Buying T7 California Beach Camper

[FamCamping]

Hello all,

I am lurking here for a while, so it is nice to meet you all ,

Me and my family want to buy T7 Beach, it looks like it will be perfect for our (2+2 young kids) needs,

We are looking to add below:
- Auxiliary heater (I really don’t know the diference between this one and the remote controlled one ‍)
- 3 zone climatronic
- tow bar
- basic parking assistance (sensors + rear view camera)
- power tailgate

I checked the discounts on Drive the Deal, but it looks like discounts are not great at the moment, it is 5% for now. Hence my question, do you think it will be possible to get similar / better deal directly from dealer?

We will test drive tomorrow in Bristol, let us know if you know something about them

Any help is much appreciated,

Thank you,
Alicia

 

[Viktorgeorge]

... I checked the discounts on Drive the Deal, but it looks like discounts are not great at the moment, it is 5% for now. Hence my question, do you think it will be possible to get similar / better deal directly from dealer?

You could try Breeze Poole and Eurovans Crawley - and tell each that you are getting a price from the other and Bristol, of course.

 

[dspuk]

A dealer will usually match DTD. They used to be serviced by Eurovans who were happy to match either way. If it is the same on a T7 I believe the remote heating just sets off the diesel webasto which preheats your interior. An Auxiliary preheats your engine which gives you a warmer engine on start and warm air from the vents to demist and preheat better. We have always found the remote one enough as we don’t live in Canada.

 

[omelius]

Regarding the auxiliary heater, the version with remote control allows you to activate it via a remote radio key or a mobile app using mobile data, even when you're not inside the vehicle. Without remote control, you can only operate it from within the car itself.

Also, if you're opting for both basic parking and a tow bar, that setup falls under "Parking Pro” which has an addition for Trailer Assist.

As for discounts, I managed to secure about 7% for PHEV Ocean from an official seller, so it might be worth negotiating directly with a dealer to see if you can get a better deal than Drive the Deal's current 5%. You never know—timing and a bit of persistence can sometimes work in your favor!

 

[dspuk]

Regarding the auxiliary heater, the version with remote control allows you to activate it via a remote radio key or a mobile app using mobile data, even when you're not inside the vehicle. Without remote control, you can only operate it from within the car itself.

Also, if you're opting for both basic parking and a tow bar, that setup falls under "Parking Pro” which has an addition for Trailer Assist.

As for discounts, I managed to secure about 7% for PHEV Ocean from an official seller, so it might be worth negotiating directly with a dealer to see if you can get a better deal than Drive the Deal's current 5%. You never know—timing and a bit of persistence can sometimes work in your favor!

On the auxiliary I’m pretty sure it’s a different thing to the remote activation. We have remote heater activation on our 6.1 but that is not the same as an auxiliary heater which is a different bit of kit, and we don’t have.

The remote just kicks off the diesel heater. An Auxiliary (which can also be remote activated) actually preheats your coolant and engine block. Very common in Canada.

There was a whole thread a while ago with a chap that just could not get his head around it which got quite heated.

Prepared to be wrong.

 

[FamCamping]

Regarding the auxiliary heater, the version with remote control allows you to activate it via a remote radio key or a mobile app using mobile data, even when you're not inside the vehicle. Without remote control, you can only operate it from within the car itself.

Also, if you're opting for both basic parking and a tow bar, that setup falls under "Parking Pro” which has an addition for Trailer Assist.

As for discounts, I managed to secure about 7% for PHEV Ocean from an official seller, so it might be worth negotiating directly with a dealer to see if you can get a better deal than Drive the Deal's current 5%. You never know—timing and a bit of persistence can sometimes work in your favor!

Thank you for the tip about option with Trailer Assist, this is priced better ,
Any advice on what to look for, please share all the knowledge
We are getting excited, this will be our first campervan
Used for some daily driving and weekend, trips and fun with family

 

[omelius]

On the auxiliary I’m pretty sure it’s a different thing to the remote activation. We have remote heater activation on our 6.1 but that is not the same as an auxiliary heater which is a different bit of kit, and we don’t have.

The remote just kicks off the diesel heater. An Auxiliary (which can also be remote activated) actually preheats your coolant and engine block. Very common in Canada.

There was a whole thread a while ago with a chap that just could not get his head around it which got quite heated.

Prepared to be wrong.

 

[omelius]

Ok, i’ve talked about 7VB(7VC) vs 7VH. So if you mean 7VL, it is for front glass deicing and cabin only.

 

[Jo B]

Hi, I'm new here, so hello everyone.

Having just purchased a new T7 Cali I have spent weeks trying to understand what you get as standard and what you need to pay for with each model ... I found the heater descriptions very confusing plus the current brochure and the VW configurator are inconsistent.... Here's what I found but please, please, double check with the dealer:

The current brochure says (page 15 under camping equipment) that the 'Fuel-fired parking heater and fuel-powered auxiliary heater' comes as standard on the beach (and therefore would be standard on coast and ocean) but on page 31 (camping options) and if you go on the VW 'build my van' configurator the 'Aux Heater' and the 'programmable parking heater' are chargeable extras for both the beach and the coast. I queried this with my dealer, they went back to VW and who apparently confirmed the programmable heater was standard on all models, which the dealer said was contrary to what they had been led to believe origianlly.

I went for the ocean in the end, for a number of reasons but one of them was, due to this confusion with the heater, I didn't want to risk ending up with a van than didn't have a parking/camping heater.

I did find a really helpful You Tube video by Campervan Time that explained the Cali heaters

I went with a dealer (Sinclair Swansea) in the end but I did shop around the dealers to find one I felt comfortable and confident with and didn't keep hassling me with the hard sell.

 

[FamCamping]

Hi, I'm new here, so hello everyone.

Having just purchased a new T7 Cali I have spent weeks trying to understand what you get as standard and what you need to pay for with each model ... I found the heater descriptions very confusing plus the current brochure and the VW configurator are inconsistent.... Here's what I found but please, please, double check with the dealer:

The current brochure says (page 15 under camping equipment) that the 'Fuel-fired parking heater and fuel-powered auxiliary heater' comes as standard on the beach (and therefore would be standard on coast and ocean) but on page 31 (camping options) and if you go on the VW 'build my van' configurator the 'Aux Heater' and the 'programmable parking heater' are chargeable extras for both the beach and the coast. I queried this with my dealer, they went back to VW and who apparently confirmed the programmable heater was standard on all models, which the dealer said was contrary to what they had been led to believe origianlly.

I went for the ocean in the end, for a number of reasons but one of them was, due to this confusion with the heater, I didn't want to risk ending up with a van than didn't have a parking/camping heater.

I did find a really helpful You Tube video by Campervan Time that explained the Cali heaters

I went with a dealer (Sinclair Swansea) in the end but I did shop around the dealers to find one I felt comfortable and confident with and didn't keep hassling me with the hard sell.

Thank you so much for your reply, it is really confusing to choose options as they are inconsistent. Also I just need to say, I am super disappointed with Bristol dealer, they knew nothing, only what is on the configurator, which of course at this stage I know by heart. Also they offered 0 discount, so I will try to shop around still, but probably end up with Drive the Deal. Swansea is not that far, I will give them a call .
Apart from bad experience with the lack of information, I really liked how T7 drives and we are sure we want one

 

[Paul Norris]

Picked up our T7 ocean from breeze today and amazing team with great help and support

 

[Melyn]

Thank you for the tip about option with Trailer Assist, this is priced better ,
Any advice on what to look for, please share all the knowledge
We are getting excited, this will be our first campervan
Used for some daily driving and weekend, trips and fun with family

100% go for the towbar factory fitted if you are even contemplating it in the future.

Currently I’m stuck two months in on the ocean with no towbar as there’s no after market that can be coded properly without a tonne of errors

 

[thatsnotmynaim]

The drive the deal price is a little confusing as it includes the VW deposits contribution £2000 discount as if buying by PCP 5.9%, they say if you pay cash you loose this but instead get £4500 so £2500 better off, but if you pay cash at a dealer you actually get £4000 + vat, so £4800 off VW. A few dealers I got quotes from got to virtually the same price as DTD, just made up of less dealer discount and slightly more VW discount. Have ordered one, hopefully delivered to me next week, have gone from T6.1 Ocean to T7 Beach. Am nervous around reduced boot space due to none removable kitchenette.

 

[FamCamping]

The drive the deal price is a little confusing as it includes the VW deposits contribution £2000 discount as if buying by PCP 5.9%, they say if you pay cash you loose this but instead get £4500 so £2500 better off, but if you pay cash at a dealer you actually get £4000 + vat, so £4800 off VW. A few dealers I got quotes from got to virtually the same price as DTD, just made up of less dealer discount and slightly more VW discount. Have ordered one, hopefully delivered to me next week, have gone from T6.1 Ocean to T7 Beach. Am nervous around reduced boot space due to none removable kitchenette.

Did you order one and waited for build, or got a stock one?
Also, did you spec it with additional heater? The heating options are very confusing, the brochure says: „Fuel-Fired Parking Heater and Fuel-Powered Auxiliary Heater” are standard and then there is auxiliary heater as option, and another one with remote controls.

Overall I am sure you will love it, it looks like a really nice camper, in my view

 

[thatsnotmynaim]

Ordered one from stock, it came with the cheaper aux heater. I was confused as to what this is over the one listed as standard on the beach. I think someone said that perhaps the brochure may be wrong and it doesn't come with one standard. From what I can tell the aux one has no rf remote and can only run for 3 hours I think where as the parking one can run continously.

 

[Californication69]

Picked up our T7 ocean from breeze today and amazing team with great help and support

Who did you do the deal with at Breeze ?
And where are the pictures ?
What colour did you go with ?

 

[Californication69]

The drive the deal price is a little confusing as it includes the VW deposits contribution £2000 discount as if buying by PCP 5.9%, they say if you pay cash you loose this but instead get £4500 so £2500 better off, but if you pay cash at a dealer you actually get £4000 + vat, so £4800 off VW. A few dealers I got quotes from got to virtually the same price as DTD, just made up of less dealer discount and slightly more VW discount. Have ordered one, hopefully delivered to me next week, have gone from T6.1 Ocean to T7 Beach. Am nervous around reduced boot space due to none removable kitchenette.

What colour have you gone for ?
I’m thinking about the one below the Ocean now, as I only kept a load of tat in the cupboards !

 

[Kayleigh]

Hello all,

I am lurking here for a while, so it is nice to meet you all ,

Me and my family want to buy T7 Beach, it looks like it will be perfect for our (2+2 young kids) needs,

We are looking to add below:
- Auxiliary heater (I really don’t know the diference between this one and the remote controlled one ‍)
- 3 zone climatronic
- tow bar
- basic parking assistance (sensors + rear view camera)
- power tailgate

I checked the discounts on Drive the Deal, but it looks like discounts are not great at the moment, it is 5% for now. Hence my question, do you think it will be possible to get similar / better deal directly from dealer?

We will test drive tomorrow in Bristol, let us know if you know something about them

Any help is much appreciated,

Thank you,
Alicia

Are you happy with how the lower bed works in the new Beach?

 

[FamCamping]

Are you happy with how the lower bed works in the new Beach?

Yeah, we will take the seat out when going camping, so there will be more space, and when using as daily driver, I still can have 5 people in the car. I am actually thinking, if it will be possible to add one more seat, as this would be a great option for me. I know with 6.1 you could just inform DVLA and add seat. Wonder if this will be possible now as well

 

[WelshGas]

Yeah, we will take the seat out when going camping, so there will be more space, and when using as daily driver, I still can have 5 people in the car. I am actually thinking, if it will be possible to add one more seat, as this would be a great option for me. I know with 6.1 you could just inform DVLA and add seat. Wonder if this will be possible now as well

The equivilent Multivan can have 7 seats, even the SWB that I have.

 

[Kayleigh]

Yeah, we will take the seat out when going camping, so there will be more space, and when using as daily driver, I still can have 5 people in the car. I am actually thinking, if it will be possible to add one more seat, as this would be a great option for me. I know with 6.1 you could just inform DVLA and add seat. Wonder if this will be possible now as well

DVLA have my 4-seater T6 Beach registered as 7 seats even though I would need to take everything out to make that work. It may already come registered for 7.

 

[Paul Norris]

Who did you do the deal with at Breeze ?
And where are the pictures ?
What colour did you go with ?

Tyler was the person that I was dealing with at breeze. He was really helpful. Went for a red option which looks really good. Sorry no pictures yeah I’m gonna work on that not that IT savvy

 

[Californication69]

Tyler was the person that I was dealing with at breeze. He was really helpful. Went for a red option which looks really good. Sorry no pictures yeah I’m gonna work on that not that IT savvy

Spoke with Tyler this arvo, no discount available whatsoever ever from Breeze.

 

[Paul Norris]

Spoke with Tyler this arvo, no discount available whatsoever ever from Breeze.

No, there wasn’t any discount when I purchase mine either, but I think it is the quality of service that you get for them that is worth it. really happy with the van, just fitting out with cupboards and kit that I need for our first trip. my wife is disabled and it was really great that they helped and supported to make sure the buggy will fit in the back and that we still had space for our kit. Can’t wait to get out and about

 

[Californication69]

No, there wasn’t any discount when I purchase mine either, but I think it is the quality of service that you get for them that is worth it. really happy with the van, just fitting out with cupboards and kit that I need for our first trip. my wife is disabled and it was really great that they helped and supported to make sure the buggy will fit in the back and that we still had space for our kit. Can’t wait to get out and about

Good stuff, yes it’s good having them as your local, they are most probs the best dealer in the whole country. What colour do you have ?