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

CC44853 said:
I did it guys.

Ocean was a retirement gift to a VW employee at another location. They rejected it and sold it back to dealer for I imagine a very nice chunk of cash instead.

I'm over the moon at this stage and can't believe how lucky I've been, feel fortunate to have been able to take the call from the dealer and move on this so quickly (rang weds, bought fri)

Van checks out perfect, with my coast there were a few tiny issues but I've spent the last hours fiddling around and can't find any faults whatsoever.

I've enjoyed the Coast vs Ocean banter but it's not something I'll be taking part in, because as recent history has shown I'd(have) own both!

Few immediate take aways:
- it's definitely smoother drive, prob a combination of bigger wheels, also suspension(body roll) seems greatly reduced
- lightning is so much better(many more interior lights)
- led headlights are a huge upgrade
- digital dash is great (didn't think I'd like this)
- discover media pro (massive screen) is lovely and wireless CarPlay works very well (id previously been slumming it with Bluetooth + MagSafe mount due to wired CarPlay interference noise)
- rear aircon baby!
- roof is neat and less hassle
- auto start stop cabin click is quieter

If you see an Ascot Grey Ocean with the awning removed out and about please wave, I'll be the one with a massive grin on my stupid face.
Click to expand...
Congratulations! Can I pick up on the ride comfort comments. I appreciate you have gone from 16's to 17's. Interested to know if you have 215's or 235's ?? Thanks in advance
 
CC44853 said:
I did it guys.

Ocean was a retirement gift to a VW employee at another location. They rejected it and sold it back to dealer for I imagine a very nice chunk of cash instead.

I'm over the moon at this stage and can't believe how lucky I've been, feel fortunate to have been able to take the call from the dealer and move on this so quickly (rang weds, bought fri)

Van checks out perfect, with my coast there were a few tiny issues but I've spent the last hours fiddling around and can't find any faults whatsoever.

I've enjoyed the Coast vs Ocean banter but it's not something I'll be taking part in, because as recent history has shown I'd(have) own both!

Few immediate take aways:
- it's definitely smoother drive, prob a combination of bigger wheels, also suspension(body roll) seems greatly reduced
- lightning is so much better(many more interior lights)
- led headlights are a huge upgrade
- digital dash is great (didn't think I'd like this)
- discover media pro (massive screen) is lovely and wireless CarPlay works very well (id previously been slumming it with Bluetooth + MagSafe mount due to wired CarPlay interference noise)
- rear aircon baby!
- roof is neat and less hassle
- auto start stop cabin click is quieter

If you see an Ascot Grey Ocean with the awning removed out and about please wave, I'll be the one with a massive grin on my stupid face.
Click to expand...
Congratulations! But: a retirement gift? On another location? For real? So there have been unimaginably long waiting times in recent years and yet they could give a cali to someone for retirement? On time? :veryfunny I'm sorry, you can’t believe this yourself: a California as a gift for someone’s retirement. They could have come up with many stories why that ocean was there but this? Why they wanted your coast is for your manual roof, of course: a young coast with few miles and from a period they were still a lot affordable and now not even available to order: they have a lot of buyers for that who will now pay more than you did when you bought it new.
Anyway: the rear aircon is certainly an upgrade, the led headlights I do not have and do not miss them but secretly I wish I ordered them. The many more interior lights are truly useful (and can be strong reading lights). You’ll see at the time, especially those at the roof where our children sleep and keep themselves busy with reading and others. All the rest: good for you :thumb What's important now is that you are over the moon with your ascot grey ocean!
 
Stu@rt said:
Congratulations! Can I pick up on the ride comfort comments. I appreciate you have gone from 16's to 17's. Interested to know if you have 215's or 235's ?? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
I do know that the 6.1 ARBs are upgraded as standard from the T6
 
Whatever the story.
If the price works, the vans sound and it’s backed up with a full VW Warranty. The O/P made the right choice that worked for him… :thumb
 
Ch1pbutty said:
So the the only unanswered question for those following the post is what was the price differential between the old and new?
Click to expand...
True and may I add the more you can sell the same vehicle, the more money you make; the coast will be soon sold and the dealer will make twice profit on that one. The ocean will be sold with a profit off course and -but this is my thought on this- had been sold before and will rather be a ‘take back’, mandatory or voluntary. Car sellers never work with losses. Car seller’s happy but for me it is an intriguing story about that ocean, especially now that it is being told that it is a gift for an employee's retirement in another place…
Anyway as long as the OP is happy and enjoying the ocean. Everybody happy!
 
Last edited:
calibusje said:
True and may I add the more you can sell the same vehicle, the more money you make; the coast will be soon sold and the dealer will make twice profit on that one. The ocean will be sold with a profit off course and -but this is my thought on this- had been sold before and will rather be a ‘take back’, mandatory or voluntary. Car sellers never work with losses. Car seller’s happy but for me it is an intriguing story about that ocean, especially now that it is being told that it is a gift for an employee's retirement in another place…
Anyway as long as the OP is happy and enjoying the ocean. Everybody happy!
Click to expand...

Happy that the OP got the van that they actually wanted, it always pays to do a bit of research first to avoid making an expensive mistake.

Lots have offered advise on the original post as to the pros & cons of switching so would be good to know the final trade up price to close the story; otherwise the only thing the thread seems to have done is to start the manual v auto roof discussion…of course it would be a great if VW could offer the choice of roof operation on all models!

(Agree…As far as the retirement gift story…smells like Bull from the dealer! If true, the person retiring would be left with a tax burden on the full list price of the van, so may have preferred a box of chocolates!…)
 
Last edited:
Ch1pbutty said:
Happy that the OP got the van that they actually wanted, it always pays to do a bit of research first to avoid making an expensive mistake.

Lots have offered advise on the original post as to the pros & cons of switching so would be good to know the final trade up price to close the story; otherwise the only thing the thread seems to have done is to start the manual v auto roof discussion…of course it would be a great if VW could offer the choice of roof operation on all models!

(Agree…As far as the retirement gift story…smells like Bull from the dealer! If true, the person retiring would be left with a tax burden on the full list price of the van, so may have preferred a box of chocolates!)
Click to expand...
True but… the pop-up roof is the biggest difference between coast and ocean (there are more, certainly but the biggest is the roof). For me and probably for many the only reason to choose a coast at the time. So for me it makes sense that the post went in that direction; each his idea about it. That said, the story behind it indeed stinks from afar and hopefully it's just a distant story to not have to say something that hopefully isn't serious. For me it's just that the dealer wants to sell a few cars several times. If the OP can take advantage of it and is happy -and he is- then that's the main thing.

Edit: Which I completely agree with: vw should offer both roofs on all their models so an ocean with manual roof should be possible.
 
Last edited:
calibusje said:
True but… the pop-up roof is the biggest difference between coast and ocean (there are more, certainly but the biggest is the roof).
Click to expand...
In the Uk there are far more significant differences than just the roof.
Theres the choice of engines and the ability to have 4 motion being 2 of the more obvious ones.

When the coast was available, adding lots of options to a coast to try & spec it up to basic Ocean levels where those options were available meant the price was very close for what was still a lower spec van.

If you wanted a low spec van thats fine, it made sense financially, but start adding the extras & it got a bit silly. ie to have 18" Terrisina wheels on a coast in 2020 was a £2440 option, for the Ocean the same wheels were £936
 
westfalia said:
But he tried
and he tried, and he tried
Click to expand...
Ch1pbutty said:
Happy that the OP got the van that they actually wanted, it always pays to do a bit of research first to avoid making an expensive mistake.

Lots have offered advise on the original post as to the pros & cons of switching so would be good to know the final trade up price to close the story; otherwise the only thing the thread seems to have done is to start the manual v auto roof discussion…of course it would be a great if VW could offer the choice of roof operation on all models!

(Agree…As far as the retirement gift story…smells like Bull from the dealer! If true, the person retiring would be left with a tax burden on the full list price of the van, so may have preferred a box of chocolates!…)
Click to expand...
I would think the retiring employee had no choice but to sell it to pay the tax bill ! But most whip rounds for a retirement gift probably get a few hundred quid so the envelope must have been sent round the whole of the VW Group :)
 
Paul G - 2022 Ocean said:
I would think the retiring employee had no choice but to sell it to pay the tax bill ! But most whip rounds for a retirement gift probably get a few hundred quid so the envelope must have been sent round the whole of the VW Group :)
Click to expand...
Maybe it was a retirement gift to himself. Took a £59,500 tax free lump sum from his pension pot. Bought a California with their 15% staff discount. Sold it back for £70,000.
 
Amarillo said:
Maybe it was a retirement gift to himself. Took a £59,500 tax free lump sum from his pension pot. Bought a California with their 15% staff discount. Sold it back for £70,000.
Click to expand...

Smart bloke.

I used to work for Peugeot. We got 20% off new cars.
I remember buying a new 206GT. Drove it for 3 months and sold it back to the dealers.
I had to pay them about £600 to take it off my hands…:headbang
 
Amarillo said:
Maybe it was a retirement gift to himself. Took a £59,500 tax free lump sum from his pension pot. Bought a California with their 15% staff discount. Sold it back for £70,000.
Click to expand...
I never thought of that! Could be true because I was thinking of cashing one of my pensions in early to pay for most of our new Ocean. I didn’t in the end because we wanted to keep the Cali into our retirement and have some extra pension to run it on when the wages are no longer coming in.
 
Retirement gift? Why not? ... it can be interpreted many ways, the most improbable being that the receiver got the van as an unwanted gift - more likely a retirement gift to self. But as always a forum of speculators will never know the real story.

Buying camper vans for retirement is a bit of a trend though ... my mother did it and toured europe for 3 years, my sister intends to do the same - I'm sure also that a lot of retirees find they're not as into camping as they thought they would be - so some vans get moved on quite quickly.

Either way, really glad the OP is happy, and to be honest - who cares if the dealer turned a profit? - he seems to have made a few customers very happy, relieved one of an unwanted van, sold it to a happy new owner, and will make someone else very happy with a not-so-old coast. If none of them feel cheated then the dealer has done an excellent job and deserves his profit.
 
You made made a tough decision, no doubt made harder by all the banter etc. on this post. So well done.

Who cares about the story or reasons why, it’s your van now and it sounds a beauty, hopefully we’ll see a photo soon. Well done and enjoy.
 
Well, I assumed that if someone starts a topic, reactions will follow and they can go in different directions. All reactions were also friendly. Mentioning the manual versus electro-hydraulic roof + looking for a reason for this very bizarre affair (getting a phone call asking if you want to buy an ocean that happens to be with them and want to trade in your own coast. Never heard of) didn't sound that awkward; to me anyway. The birarreness of that phonecall makes me now suspect, if I thing further on, that the OP must have mentioned before at the dealer that he actually wants an ocean but bought wrong to begin with, can happen. But if so, was better mentionded in the start of this topic. This aside but could have been important for the further course of this topic but it is what it is now. And off course, I could be wrong about it and it just could be one of the most bizarre phonecalls one can get from his dealer.
But let's move on: someone also mentions that the coast is a 'a low spec van', well for me and others this is his strength: put together à la carte your cali and then don't have to take that electro-hydraulic roof... Super! And there are many candidates for that (certainly when no more available new) and maybe even the reason for the phone call...
I don't understand that there are people here who comment about the fact that I mention that the dealer makes twice a profit: it's just mentioning and mainly trying to explain why such a call was made. A car dealer simply makes a profit and preferably several times on the same vehicle. This is not a reproach to anyone. I've only heard a few meaningful explanations here, but a lot of 'who cares'. It remains a bizarre story and apparently nobody cares about the why. OK. I could have saved a lot of time by not responding and trying to think along in English.
Anyway, if you give valid explanations, this is seen by others as irrelevant. That the OP does what he wants, he is happy and that counts but if he post his doubt (about his sanity ;) ), there will be responses; nobody has to think the same but now I notice that just wiping everything off the table is the norm at this topic as a conclusion. Regrettably. Was there too much complaining about the electro-hydraulic roof by coast enthusiasts? Now and before in other topics? I do not know and for me each must buy what he can and wants. If I wasn't who I am, I might have also opted for an electro-hydraulic roof (and then of course bought an ocean because choosing an electro-hydraulic roof on a coast, that would be a bit **** fill in yourself). Or if I wanted to hear every time that hum from the roof and the look of it going up and down automatically, I bought an ocean. Unfortunately I find the buzzing annoying and would not like the roof to stop going up or down half way through or simply not wanting to open or close. This would ruin our holiday and I want to rule this out as a possibility.

Besides: I had to wait 20 months for the right coast te be delivered and had plenty of time to search around and amongst other things (looking for accessoires) I compared the price difference between a coast and ocean in Belgium, UK, the Netherlands, Germany and France (and a Scandinavian country but I forgot which one). Firstly, I noticed that there are few differences from basic equipment, unless in the UK (more standard with both coast and ocean). I also noticed the difference in engines offered at the coast and the 4motion not being available. This is not really applicable to justify the choice of a coast, because, I think, then you just buy an ocean. I am talking about the choise for a coast, the desirability if you want of the coast and then I think the roof makes a huge diference. Even trying to search for an answer why the dealer wants the OPs coast :oops: What was I thinking?
In a fair comparison, the price difference between a well-equipped coast (like ours; we have 13,000 euro options) and an ocean was still significant (more than 7,000 euro) and not silly as mentioned in a comment. But hey, maybe I was just being silly: putting together a California à la carte without that electro-hydraulic roof that I didn't want. I thought it was a much better offer (and I'm not only talking pricewice) than buying an ocean, but everyone has to decide that for themselves. In any case, the coast certainly had a right to exist and in the future it may well be an enviable version. Why it is no longer offered may have to do with a reduction in the offer, but perhaps also - and this is purely my idea about this - that it sold a lot better than the ocean but made less money for Volkswagen. Logical, I think: many coasts are completely different vehicles and most oceans are quite similar because fully equipped.
But this is quite a different story and yet in the end it could also will fade into insignificance.

And I'm not posting this here to know better: I actually learned more about the California here than I ever knew about it. And every time there is more and more knowledge comming from the members, this is something beautiful that I like to be a part of. I only think that the reactions are now besides the issue and especially next to what the OP wrote in his posts and: "Any opinions greatly appreciated", so mine also I thought, but many people think otherwise. Silly me. But having an opinion is ok and comments are allowed. As long as everything remains polite with respect for each other's opinion.
Many will not be satisfied with my -long- response, but I remain polite, respect everyone's opinion on this and may also express my opinion, am I not?
Have a nice Sunday Evening.

Greetings
Calibusje
 
Last edited:
California_Ocean said:
But as always a forum of speculators will never know the real story.
Click to expand...
I’m often astonished at how far and wide the tentacles of this forum can spread.

There was the mysterious case of the insurance write off being resold. It’s origins were traced back to a video of it crashing and in doing so nearly taking out an amateur boxer who we saw diving, all repeated in slow motion, into a kebab shop for cover.

The van had been lovingly restored with original California parts and was being sold for triple its write off price.
 
California_Ocean said:
Retirement gift? Why not? ... it can be interpreted many ways, the most improbable being that the receiver got the van as an unwanted gift - more likely a retirement gift to self. But as always a forum of speculators will never know the real story.

Buying camper vans for retirement is a bit of a trend though ... my mother did it and toured europe for 3 years, my sister intends to do the same - I'm sure also that a lot of retirees find they're not as into camping as they thought they would be - so some vans get moved on quite quickly.

Either way, really glad the OP is happy, and to be honest - who cares if the dealer turned a profit? - he seems to have made a few customers very happy, relieved one of an unwanted van, sold it to a happy new owner, and will make someone else very happy with a not-so-old coast. If none of them feel cheated then the dealer has done an excellent job and deserves his profit.
Click to expand...
Ocean was a retirement gift to a VW employee at another location. They rejected it and sold it back to dealer for I imagine a very nice chunk of cash instead.
Click to expand...
It was a retirement gift to a VW employee.... and rejected... This is how I read it so not quite buying yourself a retirement gift :oops:
 
Last edited:
Stu@rt said:
Congratulations! Can I pick up on the ride comfort comments. I appreciate you have gone from 16's to 17's. Interested to know if you have 215's or 235's ?? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
215s. Before I got the call with the dealer I was looking into upgrading to 17 235 for comfort. Am really happy with these 215s tho, feels more planted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
T6 California Ocean to T6.1 California Ocean
Replies
24
Views
2K
Alan Andrews
Alan Andrews
G
trade in versus private sale
Replies
18
Views
3K
Meoncoast
Meoncoast
MollieCalifornia
Habitation check
Replies
15
Views
2K
Cali Phillip
Cali Phillip
Chunkymunky
Taking the plunge... advice please !
2
Replies
26
Views
3K
Moakesy
Moakesy
JimP1992
3 zone air conditioning
Replies
15
Views
3K
JimP1992
JimP1992

Useful links

VW California Club

  • Comfort Insurance
  • VIP Membership
  • Hire a Vw California
  • CampervanBits Accessories
  • Conquest

About us

The VW California Club is the worlds largest resource for all owners and enthusiasts of VW California campervans.

Our Partners

Our Websites

Back
Top