THULE BIKE RACK LIGHTS ISSUE

[Andrew64]

Yes they can, but would also need to change the harness to the plug.

[Meg85]

3 minutes ago, Andrew64 said:

Yes they can, but would also need to change the harness to the plug.

Thanks, hoping I don't have to pay 1 months salary to get it done  

[babse]

I'd sell the car...

 

🙊

[madmarc]

Had the same issue with Merc Vito - had to have a Merc towbar module fitted by Merc - It basically protects the main computer and if not fitted voids the warranty on the vehicle.  

[Meg85]

1 minute ago, madmarc said:

Had the same issue with Merc Vito - had to have a Merc towbar module fitted by Merc - It basically protects the main computer and if not fitted voids the warranty on the vehicle.  

What I don't understand is how can the tow bar company cannot be aware of this issue? Surely they have put towbars on VW T-cross before 🤨 They told me they have never had this issue before and 70% of their clients put towbars on for bike racks.

If I may ask, was the module very expensive? 

[The Ouzo]

Just now, Meg85 said:

What I don't understand is how can the tow bar company cannot be aware of this issue? Surely they have put towbars on VW T-cross before 🤨 They told me they have never had this issue before and 70% of their clients put towbars on for bike racks.

If I may ask, was the module very expensive? 

The module is probably the bulk of the cost of the towbar.

 

Remember, in most modern cars there are so many electronics monitoring all sorts of things both for your safety and the safety of the cars electronics. The car needs to know if there is something connected to the t/bar, it needs to adjust its electronics accordingly. You can get away with it sometimes, but its going to end in big money when something goes wrong. There is a reason OEM towbars are expensive (apart from profiteering).

See if the towbar place can sort it out, but to get it done 100% you might need to bend over and cough up for the VW module. If you only ever using the t/bar for a bike rack I'm sure the t/bar place can make it work.

[Andrew64]

I would estimate 4k based on what we would charge on a Volvo

[TheoG]

I'm so glad now my car had a tow bar when I bought it and its working 100% on all connections so far ... 🙈

Good luck @Meg85

[madmarc]

10 minutes ago, Meg85 said:

What I don't understand is how can the tow bar company cannot be aware of this issue? Surely they have put towbars on VW T-cross before 🤨 They told me they have never had this issue before and 70% of their clients put towbars on for bike racks.

If I may ask, was the module very expensive? 

It was a long time back but I seem to remember about 3.5K - a new computer was 40K at the time.

and it affects the warranty on the entire vehicle - 4 months later the turbo blew up and that was an 80K repair bill covered by the warranty so it was well worth the investment  

[Brawler]

This thread has been useful. Something to consider when purchasing a second hand vehicle without a towbar.

When I purchased a new vehicle I asked the dealership to add a tow bar as a freebie (I was playing dealerships against each other for business) and got lucky. 

[madmarc]

3 hours ago, Brawler said:

This thread has been useful. Something to consider when purchasing a second hand vehicle without a towbar.

When I purchased a new vehicle I asked the dealership to add a tow bar as a freebie (I was playing dealerships against each other for business) and got lucky. 

this is the safest way to go - it's expensive but at least your car is covered, I did the same with my Audi, didn't get it as a freebie but at a seriously reduced price and they had the Thule removable towbar fitted, if i remember correctly i paid 6.5K including fitting

[ChrisF]

10 hours ago, Meg85 said:

I had the tow bar installed on Tuesday this week. The guys say they will have a look but im really confused now. Either take directly to VW or back to the tow bar guys.

VW charges insane labour costs.

 

Which fitment centre ?

 

Brand of towbar ?

 

 

Reputable shops fitting Bosal should know what they are doing.

 

 

Towbars Cape .... bunch of blithering idiots !!!

 

Dealt with them once ... burnt that T-shirt 😡

 

 

Hope you get sorted

[The Ouzo]

7 hours ago, Brawler said:

When I purchased a new vehicle I asked the dealership to add a tow bar as a freebie (I was playing dealerships against each other for business) and got lucky. 

Please don’t do this. Your are taking away a salesman’s income. Every cent they give you is money out of their pockets.  If you can’t afford the car, buy a cheaper one. 

[JacquesJ]

31 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

Please don’t do this. Your are taking away a salesman’s income. Every cent they give you is money out of their pockets.  If you can’t afford the car, buy a cheaper one. 

Huh, don't negotiate? The salesman can say yes or no. I also need to keep money in my pocket by looking for the best possible deal 🤷 .. and that goes for everything I buy, not just cars.

[The Ouzo]

12 hours ago, Jacques Joubert WC said:

Huh, don't negotiate? The salesman can say yes or no. I also need to keep money in my pocket by looking for the best possible deal 🤷 .. and that goes for everything I buy, not just cars.

you would think so right. But thats not actually the case.

Salesman needs to sell x amount of units or he sits without a job. The bosses dont care if the salesman doesnt earn money because the dealership needs to sells y amount of units or they are in trouble with the importer. The importer doesnt care if the dealership makes money because they need to sell z amount of units or they are in trouble with the manufacturer.

In an ideal world the salesman stops giving discount when the negotiations get to low, but pressure to move product, and the fact that every Jacques, Brawler and Smitty will spend 2 hours with the salesman taking them through every detail they want with the car and then go and buy the same car down the road because they got it R500 cheaper means they only stop negotiations when the deals moves into a loss.

 

Your next argument will be , " then go and work somewhere else" . Well you see as a middle aged white male in south africa, despite being intelligent and well educated, thats easier said than done. Getting into this line of work was out of desperation to put food on the table, but the reality is there have been many months that due customers wanting to save the cost of a take away meal a month on their installments, only medical aid is covered at the end of the month. So excuse me if I get very upset when people make statements about playing dealerships up against each other.

[Brawler]

2 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

you would think so right. But thats not actually the case.

Salesman needs to sell x amount of units or he sits without a job. The bosses dont care if the salesman doesnt earn money because the dealership needs to sells y amount of units or they are in trouble with the importer. The importer doesnt care if the dealership makes money because they need to sell z amount of units or they are in trouble with the manufacturer.

In an ideal world the salesman stops giving discount when the negotiations get to low, but pressure to move product, and the fact that every Jacques, Brawler and Smitty will spend 2 hours with the salesman taking them through every detail they want with the car and then go and buy the same car down the road because they got it R500 cheaper means they only stop negotiations when the deals moves into a loss.

 

Your next argument will be , " then go and work somewhere else" . Well you see as a middle aged white male in south africa, despite being intelligent and well educated, thats easier said than done. Getting into this line of work was out of desperation to put food on the table, but the reality is there have been many months that due customers wanting to save the cost of a take away meal a month on their installments, only medical aid is covered at the end of the month. So excuse me if I get very upset when people make statements about playing dealerships up against each other.

That is a sad picture you paint but it applies to just about any industry.

We all have bosses who don't care and companies that care less. I'm glad that you work for the only reputable car dealership in the country and sorry a haggler cost you a buck but the majority of the dealerships are a rip-off and will fleece an inexperienced customer with no qualms. Multiple dealerships tried this with my wife. Advertise a car for R300k and when you go for a quote all of a sudden it's R340k and they get upset when you turn down all the *** they want to upsell. In my case from the first quote to the third, the savings was closer to R30k all things considered (trade-in, extras, on-the-road fees). All I did was take a quote to 3 dealerships and it took one day and they sold me a car with a smile. Again, this is standard in any industry, particularly with high-value purchases, state your requirements and let companies bid.

These same dealerships nail you R1200 for Bosch wiper blades that a Bosch service center (with their own overheads) will sell to you for R80.

Anyway, back to the topic I suppose. I won't be responding to this further.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Brawler