Buying a first Ocean

[Sunstoner]

Hi All

Im looking at purchasing our very first Cali next year, possibly in the first qtr of next year.

I have identified the vehicle I want. Its a March 2019 Ocean and its from a hire company.

We actually hired this vehicle earlier this year for a month and it was a fabulous motor.

So as to help us to decide whether a campervan was a thing for us we actually have hired 3 vans off this company this year. 1 Conversion and 2 Cali's. The vehicle they've offered us is the one I most liked which happened to be the highest spec and just looked the business.

Knowing I was looking for a Cali, the hire company have offered me the option of buying it.

Its a 2019 T6, Mojave Ocean DSG 4Motion 199bhp. Itll have around 7-9k on the clock when we purchase and it has the following spec :

Elec sliding door
Heated Windscreen
Awning Rail in black
Leather / Alacantra Seats
Discovery Media Pro + DynAudio (love this option - its sounds great!)
Chrome Package
Leather Steering wheel
LED Lights
High beam assist
Green insulating glass
Hill Start / Hill Descent
Heated Front Seats
Premium Multicolour Display with Driver Alert (no idea what this is?!?)
10 Toluca Alloys
Bed extension + Comfort Mattress
4 x Remote keys
Front / Rear Parking Sensors with camera

Theyre asking £65k for this vehicle. Which seems about right, however I guess Ive got that feeling of 'is it right tho?' . I love the spec of the thing. it practically has everything I'd tick and more and looks very smart in Mojave Beige with the chrome finishing and bigger 18" wheels.

I suppose my only thoughts are to the new T6.1. However spec'ing up the new T6.1 similarly to the T6 pushes the vehicle over £76k. Although of course its the new / tweaked everything that you get with the T6.1 + plus a better resale value further down the line, although this latter point isnt so important.

My mind is pretty much made up, but splashing this kind of money on a vehicle just has me wanting to be sure that I've looked at it from all angles.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Tom Rae]

You asked for thoughts and I would think this is pricey for a 7,000 mile vehicle. The spec does indeed look good but there are deals to be had on new ones that would be around that price or less and with the five year option warranty. The other point is that buying a new vehicle (not a stock one) enable you to choose exactly what you want. Hire vehicles can suffer from a variety of drivers and driving styles............

Tom

 

[Sunstoner]

You asked for thoughts and I would think this is pricey for a 7,000 mile vehicle. The spec does indeed look good but there are deals to be had on new ones that would be around that price or less and with the five year option warranty. The other point is that buying a new vehicle (not a stock one) enable you to choose exactly what you want. Hire vehicles can suffer from a variety of drivers and driving styles............

Tom

Hi Tom

Thankyou for your feedback. it really is much appreciated.

That had crossed my mind re drivers and driving styles but also how some may not have taken the care that we did when we hired it.

Definitely food for thought.

Cheers

 

[Doorbundle]

Search VW Commercial vehicles website, Dealers invariably have showroom / demo models with similar specs at a decent discount. Ours bought a year ago had pre Reg Dealer Demo - 680 miles on the clock, and everything we had thought necessary + LED Lights. Just shy of £55k. You can find bargains. Not all are "Used".

Used Volkswagen California Ocean Vans for Sale | VWCV

used.volkswagen-vans.co.uk

 

[Sunstoner]

Search VW Commercial vehicles website, Dealers invariably have showroom / demo models with similar specs at a decent discount. Ours bought a year ago had pre Reg Dealer Demo - 680 miles on the clock, and everything we had thought necessary + LED Lights. Just shy of £55k. You can find bargains. Not all are "Used".

Used Volkswagen California Ocean Vans for Sale | VWCV

used.volkswagen-vans.co.uk

Im gonna have a good poke about. You (well me) can get easily carried away with these things. Cheers for that link

 

[Wild Bob]

Hi I think that price is high, I bought the same spec and colour but 150 not 199 in August this year brand new and paid 5k less than that.

 

[Sunstoner]

Hi I think that price is high, I bought the same spec and colour but 150 not 199 in August this year brand new and paid 5k less than that.

Ok, wow. Thats opened my eyes.

Im glad I posted now. I wasnt going to thinking that all was fine and dandy.

It really has got me rethinking my plans.

Thankyou for your reply

 

[SailSki]

Also worth looking through the “including or excluding VAT” aspect as it seems frequently to be wrong in the adverts.
Our 204 4M DSG at a main dealer was just coming up to 3 years old and was advertised as 50k + vat, and I thought that made it a very expensive car so ignored the advert for a few days.
Called the dealer and found that it was meant to say including VAT. It is a very high spec example and with some freebies thrown in (bike rack & comfort mattress) it suddenly looked much better value.

 

[Elmo3]

Sounds an awful lot of money for an ex hire van. Doubt they paid that for it new.

 

[calimera]

Hi
It might be good to approach several dealers with your spec... on 6.1 ,ask what discount they will give. There was a VW contribution if you take PCP ( you can pay it off early ) not sure of the exact amount ,also service deals to be had.
Also try AutoeBid .
Guy Vincent at Preston VW commercial is good .Look at the dealers reviews on here.
People will recommend other dealers.
Good hunting.

 

[Wild Bob]

Sounds an awful lot of money for an ex hire van. Doubt they paid that for it new.

Agree

 

[willwander]

Some cheeky folk around thinking they can run a van for 12 months and then sell it for what they paid for it.

I’d check with the VW dealers, there are some decent deals at the moment with end of line T6 demos.

 

[Sunstoner]

Also worth looking through the “including or excluding VAT” aspect as it seems frequently to be wrong in the adverts.
Our 204 4M DSG at a main dealer was just coming up to 3 years old and was advertised as 50k + vat, and I thought that made it a very expensive car so ignored the advert for a few days.
Called the dealer and found that it was meant to say including VAT. It is a very high spec example and with some freebies thrown in (bike rack & comfort mattress) it suddenly looked much better value.

After reading your replies, it got my head in a bit of spin. Childish excitement got me up at 3:30am this morning looking on Autotrader and VW Commercial site. My wife thinks im mad as its been keeping me awake for weeks.

Im even gonna sound out a dealership on the new 6.1 just out of sheer curiosity.

 

[Sunstoner]

Hi
It might be good to approach several dealers with your spec... on 6.1 ,ask what discount they will give. There was a VW contribution if you take PCP ( you can pay it off early ) not sure of the exact amount ,also service deals to be had.
Also try AutoeBid .
Guy Vincent at Preston VW commercial is good .Look at the dealers reviews on here.
People will recommend other dealers.
Good hunting.

Thanks for the recommendation. It doesnt matter to me which part of the country the van comes from as long as its the right price / spec.

 

[Sunstoner]

Some cheeky folk around thinking they can run a van for 12 months and then sell it for what they paid for it.

This is their plan for sure. I had specc'd it myself and it was at least £76k new....however they would have had a discount on that n all.

 

[subthree]

After reading your replies, it got my head in a bit of spin. Childish excitement got me up at 3:30am this morning looking on Autotrader and VW Commercial site. My wife thinks im mad as its been keeping me awake for weeks.

Im even gonna sound out a dealership on the new 6.1 just out of sheer curiosity.

Level of discount aside, the difference in list price between a T6 and T6.1 is very little as there is so much as standard on the T6.1. I have just ordered a T6.1.

 

[jillyfish]

you should definitely get Autoebid to quote you, before negotiating with dealer. we recently got quoted £60,600 for 150 including 1 k of options. that was without considering any VW contributions for finance or cash purchase, which have not yet been released.

 

[jillyfish]

that was of course for T6.1

 

[Sunstoner]

Level of discount aside, the difference in list price between a T6 and T6.1 is very little as there is so much as standard on the T6.1. I have just ordered a T6.1.

I was looking at this earlier and the some of items I liked, like the LEDS and reversing camera are now standard. Also the app connect and Sat Nav are standard, plus adaptive cruise and a couple of others that I'd mentioned above. Of course you get all the niceties of it being brand new and unused. Oh and that new smell too!

 

[Sunstoner]

you should definitely get Autoebid to quote you, before negotiating with dealer. we recently got quoted £60,600 for 150 including 1 k of options. that was without considering any VW contributions for finance or cash purchase, which have not yet been released.

I've added Autoebid onto the contact list. .

 

[subthree]

I was looking at this earlier and the some of items I liked, like the LEDS and reversing camera are now standard. Also the app connect and Sat Nav are standard, plus adaptive cruise and a couple of others that I'd mentioned above. Of course you get all the niceties of it being brand new and unused. Oh and that new smell too!

I have no affiliation, but call Martin Skipp at Norwich - he has been brilliant with us over the last few months. Very competitive on price...

 

[Borris]

I agree with the other comments. It does seem pricey for a used ex hire vehicle. Besides hire vehicles get used by all sorts who won't have the knowledge or respect that an owner would show it. So expect some minor damage. It is easy to be wooed by a nice California but you need to look at all your options before going for any particular vehicle. There are some good deals around at the moment so shop around. Here's one fully loaded Ocean that was available when I picked up our new van two weeks ago:


It was sitting in SMG's showroom in Tonbridge Kent. It's not a 4motion but you'll probably only need that once every blue moon.

When you find one you like, pay no attention to the windscreen prices and go in hard. You should get around 12% off on a new one and I have read that some dealers are offering other inducements at the moment such as tax and insurance. So it will pay you to shop around. Don't forget to ask for the five year factory extended warranty. It's a no brainer at the price.

If you still want the ex Hire vehicle then make a counter offer and don't be too keen to get it as it won't be the only Cali that comes your way.

Good luck.

 

[Sunstoner]

I agree with the other comments. It does seem pricey for a used ex hire vehicle. Besides hire vehicles get used by all sorts who won't have the knowledge or respect that an owner would show it. So expect some minor damage. It is easy to be wooed by a nice California but you need to look at all your options before going for any particular vehicle. There are some good deals around at the moment so shop around. Here's one fully loaded Ocean that was available when I picked up our new van two weeks ago:

View attachment 52422
It was sitting in SMG's showroom in Tonbridge Kent. It's not a 4motion but you'll probably only need that once every blue moon.

When you find one you like, pay no attention to the windscreen prices and go in hard. You should get around 12% off on a new one and I have read that some dealers are offering other inducements at the moment such as tax and insurance. So it will pay you to shop around. Don't forget to ask for the five year factory extended warranty. It's a no brainer at the price.

If you still want the ex Hire vehicle then make a counter offer and don't be too keen to get it as it won't be the only Cali that comes your way.

Good luck.

Boy that does look good in those tones under the showroom lights.

Thankyou for your much welcome advice Boris. I was pretty much blinkered to going ahead with that Cali until I posted yesterday. I was easily wooed by it. After all I had hired it for a month (in August) so a teeny bit of attachment there too plus I've had some good dealings with the team at the hire company having had 3 campervans from them this year alone.

Im definitely going to put it back to them re the price and also look at other options including getting some more quotes for both the T6 and T6.1.

Id be quite daft of me not to given the feedback I've had here. So thankyou again

 

[Jontymo]

As everyone has said on here the van your looking at is a great spec but expensive. We went through the same in August, had prices for new from a lot of dealers all of whom I have to say where a pleasure to talk to.
Went with a new in stock van from Liverpool with a few nice upgrades that we would have wanted including dsg for less than mid 55k including road tax.
Way lower deposit and final payment than the eBay van, ok less spec but way less price.
There are still a good few brand new vans on autotrader with decent specs, including road tax before you even discuss further discounts.
The big decision is whether to buy now or wait for the new model and what the overall price difference will be. Don’t think you can lose either way as the Cali is one of the least depreciating models.
good luck with your hunting, let us know how you get on!

 

[Tom Rae]

I agree with the other comments. It does seem pricey for a used ex hire vehicle. Besides hire vehicles get used by all sorts who won't have the knowledge or respect that an owner would show it. So expect some minor damage. It is easy to be wooed by a nice California but you need to look at all your options before going for any particular vehicle. There are some good deals around at the moment so shop around. Here's one fully loaded Ocean that was available when I picked up our new van two weeks ago:

View attachment 52422
It was sitting in SMG's showroom in Tonbridge Kent. It's not a 4motion but you'll probably only need that once every blue moon.

When you find one you like, pay no attention to the windscreen prices and go in hard. You should get around 12% off on a new one and I have read that some dealers are offering other inducements at the moment such as tax and insurance. So it will pay you to shop around. Don't forget to ask for the five year factory extended warranty. It's a no brainer at the price.

If you still want the ex Hire vehicle then make a counter offer and don't be too keen to get it as it won't be the only Cali that comes your way.

Good luck.

Whilst it does look good, it is also hardly a bargain when looking at the PCP deal:
Duration 49 months
48 monthly payments of £634.39
Deposit £18713.59
Deposit Contribution £2750.00 (Paid by VWFS)
Retail price £71,545.30
Acceptance fee* £0.00
Optional final payment £29,139.83
Option to purchase fee** £10.00
Total amount payable £81,064.14
Total amount of credit £50,081.71
Representative APR 6.0%AP#R
Rate of interest 5.99% fixed

A cash purchase should get at least 10% off making it roughly the same price as Sunstoner's ex hire one with 7,000 miles.

Tom