bad Freelanders are - is it just because the small 2litre engine? It is illegal to tow 2 horses with them?
 
No, not illegal at all, although they don't have the towing cap of a Disco or Fourtrak (I don't know the towing cap of a Freelander off hand, perhaps it's on ROG's towing clinic), they are fine for towing ponies or one horse. They are not the most powerful so you might find the clutch won't last long, particularly if you live in a hilly area. A friend had to have a new clutch in hers (pretty hilly round here) and it cost more than a new clutch in a Disco would cost. Another thing with Freelanders (though I'm not sure about the new ones) is they don't have the option of low range 4WD, so you are more likely to get stuck in the mud!
 
I have had 2 TDi discoverys. The first an M reg went through two Mot tests fine. I did have to put a new clutch in £300 ish and general maintenance but it rotted eventually. I then bought an N reg, the clutch went within 500 miles and I had to replace the cam belt, but it is just about to go through its second Mot. My mechanic says it will pass woth two new shock absorbers. You can get a decent disco for £2k but you will have to accept that you will have to do some repairs and it will not last forever. If you shop around you will probably find the insurance is not too high as it is not a vehicle that boy racers tend to go for. The other good thing about discos is when they do go wrong they are reasonably cheap to fix compared to Japanese 4x4s.
You need a mechanic who you can trust who doesn't charge the earth and take somebody who knows what they are looking for as there are some dogs out there.
 
Freelander 1 towing capacity = 1800 kgs
Freelander 2 towing capacity = 2000 kgs

Towing capacity = actual weight not plated MAM weight

Discoveries all have a 3500 towing capacity
 
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pec said:
You need a mechanic who you can trust who doesn't charge the earth and take somebody who knows what they are looking for as there are some dogs out there.
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Totally agree!

But have to disagree that Jap 4x4s cost more to repair, we've had several of both (jap 4x4s and Discos) and find that they're on a par.
 
I found that parts for the disco were cheaper than for my 4 trak that I had for 6 yrs before the discos, yes it was a great tow truck but I couldn't get as many spares from the scrap yard and they did tend to be a little more expensive. I wouldn't like to stake my life on it but that's the impression I got.
 
Pajero 2.8 Intercooler Turbo 5 door. Parts are dead cheap, there's loads around and they've been imported from Japan so rustfree.
 
pec said:
I found that parts for the disco were cheaper than for my 4 trak that I had for 6 yrs before the discos, yes it was a great tow truck but I couldn't get as many spares from the scrap yard and they did tend to be a little more expensive. I wouldn't like to stake my life on it but that's the impression I got.
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Yes, we are scrap yard users too and no Fourtraks in any of the scrap yards round here (that tell you something, surely??)
 
9tails said:
Pajero 2.8 Intercooler Turbo 5 door. Parts are dead cheap, there's loads around and they've been imported from Japan so rustfree.
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Imports cost more to insure, though.

OP, if you're only going to use the vehicle at weekends you could get a better price on your insurance for limited mileage.
 
9tails said:
Pajero 2.8 Intercooler Turbo 5 door. Parts are dead cheap, there's loads around and they've been imported from Japan so rustfree.
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This!

I had one a few years ago, towed like a dream. Would still have it had the stupid mechanic not put the battery in backwards and blew the electrics - I sold it to a car electric guy who had one with mechanical problems and he fixed her right up - shes still running, K registered.

I'm currently looking for another one - got my eye on a few around the £2k mark which look promising - I do love Pajero's
 
Nissan Terrano or Ford Maverick (same thing just different badges), you should be able to pick up a pretty good one for that money, we had one years ago & it towed really well.
 
Bonus about the cars before 2001 is the tax is cheap too otherwise its £500 of pain.

Avoid the Ford Explorer if you look at that as an option they had issues with safety when towing on the older models. There was a big thing in the states about the company UHaul refusing to loan their trailers to anyone looking to tow behind an Explorer. They are cheap to buy but you might want to make sure that you can still get parts for them as Ford stopped making parts for some of their older models and the alternative parts don't always fit the vehicles. Second hand parts are not the simple to find either although more people are breaking them.
 
marmalade76 said:
Imports cost more to insure, though.

OP, if you're only going to use the vehicle at weekends you could get a better price on your insurance for limited mileage.
Click to expand...

You just need to go to the right insurers. My previous car was an FTO, they're grey imports, I was quoted over £2k with some of the normal run-of-the-mill insurers, but those who specialise in imports insured me for £300 every year fully comp. A little homework goes a long way.
 
I recently lost my jeep cherokee :(and as funds are really tight we ended up buying the first clean car we saw.

but i am definitely in mourning over my jeep i loved it. even if it only did 20mpg on a good day.

so i've been looking into the cheaper end of towing vehicles along with comparing mpg. the hyundai terracan is one of choice if money wasnt an issue.

but i also noticed the other day that subaru forresters tow 2kg which would be enough to tow my boy in lightweight trailer. the other thing i like about them is they are Awd -6am starts in the middle of norfolk i need something i can trust-
they aren't the prettiest of cars but then neither is what I have now.
 
Thanks all, this really has given me a lot to think about!

Thankfully I do have a mechanic I trust (vague family friend), and he has suggested a 04 X-Trail, he's been servicing it for a while, and he feels it should mechanically be a good buy!

But looking at the towing capacity (max towing weight braked) 2000kg, will this be enough for my boy in a 505??!

I know it's not the 'beefiest' thing around, but having been bitten once by buying a series 2 landrover (without the mechanics help) I don't want to have similar problems again!

Any thoughts on the X-Trails?

Thanks
 
I tow with a Discovery 3 now but used to tow with a Pajero LWB, they are cheap as they are the imported version of the Shogun.
 
colouredhat said:
But looking at the towing capacity (max towing weight braked) 2000kg, will this be enough for my boy in a 505??!

Any thoughts on the X-Trails?
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Xtrails very popular with those on a B only licence towing a single horse trailer and from the amount I have read about them on this and other sites they seem to be very good generally

HB505 with a horse and other stuff will be around 1500 kgs so no probs

If trailer not downplated then it will need to be a B+E licence
Not sure if a 505 will work if downplated - all depends on figures
 
I have just bought a 1995 M reg imported in 2003 3door 2.8 pajero. Am having trouble insuring it as it is not appearing as a 3 door on databases but as a 5 door.
Has anyone else had this problem ?? Who do you insure with ??
 
We had 2 fourtraks before we got a lorry, fabulous to tow with, would have been one but the first got stolen! Think they have a big capacity but do feel free to correct me. We towed a 510.
 
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