Will a car gain mileage from being towed?

Question

I am in the process of looking for a car and finally found a nice one in my price range but it has 182,908 miles. The dealer said that the milage was "tow miles" from being towed behind a motorcoach. Is this true?

Answer 1

that is bs.. if a car is being towed it will be turned off and in neutral.. a car can only get mileage on the odometer if the car is turned on..

Answer 2

OK Brad, in order to properly tow a vehicle, a person should disconnect the drive shaft. With no drive shaft in place the WORM GEAR in the rear of the tranny cannot register revolutions of the drive shaft YOKE. Towing a vehicle more than a dozen or so miles w/o this modification whether you catch this now or later can hurt a vehicle. Even if you put it in neutral there are more moving parts than just the rear end, hence more **** to watch out for. A person is MUCH better off setting the rear wheels on a TOW DOLLY and only tracking with the front end. In the long run you will find many problems that need to be corrected from this TOW MILES vehicle. DON'T EVER BELIEVE THIS BS!!! If you live in or near Oklahoma used vehicles in fair/good condition can be bought cheap!! In December I bought a 1995 Cadillac Seville for $500 and she runs GREAT!!!! Whatever you do have the car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy it. Even if it costs you a few bucks, he can tell you about any sudden issues that may be impending. And always drive it more than a few blocks when TEST DRIVING. A few extra miles may show you about overheating problems or the like. check out AC, heater, fan, radio, wipers and stuff as you drive but DO WATCH THE ROAD. Electric seats, doors & windows also can cause problems!

Answer 3

I am fairly sure that the odometer works via a cable attached to the gear box and not directly to the wheels or axle. this is why when you reverse the miles still go up and not down.
so if the car is being towed and in neutral then in theory it shouldnt register. i wouldn't have thought it mattered anyway, being towed is not good for a car it can damage the steering as it is being turned by being tragged around and not via the steering wheel and powered steering as its meant to be.
also even if it is being towed the wheels are still going around etc they engine may not be so well used but towing doesn't do the rest of the car any good.

Answer 4

Hard to say, for sure. It would depend on the car and how it was towed. Personally, I wouldn't believe the salesman. It may be true, but don't consider his statement when you buy the car. Have it checked out by a mechanic before you buy it. If the price is right then consider it.
Be warned that with about 183K miles on the car, you can expect to have a lot of repairs on parts that are worn out. good luck.

Answer 5

For the most part I agree with Engineer. Hybrids will gain in popularity until plug-in hybrids are introduced, at which point they'll begin to take over most of the market. Electric cars will also become more popular as battery technology improves and their range increases while their recharge time and initial cost decrease. I disagree that hydrogen-fueled cars will never become competetive. If aluminum alloys pan out as a reasonably efficient way to extract hydrogen on large scales, that could solve the transportation and storage problems associated with hydrogen. This won't happen until around the middle of the century, but hydrogen-fueled cars may comprise a significant portion of the transportation sector at some point.

Answer 6

Most newer cars (1990 and up) won't register mileage unless the ignition is on. They operate off a spped sensor whereas older cars have a speedometer cable that operates whenever the wheels are turning Take the car for a test drive and shut it off while moving to see if the speedo stops working

Answer 7

front wheel drive cars are towed by the front. So no. Sometimes rear wheel
drives are towed by the front, but the cars not in gear .So some will.
Most towing done by flatbed truck.

Answer 8

It is possible, but it is probably a lie. You need to take into account the fact that a car salesman told you that. Did he also tell you that there is a little old lady coming from across town to buy the car, so you had better act now?

Answer 9

Depends on if it is front or rear wheel drive and rather or not those wheels are turning. But generally speaking YES. Unless it is completely on a flat bed trailer.

Answer 10

Cargain