Bye Bye Beach

[Matty]

So after having our Beach for 3years we sold it yesterday.

It's been an interesting ownership, I've always wanted a California and when we first got it I loved it but..over the 3 years (well 2 yrs that we could use it properly) it disappointed.

Build quality wasn't great, too many rattles and squeaks.
Swivelling the front seats a pain, yes it gets easier when you know how to do it but still a poor design.
Having two small children we also found that we didn't have enough space, Yes that's a personal problem not a cali one but we needed an additional awning which was just more to carry.
The Aberdeen dealership, when we purchased, was also terrible, knew nothing poor, handover and extremely uninterested.

Wanted to thank those on the forum that answered questions and to everyone else I hope you all continue to enjoy your Calis, Beach's or Ocean's .

 

[Borris]

So after having our Beach for 3years we sold it yesterday.

It's been an interesting ownership, I've always wanted a California and when we first got it I loved it but..over the 3 years (well 2 yrs that we could use it properly) it disappointed.

Build quality wasn't great, too many rattles and squeaks.
Swivelling the front seats a pain, yes it gets easier when you know how to do it but still a poor design.
Having two small children we also found that we didn't have enough space, Yes that's a personal problem not a cali one but we needed an additional awning which was just more to carry.
The Aberdeen dealership, when we purchased, was also terrible, knew nothing poor, handover and extremely uninterested.

Wanted to thank those on the forum that answered questions and to everyone else I hope you all continue to enjoy your Calis, Beach's or Ocean's .

Farewell Matty and crew.

I hope that you find what you are looking for although I think you'll find it difficult identifing something larger with better build quality and fewer rattles.

Good luck

 

[Kemper-van]

Farewell Matty and crew.

I hope that you find what you are looking for although I think you'll find it difficult identifing something larger with better build quality and fewer rattles.

Good luck

Maybe the new T7 in a few months?
Maybe VW will bring this one with choice of wheelbase?

 

[WelshGas]

I think we will see more posts like this over the next few years.

 

[Azteccamper]

I think we will see more posts like this over the next few years.

Do you think it is the quality of newer vans or people choosing them and realising it’s not for them?

 

[WelshGas]

Do you think it is the quality of newer vans or people choosing them and realising it’s not for them?

The latter.
I don't think the quality has deteriorated. Mobile living accommodation has always been "flimsy" compared with static. Weight matters. I'm not sure what there is to rattle in a Beach compared to a SE/Ocean.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

The latter.
I don't think the quality has deteriorated. Mobile living accommodation has always been "flimsy" compared with static. Weight matters. I'm not sure what there is to rattle in a Beach compared to a SE/Ocean.

Awning was the only thing that rattled on our beach (although more due to the poor state of our local roads!), but cured by fitting the 2 x plastic clips from Thule.

 

[blondebier]

Awning was the only thing that rattled on our beach (although more due to the poor state of our local roads!), but cured by fitting the 2 x plastic clips from Thule.

Our awning was replaced under warranty. The dealer confirmed that it shouldn't do it and we got a shiny new one without the rattle.

More broadly though, I think the people do need to be fair to the California and what you compare it with. At the end of the day it is based on a commercial vehicle. I can't imagine interior noise is at the top of the engineers list when looking at refinements.

Compared with my daily driver it is noisy inside.

I quickly forget when taking the kids or my mother in law out though! Thank goodness for Spotify.

 

[Matty]

@Borris think we will go back to under Canvas, this is how we used to camp and always loved it.

As for the rattles, awning, table, arms rests and sliding hatch and for the money you pay I would expect that wouldn't be the case.

Have to say that another factor was that I got pretty much what a paid for it back, less £500.

 

[BeagleMum]

@Borris think we will go back to under Canvas, this is how we used to camp and always loved it.

As for the rattles, awning, table, arms rests and sliding hatch and for the money you pay I would expect that wouldn't be the case.

Have to say that another factor was that I got pretty much what a paid for it back, less £500.

Rattle aside you can’t beat 3 years ownership for £500, these vehicles are excellent for holding their value.
I don’t know whether you’ve been unlucky or we’ve been lucky. In 2 years ownership we’ve haven’t experienced any issues other than a stiff sliding hatch.

 

[Amarillo]

@Borris think we will go back to under Canvas, this is how we used to camp and always loved it.

As for the rattles, awning, table, arms rests and sliding hatch and for the money you pay I would expect that wouldn't be the case.

Have to say that another factor was that I got pretty much what a paid for it back, less £500.

Wow! £500 for three (two) years use of a Beach. I guess you must have bought second hand.

I have to say we’ve had our Beach for four years and love it now as much as day 1. We’ve found it superb with two young children aged 2 and 3 at purchase and now 6 and 7.

The only time we’ve found it a little small has been when it’s raining.

 

[Borris]

@Borris think we will go back to under Canvas, this is how we used to camp and always loved it.

As for the rattles, awning, table, arms rests and sliding hatch and for the money you pay I would expect that wouldn't be the case.

Have to say that another factor was that I got pretty much what a paid for it back, less £500.

Wow, that's fantastic!

The rattles surprise me though. We are on our second Beach and whilst the first one did have one annoying rattle the current van is rattle free. Usually you'll discover that rattles tend to emanate from the clobber we put in vehicles.

 

[clarinetbcn]

My Beach has 92k kms and is generally quiet except for an annoying buzz from deep in the dashboard at 2100-2200rpm in 3rd and 4th, and a recently developed buzz from the instrument cluster. My criticism is not that it's based on a commercial vehicle, I like that. It's the cheap and flimsy interior finish, window trim around the sliding window that pops off because the mounting points are a poor design, bench seat belt guides which are held on by fragile plastic ties that are difficult to access when they pop off, roof trim on the under side of the roof bed held on by clips so fragile that there are forum posts about how to buy them by the bag, laughably fragile upholstery material considering its intended use, rear knobby floor material which requires scrubbing with a tooth brush to get clean, front cup holders which buzz and rattle so much when in use that I never open them, roof hatch, well, what can I say that hasn't already been said, seat screws in the rear door storage which vibrate loose under normal driving and disappear, seat joints which break so often that a forum member is supplying better after market pieces than VW cares to make, etc., etc. I love my Beach. It has just become clear during these years of adventures always accompanied by fanatically exquisite care, that VW doesn't. Their lack of pride in their product means that they rely on having a more useful design than anybody else, and the quality doesn't matter because people will buy them at almost any price anyway. What do we think would happen if somebody came along and offered a well thought out van with stellar quality of construction? I have no investment in the VW name, as VW doesn't seem to care about quality. I'm only interested in what works best for me. For now, that's the Beach.

Considering the path that VW seems to be taking with the cheapened, smaller and more limited T7, and its deal with Ford to sell a Turkish made Transit as a rebadged 6.1 replacement starting in 2024, I foresee that an industry will develop of making quality after market non-VW replacement parts to keep the T5/6 on the road in better condition than when they left the factory finished to VW's currently unremarkable standards.

 

[sapto]

So after having our Beach for 3years we sold it yesterday.

It's been an interesting ownership, I've always wanted a California and when we first got it I loved it but..over the 3 years (well 2 yrs that we could use it properly) it disappointed.

Build quality wasn't great, too many rattles and squeaks.
Swivelling the front seats a pain, yes it gets easier when you know how to do it but still a poor design.
Having two small children we also found that we didn't have enough space, Yes that's a personal problem not a cali one but we needed an additional awning which was just more to carry.
The Aberdeen dealership, when we purchased, was also terrible, knew nothing poor, handover and extremely uninterested.

Wanted to thank those on the forum that answered questions and to everyone else I hope you all continue to enjoy your Calis, Beach's or Ocean's .

All the best and thank you for your honest review.
Wish you (other/better) superb camping trips and stays and like they say: "It's not what kind of camper you drive it's the spirit, that makes camping so wonderful".

Happy camping