Which car with towing hook would you recommend to a small farmer?
Asked by Samuel Aug 16, 2020 at 04:01 PM about the 2008 Subaru Legacy
Question type: Shopping & Pricing
My dad is a small farmer and needs a new working vehicle. He sells his meat
in a nearby city every 2 months and brings it in a trailer that weighs all in all
about 1.5t. The travel distance is about 90km.
The acutal car is a Subaru Legacy 2.0TD AWD from 2008 with 156'000km.
The first gear is way too fast and not strong enough. Transmission is weak
and the car is not suited for towing. The clutch now is failing when
accelerating even without trailer. Either he changes it which costs about
2000 Swiss francs (=2200$) or he changes car.
What car would you recommend for him? He wants a used car from 2012
upwards and costing not more than 7k.
7 Answers
This is in Switzerland? I don't know what is available there but in the states a small 4WD pickup such as a Toyota would be a good choice. With a pickup he may not need the trailer.
Thank you for your answer. It will be used daily but only once every 2 months towing a trail. And it's a refrigerated trail isn't this more complicated in the bed? Since he lives so far in the country side he needs to drive a lot and such a heavy vehicle uses accordingly much fuel.
You can probably find a diesel which is easier on the fuel. If the trailer is refrigerated you are stuck with it. From my perspective a Toyota pickup is an economy car, not a heavy vehicle. You are not going to find a small car with a small engine that will be a good tow vehicle.
I think we will go with this option. Buy a smaller car because he drives a lot and then when he does the sale take a towing vehicle or the butcher's light truck. And for a smaller car (which still should have a towing hook for small not heavy trails) what would you recommend under 7k? Something like the Subaru impreza but its a bit too costly.
TheSubaruGuruBoston answered 4 years ago
The Imp's motor won;'t tow ANYTHING well. In the EU was available the diesel 2.0 in Legacy wags years ago. But again, it's the tranny stress that is the killer. Poster didn't state whether he blew the MANUAL "clutch" or the autoboxes torque converter "clutch". The former should cost only about $600 equivalent, but bat $2.2k I suspect he's referring to replacing the entire autobox....
Try to buy a Subaru with a 2.5 liter engine if they are sold there.