First California 30000 Budget recomendations?

[Dan_Swe]

Hello

I am very new when it comes to Campervans but i am looking to buy my first one and looking for some advice.

I live in northern sweden and i will live in my California about 2 weeks every month including the winter.
And during spring and summer go to freecamp within europe and scandinavia.

I need some recomendations for what to look for and which models to avoid. My budget is around 30000€ so a used one with atleast 30000 mileages have to do.
but i read that some of these models can go above 60000mileage as long as they are well maintained.

What specific models would you recomend me within my budget?
I seen the T4 with popup roof 2004 or 2006 models looks intresting i wont use the popup roof during the winter and probably have a smaller heater plugged to 230v power outlet during winter months to get warm. Is this model with the 2.5 tdi a good one? Any flaws?

Im also intrested in the california exclusive models 1996 and around that age with the hardroof. They seem to be great and i like that i can stand in it because i am 190cm tall.
Also great that it has a bathroom but i really dont know how useful it will be for me so its not a must. But if the popup roof models have a portapotti aswell that will be good enough.

I also heard that T5 models are great but they are normally a little above my budget.

WHat i need is a california i can use as my daily car. To Live in during work 2 weeks every month all year around.

Drive around europe 2 months a year.
And weekly roadtrips every month.

I need 230v outlet so i can work with my computer. And connect a smaller heater at winter. I guess all these models have it?

I will stay under an open carport during winter but drive it to and from work in winter roads so maybe 4motion is a must? Or are 2wd reliable at winter aswell?

WHat mileage is okey for my price range? And what should i look for? Watch out for? And stay away from?

What are some common faults with models within my pricerange?
Should i look for automatic or manuel? Is DSG reliable?
Is 4motion a must?
Are the models without ABS reliable enough?
Do they have problems with rust? Leakage from softroof?

How much money in service maintance do i need to calculate for within the first years if i find a model with around 35000milage but good service on papers?

Which engines are the greatest? I Heard T4 2.5Tdi is one of the greatest and better then petrol models?

If you have any other tips or recomendations im glad to hear it.


/Dan

 

[Dan_Swe]

Small correction.
I dont know if you are in Us or Uk or using metric system or not but when i write "30000 mileages" it correspondes to 300 000km 30 000 mile and not uk mileage.

And currency mentioned is 30 000€

Sorry about that

 

[KevH]

Hello

I am very new when it comes to Campervans but i am looking to buy my first one and looking for some advice.

I live in northern sweden and i will live in my California about 2 weeks every month including the winter.
And during spring and summer go to freecamp within europe and scandinavia.

I need some recomendations for what to look for and which models to avoid. My budget is around 30000€ so a used one with atleast 30000 mileages have to do.
but i read that some of these models can go above 60000mileage as long as they are well maintained.

What specific models would you recomend me within my budget?
I seen the T4 with popup roof 2004 or 2006 models looks intresting i wont use the popup roof during the winter and probably have a smaller heater plugged to 230v power outlet during winter months to get warm. Is this model with the 2.5 tdi a good one? Any flaws?

Im also intrested in the california exclusive models 1996 and around that age with the hardroof. They seem to be great and i like that i can stand in it because i am 190cm tall.
Also great that it has a bathroom but i really dont know how useful it will be for me so its not a must. But if the popup roof models have a portapotti aswell that will be good enough.

I also heard that T5 models are great but they are normally a little above my budget.

WHat i need is a california i can use as my daily car. To Live in during work 2 weeks every month all year around.

Drive around europe 2 months a year.
And weekly roadtrips every month.

I need 230v outlet so i can work with my computer. And connect a smaller heater at winter. I guess all these models have it?

I will stay under an open carport during winter but drive it to and from work in winter roads so maybe 4motion is a must? Or are 2wd reliable at winter aswell?

WHat mileage is okey for my price range? And what should i look for? Watch out for? And stay away from?

What are some common faults with models within my pricerange?
Should i look for automatic or manuel? Is DSG reliable?
Is 4motion a must?
Are the models without ABS reliable enough?
Do they have problems with rust? Leakage from softroof?

How much money in service maintance do i need to calculate for within the first years if i find a model with around 35000milage but good service on papers?

Which engines are the greatest? I Heard T4 2.5Tdi is one of the greatest and better then petrol models?

If you have any other tips or recomendations im glad to hear it.


/Dan

Hi Dan
I am no expert (which is why I joined this forum) however I suspect that you have posed far too many questions and variables.
Personally I would try doing a search of the forum for specific issues or models, to get a feel for what to avoid.
Or look at a few vans and ask specific questions about that model / year.
I hate to see questions go unanswered and thought this might help.
Good luck in your search.

 

[Dan_Swe]

Hey. Thanks you are a good human

Yes i guess i am not really a forum person so i guess i need to work on that. To much questions and bad sentences. And i dont have social media so that makes it even worse trying to find some answers.

I Googled alot to try to narrow things down and even used AI to try to get answers ( that didnt make things brighter for me)
And there is not many vans in my country to look for or try the closest ones to my city are 900km away

Atleast i narrowed things down to the 2.5TDI T4 later models or the 1998.99 exclusive model with hardroof And the 2.0TDI T5 later model after 2010 without oil issues. Thats what AI told me were the best models So i guess thats where i be headed.

Will try to find those models to look for then take a 12 hour trip south and hope i find my dream van.

Thanks for your answer.
I appreciate it

 

[Viktorgeorge]

Hi Dan
I am no expert (which is why I joined this forum) however I suspect that you have posed far too many questions and variables.
Personally I would try doing a search of the forum for specific issues or models, to get a feel for what to avoid.
Or look at a few vans and ask specific questions about that model / year.
I hate to see questions go unanswered and thought this might help.
Good luck in your search.

Hello Dan, I agree with all @KevH has said and furthermore suggest you pay to become a VIP (or Lifetime) member: so that you can optimise the search and resources feature.

I wish you well with your search and get great pleasure from my own California as do other members, clearly, from their posts. However you need to do your own research on this forum to optimise your knowledge and decisions.

 

[Dan_Swe]

Hello Dan, I agree with all @KevH has said and furthermore suggest you pay to become a VIP (or Lifetime) member: so that you can optimise the search and resources feature.

I wish you well with your search and get great pleasure from my own California as do other members, clearly, from their posts. However you need to do your own research on this forum to optimise your knowledge and decisions.

Thanks friend aswell

I will look into it.

I appreciate your answer

 

[SanderR72]

Although you are on a budget, I would take the following into account:

- older models (before the T5.2, the facelift from 2010-2015) may have higher running cost, the 2.5 TDI can be notorious from what I found during my research

- you said you would visit Europe, depending on where that is, keep in the environmental rules into account. Euro4 diesel is the least you need, Euro5 even better as long as that it still allowed if you happen to drive into cities