Buying a new California SE :)

[Bluestone]

Hi Thanks

Yes I will give Bury St Edmunds a try - I didn't realise they did them - I used to by my VW cars from Northgate and always had excellent service from them

OK so I returned the brand new one I rented for the weekend yesterday - and yes of course, I loved it. It was a 180 4motion and although I really like the idea of 4x4, it only returned on average 30 mpg so even a few more mpg from a non 4motion will make a lot of difference say on a long week road trip through Europe

I was a little disappointed with the finish in places (this one was brand new on the rental fleet and had a couple of hundred miles on when I took it and I was the first person to rent it), some of the trim wasn't stuck down properly. But this is only a comment for such an expensive vehicle made in Germany (?) and I expected better - or shall I say perfect. But it didn't put me off and was a minor thing.

Sleeping in the paddock at Donington Park race circuit was interesting - great to do apart from when the planes start to take off from East Midlands airport at 4 a.m. !!! Nothing to do with the California - they were so close you would've needed triple glazing in a hotel room to block the sound out - just a bit of a shock!!

The other funny moment (although could've been serious so wonder if others have had the same issue) was when I stopped at the services - got something to eat and decided to sit in the back, put the table up and eat my food there. For some reason I went through the drivers door (habit I guess!!) then went through to the back. I must have hit the handbrake release with my leg on the way through and not noticed. Sat down to enjoy my meal and looked up to realise it was rolling back!! I quickly jumped out the sliding door and jumped in the front to put my foot on the brake before it went too far!! Thankfully I had parked the furthest from anything and there was nothing behind me!! Funny afterwards but a bit of a panic at the time!!

So with regard to getting one - cleve - you seem to be spot on, Norwich haven't come back to me. Still talking to the centre I rented from as they have a nice demo which will suit (but I'll have to wait 3 months), or one of the rental one's they put on, but then I'll have to wait 6 months. Then I guess I might as well wait for the T6!!

So I might even wait for the T6 - yes I know a lot of you say get the enjoyment now, and I agree, but I'm going to calculate the cost of rental against the potential money I would lose by jumping now and buying a new(ish) T5.

I would like to use one for the remaining race meetings and then one week for a road trip around Italy - so I guess in total around three weeks worth of rental time. I wouldn't really get to use it that much more (yes I'm sure if I had one I probably would go for a few weekends away here and there) but works really busy and I've been waiting many years to get one, don't want to rush into things with such a big investment

Thanks again for the reply's Also nice to see a few fellow California owners in Suffolk

 

[bellavw]

Hi all yes that's were we are at going to definitely wait for the T6 we had also noticed the main dealers for a used California the price were a little cheaper than the privately sold ones available which if I'm not mistaken the dealers would be asking a full retail price with a very warranty so would this suggest the privately advertised California's were a little over priced?
I may be wrong but just been doing some research as we all know it's a huge financial investment may be some one could advise on the used prices this is why we have decided to wait for the T6 model.

 

[teeboy]

Give us some example specs and prices and we can let you know if it sounds about right.

When the T5.1 was orderable it was pretty typical to get around 12-13% of list for a new van - using places such as Drive the Deal

You could get 20% off list for an ex-demo van.

2nd hand prices do hold up very well, but some people do expect to get all of their money back - the best thing to do is look at the for sale section here - and judge the sensible prices by the ones that actually sell.

As a rough guide I would spec up the price as new, then take off 20% (as a 2nd hand discount), then take off about £1500 per year assuming average wear and tear and mileage.

 

[teeboy]

Of course when the T6s are first released I would think that it would be difficult to get big discounts of list or demo vans as there will be a lot of people waiting for a T6....

So you will have to decide if you wait a little longer for a bargain or pay full-ish price for an early T6.

 

[larrylamb]

Bellavw, I've just checked VW prices for used Calis and they seem expensive to me at the moment, all over £45k except for one at £36k?? A lot of 140 se at virtually list price.

 

[bellavw]

We were offered a 12 reg from a main dealer in Scotland for 34995 12 months be warranty a few weeks ago which is a retail price and recently we have been offered from a dealer again vw main dealer a 13 reg dsg again with Vw warranty 38495. Just our thoughts were if these were two examples from main dealers at retail prices then the privately advertised ones seem a little over priced to us some one commented may some people are looking for a huge return and the reasonably priced ones go much quicker a friend of ours got a really nice 62 reg ltd edition low miles for 32000
We have to decide what specification we want for our t6 order

 

[larrylamb]

We were offered a 12 reg from a main dealer in Scotland for 34995 12 months be warranty a few weeks ago which is a retail price and recently we have been offered from a dealer again vw main dealer a 13 reg dsg again with Vw warranty 38495. Just our thoughts were if these were two examples from main dealers at retail prices then the privately advertised ones seem a little over priced to us some one commented may some people are looking for a huge return and the reasonably priced ones go much quicker a friend of ours got a really nice 62 reg ltd edition low miles for 32000
We have to decide what specification we want for our t6 order

Yes, that one at £36k in Scotland is the cheapish one i saw on the VW used car search, bog standard 140 with 40000 miles, it probably cost about £41k new with discount 3 years ago so not bad depreciation, but all the others are pretty expensive. I can't believe you can get a 62 plate SE with low miles for 32000, must have been desperate to sell for that price.

 

[bellavw]

if your looking its some times better to call around the main dealers as there not always listed forsale on there website i found when ringing around they were offering us vehicles due in or just in ..!
yes our friends ..it was 32k larry maybe they were desperate who knows but it is true just called him its a berghaus model with 19thousand miles anyway we are focusing on our specification for our new T6 order We are not prepared to take the chance buying a t5 cali with t6 so close to release. nice for all your feedback and help

 

[moysvdub1]

Hi all with 20 years motor trade experience including sales also with vw vans and campers
i here and see debates like this all the time
yes i would say the used T5 california's are strongly priced and some over book price
now asking what you want when selling is that individuals decision
but as i noticed a fair comment from teeboy
some people do expect a high return when selling ! or there money back !
when selling anything it is worth as much as the man buying will give for it true fact
now the sensibly priced ones you will notice will fly away
and the adventurously priced ones will slowly get reduced until they sell
Or on the flip side to this people will then think theres something wrong with it because its been on sale a while and not sold and probably stay away from it thats human nature.

Now bella vw you are quite wright once the T6 has been established out on the market a few months it will defiantly affect the price of the T5 as it does when any new model comes out

Although the T6 model doesn't look that much different physically it is different the only thing the same is the shell and some of the internal fixings the engines suspension electrical are completely different to meet emissions and its enhanced looks front & rear
they haven't changed the apperance to much as the T5 has sold really well for vw
and why completely change the look of somthing. when they can use somthing thats doing really well for them good look with your T6 purchase I'm sure you'll enjoy it

 

[Bluestone]

Hi again all, yes of course moysvdub1 is spot on and bella vw.

For me now with the T6 so close it's either pick up a good example 2-3 year old T5 at a good price and then upgrade to a T6 next year or even the year after when things settle down a bit (bugs and the like), or (which is what I'm going to do, rent one for the times I feel I'd use it this year and wait for the T6 and get my order in early for one - I'm not so worried about the little bugs and issues new models have - I've bought loads of brand new models from VW in the past and luckily never had a single problem (and sometimes I was doing 45K miles + in a year), then I've known others who've had massive problems with well established models!

I rented one last weekend which was brand new and the lovely lady at the rental place has reserved it for me for all my races this year so it will be the same vehicle. I'm actually renting the same next weekend to head down to Monte Carlo to watch the Monaco GP It's a last minute thing and loads cheaper than flying and more fun for me who's spent far too long in the air as it is!!

I've bought new just before a new model comes up before (sometimes when I didn't even know - OK before the wonders of the interweb) and I'm not doing it again!! Really fancy that two tone colour scheme as well

 

[larrylamb]

Very nice 1yr old cali just come up for sale on this site.

 

[motacyclist]

Regarding 4motion, I've been stuck enough times on nothing worse than wet grass to know that 4WD is highly desirable in a camper. And as WelshGas says, it does improve the handling and makes the van more planted.

If anyone is dubious about getting 4motion, just do a search on Youtube for T5 4motion, there are some impressive videos on there, one in particular comes to mind of a T5 ploughing t

Edit: Sorry this was posted a while back and truncated version only just surfaced due to poor Internet connection!

 

[GrannyJen]

I hear all these arguments re residuals, depreciation, effects on it for the T6 ...

I did not buy a Cali as some form of mobile real estate speculation. I bought a Cali because it is a superb vehicle for giving me all the fun in the world that suits my lifestyle right now. If, in a couple of years time, I get 10% more, or 10% less, or make a total killing on Selling I really don't care. I bought it for now, for the kick I get out of owning it, for the sheer freedom and joy it gives me now.

Whatever I get for it in a couple of years time it would have been worth every penny.

 

[Neilgbj]

Agree with the above, the investment is for the enjoyment it brings not the future value......

4WD personal choice but absolutely not a necessity, the Cali is still very flexible without it and hasn't the ground clearance to get the real 4WD benefit....

 

[pjm-84]

Agree also.

Percentages and returns and you are missing the point of the vehicle.

 

[teeboy]

Agree but....

Spending 43k on a vehicle is a big investment - normally I spend 10-15k on a car. So the decision to buy a Cali was made much easier knowing that if anything happened I would not be in massive debt.

If I need the money I know I could sell the van for around £38k pretty quickly, clear the debt and still have a lump of cash lying around. I have definitely had more than £5k of "value" from the van - but the equity lets me sleep well at night.

It is just an extra bonus over a VW camper