Hitch package or aftermarket for new car?

October 3, 2022 6:49 AM

We're in the market for a new car, and would like to have a hitch. We don't intend to do a lot of towing, but would like something for bikes and maybe a little luggage platform (but bikes would be more likely). Does it make more sense to look for a vehicle with the hitch installed by the dealer, or get it done by an after-market shop?

Clearly a tradeoff between convenience (and perhaps quality of the install given the dealer's familiarity with the make/model) and presumably cost and customization, given that we're not going to be hauling a boat or a trailer.

FWIW, we're looking at various three-row SUVS--Telluride, Palisade, Ascent, etc. Thanks!

posted by Admiral Haddock to Shopping (7 answers total)

If you’re just doing non wheeled stuff (bike rack, luggage rack), after market worked for me; just had uhaul weld on the lightest duty hitch (which was the max that vehicle could handle). Cost me under 2k.

As you zero in on the vehicle, call around with the specs.
posted by tilde at 6:55 AM on October 3, 2022

Depending on what vehicles you are looking at, sometimes the factory tow package includes additional items like an oil cooler to assist with towing, and much more difficult to add as an aftermarket item. (Like, according to google, the Telluride tow package can come with a self-leveling rear suspension, which can't be added by the dealer later.)

Personally I'd opt for the factory tow package whenever possible; the cost isn't usually that much greater and you have some reassurance that things fit correctly and are appropriately engineered.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:18 AM on October 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'm a big fan of factory hitches. If your vehicle was designed to take a hitch, the factory hitch will attach to the places on the body/frame that the engineers determined would be the most suitable load transfer points. There's no such guarantee on an aftermarket hitch, and god help us all if you get one from UHaul...
posted by hwyengr at 7:19 AM on October 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

Oftentimes the factory hitch is cheaper than aftermarket anyway, at least if your car is new enough not to be a rust bucket and you buy the hitch and take it to a mechanic who can bolt it on in half an hour using the factory mount points. If I were buying new, I'd have the dealer do it unless they were trying to charge an outrageous markup on the part.
posted by wierdo at 10:00 AM on October 3, 2022

Factory packages will include wiring to support trailers which can be expensive or a pain or both for aftermarket. Even though you don't plan to pull a trailer the circuitry can power a brake light mounted on your bike rack or storage box which is a nice feature IMO.

On three row suvs it'll also probably provide at least one cicuit at 12v and substantial amps via a seven pin connector which can also be useful.
posted by Mitheral at 12:00 PM on October 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

I think this is a mixed bag depending on what the particular tow package includes, especially as you're not really going to be towing anything of consequence. (If you were, I'd say 100% go for the factory package.) For example, self-leveling rear suspensions can be both troublesome and staggeringly expensive to fix- to the point that the aftermarket offers self-leveling delete kits for some vehicles, so that when the self leveling feature breaks, rather than having to spend several thousand on fixing it, you can convert it to conventional coil springs/shocks for several hundred. The "heavy duty" aspects of a tow package can be good though- extra transmission and engine oil coolers, sometimes a larger battery or beefier brakes are all things which could theoretically enhance the reliability or performance of a vehicle used in standard duty service.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 4:01 PM on October 3, 2022

Get the factory option, but if you have a choice of standard or heavy-duty, take the standard option. It's likely to be more or less the same cost, but a lot less mucking around and no risk of impacting your warranty. As others have mentioned, it will include a wired trailer plug that you can use to mount accessory lights if your bike/s or whatever block the car ones and you don't like being rear-ended. if the car has reversing sensors, that plug will include a mechanism (plug in a trailer plug) to turn them off when there are things hanging down in front of them.
posted by dg at 10:50 PM on October 3, 2022