B
Bjohnson
VIP Member
- Messages
- 427
- Location
- Bath
So our new Cali should be built by now, expecting it to arrive in the next 3-4 weeks time.
Having scoured the brochures and forum to order our Cali we then had to scour everything again to decide which accessories we want and more importantly which accessories we need straight away to start using our new Cali.
For any other interested beginners, here's our choices and logic;
Gas bottle - after a bit of searching, Go Outdoors seems to be the cheapest place local to us.£29.99 for a bottle, £19.99 for a fill with your discount card.
Seat covers - we are about to order a set of front and rear Inka covers in readiness for the Cali arrival. Don't want any seat damage or marks.
Rear bumper cover - ordering the VW one from SMG with the club discount. Again essential item, we don't want the rear paintwork damaged loading the boot or sitting in the boot when the tailgate is open!
Hook up lead - 25m hook up (25m seems to be the preferred choice for most owners). Seem to be plenty on eBay but again Go Camping was under £30 and it's local for us.
Hook up lead connector (with 13A plug top) - will order via the forum here so we can plug the Cali in at home. Not an expensive item, but on my essential list.
Pucer screen - via the contact here on the forum. I've looked at all the cover types but since we plan to use the Cali over the winter, i wanted the best insulation. £150.
Silverscreen. Via the silver screens website, about £150. Again selected for its insulation properties and fitment as we will be using the cali over the winter. My preference would have been for an internal cover so I could fit it inside and wouldn't need to pack it up when wet, but I read a variety of views about the internally fitted items using suckers on the windows and felt the silver screens item was the best option for us. I also plan to fit it 'inside out' when the Cali is on the drive to protect the interior from fading in the sun.
The rest of our accessory list looks like this, but we will pick up these items over the next few months as funds allow :rofl
- levelling blocks. We had some in our hire Cali and actually used them a lot, so will pick up a set probably off eBay.
- front window deflectors. Not essential, but I like the look of the Dubflektas (?) ones that have been mentioned here on the forum
- Inka mattress covers
- rear spoiler. I like the look roof it and we weren't that keen on the bulk of the vw cycle rack. Will order it via SMG with the discount and get it fitted at the same time as our 18" alloys
- Thule towbar mounted cycle rack. Spotted a few on eBay recently, will probably try and get a used one if one comes up at the right time. I prefer the look of the Cali with the rear spoiler and without the permanent feature of the vw cycle rack. I also like the idea that we can use the towbar mounted cycle rack on our other car or store in the garage when not in use. Oh and with a tow bar rack I can tilt it and still open the boot without taking the bikes off. I do a lot of cycle sportives over the summer with my brother, so the cycle rack is an ideal purchase. No rush to pick this up now though, so will wait for one at the right price over the winter.
- sport line alloy wheels
we actually wanted the old style sportlines, but these don't fit the 180, so having looked again at the new ones we are happy to go with those for our Cali bling! We'll get them ordered and fitted via SMG to take advantage of the forum discount, plus we can make a weekend trip to East Sussex to have them fitted along with the spoiler.
-lower grille chrome trim. I don't know why VW don't fit this as standard to the Cali, it looks so much better with it than without a simple and cheap accessory!
And finally, my 'long term' accessory upgrades are the RNS510 sat nav and the LED/xenon lights, but that's unlikely to be until well into next year :crazy
Right, I'm off to Go Outdoors, wheres my credit card
Having scoured the brochures and forum to order our Cali we then had to scour everything again to decide which accessories we want and more importantly which accessories we need straight away to start using our new Cali.
For any other interested beginners, here's our choices and logic;
Gas bottle - after a bit of searching, Go Outdoors seems to be the cheapest place local to us.£29.99 for a bottle, £19.99 for a fill with your discount card.
Seat covers - we are about to order a set of front and rear Inka covers in readiness for the Cali arrival. Don't want any seat damage or marks.
Rear bumper cover - ordering the VW one from SMG with the club discount. Again essential item, we don't want the rear paintwork damaged loading the boot or sitting in the boot when the tailgate is open!
Hook up lead - 25m hook up (25m seems to be the preferred choice for most owners). Seem to be plenty on eBay but again Go Camping was under £30 and it's local for us.
Hook up lead connector (with 13A plug top) - will order via the forum here so we can plug the Cali in at home. Not an expensive item, but on my essential list.
Pucer screen - via the contact here on the forum. I've looked at all the cover types but since we plan to use the Cali over the winter, i wanted the best insulation. £150.
Silverscreen. Via the silver screens website, about £150. Again selected for its insulation properties and fitment as we will be using the cali over the winter. My preference would have been for an internal cover so I could fit it inside and wouldn't need to pack it up when wet, but I read a variety of views about the internally fitted items using suckers on the windows and felt the silver screens item was the best option for us. I also plan to fit it 'inside out' when the Cali is on the drive to protect the interior from fading in the sun.
The rest of our accessory list looks like this, but we will pick up these items over the next few months as funds allow :rofl
- levelling blocks. We had some in our hire Cali and actually used them a lot, so will pick up a set probably off eBay.
- front window deflectors. Not essential, but I like the look of the Dubflektas (?) ones that have been mentioned here on the forum
- Inka mattress covers
- rear spoiler. I like the look roof it and we weren't that keen on the bulk of the vw cycle rack. Will order it via SMG with the discount and get it fitted at the same time as our 18" alloys
- Thule towbar mounted cycle rack. Spotted a few on eBay recently, will probably try and get a used one if one comes up at the right time. I prefer the look of the Cali with the rear spoiler and without the permanent feature of the vw cycle rack. I also like the idea that we can use the towbar mounted cycle rack on our other car or store in the garage when not in use. Oh and with a tow bar rack I can tilt it and still open the boot without taking the bikes off. I do a lot of cycle sportives over the summer with my brother, so the cycle rack is an ideal purchase. No rush to pick this up now though, so will wait for one at the right price over the winter.
- sport line alloy wheels
we actually wanted the old style sportlines, but these don't fit the 180, so having looked again at the new ones we are happy to go with those for our Cali bling! We'll get them ordered and fitted via SMG to take advantage of the forum discount, plus we can make a weekend trip to East Sussex to have them fitted along with the spoiler.-lower grille chrome trim. I don't know why VW don't fit this as standard to the Cali, it looks so much better with it than without a simple and cheap accessory!
And finally, my 'long term' accessory upgrades are the RNS510 sat nav and the LED/xenon lights, but that's unlikely to be until well into next year :crazy
Right, I'm off to Go Outdoors, wheres my credit card
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