Towing with a Mercedes GLA

I'd not swap a 6 pot 3 litre for a 4 pot, & the GLA auto is a DSG type automated manual ..... not what I'd choose to tow with.

i would like to stay with my E class but since the government has gone mad on my old car she is now worth half of what i could have sold her for last year  and a newer one is a bit to much for my bank balance. that's why i am thinking of changing 

If it was just down to a toss up between the 2 cars, I'd  keep the E Class, RWD & a slush box auto, you've not lost money on it until you sell it. How much fuel could you buy with the cost to change vehicles? 

Though SWMBO is suggesting I think about replacing my diseasal R Class, I can't think of what I want to replace it with. Neither being diesel or £500 a year road tax makes it a vehicle that people would be queuing up to buy. I might just keep it a bit longer.

How much money do you really expect to save from a few mpg gains and lower RFL? Have you objectively worked out the true costs of changing what otherwise presumably is a fine tow car? Depreciation is by far and away the biggest cost in owning/running a car for most people by a country mile. In terms of whole life vehicle costs You will in practice save very little, if anything. Unless the current car is a money pit for repairs I would strongly r3commend keeping it. 

thank you all for your advice i did think of keeping the old girl ? but things are starting to go wrong like rear suspension battery on it way out and the big  one for me the gearbox not good when cold in first and second. once the box warms up it fine. i asked a garage about the box and they said about 4 thousand to fix it ,so it maybe best to sell..

dave

have you thought about having the gearbox oil changed, if its an old car its probably gone quite thick as its ok when warm and a little thinner. worth trying.

Definitely change the gearbox oil and filter as a first option. If it is a Mercedes G7 box it should be serviced every 45,000 miles

As suggested I'd get the ATF changed too. A lot of torque converter autos are designed to hold onto first gear a little longer when cold.

Magnet, I have just gone through your dilemma and found that the solution was easier than I expected.

I had a lovely ML300CDI which I bought new in 2011. But like you I was being crucified by £520 a year Vehicle excise duty.  But then i realised that by changing to a used but newer ML350 CDI  (Same engine) but regd in 2014, and running on ADBLU to reduce emissions, I almost halved my VED to £280 per year.

So I suspect that a similar solution might be found with a later model E class.  If it runs on ADBLU it will have less emissions and a lower VED.

TF

Hi

My wife has a GLA 220cdi. 3 years old. 2100cc turbo diesel. Over 3 years is averaging 44mpg.

From the handbook:

Max towing weight 1500kg

noseweight 75kg

As said above, it has the DSG box as standard. Can't comment on its towing ability as my van is an 1800kg twin axle with a 100kg noseweight, which I tow with a large 4x4.