New cars and their extras ...

[Ford Fairlane]

I bought a Toyota Kluger last year and wanted to put in a tow bar at the time. The price was $695 and i thought this was too expensive. Well now that i want to be able to transport pins, i thought i would bite the bullet and pay the $695 ... However the new quote is $950 and that is through my neighbour who works at the dealership i bought the car off. He says that if i dont go through him it would be even more as its not a simple thing to do (about 3 hours labour). Now i know my neighbour isnt bullshitting me (top bloke) but he says the dealership charges about $1300 after market for a towbar as it has to plugin to a module 

WTF what a rip off!!! i dont really want to use the back of the kluger as i dont want the back of my seats all torn up. Im bummed about this cause i cant transport a pin. Why does it cost so much as i remember the good old days where i could get a tow bar for $300 max!

[Marty Machine]

I know the feeling, i bought MY Ford Territory last year, and nearly fell over when i was told "paint is extra"...WTF!! !! !!

[pinmadd]

we just got the new holden cruze over here, i priced a towbar...........$600 for bar $1000 for wiring +gst +labour to fit 
i dont think i will be fitting many 

[ddstoys]

Shit mate for $700 you could buy yourself a station wagon for transporting pins lol

[Ford Fairlane]

Shit mate for $700 you could buy yourself a station wagon for transporting pins lol

Plus third party insurance plus rego plus maintenance ... 

[Creech]

Maybe you could buy a second hand trailer for less.

[ddstoys]

Rego and insurance what the hells that lol

[Ford Fairlane]

Maybe you could buy a second hand trailer for less.

I've already got the trailer (that i used with my old car) but i dont think i'll pay $950 to hook it up to the new one.

Rego and insurance what the hells that lol

Mate thats shocking 

[Extra Ball]

Recently bought a 2002 Jackaroo (transports a pin with room to spare......a few cms lol), and I count myself lucky it has a factory heavy duty towbar and bullbar, and alloys (they clinched the deal actually). I priced side-steps..... 550 bucks for two pieces of grooved aluminium (I can do without them now lol). Accessories is where we get ripped.

[pinballist]

Crickey mate $1800 for a bloody tow bar??  You could buy an old shit box Ford stn wagon for that price with rego & 3'rd party insurance - perfect for pinnies, though I wouldn't wanna be driving too far from home ;)

[ajlaird]

Or get an old ute and a tarp.

[slammer]

99% of factory towbars are made here in Australia by Haymen Reyse (check spelling) and rebadged by the car manufacturer I would ring a local towbar installer (most 4wd centres) and get a price from there.

They are generally 3 times the price I have found.

Also if you can rebuild a pinball, then installing a towbar is a piece of cake, a good afternoon's work really. And if your not 100% with the wiring then drop it off to an auto elect to finish off.

The box/module that they are talking about is not generally needed, but check with the auto elect.

The car manafactures always tell you need them, so when they install them it is a matter of plug n play with the wiring.

You could also get a price from the spare parts department of the car dealership on the module.

Cheers Angelo

[Ford Fairlane]

Thanks Angelo, i will try that. I just refuse to believe its worth 1k 

[Pinfan]

Rip off allright ! Way to expensive.

Mate i purchased a Factory Ford towbar assembly complete with wiring harness, tow ball, and hardware. It was purchased direct from Ford. Cost me $175.

I fitted it myself and it only took me 15 mins...Didn't even need to remove the bar !

Mine was a matter of bolt on, run the wiring harness to the adaptor and ready to rock and roll...

Most cars should have provisions for a tow bar regardless, should be a matter of bolt on, which is what the dealers basically do anyway.

Sometimes...and again i say sometimes it is cheaper to go to the dealer for parts..not for labour though... That's where the charges lay !

[ktm450]

I bought a Toyota Kluger last year and wanted to put in a tow bar at the time. The price was $695 and i thought this was too expensive. Well now that i want to be able to transport pins, i thought i would bite the bullet and pay the $695 ... However the new quote is $950 and that is through my neighbour who works at the dealership i bought the car off. He says that if i dont go through him it would be even more as its not a simple thing to do (about 3 hours labour). Now i know my neighbour isnt bullshitting me (top bloke) but he says the dealership charges about $1300 after market for a towbar as it has to plugin to a module 

WTF what a rip off!!! i dont really want to use the back of the kluger as i dont want the back of my seats all torn up. Im bummed about this cause i cant transport a pin. Why does it cost so much as i remember the good old days where i could get a tow bar for $300 max!

Sure is a rip off!  If a pin fits in the back of your car ok, how about investing $30 into a piece of 2mm thick lexan plastic that you could slide in and out when you need to transport pins without damaging your seats.