l purchased a 2007 Saturn Ion yesterday and after the paperwork was signed and l was about to leave it was disclosed that the car was towed excessively behind an RV. The people who owned the vehicle before l did were retired and were ''professional'' campers who were on the road 8+ months per year. My Dad is concerned that the excessive towing may have caused a suspension problem or some other major mechanical issue that may not make it self obvious until after I've driven it for some time.

Any advice would be appreciated.
And also if you have sources for your response please include them. =) Thank you

l can not answer this with any certainty, but l suspect if towed properly, it should not be a problem. Some vehicles have to be towed on a dolly, like our Echo. Other vehicles can be flat towed, but only if they have an external transmission pump installed that will keep the fluid flowing while in tow; & yet others can just be straight flat towed as long as u stop every 8 hours of driving & run the engine for 20 minutes. If the previous owners knew what they were doing, it should be fine. l hope this helps. Have a wonderful day!

Does ur car have an automatic or stick shift?

ALL stick shifts CAN be towed flat IF placed in neutral, but very few automatics can.

Some (front wheel drive especially) require a dolly, & others (mostly rear wheel drive) require a trailer unless the steering is locked & they r towed backwards on a dolly.
This is because with the driveshaft turning, the automatic transmission will overheat since without the engine running there is no oil circulation in the transmission which is being spun by the driveshaft rather than the engine.

ALSO, the towbar, if towed flat without a dolly or trailer MUST be properly installed AND the steering alignment MUST be correct. Even then care must be taken in turns NOT to turn to sharply.

If they r ''professional'' campers as u say, they most likely knew the correct way to tow their ''other'' vehicle, but l would STILL have had it checked by a mechanic before buying it; just like ANY used car.