Is the VW finally becoming just too expensive?

[Barry Chuckle]

I appreciate we're in the midst of a cost of living crisis, but notwithstanding that - a new VW Cali is typically north of £70k with a few options and maximum discount. The latest 4Motion with a few will be north of 80k. From what I'm seeing, these are more expensive than ever even taking into account inflation.

To get perspective a new VW Cali costs approximately twice the UK average annual wage and the same as some cheaper flats in parts of England. I suppose I'm asking at what point do they become no longer financially viable? If price rises continue at this pace they will be over 100k before long. I count myself as very fortunate to be able to have one on order (albeit with the help of the generous VW finance incentives) As the campers were originally conceived as an affordable way for people to explore I'm wondering whether that is still the case, I'm not so sure anymore and wonder if people will continue to pay these steep prices....

 

[myvanrodney]

I think it’s probably the other way round - so long as people are prepared to pay these steep prices (me included) then the price will continue to creep up. It’s a luxury good now.

 

[willwander]

Finally? Have been for a while.
All relative I guess.

 

[Elmo3]

I remember baulking in 2017 at our first Ocean being nearly £50K. Didn’t think it could be sustained. And here we are. Trouble is, even a pretty ordinary car is pushing £40K these days.

 

[KevH]

To put this in perspective, my 1969 Early Bay, great great grandad of the Cali, cost under £400 new, was £8k when I bought her in 2011 and sold for £17k in 2018, after being restored at great expense to near original condition.
So, the Cali is just the latest in a long line of pricey VWs and if my new Cali can come anywhere near maintaining that form I'll be very happy.

 

[The Little Red Cali]

70k is roughly the average cost of a good quality SUV these days. I know what I’d prefer. California wins every time.

 

[Calimili]

I find them still convenient. A Cali allows you to save at least 100€ a night on holiday, like any other rv, but it saves you from buying an additional car with all insurance, maintainance and especially depreciation that comes with any vehicle.

 

[Corradobrit]

Worrying about rising prices may not be a problem as there is a real possibility VW will not be producing another Transporter based camper van. June 2024 may mark the real end of an era.
Maybe hearsay but I was reading on the German auto press recently there will not be Cali version of the VW/Ford collaboration, which on paper would have been the obvious successor. This makes a lot of sense as the new MV Concept is VW's new 4 berth "campervan" and are even encouraging the T7 moniker. I couldn't envisage both being marketed together tbh. And as we all know there are some serious deficiencies with the MV's car-based MQB platform.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

Purchase price is one thing and of course you need to be able to finance one somehow but, unless you keep the van forever, the real cost of ownership is the depreciation plus the interest you pay. Our van is around £76k at 0% HP and will be one of the last T6.1 Calis made. We’re not the slightest bit worried it’s too expensive.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

I was in a restaurant the other night and I overheard a recently retired couple talking about how they always wanted a new camper with their lump sum, but the 'crazy prices' put them off and they would use the money to take more holidays abroad. Clearly we're the converted, but I wonder how many others will simply be put off.

 

[Corradobrit]

Clearly we're the converted, but I wonder how many others will simply be put off.

Well if they hear about the leaky bellows they certainly will be put off.

 

[sidepod]

The fact the prices are still rising suggests to me that VW marketroids have yet to bump into the ceiling.

Last thing the camping industry needs is more punters! Keep the increases coming.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

I gave this a lot of thought, as the prices do indeed seem daft.

But they are for everything, from staple foods through to hard assets.

My simple comparison. The list on my loaded small BMW PHEV family estate is north of £50k. And that’s just A to B transport.

I think an £15k premium for a loaded campervan that we can holiday in and will be part of family memories is cheap on a relative basis.

 

[Corradobrit]

I gave this a lot of thought, as the prices do indeed seem daft.

But they are for everything, from staple foods through to hard assets.

My simple comparison. The list on my loaded small BMW PHEV family estate is north of £50k. And that’s just A to B transport.

I think an £15k premium for a loaded campervan that we can holiday in and will be part of family memories is cheap on a relative basis.

And the residuals (currently) are excellent and I doubt that will change much with the MV Concept on the horizon. So money in the bank.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

And the residuals (currently) are excellent and I doubt that will change much with the MV Concept on the horizon. So money in the bank.

I do so hope you're right, but prices are all over the place. Someone I know took delivery of a new 911 Turbo S during Covid and flipped it on delivery and made a £25k profit over list. The current model is the last in line of the 911 as they're stopping ICE, so you could argue this will make them uber desirable. Yet currently there are several brand new ones on Autotrader with 20k off, I've never seen those sort of discounts before. Maybe there are parallels, maybe not, but I've no idea where things will be next year.

 

[ArunAlec]

I do so hope you're right, but prices are all over the place. Someone I know took delivery of a new 911 Turbo S during Covid and flipped it on delivery and made a £25k profit over list. The current model is the last in line of the 911 as they're stopping ICE, so you could argue this will make them uber desirable. Yet currently there are several brand new ones on Autotrader with 20k off, I've never seen those sort of discounts before. Maybe there are parallels, maybe not, but I've no idea where things will be next year.

There’s an extremely interesting (to me!) YouTube giving a pretty good explanation of the 911 price decline.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

@ArunAlec Thank you ever so much for posting, i've just watched it all and I found it fascinating even though it confirmed a lot of what I already knew. Just shows the truth in the old saying, the trend is your friend - except at the end!!!!

 

[Kayleigh]

I think it’s probably the other way round - so long as people are prepared to pay these steep prices (me included) then the price will continue to creep up. It’s a luxury good now.

I wouldn’t call my T6 Beach particularly luxurious, although I do have to pay the luxury car tax

 

[soulstyledevon]

I was in a restaurant the other night and I overheard a recently retired couple talking about how they always wanted a new camper with their lump sum, but the 'crazy prices' put them off and they would use the money to take more holidays abroad. Clearly we're the converted, but I wonder how many others will simply be put off.

There’s at least 100 Saga cruise ship travellers looking for a Campervan for their next holiday….

Spirit of Discovery: Cruise ship passengers 'feared for their lives' - BBC News

About 100 people were injured when the Saga ship was caught in a storm in the Bay of Biscay.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Kayleigh]

There’s at least 100 Saga cruise ship travellers looking for a Campervan for their next holiday….

Spirit of Discovery: Cruise ship passengers 'feared for their lives' - BBC News

About 100 people were injured when the Saga ship was caught in a storm in the Bay of Biscay.

www.bbc.co.uk

You’d better get in quick with your order

 

[bullibuskombi]

I remember baulking in 2017 at our first Ocean being nearly £50K. Didn’t think it could be sustained. And here we are. Trouble is, even a pretty ordinary car is pushing £40K these days.

Yes, averagevis just over £40K.
Luxury car tax applies to all cars over £40K list price, hasn't changes since Osborne introduced it.

 

[andyinluton]

I do so hope you're right, but prices are all over the place. Someone I know took delivery of a new 911 Turbo S during Covid and flipped it on delivery and made a £25k profit over list. The current model is the last in line of the 911 as they're stopping ICE, so you could argue this will make them uber desirable. Yet currently there are several brand new ones on Autotrader with 20k off, I've never seen those sort of discounts before. Maybe there are parallels, maybe not, but I've no idea where things will be next year.

Strangely the turbos have always done less well than other models come resale time.
The current £20k discounts are misleading as that just brings the the figure back down to the price it was when it was built & takes off the latest price rises.

Porsche have a lot of cancelled orders across the range, this time last year there was a 18 month wait for a 911, now there are new cancelled orders available & the wait is down to 6 months for factory orders.

The PCP monthly on a new 911 has doubled in the last 6 months!

If you want to see real price drops try buying a taycan, porsche have literally hundreds sitting at dealers with a further couple of hundred about to hit the forecourts. Think 40–50% drop after you’ve driven it off the forecourt.

 

[Elmo3]

The PCP monthly on a new 911 has doubled in the last 6 months!

Expensive new shiny things come easy when money is free. As Mr Buffett says, only when the tide goes out do you learn who has been swimming naked.

 

[Azteccamper]

Interesting chat but we all own a Cali. So we all appreciate their worth. I know plenty of people who admire my Cali, but say instantly say they could never afford one. By any stretch of the imagination they are a luxury item.

 

[Corradobrit]

Interesting chat but we all own a Cali.

Not everyone, some are just looking, others have returned them and then there are the turncoats and a pot stirrer.