Can I have a tow bar fitted to my lease car?
We often get calls from customers asking about fitting a tow bar to a leased car, so here is what you need to know…
Firstly, you must inform the lease company that you intend to get a tow bar added to the vehicle and you must get permission from the lease company to get the work done. This is because they will need to add the modification to the leased vehicle’s insurance. Failure to do so could mean you driving around with invalidated insurance.
The tow bar and electrics will need to be fitted by a company that is insured and VAT registered. The company must also provide a written guarantee of the work they have completed.
The tow bar you have fitted must be type approved for the vehicle and fitted according to the manufacturer’s technical instructions.
Wiring will need to be dedicated approved vehicle specific and where appropriate the vehicle will need to be coded to activate the towing safety features.
Providing the tow bar has been fitted to the manufacturer-approved instructions and vehicle-specific wiring has been installed there should be no issues with having a tow bar fitted to your lease vehicle.
Do I need to have the tow bar removed when handing back a leased vehicle?
Providing you have written permission to have had the tow bar fitted and you have informed the lease company then you should not need to remove the tow bar. However…
If the tow bar has not been fitted correctly, or universal bypass wiring has been used instead of approved vehicle-specific wiring then you may want to remove all traces of the tow bar before returning. The reason for this is that using unapproved parts will invalidate the vehicle’s warranty. If you hand the car back with unapproved parts fitted these will need removing by the lease company, which may well be expensive.
Here’s a quick list of things you need to do when having a tow bar fitted to a lease car.
- Get written permission from the lease company
- Make sure the tow bar and electrics are approved parts.
- Make sure the fitting company are insured and VAT registered.
- Get a written guaratee and a certificate of the parts fitted
Providing you get permission from the leasing company you can have a tow bar fitted without any issue.
Happy towing
Team Ultimate.
