E class towing

[Arthur01]

hi all , thank you for letting me join.
I have a major problem with my Eclass 220 SE bluetec 2015. I bought the car 2 weeks ago for towing my caravan.... best car for towing as advertised. I had a tow bar fitting and then was told my car wasn’t configurated for towing
The VIN has no GTW as the logbook. Therefore illegal to tow. I have called several Mercedes dealer and they were all unaware of this problem.
Has anyone one got a solution or is my only option is to sell.
Many thanks for all your input
Arthur

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

hi all , thank you for letting me join.
I have a major problem with my Eclass 220 SE bluetec 2015. I bought the car 2 weeks ago for towing my caravan.... best car for towing as advertised. I had a tow bar fitting and then was told my car wasn’t configurated for towing
The VIN has no GTW as the logbook. Therefore illegal to tow. I have called several Mercedes dealer and they were all unaware of this problem.
Has anyone one got a solution or is my only option is to sell.
Many thanks for all your input
Arthur

Welcome to MBClub. Sorry to hear this.

If the car is not homologated for towing then it’s not legal to tow. The tow bar might fit (probably will) and the car might be capable of towing (probably is), but without type approval then you can’t legally tow with it.

Usually Mercedes models which aren’t homologated are those unlikely to tow, and not worth the cost to Mercedes for seeking type approval, usually coupes, convertibles and strangely cars with AMG bodykit.

 

[DSM10000]

Welcome to the Forum.

Did you buy from a dealer (MB or other) and did you say that you wanted to tow a caravan with the car

If yes to both then you have grounds to reject the car as unfit for purpose and, possibly misrepresented.

Have you contacted MB UK to ask?

 

[Benzowner]

Could it be that the car needs to be modified in some way, additional gear box or engine cooling for example. Most web site say they will tow up to 2100kg which does seem rather strange.

 

[BTB 500]

It's actually illegal (under the Vehicle Construction & Use Regulations) to even fit a towbar to a car that doesn't have EC type approval, never mind towing with it. AFAIK there's no way round it, of course from a practical POV the chance of being caught would probably be nil but I suspect most people wouldn't want to risk it. There would probably be insurance implications too.

 

[popuptoaster]

Could it be that the car needs to be modified in some way, additional gear box or engine cooling for example. Most web site say they will tow up to 2100kg which does seem rather strange.

Web sites will tell you that your car can go 155mph (or whatever) as well, but not legal on public roads in most places.

 

[Piff]

Came across this a couple of years ago when I was considering buying a caravan and choosing a convertible suitable for towing.
Our 2013 E cab is type approved, but newer ones at the time (2015) were not, yet you could buy tow bars for both

 

[219]

This was a wonderful piece of Euro legislation which came in around 1995 .

I could quite legally fit a towbar to my 1993 R129 SL and tow with it , the towbar was a factory option , but the same car a couple of years newer couldn't legally be used to tow as they were never certified . Daft really .

Of course , one might wonder what will happen come March once we are no longer part of the EU , since cars which can't legally tow in the EU presumably can elsewhere ...

 

[Merc220cls]

This was a question we raised with MB when we purchased our CLS.
As some of you may know the early CLS Coupe was not homologated for towing but we obviously required a car which could tow. Before purchase MB confirmed the Shooting Brake was homologated and showed the paperwork to prove it.
I’m surprised the E Class Estate cannot tow but I have heard of other cases where customers were placed in the same position and had to sell the car or refrain from towing.

 

[219]

It's actually illegal (under the Vehicle Construction & Use Regulations) to even fit a towbar to a car that doesn't have EC type approval, never mind towing with it. AFAIK there's no way round it, of course from a practical POV the chance of being caught would probably be nil but I suspect most people wouldn't want to risk it. There would probably be insurance implications too.

The only thing you could fit would be a mounting bracket for a cycle carrier :-;

It might look like a tow bar

 

[219]

Came across this a couple of years ago when I was considering buying a caravan and choosing a convertible suitable for towing.
Our 2013 E cab is type approved, but newer ones at the time (2015) were not, yet you could buy tow bars for both

I would imagine that’s because they can be used for towing outside the EU

 

[BTB 500]

The only thing you could fit would be a mounting bracket for a cycle carrier :-;

It might look like a tow bar

You might get away with it so long as it didn't have a towball.

 

[popuptoaster]

I think you could argue in court that having a tow bar doesn't mean you were going to tow any more than having a rope in the boot does, it would probably be a lot of hassle though and there are bike racks that fit on the tow bar without needing a tow ball to be on it as well so I can't see much of a problem other than getting a business to fit it, lets face it though it's usually not difficult, you could order online and pay a local guy to do it if you can't yourself.

 

[BTB 500]

I think you could argue in court that having a tow bar doesn't mean you were going to tow any more than having a rope in the boot does

As mentioned, if your car isn't type-approved it's an offence under the construction & use regs to fit a towbar (whether you use it for towing or not).

 

[popuptoaster]

As mentioned, if your car isn't type-approved it's an offence under the construction & use regs to fit a towbar (whether you use it for towing or not).

It's an offence to fit one, not an offence to drive a car with one fitted as far as i know.

 

[BTB 500]

You could be right, but it's a bit academic if (like the OP) you do actually want to tow.

 

[JBD]

If it doesn’t have a towing capacity in yet drivers door shut, you’ve bought a car with an eco package, which can’t tow.

We’ve had customers enquire about this before and it’s only on the SE with eco package


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[Mikeone]

Following the solution

 

[renault12ts]

hi all , thank you for letting me join.
I have a major problem with my Eclass 220 SE bluetec 2015. I bought the car 2 weeks ago for towing my caravan.... best car for towing as advertised. I had a tow bar fitting and then was told my car wasn’t configurated for towing
The VIN has no GTW as the logbook. Therefore illegal to tow. I have called several Mercedes dealer and they were all unaware of this problem.
Has anyone one got a solution or is my only option is to sell.
Many thanks for all your input
Arthur

Oops...the lying bar stewards...they are aware of this...it crops up enough times on here and people have had the conversation with them.

 

[Ayeupducks]

Hi, I have a 2014 220 E Class Estate AMG Sport which came with a factory fitted tow bar and electrics. I have seen somewhere, something, about the BlueTech not been suitable for towing but I would think Mercedes would / should be able to sort specially when the E Class has been so highly recommended and tested by The Caravan and Motorhome Club winning best tow car over £40K.