Pauli
Hello everyone,
here’s one rather fresh Californist from Finland – but still I’m already running my second Cali
The first round: this one (128kW Comfortline -05) I picked up from south-eastern Germany in the very end of 2019. That just wasn’t quite in such condition that had expected so the first few months had to be spent not only on basic maintenance (all filters etc.) but also on certain repairs (front right wheel bearing, leaking exhaust muffler, new turbocharger hosing just to mention the biggest ones), replacing leisure / auxiliary batteries and certain basic clean-ups and smaller fixes (for example slide doors of the cupboards).
Odd facts: even you don’t have to pay specific car tax on “real” campers – or even just a high-top Cali – the same rule doesn’t unfortunately apply on these pop-top ones (longer story) which is most likely the main reason why we have so few ones in the country here. That car tax is typically determined automatically even as quickly as over-night or manually processed within few weeks but the final decision (and bill) for this one came in the end of March (almost three months processing time!) after which I finally got the actual Finnish license plates.
Anyhow after a bit difficult start that summer went quite fine and more than a few must recognize how far this car took.
For a few reasons I ended up listing this one for sale in the end of summer leave that year after just some months' ownership and within two weeks found myself being without a camper again.
Second run: in the spring 2021 I was primarily looking for some early face-lifted T5GP (2010-2012) from Germany when this one (another 128kW Comfortline -05) suddenly came for sale here in Finland in the end of April. Seemed just too good to be missed – so was luckily the fastest one and got it.
Straight from the beginning it was clear that I’ll carry out a few modifications that had on my mind already for the first one but never wanted to put that extra money. So pretty much straight after the purchase placed an order for AP coil-over kit – prefer lowered not only for much firmer ride but also to get rid of the huge wheel gap in the front. For the wheel choice was not that easy – 19” or 20” and which style – until one friend gave a good tip of checking the OEM-selection for Amarok’s after which the decision was clear and had just to find a suitable set of VW Cantera’s that eventually came then from Lithuania.
In addition to those there was also some need for basic maintenance and misc. this but after that the past summer was pretty much just to use the California which it’s intended for.
Now since the end of October this has been parked for the winter – the last few kilometers I drove without rear bumper trim and the inner fenders / mud guards (highly recommended if you’re driving on gravel roads and want to take and wash it properly). So car is in the garage and there's a few projects ahead or going on:
Longish text but hopefully someone read it through. Hope to raise a hand to many other California’s on the road next summer.
here’s one rather fresh Californist from Finland – but still I’m already running my second Cali
The first round: this one (128kW Comfortline -05) I picked up from south-eastern Germany in the very end of 2019. That just wasn’t quite in such condition that had expected so the first few months had to be spent not only on basic maintenance (all filters etc.) but also on certain repairs (front right wheel bearing, leaking exhaust muffler, new turbocharger hosing just to mention the biggest ones), replacing leisure / auxiliary batteries and certain basic clean-ups and smaller fixes (for example slide doors of the cupboards).
Odd facts: even you don’t have to pay specific car tax on “real” campers – or even just a high-top Cali – the same rule doesn’t unfortunately apply on these pop-top ones (longer story) which is most likely the main reason why we have so few ones in the country here. That car tax is typically determined automatically even as quickly as over-night or manually processed within few weeks but the final decision (and bill) for this one came in the end of March (almost three months processing time!) after which I finally got the actual Finnish license plates.
Anyhow after a bit difficult start that summer went quite fine and more than a few must recognize how far this car took.
For a few reasons I ended up listing this one for sale in the end of summer leave that year after just some months' ownership and within two weeks found myself being without a camper again.
Second run: in the spring 2021 I was primarily looking for some early face-lifted T5GP (2010-2012) from Germany when this one (another 128kW Comfortline -05) suddenly came for sale here in Finland in the end of April. Seemed just too good to be missed – so was luckily the fastest one and got it.
Straight from the beginning it was clear that I’ll carry out a few modifications that had on my mind already for the first one but never wanted to put that extra money. So pretty much straight after the purchase placed an order for AP coil-over kit – prefer lowered not only for much firmer ride but also to get rid of the huge wheel gap in the front. For the wheel choice was not that easy – 19” or 20” and which style – until one friend gave a good tip of checking the OEM-selection for Amarok’s after which the decision was clear and had just to find a suitable set of VW Cantera’s that eventually came then from Lithuania.
In addition to those there was also some need for basic maintenance and misc. this but after that the past summer was pretty much just to use the California which it’s intended for.
Now since the end of October this has been parked for the winter – the last few kilometers I drove without rear bumper trim and the inner fenders / mud guards (highly recommended if you’re driving on gravel roads and want to take and wash it properly). So car is in the garage and there's a few projects ahead or going on:
- Currently without bumper trims (new one to be fitted rear, and some parking aid repairs on both ends)
- Dampening mats to the front doors (pretty much finished)
- Audio upgrade (4-channel amplifier, 2-way front speaker set, active subwoofer)
- Front brake overhaul (going from original 308mm setup to 2-pot calibers and 340mm discs)
Longish text but hopefully someone read it through. Hope to raise a hand to many other California’s on the road next summer.
