6.1 2 day hire - initially disappointed, but now ordered!

[PhilR]

@PhilR, this might be a bit cheeky, but I think the van we’re currently looking to sell...

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/classi...bus/surrey/vehicles-for-sale-other-campervans

might tick a lot of your boxes. When we decided in 2018 that we wanted to get a campervan, the T6 Cali Ocean was top of our shopping list, however a visit to the Motorhome & Caravan Show opened our eyes to the work of the best converters and that is the route we opted for, we very nearly chose Vanworx (lauded by ABAB) but considered Uberbus’s work marginally superior - slightly better cabinet quality and a lower bed/seat that no other converter offered, which not only slides but can be raised at the back to turn into a chaise-longue. We ended up paying slightly more for it than had we chosen a Cali, but got a better specced van. As for comments about the ride, it’s very refined on the motorway, admittedly it’s fairly harsh over speed bumps and potholes, however this would be improved by reverting to standard wheels and springs, however much ours improve the looks.

We’ve decided to bite the bullet on the depreciation it’s suffered in little more than a year, as we decided that the desire for more space, an on-board washroom and a semi-permanent bed, outweighed all the positives our van offered, so we’re shortly picking up a 5.4m Ducato PVC by Globecar. As a nearly-new purchase it’s an awful lot cheaper than a new Cali, and we’ve seen nothing in the T6.1 that’s an improvement over the T6. Admittedly Surrey might be a bit far away for you but used vans are very thin on the ground at the moment.

Thanks, but at £55k this is now my dilemna - is this a better option than a brand new Coast??? Your van is lovely by the way, I'm just stating facts about the value of used vans at the moment, which is good for you!

 

[PhilR]

@PhilR did you camp in it?

Yes! On the windiest night of the year though, so we couldn't sleep up top. I've no doubt this has had a bearing on our thought process. A beautiful summers evening with the awning out, table & chairs, glass of cold beer and a sleep up top would possibly have helped counteract some of the disappointments with the van, and so would a better maintained van! The Gods were against us but I am fighting back after some thinking time!

 

[PhilR]

The conclusion we came to was it is a HUGE amount of cash from our savings. However if it doesn't work out for us then we will sell it and, unless the economy tanks, we will lose nothing (very little) in the next 12-24 months.

I bought a new A6 five years ago. List was £45k, paid £36k. I might get £12-13k right now.

After having used our van every day for the last 2-3 weeks I doubt it is going back! Flys along the Autoroute, and we only have the 150ps. Good luck whatever you decide.

Cheers, that is encouraging reading

 

[Sweetchilli]

Using man maths Californias don't actually cost anything.

If I didn't have one I would need a sensible car, say a BMW 3 series, depreciation on the last one of those I had was about £6k a year, depreciation on our cali using the worst trade in offer verses what I paid for it comes in at £1700 a year, the cali therefore has saved me £4,300 a year for the last 6 years on that alone.

If we then factor in 4 of us camping say 20 nights per year at £30 per night V £200 for 2x hotel rooms thats another £3,400 a year saved.

I haven't yet put a price on the fun & enjoyment that it has brought, highlights include getting changed out of a freezing cold wet suit in the beach carpark in a warm van with the kettle on.
Playing a family game of cards waiting for the tide to go out at our favourite Modbury beach, the sheer convenience of having a fridge with cold drinks on a hot day when stuck in a traffic jam, I could go on & on.

Then there is the convenience - used as a van for moving kids to Uni. A mobile office.

A car plus hotels cant replace it, A big white motorhome won't go the same places.

You either get it or you don't.

It is my suggestion then that the £70k is actually irrelevant.

Using man maths Californias don't actually cost anything.

If I didn't have one I would need a sensible car, say a BMW 3 series, depreciation on the last one of those I had was about £6k a year, depreciation on our cali using the worst trade in offer verses what I paid for it comes in at £1700 a year, the cali therefore has saved me £4,300 a year for the last 6 years on that alone.

If we then factor in 4 of us camping say 20 nights per year at £30 per night V £200 for 2x hotel rooms thats another £3,400 a year saved.

I haven't yet put a price on the fun & enjoyment that it has brought, highlights include getting changed out of a freezing cold wet suit in the beach carpark in a warm van with the kettle on.
Playing a family game of cards waiting for the tide to go out at our favourite Modbury beach, the sheer convenience of having a fridge with cold drinks on a hot day when stuck in a traffic jam, I could go on & on.

Then there is the convenience - used as a van for moving kids to Uni. A mobile office.

A car plus hotels cant replace it, A big white motorhome won't go the same places.

You either get it or you don't.

It is my suggestion then that the £70k is actually irrelevant.

Excellent Man Maths.

 

[subthree]

Cheers, that is encouraging reading

Our A6 is a 3 litre V6, with 4WD. Progress is effortless.

I was really concerned that a 2 litre 150ps in a 2.5 tonne van would be inadequate. It is not. It is a van, anyone who tries to tell me it is a "like a car", well it just isn't. The 6.1 has taken a little getting used to. In roundabouts you need to be gentle! But otherwise the DSG skips through the gears and the 150ps is perfectly adequate. Would I like 199? Sure I would but we each have a spending limit. The seats, rubbish compared to my A6 or my wife's A3, but not a lot I can do.

Motorhome, no thanks, too big and slow for me. So many fab French beaches where 2m height limit at car park would stop a MH. The Cali is small, but the benefits (for us) outweigh the size. Good luck!

 

[Cloud Dodger]

Interesting topic and replies. I think the California is worth the money BUT both parties have to be in agreement over forking out such a large sum of money because it could become a blame game if things went pear shaped.

I 'loved' our Cali and my wife 'liked' it. Move on 6 months and we now have our Eriba, and our views have changed slightly. The wife 'loves' it and I like it.

We had an Autotrail motorhome a few years ago and so have owned the main 3 options. Camper, Motorhome and now a Tourer (currently sat in it at Kirkby Stephen as I type this).

Each type has its pro's and cons and each one is a compromise in some way.

Good luck, whatever you choose I am sure it will be great....

 

[Katie T]

Definitely hire one again. First time I hired one I hated it. It was raining and I didn’t know where to put anything. Second time it was nice weather and I learned more how to use it in terms of where things should go etc, third time I started to know what I was doing and I was totally sold. I bought a second hand one over 12 months ago now and have never regretted it for a second.

 

[Elmo3]

However, due to used values a new Coast is certainly a consideration....

Keep a Coast spec simple otherwise you’ll drift towards Ocean money and defeat the object! There really aren’t a lot of extras you actually need.

 

[The Poets]

You could just not buy a new one, spend £40-45k and get a Cali that’s just as good only 4-5 years old....

 

[Jay20cali]

We have owned 5 California’s our latest is a 6.1 ocean and in my opinion it’s by far the nicest California we have owned to date .
I have had all T versions T5 ,5.1,T6 now a 6.1 a few people have said about niggles with the 6.1 but we have had nothing to report
Just an update on the infotainment system due to we connect?
Everything works perfectly and well,the seats are super comfortable (art velour) .
I’m quite a fussy person and spending 60/70k you can afford to be fussy, had many conversions too so I’m definitely not a cali snob, but if your going down the conversion route there’s ones like reimo and Westfalia that do an outstanding job and are tried and tested there’s also some very bad ones .
I think you need to do some research and see them in the flesh ....if money isn’t the issue you will probably end up back at a California.
The factory finish is beautiful.
I’m not being biased because we actually have a crafter on order (the wife wants a toilet) but the California or Westfalia or reimo definitely get the thumbs up from me...

 

[PhilR]

Keep a Coast spec simple otherwise you’ll drift towards Ocean money and defeat the object! There really aren’t a lot of extras you actually need.

Yeah that’s what I’m thinking. Had a little play with the configurator and added about £3k of extras, total of £58k. Hopefully with a decent discount it would be around £52-53k. And still do pretty much the same as a £70k Ocean?

 

[PhilR]

We have owned 5 California’s our latest is a 6.1 ocean and in my opinion it’s by far the nicest California we have owned to date .
I have had all T versions T5 ,5.1,T6 now a 6.1 a few people have said about niggles with the 6.1 but we have had nothing to report
Just an update on the infotainment system due to we connect?
Everything works perfectly and well,the seats are super comfortable (art velour) .
I’m quite a fussy person and spending 60/70k you can afford to be fussy, had many conversions too so I’m definitely not a cali snob, but if your going down the conversion route there’s ones like reimo and Westfalia that do an outstanding job and are tried and tested there’s also some very bad ones .
I think you need to do some research and see them in the flesh ....if money isn’t the issue you will probably end up back at a California.
The factory finish is beautiful.
I’m not being biased because we actually have a crafter on order (the wife wants a toilet) but the California or Westfalia or reimo definitely get the thumbs up from me...

That’s really interesting from someone who is definitely in a position and has the experience to offer such advice, thanks. I should have probably hired a conversion first, at least that way I’d have had something to compare the Cali to.
Money is an issue, but we had worked out the finances previously and could have afforded the Ocean, albeit pushing the budget to its max, so a £53k Coast or £40/45k on a used/conversion T6 would obviously work too. Either way I’d hope residuals would be decent?

 

[Calimili]

Yeah that’s what I’m thinking. Had a little play with the configurator and added about £3k of extras, total of £58k. Hopefully with a decent discount it would be around £52-53k. And still do pretty much the same as a £70k Ocean?

Something is wrong. An Ocean costs 8K more than a Coast, including some extras that you have to pay on top on a Coast. How did you arrive to a difference of (70-53=) 17 grand ??

 

[Elmo3]

Hopefully with a decent discount it would be around £52-53k. And still do pretty much the same as a £70k Ocean?

Better IMHO. You‘ll get exactly the same level of enjoyment and experience and have the thick end of 20 grand in your pocket.

 

[Calimili]

The

Better IMHO. You‘ll get exactly the same level of enjoyment and experience and have the thick end of 20 grand in your pocket.

The Ocean costs 8k more than a Coast and includes extras that you need to pay on top on a Coast.

 

[Elmo3]

The

The Ocean costs 8k more than a Coast and includes extras that you need to pay on top on a Coast.

‘Need’ is a matter of opinion!

 

[Calimili]

‘Need’ is a matter of opinion!

correct, but even with zero extras, it still is 8k difference not 20k

 

[HectorPascal]

I agree that there is a lot about the Cali that is well below what we might expect from VW after decades of development. They need some serious competition to concentrate their minds. They have got most of it right though and the vehicle manages to deeply endear itself to its owners who know that it will stand the test of time and deliver some great times and plenty of smiles. It has 'soul' and for that we find it easy to forgive the sort of things you highlight.

 

[Paxtonend]

Using man maths Californias don't actually cost anything.

If I didn't have one I would need a sensible car, say a BMW 3 series, depreciation on the last one of those I had was about £6k a year, depreciation on our cali using the worst trade in offer verses what I paid for it comes in at £1700 a year, the cali therefore has saved me £4,300 a year for the last 6 years on that alone.

If we then factor in 4 of us camping say 20 nights per year at £30 per night V £200 for 2x hotel rooms thats another £3,400 a year saved.

I haven't yet put a price on the fun & enjoyment that it has brought, highlights include getting changed out of a freezing cold wet suit in the beach carpark in a warm van with the kettle on.
Playing a family game of cards waiting for the tide to go out at our favourite Modbury beach, the sheer convenience of having a fridge with cold drinks on a hot day when stuck in a traffic jam, I could go on & on.

Then there is the convenience - used as a van for moving kids to Uni. A mobile office.

A car plus hotels cant replace it, A big white motorhome won't go the same places.

You either get it or you don't.

It is my suggestion then that the £70k is actually irrelevant.

Great response and I totally agree. We are awiting delivery of our 73k Cali. Cant wait.

 

[tim downes]

Hopefully I won't upset too many people on here, but I'm going to share my honest review.....

So, we just spent £270 on hiring a 6.1 Ocean and it has turned out to be money well spent, as we are now not going to have to spend almost £70k on a new one. Why?....

Well, as fantastic as these vehicles are, we weren't overly impressed. Whilst it is great at what it does, as in enabling camping, cooking etc, as a daily driver it didn't do it for us. For a start I just could not get on with the driving position - the seat felt like it was tipping/tilting me forwards ever so slightly and there's no adjustment for the seat base angle. In fact, the only adjustment on the seat is a basic winding handle for the backrest and a fore/aft adjustment. A lumbar adjuster is also there, at least that's what I think it was but you could hardly tell. I think this is really poor on such an expensive vehicle. I would gladly pay extra for additional/electric seat adjustments, but they aren't available as far as I'm aware.
The build quality is questionable too - the side of the drivers seat had a plastic cover which fell off (I used a Torx driver to fix it back on myself), there is a trim piece above the sliding door and this was coming loose, preventing the door window blind fully closing, the AC controls were falling into the dash when pressed, and the rear luggage area cover kept coming off the side locator "pins" - all this on a July 2020 van with just 3000 miles!

Other things putting us off the 6.1 were - seat upholstery marks far too easily, the window blinds felt very cheap and flimsy, the ride was very harsh over poor surfaces which I found surprising as it was only on 17" wheels, the tailgate is awkward to close, the pop-up roof is a bit of a pain to get the canvas to stay out of the way of the sliding roof cover (probably user error though), the passenger seat, as well as the very limited adjustments, does not have a great deal of legroom and the glovebox in front is tiny (probably not just a 6.1 issue), the lag pulling away is not too bad but the "S" mode isn't an option any more sadly, the Discover Pro is a fingerprint magnet, also it is difficult to see/operate from the passenger seat.

I really don't want this post to be all negative, there are loads of things about it that are brilliant, but if we were going to spend this much money it needs to be better. Now I can understand some of the negative comments I've seen on YouTube videos, saying that they are overpriced. I wanted to not believe that, but after I posted on a Facebook group about the rough ride, a few people said to me "what do you expect, it's a van" - yes it is, but a blooming' expensive one! Too expensive for what it is in our opinion.

So, after thinking about this for weeks, reading all the reviews and posts on here, watching all the (positive) YouTube videos, we are now weighing up our options. We're guilty of getting sucked into the exciting world of van life - I guess the YouTube videos are always going to be positive when they are from actual owners. The only negative one I saw was from Matt Watson on one of those car review channels and he wasn't impressed, but we just thought he didn't get the whole point....maybe he didn't, but we wanted to find out for ourselves.

So, we could get an older one or a conversion, but we're also thinking of not bothering at all and hiring one when we want to do a trip. The main use of the vehicle would be going back and forth to Wales from the Midlands, as we have a place there. So 90% of the usage would be doing that. Yes it would be fabulous for days out and the odd overnight stay, but that's not going to be a common thing. We also fancy touring Europe for a couple of weeks each year, but for that I'd be tempted to hire a full size motorhome maybe.

Apologies once again for being rather negative, I know you are all Cali fans (obviously). Maybe it's just the 6.1 that's the issue, what with it's price, long lead times, possible 10% tax issue.......

Thanks for all the information and replies to my previous questions on here, you have all been a great help, especially those that told me to hire before I buy - excellent advice!!

You make some very interesting points and many I can recall thinking myself when I first drove my T6 - I’m not sure if this will help you but after a year or so I found myself not wanting to drive anything else - in fact I sold my 1 year old Range Rover vogue because I was not using it - if however you are a sports car driver then maybe the California is never for you - you could always tow a caravan behind a Ferrari ?

 

[Felix]

Thanks, but at £55k this is now my dilemna - is this a better option than a brand new Coast??? Your van is lovely by the way, I'm just stating facts about the value of used vans at the moment, which is good for you!

It’s a nice dilemma to have . While the Coast is a nice addition to the range I’d see it more as a competitor for mid-range conversions, whereas for us, aspects of the conversion such as solar panel, inverter, underslung LPG and water tanks, Froli springs on the bed, and heated seats and LEDs on the base van were important to us. We’ll miss a few of these things on our new van but that’s life...

 

[Hayde]

Thanks. Can’t stop thinking about it and what to do. So many options. Maybe buy a much cheaper one, try it for a couple of years and if it doesn’t work, sell it on again at not much loss? I don’t know. Very confused.

Hi Phil,

We did the same and hired an Ocean for a long weekend, we were convinced that was what we wanted to buy. However, just the same as you we were disappointed with some of the build quality but also how cramped the ocean felt for the two of us and our two little children. In the end we decided we still wanted a Cali but opted for a beach at nearly half the price. There are a number of things which I feel could be better: difficult to turn driver's seat, a side door that opens on the traffic side of the van...not great for little children, a spare wheel primed for theft, etc. But in the 9 months we’ve had the van its proved invaluable...windsurfing van, tip runs, camping weekends (with awning), mobile office during Covid, taking all our kit and grandad to a holiday cottage in comfort, transporting a bunk bed, and so on.

From what you say in your initial post it sounds like an ocean maybe an expensive purchase that provides a lot of functionality you won't get full use of. When we initially looked at the Californias we wondered why anyone would buy a beach, I can happily say my view has 100% reversed. The only issue is that they are no longer available brand new in the UK so you'd have to buy in Ireland or mainland Europe, alternatively you could get a nearly new at home and save even more money.

I'm sorry about some of the less charming responses on the forum...maybe they're trying to justify their £70k purchase...each to their own.

Good luck with your search

 

[PhilR]

Something is wrong. An Ocean costs 8K more than a Coast, including some extras that you have to pay on top on a Coast. How did you arrive to a difference of (70-53=) 17 grand ??

Yes I get your confusion - originally we were looking at a fully loaded Ocean, 199 + 4MO, so roughly £70k with discount. Obviously more of a compromise going for a Coast, but that’s the whole point of considering that option, as it is then a big difference in cost but not in actual usability and enjoyment. It could be that option or forgetting it altogether, or maybe going down the conversion route but as much as I found a few faults with the 6.1, I still think it looks a better buy if we go for the Coast. I would feel a bit happier with any niggles at £53k rather than £70k. Hope that all makes sense?!!!

 

[PhilR]

Better IMHO. You‘ll get exactly the same level of enjoyment and experience and have the thick end of 20 grand in your pocket.

Exactly. That’s what I just tried to explain in my previous post. It’s certainly an interesting option...

 

[PhilR]

You make some very interesting points and many I can recall thinking myself when I first drove my T6 - I’m not sure if this will help you but after a year or so I found myself not wanting to drive anything else - in fact I sold my 1 year old Range Rover vogue because I was not using it - if however you are a sports car driver then maybe the California is never for you - you could always tow a caravan behind a Ferrari ?

Ha ha, well we have an old BMW 1 Series 3.0 petrol convertible for our sports car fun, and I’ve had a few sports cars over the years, but now I’ve turned 50 I want to be able to stop and have a brew and a nap! Never had a Range Rover and always wanted one. If we don’t go for a Cali that is always an option but I’m pushing hard for the Cali still. The RR would be completely different regarding depreciation!!! So I read your thoughts with interest, thanks!