Buying a Conversion or Factory Built California

[HectaTheSpecta]

Hi all

First time poster and I’d like to start by saying this is a great forum.

Forgive me if this has been asked already but I’m currently looking to buy a California but as the title says, should I buy a converted one or factory built?

Are there any major pros / cons? My immediate concern is insurance with buying a modified vehicle that’s made to resemble a factory / OEM build I.e declaring all mods etc

Thanks in advance

 

[Digger]

The only California is factory built by VW all others are conversions and not California's. Choosing a van is down to personal requirements and options. The California Ocean comes fully equipted . Beach model is more of an mpv easily adapted to camping. Both of the factory vans should hold their value better than conversions. Good luck in your quest but as long as you get a camper of any make you will love it.

 

[Andy]

Folk on here who looked at conversions say they are no cheaper than a cali & depreciation is far greater.
Big plus if you go for custom conversion you can get your exact specification.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

The only California is factory built by VW all others are conversions and not California's. Choosing a van is down to personal requirements and options. The California Ocean comes fully equipted . Beach model is more of an mpv easily adapted to camping. Both of the factory vans should hold their value better than conversions. Good luck in your quest but as long as you get a camper of any make you will love it.

Thanks Digger, I overlooked the depreciation bit and yes it would be an Ocean that we’d purchase. Cheers

 

[Cali4nia-Dream]

We looked at both conversions and the California, and for a similar spec the prices were very similar. A few items we noticed were that on the conversions the rear seat seemed higher and less comfortable than the California. We also noticed that on a lot of the conversions there was a much lower weight limit on the top bed, so we enquired about that when we looked at the Cali, the salesman said there were no such problems.
One of the aspects we liked about the Cali was the blinds, which are much neater than on our old van and to us are better than flappy curtains.

One other thing to consider - does it bother you having the access to the living area/rear seats being in the road, rather than by the kerb.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Carpet on the walls...
Crash test safety concerns...
Sub standard workmanship...

Stick with a Cali, miles better.

 

[WelshGas]

Hi all

First time poster and I’d like to start by saying this is a great forum.

Forgive me if this has been asked already but I’m currently looking to buy a California but as the title says, should I buy a converted one or factory built?

Are there any major pros / cons? My immediate concern is insurance with buying a modified vehicle that’s made to resemble a factory / OEM build I.e declaring all mods etc

Thanks in advance

The California by VW is complete with a 3 yr Warranty from VW covering ALL aspects of the vehicle and Spare parts for the Habitation area are available at least back to 2005 or further. It is also registered with DVLA as a M1, Diesel Car - Body Type Campervan.

A Brand new Conversion will be based on a Commercial Van registered with DVLA N1, Diesel Van or equivalent . This CANNOT be changed, but the Body Type can be changed to Campervan if it fulfils the DVLA requirements.
A Brand new vehicle will all the driving extras that a California has will cost in excess of £40,000. The converter will then fit windows, a pop-up roof and bed a Bench seat, as the lower bed, that has not been properly crash tested and certified and kitchen and storage units made out of MDF or plywood. Also the walls will be covered in plywood and carpeted. A Mains and Leisure circuit with lights, charger, fridge, parking heater, split charge system all have to be added as well. Front seats fitted with swivels. Water and Waste tanks, Gas Lockerwould be fitted.
All in all a Conversion with all that the California has will cost more AND you will only have a limited 3 yr Warranty from VW on the base vehicle and a 1 yr Warranty on the Conversion.

Lastly Depreciation on a California is significantly less than a Conversion, in fact it is significantly less than almost any new vehicle you can buy today.

Insurance of a VW California is not a problem. Plenty of companies to choose from.

If finances are a factor then a conversion on a 2nd hand van can make sense but you will not get the same facilities and quality as a VW California without spending a lot of money .

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Folk on here who looked at conversions say they are no cheaper than a cali & depreciation is far greater.
Big plus if you go for custom conversion you can get your exact specification.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Thanks Andy. That’s good to know and I’m leaning towards a factory built one. Besides high quality fixtures and fittings I cannot think of anything I’d want from a custom Conversion one which doesn’t divert from the original remit of being a vehicle, sleeps 4, storage space and kitchen bits. I’m sure the list is endless for others no doubt

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

We looked at both conversions and the California, and for a similar spec the prices were very similar. A few items we noticed were that on the conversions the rear seat seemed higher and less comfortable than the California. We also noticed that on a lot of the conversions there was a much lower weight limit on the top bed, so we enquired about that when we looked at the Cali, the salesman said there were no such problems.
One of the aspects we liked about the Cali was the blinds, which are much neater than on our old van and to us are better than flappy curtains.

One other thing to consider - does it bother you having the access to the living area/rear seats being in the road, rather than by the kerb.

Thanks for your reply and also valuable information. The weight limit never crossed my mind but good to know and I’m also picking up other useful snippets of information such as accessing the living area.

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Carpet on the walls...
Crash test safety concerns...
Sub standard workmanship...

Stick with a Cali, miles better.

More useful info (crash test and potential workmanship) thanks.

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

The California by VW is complete with a 3 yr Warranty from VW covering ALL aspects of the vehicle and Spare parts for the Habitation area are available at least back to 2005 or further. It is also registered with DVLA as a M1, Diesel Car - Body Type Campervan.

A Brand new Conversion will be based on a Commercial Van registered with DVLA N1, Diesel Van or equivalent . This CANNOT be changed, but the Body Type can be changed to Campervan if it fulfils the DVLA requirements.
A Brand new vehicle will all the driving extras that a California has will cost in excess of £40,000. The converter will then fit windows, a pop-up roof and bed a Bench seat, as the lower bed, that has not been properly crash tested and certified and kitchen and storage units made out of MDF or plywood. Also the walls will be covered in plywood and carpeted. A Mains and Leisure circuit with lights, charger, fridge, parking heater, split charge system all have to be added as well. Front seats fitted with swivels. Water and Waste tanks, Gas Lockerwould be fitted.
All in all a Conversion with all that the California has will cost more AND you will only have a limited 3 yr Warranty from VW on the base vehicle and a 1 yr Warranty on the Conversion.

Lastly Depreciation on a California is significantly less than a Conversion, in fact it is significantly less than almost any new vehicle you can buy today.

Insurance of a VW California is not a problem. Plenty of companies to choose from.

If finances are a factor then a conversion on a 2nd hand van can make sense but you will not get the same facilities and quality as a VW California without spending a lot of money .

Thanks for the information, the DVLA notification did cross my mind. In hindsight I’m leaning towards the complete package rather than dealing with any after sales / issues on a Conversion. Finances shouldn’t be an issue hopefully but I’ll need to sell my beloved Audi RS3 otherwise I’ll have three VAG vehicles in the household

 

[Hotel California]

Welcome , there no such thing as a Cali-conversion . It’s a Cali OR a conversion .

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Welcome , there no such thing as a Cali-conversion . It’s a Cali OR a conversion .

Apologies for this. I’m trying to get up to speed with all of the specs and information. Hopefully it materialises into a purchase of a Cali and I’ll be a regular contributor to the forum

 

[johnyboy]

Carpet on the walls, no thanks
Depreciation/sellability
Blinds > curtains
Chair and table stowage

 

[Amarillo]

Thanks Digger, I overlooked the depreciation bit and yes it would be an Ocean that we’d purchase. Cheers

We have a Beach and love its adaptability:

• 7 seat MPV
• 4/5 berth camper
• 2 seat Ikea furniture van

We love outdoor cooking and make up our own kitchen area in a driveaway awning or safari room.

 

[Nick.C]

It would be worth double checking insurance requirements as well. Our friends have a conversion and had to have a tracker fitted, whilst it didn’t seem to be an issue with our Cali for some reason. Also we were able to get Gap insurance and I believe it is harder to get with a conversion.

 

[bbqforce10]

I've got a conversion with a genuine California rear seat/bed.
SCA pop top roof (arguably the best non genuine roof available), fully TUV tested.
Everything has been done with the best parts.
Webasto diesel heater. Isotherm top loading fridge etc. Registered as a Motor Caravan with the DVLA.
It cost me significantly less that a genuine california because I managed to source a really good base van (2 year old highline with dsg and only 12k miles) and I have done a lot of the work myself (with assistance from a friend who has converted a few vans).
I have still spent around £30k though!
The benefit of you own conversion is you can have a more personalised van.
You can also have the rear door on the correct side!
If you are buying a converted van you need to be very careful, there are loads of people doing conversions and the standards vary massively.

 

[mcj224]

We had a conversion from a reputable company but having seen how some of it was put together I always worried about safety: there are so many things to consider - is a crash tested bed fitted with crash tested bolts? What about the strength of the floor where it’s fitted? I’m sure there are plenty of conversions which are perfectly safe but every time I went out with the kids in the back I had a niggle in the back of my mind. No vehicle can be absolutely safe but I think the Cali is as good as I gets.

We don’t regret changing one bit. There are some things I don’t think you can get with a conversion, like the way the electrics are integrated so the same lights are for camping and the interior lights that come on when you open the doors. And I worked out the a good conversion based on a good spec van is the same price.

Strangely my experience with insurance was the opposite of some others: no tracker required on a conversion but required on a Cali. I switched to a different company to avoid the extra cost on a new van.

 

[soulstyledevon]

You can also have the rear door on the correct side!

You mean the wrong side...
I’ve had both. Nothing worse than having to constantly walk around the van to load stuff in the door.
So glad I have the Cali with the slider right next to the drivers doors.

You either know or don’t know

 

[MattC]

There are high quality converters out there, so some of the points raised here on safety and quality don't have to be an issue. See this for example, from Jerba who are a VW Registered Bodybuilder...
https://www.jerbacampervans.co.uk/vw-registered/safety-quality/

We looked at the Cali but chose to go with a brand new Jerba conversion because several aspects suited our intended use better. We prefer to stay off-grid as much as possible so chose the 4-seat layout with a rear kitchen and onboard cassette toilet - we can comfortably do 3 nights "wild" before we need services for our water and loo, and with a solar panel we virtually never take a hook-up pitch.
We chose a Wallas diesel-powered combined hob/heater, so we have no gas cylinder onboard, and no potential issues with ferries/tunnels or different cylinders in different countries - as long as we have diesel in the vehicle's tank we can cook and keep warm.
We still have 4 beds including a 150kg rated roof bed for 2 adults, and a choice of 2 singles or a double downstairs.
Jerba produce their own elevating roof. The roof canvas is cotton Ventile so it doesn't suffer from condensation, and all the vents are fully proof against Scottish midgies.
There are a lot of other nice little touches. Jerba aren't big on bling (although you can spec it to a fair extent if you really want) but they do produce very practical campervans.

Because the conversion was done on a new T6 window-van it counts as a "2-stage build" and so it's registered from new with DVLA as a "VW Jerba Sanna", body type Motor Caravan, but since the emissions are unknown because the conversion has altered the VW factory figures, it gets a taxation class of Private Light Goods and therefore pays £265 VED per year.
The 3-year VW Warranty is completely unaffected by the conversion (I took the 5 year / 80k miles extended warranty), and there's a 2-year warranty on the Jerba conversion work.

I'm not trying to knock the Cali here, just point out that there are alternatives and in the end it all depends on what you want from a van and what features matter most to you. By the time we specced all the options we wanted from both VW and Jerba our van certainly wasn't cheap, although I'm not sure exactly how it stacks up against a Cali. And I honestly couldn't say whether depreciation will hit us more than a Cali, but as we can see ourselves keeping it for 10 years all being well, that's not a pressing issue.

 

[docbob1]

We bought a new Cali Ocean this year. Looked at conversions but they come no where near the VW's own build quality. Front blinds in a pillars, blinds to sides and rear all into bespoke high quality mouldings, no cutains to dirty/fiddle with. Kitchen more than adequate, get a 'Grand Remoska" for a hundred quid or so and you have an oven which fits in the cupboard! I have cooked pizzas, roast chicken, stews, baked potatoes etc etc in this and all you need is a mains hook up, if none use the 2 gas rings and modify food accordingly. Fridge is a freezer on max, we spent a month in Norway last month, took 'home cooked' frozen dinners and no problem to keep them that way. Fridge doesn't look big but with right foil dishes it will take plenty of frozen stuff. Upper bed in roof we use all the time as really big and confortable, can't fault van, had it 3 months, lived in it for half this time and not a rattle, does 45-48 mpg (DSG 150 diesel)

 

[2into1]

Millions of nights have been spent in the current Cali and it’s T5 and T4 predecessors. It’s a brave inexperienced buyer that thinks they can do better with their own design and tweaks having never spent a night in a van, but that’s what many do.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Millions of nights have been spent in the current Cali and it’s T5 and T4 predecessors. It’s a brave inexperienced buyer that thinks they can do better with their own design and tweaks having never spent a night in a van, but that’s what many do.

Yes, I find it extraordinary that some people will sink £50-£60k into a van and have never actually experienced one.
The power of the Insta vanlife dream....

 

[Legin]

You mean the wrong side...
I’ve had both. Nothing worse than having to constantly walk around the van to load stuff in the door.
So glad I have the Cali with the slider right next to the drivers doors.

You either know or don’t know

Another thing with it being on the wrong side (depending on your view) is the free space behind the drivers seat on RHD. The number of campers I see including the cali where the seat back hits the kitchen cabinet before a 6 footer is comfortable is amazing.

I thought the wrong side was a downer until I owned the Ocean and now think a Cali LHD is actually compromised.

 

[GSX1300R]

Most of the time when choosing a Camper is how deep is your pocket. We looked at Motorhomes, conversions and Californias.... We are so glad we chose the California. The VW california is the least depreciating vehicle on the road. And you can use it as an everyday vehicle if you want. We are not sorry one bit that we chose the California.. We have had some problems but mainly sorted out under warranty. All vehicles have problems but not all vehicles give the pleasure of a California....