Cost of getting a tow bar fitted

Mistral001

I recently bought a tow bar for a Toyota Corolla off the internet and fitted it myself.  I have fitted tow bars to cars before without much trouble, but fitting a tow bar to the Toyota  seemed to be a massive job requiring me to take off the plastic bumper, inner bumper, rear silencer of the exhaust system.  I also had to cut a large notch in the plastic bumper to accommodate the ball hitch as per the suppliers instructions. 

My question is, did I really save much money fitting it myself?  I suspect that any tow bar fitter would charge quite a lot for doing the work that was needed for this Toyota and would charge less for other cars where there is not so much work required.  The last time I fitted  tow bar, it was definitely worth doing it myself as I bought the tow bar secondhand for about £30 and it was quite easy to fit.  This time I paid £145 for the tow bar and electrics kit which I thought was reasonable as the whole kit had several parts to it with some very heavy box sections and brackets and full instructions.  However, I get the feeling that I did not save enough to make it worthwhile to fit it myself.

facade

You probably saved a few hundred pounds. 

When this war ends enquire at a dealer for supply & fit, probably around the £500 mark at a guess, that is what my suzuki cost, and involved bumper removal, & inner trim removal for the wiring.

I'd have easily done it myself, but then when the thing goes rusty it would be my fault not theirs, and when (not if) the massively complicated and unnecessary electronics fail that would have been my fault again, not theirs.

Now whilst I have warranty, they are the only people who have messed with it.

Goudy

I looked at fitting one to my new car.
I found the instructions on line and "drill a 27mm hole here" put me off.
Once this plague has subsided, it's back to the dealers, I'll pay!

Herzlos

I think I paid £400 fitted for my last tow bar.

I figured it was cheaper than messing it up and damaging the car.

Mistral001

Thanks for your comments.  I probably saved more than I thought.  Someone told me that they got one fitted for £200 - without the electrics.  The work to fit the tow bar on the Toyota was tough.  Lots of crawling under the car.  The worst bit was taking off the exhaust as the bolts holding it on were rusted solid.  

Mistral001

Herzlos said:

I think I paid £400 fitted for my last tow bar.

I figured it was cheaper than messing it up and damaging the car.

Yes I get what you are saying.   I was less worried as my car is 13 years old.  I would have probably taken it to a garage if it was a younger car.   

greyteam1959

I was quoted over £600 to supply & fit a towbar to a Kia Venga 6 years ago by a main dealers.
I wanted it fitted by them to keep within the warranty of the vehicle & the towbar as previously mentioned.
After much 'discussion' the price came down to around £400.

J_B

Whatever you do, don't use Towbars On The Drive from the west midlands. They fitted me one and it interfered with the reversing sensors, despite them saying that it wouldn't.

They promised to come out to investigate 4 or 5 times and failed to attend. Bunch of liars!

TychoTMA

I fitted one to a Rover 600 some time ago. Generally, it wasn't too hard a job, though having a second pair of hands when taking off the rear valence was good. I hate having other people do any work on my cars , and although I'm now well on the wrong side of 60, it is quite rare for me to use a garage.