Dealership rang, offered to swap my van! Sanity check please

[babble]

Well, my Coast seems to be worth a fair bit more than I paid for it three years ago (i got a good 17% discount at the time) so I'm selling it, and I've just ordered a Beach (for which I got a 16% discount).

The way I see it I had my Cali for free for the last three years, and now I can start again with a lovely new one! (slightly better suited to my needs based on my experience over the last three years, so a more flexible interior and 4motion)

Fingers crossed in three years the Beach will not have lost much money either.

 

[Corradobrit]

Why would anyone want a Poverty spec van over the Ocean.

My "poverty spec" Coast was speced to an equivalent level of an Ocean bar the hydraulic poptop and the digital dash, neither of which I wanted. Of more value to me is the uncomplicated manual roof with less to go wrong when traveling and the light oak interior.
Savings were substantial even when going wild with the options (towbar, Editions Pack, pan bellows, wood effect floor, ACC, stiffer ARB's, upgraded battery, 4 keys, 4Mo, DSG and 204 engine).
Nope, have no regrets slumming it with the Coast.

 

[couplands]

You mention that the price was inline with what you saw on the configurator. That suggests they are offering at or near list price..?

When I ordered ours in June 2021 we got 9% discount and a 4 year warranty/service/roadside offer too (which has been extended to 5 years warranty for £60 upon collection a week ago).

So we had to wait, but the price was much lower than if we bought new today (approx £13k lower v todays price), so maybe worth looking at what deal you can do on a new van for delivery in 6-12months plus what you'd get for yours via Motorway/Cazoo/WBAC or the like.

Or, as someone said above....just do it as life's too short and there's no point in taking money to the grave..;-)

 

[couplands]

Well, my Coast seems to be worth a fair bit more than I paid for it three years ago (i got a good 17% discount at the time) so I'm selling it, and I've just ordered a Beach (for which I got a 16% discount).

The way I see it I had my Cali for free for the last three years, and now I can start again with a lovely new one! (slightly better suited to my needs based on my experience over the last three years, so a more flexible interior and 4motion)

Fingers crossed in three years the Beach will not have lost much money either.

17% discount is very good. The best I could do in the UK was 10% via a broker. I settled for 9% and a local(ish) dealer.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Why would anyone want a Poverty spec van over the Ocean.

Peace of mind & more cash in the pocket.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Peace of mind.

I’ve had the Ocean 4.5 years and nothing on the habitation has failed or broken.

 

[willwander]

I’ve had the Ocean 4.5 years and nothing on the habitation has failed or broken.

I'm going back to a panel van and an old mattress, less to go wrong

 

[andyinluton]

I'm going back to a panel van and an old mattress, less to go wrong

I’m going back to just a mattress, even less to go wrong.

 

[66tim99]

Never crossed my mind no.

Feels like an opportunity on:
- a nice change of van (love the colour)
- better spec
- will hold value better (as coast is no longer sold in uk)
- fresh new 2 year-ish warranty

How did it pan out with the dealer today?
Which colour is it?

 

[sagy]

You guys are acting as if auto roof is a must have. Actually I feel really lucky that I was able to get one of the last Coasts, since I for sure wouldn't be buying an Ocean because an auto roof is a real turn off for me.

And if you really consider Coasts to be "poverty spec" Californias I dont know what to tell you.. but there are awful lot of Oceans with lesser specs out there. Just sayin...

 

[66tim99]

For the record, my auto roof has been perfect. Its a doddle for my Mrs to operate, I don't think she could get the manual down.
Horses for courses, but don't write off an auto roof because a few have had sagging issues. Many more haven't, and seemingly VW now know what needs to be done to sort the few that have.

 

[Amarillo]

For the record, my auto roof has been perfect. Its a doddle for my Mrs to operate, I don't think she could get the manual down.
Horses for courses, but don't write off an auto roof because a few have had sagging issues. Many more haven't, and seemingly VW now know what needs to be done to sort the few that have.

Even if an auto roof was a zero cost option on a Beach, I’d still go for a manual. But I guess everyone is allowed to pay for or choose whatever is right for them.

 

[willwander]

 

[couplands]

Even if an auto roof was a zero cost option on a Beach, I’d still go for a manual. But I guess everyone is allowed to pay for or choose whatever is right for them.

If it wasn’t a powered roof my wife couldn’t reach to lower the manual one.

I’m hoping the 5 yr warranty gives us peace of mind.

 

[California_Ocean]

I've been working in the auto industry as an electronic and electrical design engineer for 33 years, and I remember pub discussions about electric windows being the spawn of the devil, "better stick with manual winders", the panic at the demise of the carburettor because you couldn’t "rebuild" a fuel injection system, why no-one needed power steering - it ruined the feel of the car apparently - and it's basically gone on like that for 3 decades ... does anyone even realise how difficult it was for us to ditch the cassette tape head-unit? .... I've never seen one "useful" comfort function get removed - there have been a few wrong turns, like the Maestro talking dashboard, but the useful stuff stays and the tech ends up as standard fit eventually. A buyer can choose not to have options added, but the standard advice is that it is always easier to shift a higher specced car if everything is working as it should.

Of course it's possible to find a buyer for a manual roof, but there are more buyers for an electric one ... if there weren't, VW wouldn't bother offering it. Every option has a ROI target, if an option can't meet its profit target, it wont get to market - and VW know what they are doing. We all know there is a 'new' Cali just around the corner ... and the standard procedure at end of life for any platform is to load it up with options and discount them to keep the volumes up. This makes the second hand market for low spec variants quite challenging - sometimes the low spec variants are dropped from the lineup. My advice, at this stage of the transporter platform, is to load them with options if you want a solid resale value.

If for other reasons, like perceived quality problems, you want to leave options off then that is fine too - but it isn't sound advice for others who don't have the same fears.

Just my opinion.

 

[subthree]

View attachment 100026

Where does the "Grand California" go on that scale?

 

[calibusje]

Agree, Keep the Coast.

Agree, the only way up is manual

 

[westfalia]

You guys are acting as if auto roof is a must have. Actually I feel really lucky that I was able to get one of the last Coasts, since I for sure wouldn't be buying an Ocean because an auto roof is a real turn off for me.

And if you really consider Coasts to be "poverty spec" Californias I dont know what to tell you.. but there are awful lot of Oceans with lesser specs out there. Just sayin...

I Agree again.

If the auto roof wasn't a problem, why do I have a list of all of the part numbers
and diagrams of how it works, a litre of special vw hydraulic oil and a big syringe.
Why have I spent many hours trying to work out what is what and changing a ram.
I've had to do all of this because there are not many clued up people at vw, they just want to
fix it by a process of elimination, which can be a bit dear.

All those trying to defend the auto roof, I hope you never have any problems
but the day you do have a problem, you might for a split second think, a manual
roof would be better.

 

[Steve1]

I keep coming back here hoping to hear why someone might have returned / sold their van after only 300 miles, seems an odd thing to do and is quite interesting.
But all there is is a pointless arguement about roofs instead ... boring.

 

[WelshGas]

Yes, the Coast is so, so popular in the U.K. market they’ve stopped making it and if I remember correctly didn’t they stop selling the Beach for a while in the U.K.
Now, both these vehicles had mechanical roofs, but the Ocean and it’s predecessor the SE has been on continuous sale since it’s introduction.

 

[westfalia]

I keep coming back here hoping to hear why someone might have returned / sold their van after only 300 miles, seems an odd thing to do and is quite interesting.
But all there is is a pointless arguement about roofs instead ... boring.

So you haven't yet got into the swing of threads going off on a tangent or 2

I'm telling you, it was Mick Jagger.

 

[westfalia]

Yes, the Coast is so, so popular in the U.K. market they’ve stopped making it and if I remember correctly didn’t they stop selling the Beach for a while in the U.K.
Now, both these vehicles had mechanical roofs, but the Ocean and it’s predecessor the SE has been on continuous sale since it’s introduction.

More after sales profit to be made.

 

[Steve1]

So you haven't yet got into the swing of threads going off on a tangent or 2

I'm telling you, it was Mick Jagger.

It's the best reason anyone has come up with so let's go with it ! Would you want it after that though ?

 

[westfalia]

It's the best reason anyone has come up with so let's go with it ! Would you want it after that though ?

He saw the red drivers door and painted it black

Yes, I'll take it after Micks used it.
Powder everywhere.

 

[WaikatoCalifornia]

One thing that strikes me as strange in all this is that you only get a 2yr warranty in the UK. In New Zealand, we get a 5yr/150,000km warranty (whichever comes first), and that includes subsequent owners (ie. not just the person who bought it from the dealer). Lobby your local MP for some decent consumer rights? 2yrs is shameful for a vehicle, especially one in this price range!