Effects Of Caravan Towing On 1.8 Auto?

[sproutdreamer]

I have heard of premature clutch problems on Toyotas towing trailers/caravans. How do autos fare with respect to towing in this respect - better or worse? Would you buy a 1.8 that has been towing a caravan bearing in mind the difficulty of ascertaining the extent of the towing. Just a season start or finish removal or towing around europe?

[Totally Tech IT]

I've not towed with this avensis yet, however my older 2001 was a brilliant workhorse for towing. It was a manual, but I've towed with both auto and manual cars - Autos are always worse to tow with tbh, it feels like you have less control as the gears as always up and down until you get a steady speed going and even once you are steady the mph can be less as the gear chosen may be different etc. I often remove the towbar from a car once I'm selling it as a lot of people seem to be worried if it looks like its been towing.

I've never found a car that has any problems just because of the towing - Again all cars are different but from the 30 or 40 I've had experiences with I can't say it would bother me if it was a manual. I'd be put off if it was an auto though. If you are selling then remove it? If you are buying all you can do is check the history, drive it and check it, and take a punt if you think its ok :)

[jenshusband]

One thing to be aware of is the maximum braked towing weight, my 2.0l diesel has a max of 1300kg.