Buying an ex-hire vehicle?

[MartinMere]

I'm planning to see a 2 year old Cali (T5 140 manual) with about 31000 miles on the clock that has been used by a small VW specific camper van hire company (other vehicles include a T2), and wondering about potential issues with such a vehicle.

Cons presumably include lots of different drivers and driving styles and just the general lack of care likely when the vehicle is not your own.

Pros: I imagine the vehicle has been well looked after mechanically etc during this period. It has 1 year remaining on the warranty.

Any other thoughts on ex-hire Calis?

Thanks in advance

Martin

 

[Gavinskii]

Martin,
I think you have summed the pros and cons well.

I guess it now comes down to price.... if it was me, I would want a good %age off due to its previous life versus a regular 2 yr old one owner vehicle (which is likely to have been serviced on the button too) with a similar mileage.

Good luck making your decision, although I don't believe there are a shortage of Cali's available judging by the classified ads on here.

Cheers
Gavin

 

[Meoncoast]

I would suspect this van may have only had 1 service due to miles covered and age. I would check the cooker which may have been used more than average.
Take special care with roof and the tent fabric condition. look in VIP area re check list. If a hire firm as for a free weekend trial / refund off the cost if you buy

 

[MartinMere]

Thanks Gavin. Over here there are not that many late T5 Calis for sale and even fewer with 'simple' histories as far as I can judge. I contacted one in Valencia only to be told it was a repossessed car currently in Poland but could be with me in 3 days (I assume this is some kind of scam). So in some respects there is an attraction to knowing the history of a hire car run by a VW enthusiast if a good deal can be struck.

Andy, thanks for those tips.The roof fabric in particular might have received a fair share of unsuccessful closings...

Martin

 

[Keith Smith]

We hired a T5 Cali SE last year that was just about to be sold, so I expect was a similar age to the one you are considering. It had just had the roof fabric replaced which they said had cost £3000. The auto ignite on the hob didn't work, the seats were stained and it had obviously been well used but seemed sound otherwise. The biggest problem we found though was the heater, it smelt really bad both outside and inside the vehicle. I mentioned it when I took it back and they thought someone had inadvertantly blocked the heater vent which had damaged it, so something well worth checking as they are expensive to replace.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks Gavin. Over here there are not that many late T5 Calis for sale and even fewer with 'simple' histories as far as I can judge. I contacted one in Valencia only to be told it was a repossessed car currently in Poland but could be with me in 3 days (I assume this is some kind of scam). So in some respects there is an attraction to knowing the history of a hire car run by a VW enthusiast if a good deal can be struck.

Andy, thanks for those tips.The roof fabric in particular might have received a fair share of unsuccessful closings...

Martin

True, but also some hire vehicles require a substantial deposit agains damage whilst on hire and so the customer takes extra care not wishing to loose their deposit.
Having done 30,000 or so miles means that it has been well run in. I'm always concerned at ultra low milage vehicles, like a camper that could have spent 90% of their lives stationary on a drive. The California is based on a commercial van and as such is designed to be used as standing idle costs the company money and many cover significant miles with different drivers without any problems. With a years warranty left then this one should be considered carefully especially if the condition and price are right.

 

[westfalia]

 

[AlanC]

I'm planning to see a 2 year old Cali (T5 140 manual) with about 31000 miles on the clock that has been used by a small VW specific camper van hire company (other vehicles include a T2), and wondering about potential issues with such a vehicle.

Cons presumably include lots of different drivers and driving styles and just the general lack of care likely when the vehicle is not your own.

Pros: I imagine the vehicle has been well looked after mechanically etc during this period. It has 1 year remaining on the warranty.

Any other thoughts on ex-hire Calis?

Thanks in advance

Martin

We bought an ex hire van and although it was spotlessly clean and well maintained mechanically, there were lots of silly little things either missing or broken. We hired ours before we bought it so had time to spot some of the issues. Others came to light with use.

Things such as the roof net, tie down straps and table strap missing.
The faulty stuff was cupboard door and work top hinge bolts loose or missing, The tambour doors and roof hatch damaged, the water filler panel broken, a temp sensor hanging loose underneath (still haven't found where that formally fits) the access panel to the back battery compartment broken and the leg on the table loose. More major stuff was a clicky O/S drive shaft and the famous Moo valve noise. None of these things phased me as I enjoyed sorting them all out over time. But if you are expecting a pristine van, it won't be.

The advantage is that a VW van will handle the higher mileage easily and having a year on the warranty is ideal.

Do go over it thoroughly though, taking notes and negotiate the price accordingly.

Alan

 

[MartinMere]

Thanks very much for these tips Keith, WelshGas and Alan. Tomorrow lunchtime I'm seeing the van and they will come in handy for the viewing.

 

[MartinMere]

Just to follow up, I saw the van yesterday and sure enough, though basically sound, you could tell it had been very well used in terms of general interior state, non-superficial scratches etc. The roof fabric had been changed within the last year (so for a 2-year old vehicle it just shows how much wear and tear that got). I was a bit put off by a vertical kink in the roof section about 2/3 the way to the back, on both sides, almost as if someone had climbed on top while it was elevated and caused a slight bend (or perhaps when the fabric was replaced). Sure enough, it had only had one service. So a lot of your comments above were right on the ball.

Since I'd driven a 5.5 year old 140 DSG the day before, I was able to compare with the manual DSG on the ex-hire vehicle, also a 140 engine, and I'm 100% sold on the DSG now!

Neither vehicle had any signs of the roof corrosion problem. Maybe that in part is related to the climate here (or does that not make much difference given that it is not a rust issue?).

Martin

 

[snowy55]

The kinks in the roof were caused by the fabric being trapped in the scissor mechanism therefore cutting the fabric which is why the fabric has been replaced.

 

[AlanC]

Ours has similar bends in the roof and the fabric was slightly damaged.
Since then the roof has been repaired and the fabric replaced, but the kinks remain. Doesn't seem to affect the roof in any way though.

Alan

 

[Bigted]

Lots of Cali's have kinky roofs! Apparently not very hard to remove.

 

[nezzler]

We hired a T5 Cali SE last year that was just about to be sold, so I expect was a similar age to the one you are considering. It had just had the roof fabric replaced which they said had cost £3000. The auto ignite on the hob didn't work, the seats were stained and it had obviously been well used but seemed sound otherwise. The biggest problem we found though was the heater, it smelt really bad both outside and inside the vehicle. I mentioned it when I took it back and they thought someone had inadvertantly blocked the heater vent which had damaged it, so something well worth checking as they are expensive to replace.

The auto ignite can simply be the connection under the hob. The connector often gets disconnected of ours.