Towing with a 300TE 4Matic

[MattFatPanda]

Hi all,

From my understanding of the law, a car that doesn't have a gross train weight listed is not allowed to tow. My car unfortunately does not have a gross train weight (should be the second one down).

Only thing is I've seen UK 300TE 4Matics with tow bars fitted, and even the owners manual that came with the car has permissible trailer loads (750kg unbraked, 2100kg braked).

So what gives? Were only certain years type approved? Or is my VIN plate wrong, or did MB just never get the 4Matic typer approved in the UK and no-one should be towing with a 4Matic?

Hopefully someone can shed some light on this!

 

[ALFAitalia]

The ---- on the second row means your particular example is not type approved for towing at all.........its not even allowed to have towbar fitted technically.....but you will get away with it if you say its just for a bike rack etc........sorry about that.

 

[BTB 500]

So what gives? Were only certain years type approved? Or is my VIN plate wrong, or did MB just never get the 4Matic typer approved in the UK and no-one should be towing with a 4Matic?

A W124 will almost certainly pre-date EC Type Approval, which only applies to cars first registered from 1st August 1998.

IMHO you should be OK if you follow the data given in the handbook for that specific model. If the manufacturer specifies maximum trailer weights there then they clearly intended for it be able to tow.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

A W124 will almost certainly pre-date EC Type Approval, which only applies to cars first registered from 1st August 1998.

IMHO you should be OK if you follow the data given in the handbook for that specific model. If the manufacturer specifies maximum trailer weights there then they clearly intended for it be able to tow.

This. EC Type Approval won’t applies to cars registered prior to August 1998z

 

[ALFAitalia]

Nothing to do with type approval.... the car is not plated to tow....so therefore legally can't. You would be breaking the law and probably be uninsured if you did so. On that plate the difference between the top weight (max laden weight of the car) and the next one (gross train weight) is the maximum towing weight....if the second weight is not there as in this case or is the same number as the first line you cannot tow. My wife's R170 SLK 230K was the same. Many AMG models I've seen at work are also like that. There will be a reason, insufficient cooling, inadequate reinforcement at the potential tow bar mounting points, gearbox specs etc etc. Why risk it...and potential car damage.

 

[BTB 500]

Nothing to do with type approval.... the car is not plated to tow....so therefore legally can't. You would be breaking the law and probably be uninsured if you did so. On that plate the difference between the top weight (max laden weight of the car) and the next one (gross train weight) is the maximum towing weight....if the second weight is not there as in this case or is the same number as the first line you cannot tow. My wife's R170 SLK 230K was the same. Many AMG models I've seen at work are also like that. There will be a reason, insufficient cooling, inadequate reinforcement at the potential tow bar mounting points, gearbox specs etc etc. Why risk it...and potential car damage.

So why do Mercedes specify braked and unbraked trailer weights (and maximum noseweight) for that exact model in the vehicle handbook?



Which law would be broken here? You mentioned EC Type Approval before, but as mentioned that does not apply to pre-August 1998 cars.

 

[ALFAitalia]

It's a £1000 fine.....comes under the same rules as overloading your car. The car....that particular one....not necessarily all of that model....has a towing weight of zero....so towing 1 kg is overloading it.
That said the police usually know nothing about towing so you would be very unlucky to be caught....but I would not do it due to the potential lack on insurance. Also I don't know if this car has a towbar....but if you go to have one fitted the first thing they do us look at that plate.....if they are doing their job properly they won't fit one as soon as they see that plate....our usual one certainly would not. I'd also be asking why that car can't tow...there will be a reason....so does he want to risk damaging something if he does tow.
I have customer who's Jeep cannot tow.....but it was only that one year where they fitted a slightly different gearbox due to supply issues.....things like that happen.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Also I don't think it's a case of tow approval did not apply before 98 (maybe 96)...but that cars did not need to be type approved before then.....if it is I think it applies. It does not even mention type approval on that plate...its just a weight plate.....which should be adhered to.

 

[MattFatPanda]

So I emailed Thames Valley Police and asked “Can I tow with my car?” (and obviously provided details of the car and stated it had no Gross Train Weight but did have braked/unbraked weights in the handbook) and they replied:

“Thank you for contacting Thames Valley Police  . As long as the brake and unbrake loads are adhered to, you have a tow bar and your driving licence shows you are able to tow a vehicle (shown under section BE of your licence).”



Thames Valley Police reference 101:0691189

 

[ALFAitalia]

Told you they don't know about towing!!! Risk it if you want......you can tow.....as long as it does not weigh anything!!! Hopefully you wont damage your car....there will be a reason Mercedes said no to towing on your car. I'll leave you experts to it!!!

 

[MattFatPanda]

Told you they don't know about towing!!! Risk it if you want......you can tow.....as long as it does not weigh anything!!! Hopefully you wont damage your car....there will be a reason Mercedes said no to towing on your car. I'll leave you experts to it!!!

If there was a reason Mercedes said no to towing on the my car, why does the handbook specifically list towing weights and even tongue weight for my car?

 

[BTB 500]

Don't know about others in this thread but I was certainly towing caravans before EC Type Approval started in 1998. You had a handbook that came with the car which stated what the manufacturer permitted it to tow (or not), and as above that was what the Police went by if necessary. Data plates on older cars had no train weight on them to check anyway.





IIRC giving a maximum gross train weight on the plate came in with EC Type Approval in late 1998. It's quite likely manufacturers were starting to gear up for this in advance though hence some plates fitted to mid/late '90s cars (before Type Approval existed) might have this box but with nothing in it. This applies to my 1997 R129 as well as the 300TE being discussed here. My handbook also specifies the towing data for the vehicle, and Mercedes would supply and fit a towbar if required.

 

[MattFatPanda]

Don't know about others in this thread but I was certainly towing caravans before EC Type Approval started in 1998. You had a handbook that came with the car which stated what the manufacturer permitted it to tow (or not), and as above that was what the Police went by if necessary. Data plates on older cars had no train weight on them to check anyway.

So after a bit of google searching, I've found a 1980 W123 that had the GTW printed, so Mercedes had been doing it for a while.



On the other hand if you imported an Australian W124 by @ALFAitalia logic you'd be breaking the law just by the car existing, as they didn't print any weights on the VIN plate at all so you'd always be over the maximum permitted vehicle weight of zero and also according to his logic Mercedes must have had a reason why they said no to the vehicle having any weight whatsoever so probably best not drive it at all...



So it does seem to depend on what market the vehicle was going into as to what weights were stamped on the VIN plate. So I guess the question is, does anyone have a UK market W124 with the Gross Train Weight stamped on the VIN plate.

 

[Petrol Pete]

For a long while I believed all 'real' AMG's such as the one I own were not homologated to tow in the UK , then someone on here showed a E55 AMG (I think) with a plate saying it could tow , but not all of them ??

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

For a long while I believed all 'real' AMG's such as the one I own were not homologated to tow in the UK , then someone on here showed a E55 AMG (I think) with a plate saying it could tow , but not all of them ??

AMG models on the G, ML, R, GLE, GLS platforms are type approved for towing even though tow bar manufacturers and fitters universally Donny believe it.

 

[Williamwoo]

So after a bit of google searching, I've found a 1980 W123 that had the GTW printed, so Mercedes had been doing it for a while.

View attachment 171698

On the other hand if you imported an Australian W124 by @ALFAitalia logic you'd be breaking the law just by the car existing, as they didn't print any weights on the VIN plate at all so you'd always be over the maximum permitted vehicle weight of zero and also according to his logic Mercedes must have had a reason why they said no to the vehicle having any weight whatsoever so probably best not drive it at all...

View attachment 171699

So it does seem to depend on what market the vehicle was going into as to what weights were stamped on the VIN plate. So I guess the question is, does anyone have a UK market W124 with the Gross Train Weight stamped on the VIN plate.

Mine doesn't - I guess I've been towing illegally for 13 years! Thing is though, almost all the S124s I've come across seem to have towbars. I don't have the original manual so don't know if that mentioned tow weights.

 

[BTB 500]

Virtually all 'old' cars (particularly estates) could be fitted with a towbar. I had a 1971 Vauxhall Viva HC 1100 - about 60 bhp IIRC - and that had a towbar on it