Advice needed - buying a demo

[MattBW]

Only thing to bear in mind is there may be complications with gap insurance if you arent the first owner but the prices of these vans are pretty buoyant anyway.

 

[Elmo3]

We bought our demo 2 weeks ago. 2000 miles March registered 17 plate Ocean, so £220 road tax. Worked out about 12% off list, plus the fact we can use it this summer. If you see a good deal crop up you need to be able to move quickly. Good luck!

 

[AndyVits]

Evening all ( I am a first time buyer, so please be gentle )

I have a refundable deposit on a demo 2017 Ocean from my a local dealer (204bhp, DSG, 2 tone paint, shower, Sat navigation, led lights + others), pretty much perfect spec for us. It is currently being used by the sales manager and staff as a week/weekend loaner to use as they wish. It has had seat covers fitted and hopefully it will be used sympathetically but I will be negotiating hard in Dec when it comes up to buy (suits me perfectly as my company car goes back then), however I would appreciate any sage advice from my fellow vw camper fans.

The deposit is refundable as the final mileage and therefore final price will not be known until the end. The list price is £65k and the vehicle may have circa 7k miles on it by then, given the generous discounts offered for 'new' ex demos, can anybody suggest what I discount I could expect to negotiate given that a)Mileage, b)Dec - winter, less chance of the dealer selling easily. The salesman suggested £10k would be possible, but this was initially based on an earlier collection. Any advice or anecdotal examples would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Andy

 

[hirsty]

Welcome Andy. You need to think about what's in it for you - price or availability are the usual drivers toward a 'used' van. £10K / 15% is pretty good going, but only if it's the spec you actually want.

If it's the only way you can afford your must-have features that's fair enough, or if it's the certainty of the December swapover etc. However six months seems a long wait to me & December is an odd time ...

 

[AndyVits]

Welcome Andy. You need to think about what's in it for you - price or availability are the usual drivers toward a 'used' van. £10K / 15% is pretty good going, but only if it's the spec you actually want.

If it's the only way you can afford your must-have features that's fair enough, or if it's the certainty of the December swapover etc. However six months seems a long wait to me & December is an odd time ...

Thanks Hirsty, the spec and timing works for me without any real comprimise, just want to get a nearly new bargain and let someone else ride the initial depreciation. This seems the best way.

 

[Gasgas]

If you put an order in today for a new California when would you get it ,before December ? Best Time to buy a calfornia for the best deal would be winter as would be a convertible vehicle for instance,buy them in spring/ summer and you will pay a premium, buy them in winter and you will get a good deal ( they are expensive so everybody likes a good deal) however buy a 4 wd drive in winter and they fetch all the money ,at the end of the day it's all timing,but if you have an impulse and you want to go touring / camping and you can afford it then that's OK as well,but imho 10k off sounds like a good deal

 

[CannonDale]

Hi all. We were all fired up with our spec and ready to go and a dealer we have been talking to called us re an order they have in. It's 95% of what we want (only missing the towbar that we were still undecided whether we really needed) but also offers a huge amount of extras (circa 5k ish).

He's offered it to us as a demo, saying that they'd keep it for 3 months and then it's ours at a reduced rate, bringing into our budget range.

What would be the downsides of doing this? I'm assuming we would be the 2nd registered owners. But anything else to be aware of?

He's assured us he would keep it parked up so it couldn't be taken out by anyone during the 90 days.

Is this too good to be true?

Thanks

In September of last year I looked at a new Cali Beach, colour and spec was just what I wanted, discussed with my wife who was against the purchase. Months rolled by and in February of this year my wife said if you want a Cali get one. I went back to see what the dealer had and to my surprise they had registered the very vehicle that I looked at in September, it had 400 miles on the clock. I spoke to the salesman and said if you include a bike rack I will pay for it now, he said you have a deal. I saved £6000 and the van is excellent. Get it, you won't regret it.

 

[MattBW]

I think I got just under 15% off my Beach demo (when accounting for extras) and it only had 300 miles on it, they did effectively say they don't sell them until they have done 1000 demo miles (or maybe 1500) but loaned it to me up until then.

10k would be in the 15% ball park based on a 65k price from new... 7000miles isnt a lot but for me its out of the demo territory and into the second hand with all that use by the team. What would the second hand price be for the same thing?

 

[AndyVits]

I think I got just under 15% off my Beach demo (when accounting for extras) and it only had 300 miles on it, they did effectively say they don't sell them until they have done 1000 demo miles (or maybe 1500) but loaned it to me up until then.

10k would be in the 15% ball park based on a 65k price from new... 7000miles isnt a lot but for me its out of the demo territory and into the second hand with all that use by the team. What would the second hand price be for the same thing?

Thanks for the advice Matt, much appreciated

 

[Elmo3]

Evening all ( I am a first time buyer, so please be gentle )

I have a refundable deposit on a demo 2017 Ocean from my a local dealer (204bhp, DSG, 2 tone paint, shower, Sat navigation, led lights + others), pretty much perfect spec for us. It is currently being used by the sales manager and staff as a week/weekend loaner to use as they wish. It has had seat covers fitted and hopefully it will be used sympathetically but I will be negotiating hard in Dec when it comes up to buy (suits me perfectly as my company car goes back then), however I would appreciate any sage advice from my fellow vw camper fans.

The deposit is refundable as the final mileage and therefore final price will not be known until the end. The list price is £65k and the vehicle may have circa 7k miles on it by then, given the generous discounts offered for 'new' ex demos, can anybody suggest what I discount I could expect to negotiate given that a)Mileage, b)Dec - winter, less chance of the dealer selling easily. The salesman suggested £10k would be possible, but this was initially based on an earlier collection. Any advice or anecdotal examples would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Andy

Just get it secured and enjoy it. Sounds a good deal if it's the spec you want. If you hang around too long, with the way the Euro/Sterling rate is going there will be another price hike around the corner!

 

[MattBW]

I agree it does still sound like a good deal to me too, these things hold their value very little else on the market

 

[Tom Downie]

Hi all. We were all fired up with our spec and ready to go and a dealer we have been talking to called us re an order they have in. It's 95% of what we want (only missing the towbar that we were still undecided whether we really needed) but also offers a huge amount of extras (circa 5k ish).

He's offered it to us as a demo, saying that they'd keep it for 3 months and then it's ours at a reduced rate, bringing into our budget range.

What would be the downsides of doing this? I'm assuming we would be the 2nd registered owners. But anything else to be aware of?

He's assured us he would keep it parked up so it couldn't be taken out by anyone during the 90 days.

Is this too good to be true?

Thanks

Hi, Go For It !
We bought a demonstrator back in May and are extremely pleased. We were expecting to buy new and suffer the 9 months wait as we were told that the chances of getting a demonstrator were slim as they don't hang around long. but ringing round the dealers the one in Plymouth said 'we are getting an Ocean in next Monday and we can put you on the list to view'. Got a call Tuesday viewed it on Wednesday and it ticked all the boxes. All the extras we wanted plus a towbar and heated seats which weren't on our list, even the colour was one we had short listed. Put a deposit on it that day and collected after the 90 days. Collected in May with 200 miles on the clock,(the dealer assured us that after we had paid the deposit that the vehicle would only go on a test drive with a member of staff, and they seemed to keep their word) So far have had a few days out and a trip to France and are very happy indeed with it apart from a small snag with main beam, fixed under guarantee.
As I said at the beginning, go for it!

 

[JohnGuppy]

If you are looking. You will find. Many for sale with dealer high specs. As they need to show all the extra gadgets. Most will have tow bar prep. The word ex demo. Will mean. 200 miles. And in most cases. Very low mileage in my case was pre Reg With no number plates fitted and 3 miles on the clock. Yes I know sounds unfair when people have to wait months but it seems to me dealers. Pre Reg to stop other dealers from getting there hands on an unsold vechicle
If a dealer Reg a vechile on line a log book is sent to them in 48 hours then when you buy it you get the log book when you pick up your ex demo. With 3 miles sounds ? When you pick up your own after waiting months. It will have more miles on the clock

 

[Jay586]

They pre-reg them to meet their sales quotas, it affects their allocation & bonuses. I was lucky & rang up about a pre-reg that hadn't been registered, so it is worth ringing round. There are dealers with low volume & higher prices, dealers with high volume & more flexibility & it also depends on the time of year.

 

[andyinluton]

Evening all ( I am a first time buyer, so please be gentle )

I have a refundable deposit on a demo 2017 Ocean from my a local dealer (204bhp, DSG, 2 tone paint, shower, Sat navigation, led lights + others), pretty much perfect spec for us. It is currently being used by the sales manager and staff as a week/weekend loaner to use as they wish. It has had seat covers fitted and hopefully it will be used sympathetically but I will be negotiating hard in Dec when it comes up to buy (suits me perfectly as my company car goes back then), however I would appreciate any sage advice from my fellow vw camper fans.

The deposit is refundable as the final mileage and therefore final price will not be known until the end. The list price is £65k and the vehicle may have circa 7k miles on it by then, given the generous discounts offered for 'new' ex demos, can anybody suggest what I discount I could expect to negotiate given that a)Mileage, b)Dec - winter, less chance of the dealer selling easily. The salesman suggested £10k would be possible, but this was initially based on an earlier collection. Any advice or anecdotal examples would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Andy

7K miles in use as weekend loaner is not ex demo, its a well used ex-hire van!! Forget the £10k off, what discount could you get for a brand new one? I would expect 8k so your getting a 2 k discount for those 7k miles & unknown number of users. A new one would come with a longer warranty, full years road tax & if you are financing it usually better interest rates on brand new vehicles.

 

[larrylamb]

I would expect 8k

Not sure about that Andy, I would say 8% not 8K, be interested to know if anyone has achieved that on a new T6 order.

 

[oryx white]

Hi,

We got a 6 month old that was a genuine sale and then re-sold to the dealer. Not quite the same as your scenario but close. It was a great deal for us.

The only thing I'd add the great advice above is a +1 to join as a premium member. When you do, check out the VIP Members section where you'll find some really helpful checklists to help you go through the van with a fine toothcomb before you finally buy. It just helps to make sure that no one has bent, lost or scratched something - and if they have, you can get the dealer to put it right before you hand over your cash!

My other +1 is that you might not get everything you want (well we pretty much did exceptt we wouldn't have chosen the colour, but it's growing on us) but ask yourself whether you'd pay £xxxx for the missing item(s) as an extra?

Good luck - hope you've found the enthusiasm from the all guys and gurls here on the forum helpful in your choice!

 

[Gasgas]

7K miles in use as weekend loaner is not ex demo, its a well used ex-hire van!! Forget the £10k off, what discount could you get for a brand new one? I would


Personally I don't think any body is obtaining 8k off a new T6 at the moment? I agree 7000miles is quite a lot for a demo and I am sure if you went back to them and asked them to limit it to say 2000 miles and accompanied demo's only and no staff weekend loans they would look at it.

I understand from some dealers that if they were to get any extra California's in addition to their allocation from VWUK (most likely 150bhp at the moment) then to market them Nationally, they would put them on Auto trader/Piston heads as pre reg/used vehicles with delivery miles ,but not register them until they have sold it and then just put it through as a normal new retail sale. A good find if you can find one.

 

[AndyVits]

7K miles in use as weekend loaner is not ex demo, its a well used ex-hire van!! Forget the £10k off, what discount could you get for a brand new one? I would expect 8k so your getting a 2 k discount for those 7k miles & unknown number of users. A new one would come with a longer warranty, full years road tax & if you are financing it usually better interest rates on brand new vehicles.

Thanks for your advice as £8k discount on a brand new model sounds very good. I will search the forum for examples of this and use in my negotiations.

 

[Autolist1]

Demo's are usually a good form of a CPO. Might be easier to get a discount.

 

[AndyVits]

Hi All,

Just had confirmation of the current asking price. As mentioned list is £65k, the current price is £55k (with around 1.8k miles). This is a discount of 15.5% with perhaps a little more to come off before December.

Regards

Andy

 

[oryx white]

Ours had 2.5k on the clock and was a discount of just over 15% on the new price. So it sounds like you're the in the same ball park. But ours had a previous owner rather than being a demo.

Do check out the VIP area of the website for the checklists - they really helped us make sure we'd got everything and that it worked!

Good luck!

 

[JohnGuppy]

I found an ex demo with less than 5 miles on the clock number plates on seat ready to fit , If you are looking you will find one in the colour you want the spec may be more or less than you want but if its at the dealer and you visit and sit with the salesperson inside tell him you will buy if the price is right today you will be surprized how the will quote you happy
remember the list price is when you build a vehicle with what you want inc months waiting for it if its a vehicle the dealer has specked tell them you don't want the audio system but you like the rest they will discount these items you don't want be cheeky they can only say no

 

[Crell]

I got about 15% off the new retail price (it had 140 miles on it) but I also got a pretty good trade in on my 'velle (for a main dealer). Availability and a almost perfect (fairly high) spec match were what swung it. Just make sure you give it a real going over. I've since noticed some marks on the paint (within a week of having it) that I missed on collection so will be taking that up with them. Also, just queue up on the extras - I got the bike rack included.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Hi All,

Just had confirmation of the current asking price. As mentioned list is £65k, the current price is £55k (with around 1.8k miles). This is a discount of 15.5% with perhaps a little more to come off before December.

Regards

Andy

Thats massive, well done who is the dealer?