"Dave H." writes:

Seeing a lot of towbars that fit the car on Ebay, is it necessary to have
'em professionally fitted (will insurers, the DoT etc. insist on it) or is
it something a competent DIY mechanic can do given the correct fittings /
big drill / crushtubes for the chassis members?

A friend of mine is a Volkswagen mastertech, and recently posted photos
of a horror story of a tow bar fitting that he'd been asked to put
right. The customer had thought that the dealership quote was far too
much, so had gone to a backstreet electrician. Of course it cost far far
more in the end.

Quoting the captions from the photos:

| un-fused wire from positive battery! running through holes in moving
| rear suspension

| live wire on exhaust

| [wire tucked under] heat shield like a razor

| [wire dangling under chassis] not much use for off roading

| birds nest & scotch locks

| live wire with bare bit was taped to body!

| wires to towbar exit via one way vent designed to keep water out - now
| jammed open

Recent VWs use a single wire for brake and side lights, and pulse width
modulate the voltage to adjust the brightness.

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