Best BMW for Towing

Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:24 pm

Looking for a car for towing/commuting.

I've set myself a low budget of £2,000 as I don't need something new for all the use it will get.

That doesn't leave a great deal of variety if you take into consideration; power/comfort/etc.

If I can steer away from a 4x4 I will. It's for towing a car trailer that weighs around 800kg and I commute less than 10 miles a day.

Basically all I keep reverting back to is a e39 540i - V8 would sound nicer than a 530d.

Does any one else use one?

Cheers, Ryan.

Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:44 pm

I looked at this a while ago but after factoring in ferry costs for a car + trailer, it was a none starter.

I would do a bit of googleing. Towing capacity for cars/4x4'x is a lot lower than I expected, to the point that I was shocked. Even some 4x4's towing capacity is only 1600kg, which after a car trailer leaves little room to drag scrap.

I was told, from people in that field, to go Japanese.. eugh, that made me feel sick.

Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:58 pm

Yeah most 4x4's will tow 3500kg, that's not to say all of them do.

I've had a Pajero in the past and it was great, then I had a L200 which was dog sh*t.

A Range Rovwr p38 falls into my budget but they have usually had a tough life and the bodywork reflects that.

Don't mind getting a 4x4, but if I could find a estate/touring that could tick all the boxes, then that would be better for me.

Mon Apr 27, 2015 6:09 pm

I was looking at a Classic Range Rover. Hauling with class.... *cough*

I checked the 5 series forum and some are saying that the e39 legal capacity is a mere 2100kg, others are saying it is fine to tow more. I like to keep things whiter than white. NI has a lot of police officers and peace time has left them with little to do but upset my happiness.

I've seen X5's selling around the £2k-£3k mark (towing capacity 2.7 tonnes iirc) but I wouldn't want that sort of drama and if I had a £1 every time I seen them being pulled out of a slightly damp field... I'd have £2.

If it was my call, I'd be making sure that everything was kosher on the legal side and start my hunt from there.

Best of luck!

Mon Apr 27, 2015 6:36 pm

E39 touring is a good shout as the self levelling rear suspension is a boon with a load on the back. The hard bit will be finding a decent one

I do have a tidy 03 530d touring that 2k will buy. Complete with motor trade friendly black leatherz , wide screen nav, chilly air con and the proper detachable BMW tow bar

Mon Apr 27, 2015 7:57 pm

540 FTW, it pulls that well you can stick the cruise on and forget the trailer is there

Mon Apr 27, 2015 7:59 pm

I wouldn't want to tow more than its legal weight, not worth the hassle if you get caught.

X5's are meant to be terrible for towing, shame as they are one of the better looking 4x4's out there.

Pacer - you make it sound so tempting, and it really does! But I'm gonna have a think about the towing capacity again.

Mon Apr 27, 2015 8:40 pm

I have a feeling that Pacer has just put up his NI shipping prices by £2000.

If it's for towing an e30 you'd be within the 2100kg limit. 800kg trailer +1300kg (ish) e30? Unless I've misunderstood the capacity rules.

Mon Apr 27, 2015 9:16 pm

It's a very heavy trailer I have, proper beavertail with a 2 or 3 tonne load limit. Overkill for towing cars but it is a great trailer.

Danthe - that looks at home on the back of yours. Is it just the tourings that have the self levelling suspension?

I bet the fuel consumption with the 540 and a loaded trailer is pretty environmentally friendly!?

Mon Apr 27, 2015 11:12 pm

MPG is no different, mainly because I dont bother putting my foot down as much, its the usual 14mpg

Buying a newer/lightweight trailer would be a very good spend, you dont half notice the difference

Tue Apr 28, 2015 7:37 am

The e39 is top of my list at the moment; 540's are a little scarce, especially a touring.

Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:19 am

Only tourings have self levelling but be sure to check it has not been removed . It is a very simple reliable system but there are peasants who rather than fix issues, fit standard springs

As with E30s , The saloons are breakers to keep the tourings on the road

Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:47 am

I will keep an eye out for that, cheers Pete.

Tue Apr 28, 2015 10:06 am

My current towing barge (towing a maximum of a 2200Kg) is an E39 328i, running on LPG, and just clocked 270,000 miles.
Best tow car I've ever had.

Tue Apr 28, 2015 1:56 pm

540i with LPG would be great, but doubt that will fit into my budget. Definitely heading towards an e39.

Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:28 pm

an e39 is your only option with your budget.

Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:09 pm

It's a tight budget, but it's gonna be a work horse, nothing else so doesn't need to cost the earth.

Wed Apr 29, 2015 5:30 pm

ryan_gwa wrote:It's a very heavy trailer I have, proper beavertail with a 2 or 3 tonne load limit. Overkill for towing cars but it is a great trailer.

I'll bet that weighs more than the 800kg you stated in your 1st post, the Brain James in Dans photo will weigh nearly that...

You'll be breaking the law either way towing a car trailer & most cars with an E39 as its over weight so if you want to stay within the law you'll need a 4x4 with a min towing weight of 2.7T (E53 X5). Anything with a Land Rover badge has a towing weight of 3.5T. A 4.6 P38 is a great towing vehicle but anything in your budget will be scrap or have lots of issues or both ! If you are handy with a mig, have you considered a 300Tdi Disco ?!

If your towing anything for 'hire or reward' you'll also need to look at weights as if you go over 3.5T you'll need an operators licence...

Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:37 pm

ryan_gwa wrote:It's a tight budget,

My E39 cost me around £900 on ebay three years ago, complete with Prins VSI LPG system (the best), factory fitted tow bar, and a MOT fail sheet.
Air bag light was a £40 ECU off ebay, that was plug and play, air suspension light was a badly repaired loom where some muppet had dropped the rear subframe in the past, without unplugging the height sensors first, and the rear brake hard pipes needed replacing. Sorting those, plus a few minor 'silly' fail items, like bulbs, produced a new ticket, and all it's has since then is service items like tyres and brake pads/discs, until two weeks ago, when it cost me £40 for a new coolant header tank.

Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:13 pm

Cheers for all the input guys, it's appreciated.

I'm selling off my monster trailer and buying a new lightweight one. So the e39 should still come under the weight limit.

The car wont be used for reward, literally for traveling to and from my lock-up and work. One of the reasons I fancy an e39 is for the 540i - not quite as dull and slow as a 4x4.

Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:14 pm

Tomson - I used to work on 300tdi Defenders in the past and I never liked that engine, would have to be a td5 disco for me.