Buy all your VW California Accessories at the Club Shop Visit Shop

Taken the plunge and collecting in Saturday...

Renaissance-Man

Renaissance-Man

Messages
95
Location
East Sussex
Vehicle
T6.1 Ocean 204
Hey folks!

I am sure my (our) story will resonate with many: After lurking on forums off and on for a good couple of years - initially leaning towards a Hymer Grand Canyon (Sprinter) but house move and general usage requirements steered me towards a California - I have finally taken the plunge and bought. Brand new.

I forget how many times I specced the ideal van out using VW's user (un)friendly website and options. The price always seemed so high - and after all, a Campervan is not a sensible buy. Better to stick savings into a pension, surely? But the heart wants what it wants...

Then in the last few weeks things moved seriously quickly and after many more late nights of speccing and considering other van converters, I arrived back with VW and started calling round dealers. Mostly it was the usual story of long wait lists that we are all so familiar with. Then I got lucky and Eurovans in Crawley had two Cali's that were cancelled orders.

A drive up there first thing on Monday and of the two available - both two tone white/green - one fit the bill. A Cali Ocean 204 2.0TDI with a bunch of extras thrown in - some I would have chosen, a couple not. What swung it? The now ubiquitous letter from VW to all dealers that on 1 December all prices on Calis are going up by 3% (plus 2% on options). Then they offered me an absurd trade in figure on my 2016 plate 4x4 Yeti which a year ago was worth around £11,500. I got £15,000!

Managed to get £1,500 off list price on the Cali and a few extras chucked in. So, other than our house, I have just made the biggest purchase of my life! I am just about over the shock of the price and justifying it in knowing I can sell in a year or two if the 'campervan' thing is not for us. And I am now getting seriously excited for Saturday morning collection.

The Cali will be our only vehicle - we live centrally in a small town near Brighton, East Sussex and I currently only use my car twice a week for a commute to work (in Brighton) so all other miles on the Cali will be leisure. The rest of the time it will sit safe and snug in a garage (which would have been impossible with a Grand Canyon Hymer). Plan at present (pesky Covid permitting) is to start with a night away, then a few weekends in the UK, building up to The Netherlands in the spring to see family and France in July. Then, Pembrokeshire or Brecon Beacons in September. Can't wait.

The van is just for myself, my wife Sam and our 10 year old lurcher, so should work out well.

Lots of questions to ask but this is just a little intro to say 'hi' and looking forward to learning from, and eventually contributing something useful to the forums!
 
Hey folks!

I am sure my (our) story will resonate with many: After lurking on forums off and on for a good couple of years - initially leaning towards a Hymer Grand Canyon (Sprinter) but house move and general usage requirements steered me towards a California - I have finally taken the plunge and bought. Brand new.

I forget how many times I specced the ideal van out using VW's user (un)friendly website and options. The price always seemed so high - and after all, a Campervan is not a sensible buy. Better to stick savings into a pension, surely? But the heart wants what it wants...

Then in the last few weeks things moved seriously quickly and after many more late nights of speccing and considering other van converters, I arrived back with VW and started calling round dealers. Mostly it was the usual story of long wait lists that we are all so familiar with. Then I got lucky and Eurovans in Crawley had two Cali's that were cancelled orders.

A drive up there first thing on Monday and of the two available - both two tone white/green - one fit the bill. A Cali Ocean 204 2.0TDI with a bunch of extras thrown in - some I would have chosen, a couple not. What swung it? The now ubiquitous letter from VW to all dealers that on 1 December all prices on Calis are going up by 3% (plus 2% on options). Then they offered me an absurd trade in figure on my 2016 plate 4x4 Yeti which a year ago was worth around £11,500. I got £15,000!

Managed to get £1,500 off list price on the Cali and a few extras chucked in. So, other than our house, I have just made the biggest purchase of my life! I am just about over the shock of the price and justifying it in knowing I can sell in a year or two if the 'campervan' thing is not for us. And I am now getting seriously excited for Saturday morning collection.

The Cali will be our only vehicle - we live centrally in a small town near Brighton, East Sussex and I currently only use my car twice a week for a commute to work (in Brighton) so all other miles on the Cali will be leisure. The rest of the time it will sit safe and snug in a garage (which would have been impossible with a Grand Canyon Hymer). Plan at present (pesky Covid permitting) is to start with a night away, then a few weekends in the UK, building up to The Netherlands in the spring to see family and France in July. Then, Pembrokeshire or Brecon Beacons in September. Can't wait.

The van is just for myself, my wife Sam and our 10 year old lurcher, so should work out well.

Lots of questions to ask but this is just a little intro to say 'hi' and looking forward to learning from, and eventually contributing something useful to the forums!
Welcome!!! I can sense your excitement and it sounds like your purchase was meant to be.
years of fun to come.
 
Congratulations! We’ll done, will be lots of fun.
Please post pictures when you get it!
 
welcome and I’m sure you won’t be selling in a couple of years; your “use case” seems made for a Cali.

Interested to know what the options are. I’d have bought off the forecourt if there’d been one in that colour back when I ordered mine (but back then I didn’t know I’d end up waiting a year for delivery so any colour would’ve been fine!)
 
Hey folks!

I am sure my (our) story will resonate with many: After lurking on forums off and on for a good couple of years - initially leaning towards a Hymer Grand Canyon (Sprinter) but house move and general usage requirements steered me towards a California - I have finally taken the plunge and bought. Brand new.

I forget how many times I specced the ideal van out using VW's user (un)friendly website and options. The price always seemed so high - and after all, a Campervan is not a sensible buy. Better to stick savings into a pension, surely? But the heart wants what it wants...

Then in the last few weeks things moved seriously quickly and after many more late nights of speccing and considering other van converters, I arrived back with VW and started calling round dealers. Mostly it was the usual story of long wait lists that we are all so familiar with. Then I got lucky and Eurovans in Crawley had two Cali's that were cancelled orders.

A drive up there first thing on Monday and of the two available - both two tone white/green - one fit the bill. A Cali Ocean 204 2.0TDI with a bunch of extras thrown in - some I would have chosen, a couple not. What swung it? The now ubiquitous letter from VW to all dealers that on 1 December all prices on Calis are going up by 3% (plus 2% on options). Then they offered me an absurd trade in figure on my 2016 plate 4x4 Yeti which a year ago was worth around £11,500. I got £15,000!

Managed to get £1,500 off list price on the Cali and a few extras chucked in. So, other than our house, I have just made the biggest purchase of my life! I am just about over the shock of the price and justifying it in knowing I can sell in a year or two if the 'campervan' thing is not for us. And I am now getting seriously excited for Saturday morning collection.

The Cali will be our only vehicle - we live centrally in a small town near Brighton, East Sussex and I currently only use my car twice a week for a commute to work (in Brighton) so all other miles on the Cali will be leisure. The rest of the time it will sit safe and snug in a garage (which would have been impossible with a Grand Canyon Hymer). Plan at present (pesky Covid permitting) is to start with a night away, then a few weekends in the UK, building up to The Netherlands in the spring to see family and France in July. Then, Pembrokeshire or Brecon Beacons in September. Can't wait.

The van is just for myself, my wife Sam and our 10 year old lurcher, so should work out well.

Lots of questions to ask but this is just a little intro to say 'hi' and looking forward to learning from, and eventually contributing something useful to the forums!
Ahh great story, avoiding that hellish wait of at least a year if you order. I saw those 2 green/white Calis when I picked up my new Ascot grey one a couple of weeks ago. One was a dealer order that took longer than my 13 months. Well done, great news on your Yeti price too!
I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do. First camping trip tomorrow (to Canterbury) with my girls and our little dog. I’ve got my fingers crossed they’ll love it too, but actually I know they will...
Be great to see a pic and hear your first thoughts when you pick up.
 
Ahh great story, avoiding that hellish wait of at least a year if you order. I saw those 2 green/white Calis when I picked up my new Ascot grey one a couple of weeks ago. One was a dealer order that took longer than my 13 months. Well done, great news on your Yeti price too!
I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do. First camping trip tomorrow (to Canterbury) with my girls and our little dog. I’ve got my fingers crossed they’ll love it too, but actually I know they will...
Be great to see a pic and hear your first thoughts when you pick up.
Given your interminable wait Tim, whatever you forget to bring, or what the weather does, that first trip will be all the sweeter!
 
Welcome! Nice introduction. Sounds like you have some happy times ahead. You made the right choice ;-)

By the time spring arrives don't hesistate to ask me for tips about camp sites in the Netherlands if needed!
 
Welcome! Nice introduction. Sounds like you have some happy times ahead. You made the right choice ;-)

By the time spring arrives don't hesistate to ask me for tips about camp sites in the Netherlands if needed!
Zal ik doen - bedankt!
 
Hey folks!

I am sure my (our) story will resonate with many: After lurking on forums off and on for a good couple of years - initially leaning towards a Hymer Grand Canyon (Sprinter) but house move and general usage requirements steered me towards a California - I have finally taken the plunge and bought. Brand new.

I forget how many times I specced the ideal van out using VW's user (un)friendly website and options. The price always seemed so high - and after all, a Campervan is not a sensible buy. Better to stick savings into a pension, surely? But the heart wants what it wants...

Then in the last few weeks things moved seriously quickly and after many more late nights of speccing and considering other van converters, I arrived back with VW and started calling round dealers. Mostly it was the usual story of long wait lists that we are all so familiar with. Then I got lucky and Eurovans in Crawley had two Cali's that were cancelled orders.

A drive up there first thing on Monday and of the two available - both two tone white/green - one fit the bill. A Cali Ocean 204 2.0TDI with a bunch of extras thrown in - some I would have chosen, a couple not. What swung it? The now ubiquitous letter from VW to all dealers that on 1 December all prices on Calis are going up by 3% (plus 2% on options). Then they offered me an absurd trade in figure on my 2016 plate 4x4 Yeti which a year ago was worth around £11,500. I got £15,000!

Managed to get £1,500 off list price on the Cali and a few extras chucked in. So, other than our house, I have just made the biggest purchase of my life! I am just about over the shock of the price and justifying it in knowing I can sell in a year or two if the 'campervan' thing is not for us. And I am now getting seriously excited for Saturday morning collection.

The Cali will be our only vehicle - we live centrally in a small town near Brighton, East Sussex and I currently only use my car twice a week for a commute to work (in Brighton) so all other miles on the Cali will be leisure. The rest of the time it will sit safe and snug in a garage (which would have been impossible with a Grand Canyon Hymer). Plan at present (pesky Covid permitting) is to start with a night away, then a few weekends in the UK, building up to The Netherlands in the spring to see family and France in July. Then, Pembrokeshire or Brecon Beacons in September. Can't wait.

The van is just for myself, my wife Sam and our 10 year old lurcher, so should work out well.

Lots of questions to ask but this is just a little intro to say 'hi' and looking forward to learning from, and eventually contributing something useful to the forums!
Congratulations and welcome.
 
I'm trying to wrap my head around deciding to buy and picking up within weeks :shocked
Why didn't I do that (now in retrospect with my pickup finally within sight)?
Good on you and enjoy your new van:thumb
 
welcome and I’m sure you won’t be selling in a couple of years; your “use case” seems made for a Cali.

Interested to know what the options are. I’d have bought off the forecourt if there’d been one in that colour back when I ordered mine (but back then I didn’t know I’d end up waiting a year for delivery so any colour would’ve been fine!)
Here is the options list:

Two tone paint - would not have ordered this
Lockable storage - was on my list
Power sliding door on right - was on my list
4 remote control keys - not bothered but could be useful
Discover Pro Media Nav - was not on my list but could be nice
Driver assistance pack plus - some elements are useful
Tyre pressure monitoring system - would not have ordered
All weather tyres - was on my list
Bed extension and comfort mattress - on my list
Floor covering wood effect - on my list
Storage compartment package - on my list
Fuel tank 80l - was on my list
Outdoor shower connection - was on my list

Overall, everything I wanted is included and I am extremely happy. The things I did not want are not deal breakers. I have obviously been charged a small fortune for the two-tone paint and would have preferred a monotone grey or bronze to be more 'stealthy', but the colour scheme is growing on me.

The dealer threw in Diamondbrite paint protection which I am not saying no to as it is free.

Roll on 11am tomorrow morning for the handover...
 
That looks perfect... well almost. I don't know why anyone would put a power sliding door on their list of things, but that's mainly because I'm too impatient to wait for some mechanism to do what I can do so easily myself ;)
Seriously I think you picked a great camper. And you get it TOMORROW!!!
 
Hey folks!

I am sure my (our) story will resonate with many: After lurking on forums off and on for a good couple of years - initially leaning towards a Hymer Grand Canyon (Sprinter) but house move and general usage requirements steered me towards a California - I have finally taken the plunge and bought. Brand new.

I forget how many times I specced the ideal van out using VW's user (un)friendly website and options. The price always seemed so high - and after all, a Campervan is not a sensible buy. Better to stick savings into a pension, surely? But the heart wants what it wants...

Then in the last few weeks things moved seriously quickly and after many more late nights of speccing and considering other van converters, I arrived back with VW and started calling round dealers. Mostly it was the usual story of long wait lists that we are all so familiar with. Then I got lucky and Eurovans in Crawley had two Cali's that were cancelled orders.

A drive up there first thing on Monday and of the two available - both two tone white/green - one fit the bill. A Cali Ocean 204 2.0TDI with a bunch of extras thrown in - some I would have chosen, a couple not. What swung it? The now ubiquitous letter from VW to all dealers that on 1 December all prices on Calis are going up by 3% (plus 2% on options). Then they offered me an absurd trade in figure on my 2016 plate 4x4 Yeti which a year ago was worth around £11,500. I got £15,000!

Managed to get £1,500 off list price on the Cali and a few extras chucked in. So, other than our house, I have just made the biggest purchase of my life! I am just about over the shock of the price and justifying it in knowing I can sell in a year or two if the 'campervan' thing is not for us. And I am now getting seriously excited for Saturday morning collection.

The Cali will be our only vehicle - we live centrally in a small town near Brighton, East Sussex and I currently only use my car twice a week for a commute to work (in Brighton) so all other miles on the Cali will be leisure. The rest of the time it will sit safe and snug in a garage (which would have been impossible with a Grand Canyon Hymer). Plan at present (pesky Covid permitting) is to start with a night away, then a few weekends in the UK, building up to The Netherlands in the spring to see family and France in July. Then, Pembrokeshire or Brecon Beacons in September. Can't wait.

The van is just for myself, my wife Sam and our 10 year old lurcher, so should work out well.

Lots of questions to ask but this is just a little intro to say 'hi' and looking forward to learning from, and eventually contributing something useful to the forums!
Welcome and congratulations. You made a wise decision to take an available model, the delays for a catalogue build and the new ‘we can’t guarantee the price’ position from VW are pretty cold showers.

i have seen the picture at the bottom of the thread, and it’s an absolute beaut! You will share many miles and discover so many new places.

We received ‘Soazic’ our Cali Coast 4Motion in September and spent an amazing 2 weeks touring the Atlantic coast with it here in France. You will see, there is life before and after the purchase of a Cali …. Enjoy .
 
Looks wonderful …. Way back in April last year I asked the very helpful Sean in Sheffield if they had demonstrators. No he said…bubwe have one booked 4 April 2021. It was black which we wouldn’t have chosen but we ended up picking up a demonstrator which had been at the garage for three months and nobody had driven it. Black wasn’t the colour we would’ve chosen but when I managed to keep it really spotlessly clean it does look rather magnificent. I think that it’s better to have a Cali that is wonderful even if it is not exactly what you want then hang around forever and pay much more.

They are amazing and we’ve been camping all over the place ever since April and we do use it from time to time as a second car. I’m sure you’ll have amazing fun with it and I suspect you’ll keep it for years to come. Good luck
 
Hey folks!

I am sure my (our) story will resonate with many: After lurking on forums off and on for a good couple of years - initially leaning towards a Hymer Grand Canyon (Sprinter) but house move and general usage requirements steered me towards a California - I have finally taken the plunge and bought. Brand new.

I forget how many times I specced the ideal van out using VW's user (un)friendly website and options. The price always seemed so high - and after all, a Campervan is not a sensible buy. Better to stick savings into a pension, surely? But the heart wants what it wants...

Then in the last few weeks things moved seriously quickly and after many more late nights of speccing and considering other van converters, I arrived back with VW and started calling round dealers. Mostly it was the usual story of long wait lists that we are all so familiar with. Then I got lucky and Eurovans in Crawley had two Cali's that were cancelled orders.

A drive up there first thing on Monday and of the two available - both two tone white/green - one fit the bill. A Cali Ocean 204 2.0TDI with a bunch of extras thrown in - some I would have chosen, a couple not. What swung it? The now ubiquitous letter from VW to all dealers that on 1 December all prices on Calis are going up by 3% (plus 2% on options). Then they offered me an absurd trade in figure on my 2016 plate 4x4 Yeti which a year ago was worth around £11,500. I got £15,000!

Managed to get £1,500 off list price on the Cali and a few extras chucked in. So, other than our house, I have just made the biggest purchase of my life! I am just about over the shock of the price and justifying it in knowing I can sell in a year or two if the 'campervan' thing is not for us. And I am now getting seriously excited for Saturday morning collection.

The Cali will be our only vehicle - we live centrally in a small town near Brighton, East Sussex and I currently only use my car twice a week for a commute to work (in Brighton) so all other miles on the Cali will be leisure. The rest of the time it will sit safe and snug in a garage (which would have been impossible with a Grand Canyon Hymer). Plan at present (pesky Covid permitting) is to start with a night away, then a few weekends in the UK, building up to The Netherlands in the spring to see family and France in July. Then, Pembrokeshire or Brecon Beacons in September. Can't wait.

The van is just for myself, my wife Sam and our 10 year old lurcher, so should work out well.

Lots of questions to ask but this is just a little intro to say 'hi' and looking forward to learning from, and eventually contributing something useful to the forums!
How bizarre that I'm reading this as we are picking up the other two tone white over bayleaf from Crawley this week. Swapping out our awesome, everything on it 2018 Ocean as we were made an offer we could not refuse. Looking forward to seeing it for the first time in the flesh. Hope you enjoy yours as much as we have been enjoying ours.
 
Our baby is still in bits at the factory build week 46 so should be slowly coming together. Love the two tone but added far too much onto the cost on out Cost model so settled for my husbands choice of cherry red. Hope you have a wonderful time with your van. Can’t wait to take that first drive from the showroom.
 
How bizarre that I'm reading this as we are picking up the other two tone white over bayleaf from Crawley this week. Swapping out our awesome, everything on it 2018 Ocean as we were made an offer we could not refuse. Looking forward to seeing it for the first time in the flesh. Hope you enjoy yours as much as we have been enjoying ours.
Ha! Small world indeed. The dealer mentioned the other had sold later that same week. It was a toss up between the two vans but a couple of the extras on mine swung it. Hopefully see you around no the Sussex roads!
 
Here it is! No name yet but will be christened at some point soon. Dog still more interested in squirrels than the awesome Campervan!
View attachment 86858
This is pretty much the identical spec I ordered about 5 weeks ago. I can't believe that there was one available which would not only have been cheaper, but delivered 10 months sooner. Well done for finding it. I hope you have many great adventures.
 
Here it is! No name yet but will be christened at some point soon. Dog still more interested in squirrels than the awesome Campervan!
View attachment 86858
Congratulations!! It looks like the twin to ours which we also just collected. Ours has been christened
Mungo! Our dog was facinated with the drivers‘ footwell, then lost interest too.
 
Hey folks!

I am sure my (our) story will resonate with many: After lurking on forums off and on for a good couple of years - initially leaning towards a Hymer Grand Canyon (Sprinter) but house move and general usage requirements steered me towards a California - I have finally taken the plunge and bought. Brand new.

I forget how many times I specced the ideal van out using VW's user (un)friendly website and options. The price always seemed so high - and after all, a Campervan is not a sensible buy. Better to stick savings into a pension, surely? But the heart wants what it wants...

Then in the last few weeks things moved seriously quickly and after many more late nights of speccing and considering other van converters, I arrived back with VW and started calling round dealers. Mostly it was the usual story of long wait lists that we are all so familiar with. Then I got lucky and Eurovans in Crawley had two Cali's that were cancelled orders.

A drive up there first thing on Monday and of the two available - both two tone white/green - one fit the bill. A Cali Ocean 204 2.0TDI with a bunch of extras thrown in - some I would have chosen, a couple not. What swung it? The now ubiquitous letter from VW to all dealers that on 1 December all prices on Calis are going up by 3% (plus 2% on options). Then they offered me an absurd trade in figure on my 2016 plate 4x4 Yeti which a year ago was worth around £11,500. I got £15,000!

Managed to get £1,500 off list price on the Cali and a few extras chucked in. So, other than our house, I have just made the biggest purchase of my life! I am just about over the shock of the price and justifying it in knowing I can sell in a year or two if the 'campervan' thing is not for us. And I am now getting seriously excited for Saturday morning collection.

The Cali will be our only vehicle - we live centrally in a small town near Brighton, East Sussex and I currently only use my car twice a week for a commute to work (in Brighton) so all other miles on the Cali will be leisure. The rest of the time it will sit safe and snug in a garage (which would have been impossible with a Grand Canyon Hymer). Plan at present (pesky Covid permitting) is to start with a night away, then a few weekends in the UK, building up to The Netherlands in the spring to see family and France in July. Then, Pembrokeshire or Brecon Beacons in September. Can't wait.

The van is just for myself, my wife Sam and our 10 year old lurcher, so should work out well.

Lots of questions to ask but this is just a little intro to say 'hi' and looking forward to learning from, and eventually contributing something useful to the forums!
 
Hi there. I’d be really interested to hear how the collection goes on Saturday with Eurovans Crawley as my van is on order there. I hope it all goes smoothly for you. Sounds like an amazing van! Happy camping
 
Hi there. I’d be really interested to hear how the collection goes on Saturday with Eurovans Crawley as my van is on order there. I hope it all goes smoothly for you. Sounds like an amazing van! Happy camping
Hi - the collection went really well. I had bought from their Skoda branch in Worthing before and that was not a great experience, however, this was faultless. Very happy with the experience overall.
 

Similar threads

itscalledbob
Replies
8
Views
1K
GrannyJen
GrannyJen
Ian Hallam
Replies
12
Views
1K
LadySmiff
LadySmiff
RallyRoss
Replies
1
Views
1K
Perfectos
Perfectos
M
Replies
10
Views
2K
Trev
Shane&Michelle
Replies
5
Views
858
Shane&Michelle
Shane&Michelle
Back
Top