E46 320i Touring for towing?

[HummuH1]

I've been offered a 2004 320i Touring manual to use as a towing vehicle. Combined weight of trailer with car loaded will be c. 1,400 kg.

Any thoughts on whether it will be up to the job OK?

Thanks.

 

[HummuH1]

Personally, I'd want something larger with more grunt....

So would I, but when it's free and I can't afford something larger it has to be considered!

Doesn't the 320 touring weigh close to 1400kg on it's own, ie. kerb weight, and without being loaded. Is the trailer made by Lotus of carbon fibre?

If the trailer is very lightweight, then I can't see an issue with the suggested car. However, if it's a heavyweight trailer, a 320i would not be my choice.

Erm no, trailer weighs c. 425kg and car is just over 1,000 kg so I'd guess 1,450kg max. I've certainly seen smaller/lesser powered cars carrying equal or larger loads but I know not to base my judgement on that!

I used an e36 318iS as a tow car for a few years while racing, I would estimate the race car and trailer weighed about 1000kg. It was fine (in fact it was fantastic compared to the 1.8 CVH Sierra I was previously using) so I'm sure a 6 cylinder 320i will be ok assuming it's a fairly light car on the trailer.

(I'm not sure what towing restrictions there are these days though, they didn't exist back then)

Given the above, what do you think? I haven't got the manual to check what it says but from the little information I've been able to find online, braked towing capacity seems to be 1,600kg. Should be fine then, legally?

 

[HummuH1]

I also want a free 2004 320i!

Yes, I'm very lucky. A family member has owned it since new and is getting offered peanuts for it as a trade in. There is a catch though, I have to cover my car in their company logo's but I can live with that! Think of it as sponsorship!

 

[HummuH1]

Sounds rather like he's talking about the weight of the trailer and a toy car on that trailer weighing 1400kg, and all that being towed by the 320.

I'd use something bigger - would really feel for a 2 litre engine and its clutch.

Spot on.

It won't be used heavily and it only needs to do a 50 mile round trip a couple of times a month. Once I leave the house there's one set of lights to go through so should be no stopping unless traffic is unusually bad.

It will be a strain but it should cope I think. As Fox said, it's a 2.2l.