Can this continue?

[blakeley]

Over the past few years I have stumbled upon a system that appears to work but seems to good to be true and not sure it can continue.

In 2014 we purchased a brand new T5 180 SE DSG which arrived in March however due to me having to work overseas for six months i ended up selling it after seven months use with 7500 miles on the clock and having around 60 nights away. We sold it and made £3,000 profit.

We then ordered the identical vehicle with a few more extras which was delivered in March 2015, this one we put 9,000 on the clock after two long European trips, then in September I advertised this one and made £2,400 profit

Last year we had a year off and spent our profit on a small cruise around the Med and ordered a T6 Beach as soon as we returned which arrived last month, we plan to sell this in March next year.

This system seems too good to be true but works well for us and to be honest i would be happy to draw even, if we had hired for all these nights away it would of cost in excess on £15k

Best of all we have a brand new van every year so never have the worry of a Cali without a warranty.

 

[Max-Felix]

IT seems too good to be true but many seem to be doing this. I guess as long as there are people paying too much for used vans and not bargaining hard enough or doing their homework then take advantage of it!

The current T6 though pricey offers nearly everything you need as standard, I configured my ideal one - 150 DSG, metallic, privacy, cruise, towball and a couple of other bits but still only got to £56k list with finance contribution, dealer discount still to be deducted.

Given the asking price for used nearly new T6 s currently (some are nuts) often above any potential discounted figure for a brand new build yourself then either people are happy to pay a premium to avoid the waiting time or just cannot be bothered to research the market or bargain hard.

I did this last year in a more minor way by buying a used Beach at the right price in June and selling in September mainly to avoid the £4K hire fee for our summer adventure. After selling the bundled accessories to boot and with a small profit on the van itself we were around £1k up with no hire costs of course. You just need to be astute and know the market. I will do the same this year unless we find a perfect big bargain keeper.

Having said that if I had kept that same Beach then I'd be even better off as despite being a year older advertised price have risen over £1k. No doubt due to continuing VW price rises which helps you of course.

 

[Seaside Sussex]

I suspect post April VED hike vehicles won't maintain such high early secondhand values, whereas pre April registrations will see a boom in their value. U.K. only of course.

We intend to keep Billy long-term so it's all academic for us, but can see it's a profitable opportunity for some.

 

[aled james]

The Beach is certainly gaining in popularity. I've just sold a brand new T6 and had 4 potential buyers!!

 

[Victor]

We have been doing something very similar to this over the past few years as we have a friend who hires our California's and they run to the same business model, that is why you rarely see a California for hire that is more than a year old.

The key to making this work for us was buying at maximum discount ( we normally acheived 9%) also buying BEFORE the annual price increase and last of all you need to ideally sell at the beginning on the season.

Basically I have had free motoring for the past two years as the profit covered insurance and road tax.

Its a no - brainer, long may it continue

 

[Verity]

At the Peterborough show yesterday we saw some pretty (and some pretty awful) conversions. None were as well speced or as comfortable as the Cali and some of them were £60k plus! (Though some had some very pretty coloured cupboards vs the very dull grey Cali option - that's why rugs, cushions and bunting were invented, I guess ...) We were shocked, and so glad we made the choice we did now.

There was an awful lot of carpet on walls as well - yuk!

As above, we intend to keep ours till we're too cronky to use it any more, so resale value is irrelevant to us barring financial disaster/serious illness/death!

 

[steve and lisa]

We plan to sell ours before the warranty expires and have a new one on order over the winter, i doubt if we will be as lucky as you but we expect to lose less than £5k

 

[CannonDale]

Over the past few years I have stumbled upon a system that appears to work but seems to good to be true and not sure it can continue.

In 2014 we purchased a brand new T5 180 SE DSG which arrived in March however due to me having to work overseas for six months i ended up selling it after seven months use with 7500 miles on the clock and having around 60 nights away. We sold it and made £3,000 profit.

We then ordered the identical vehicle with a few more extras which was delivered in March 2015, this one we put 9,000 on the clock after two long European trips, then in September I advertised this one and made £2,400 profit

Last year we had a year off and spent our profit on a small cruise around the Med and ordered a T6 Beach as soon as we returned which arrived last month, we plan to sell this in March next year.

This system seems too good to be true but works well for us and to be honest i would be happy to draw even, if we had hired for all these nights away it would of cost in excess on £15k

Best of all we have a brand new van every year so never have the worry of a Cali without a warranty.

Do you sell privately or px to a dealer?

 

[blakeley]

Always private, the difference between what dealer offers and a private sale is massive, you can be talking upto £10k. Well worth the little extra hassle

 

[sidepod]

Over the past few years I have stumbled upon a system that appears to work but seems to good to be true and not sure it can continue.

In 2014 we purchased a brand new T5 180 SE DSG which arrived in March however due to me having to work overseas for six months i ended up selling it after seven months use with 7500 miles on the clock and having around 60 nights away. We sold it and made £3,000 profit.

We then ordered the identical vehicle with a few more extras which was delivered in March 2015, this one we put 9,000 on the clock after two long European trips, then in September I advertised this one and made £2,400 profit

Last year we had a year off and spent our profit on a small cruise around the Med and ordered a T6 Beach as soon as we returned which arrived last month, we plan to sell this in March next year.

This system seems too good to be true but works well for us and to be honest i would be happy to draw even, if we had hired for all these nights away it would of cost in excess on £15k

Best of all we have a brand new van every year so never have the worry of a Cali without a warranty.

What?

Are you saying people actually pay you more than the list price of a new vehicle?

 

[soulstyledevon]

At the Peterborough show yesterday we saw some pretty (and some pretty awful) conversions. None were as well speced or as comfortable as the Cali and some of them were £60k plus! (Though some had some very pretty coloured cupboards vs the very dull grey Cali option - that's why rugs, cushions and bunting were invented, I guess ...) We were shocked, and so glad we made the choice we did now.

There was an awful lot of carpet on walls as well - yuk!

As above, we intend to keep ours till we're too cronky to use it any more, so resale value is irrelevant to us barring financial disaster/serious illness/death!

I have two friends who bought converted vans, which i personally think are dog rough. The vans had huge miles and the conversions were very shoddy.
Much better to invest in a used Cali for a slightly higher price.

Although, what morons are paying more than list...???
MUPPETS..!!!

Its our, must have it now culture.

 

[martinwilson]

Always private, the difference between what dealer offers and a private sale is massive, you can be talking upto £10k. Well worth the little extra hassle

Private buyers paying cash/bank transfer? I've had difficulty selling expensive cars for cash privately but I guess the crowd buying a Cali are of a sort that may have the money in the bank rather than those living beyond their means via finance deals.

 

[Jabberwocky]

What?

Are you saying people actually pay you more than the list price of a new vehicle?

Interestingly spoke to my dealer this pm and we were talking about this very matter. With lead-times moving out (summer bubble) and the tax hike post April 1st nearly new, pre 31st March Calis, are in strong demand.

 

[Victor]

1. Buy before annual price hike
2. Ensure you get best discount 9% normally does it.
3. Sell between March - May

Maybe not always make a profit but you will certainly get your money back.

I notice the T6 adverts in the classifieds this year have been advertised at near list price and sell within a week or so, I suspect the sellers are getting very near asking price.

 

[sidepod]

And you guys wonder why VW customer service couldn't give a f**k?

 

[larrylamb]

3. Sell between March - May

So you sell your van from last summer March-May presumably just before your new one arrives??

 

[mattsurfsgood]

Always private, the difference between what dealer offers and a private sale is massive, you can be talking upto £10k. Well worth the little extra hassle

Hi Blakeley, where did your buyers come via? Autotrader? This site? Facebook?
Appreciate your response

 

[reserves]

Hi Blakeley, where did your buyers come via? Autotrader? This site? Facebook?
Appreciate your response

Did you know this thread is 3 years old?

 

[mattsurfsgood]

I did, yes. Glad I came across it Should I have DM'd you?