Does the Cali Ocean offer Value for Money?

[LemonDrop]

Interesting...there’s definitely a bed extension option which mentions the storage box, on the configurator.

Is that for the comfort mattress?

 

[mr_glasgow84]

Is that for the comfort mattress?

I’m honestly not sure...

Bed extension with comfort sleeping mat (Beach: bed enlargement including storage compartment)
£ 276*1

 

[kp64zl]

Hi @MTM84 That £276 is for the comfort mattress.
You get the "bed enlargement (multiflex) and storage compartment" whether or not you select this option. The configurator is a bit confusing.

Lots of discussion here about whether or not to get the comfort mattress, but doesn't seem like many have done direct comparisons.

(I didn't do direct comparisons either but decided to go without the comfort mattress, so use a Zonesleep Ultra which is OK but not amazing - upstairs still more comfy, but downstairs is comfortable enough. What *is* amazing is my Thermarest Mondoking XXL which I use for camping, will eventually try it in the van. That Mondoking is like my bed at home, even when placed directly on hard cold concrete. I even lost a headtorch underneath it and didn't notice. And bumps, rocks etc don't seem to matter either.... )

 

[Wongo]

What price fun?

 

[mr_glasgow84]

Hi @MTM84 That £276 is for the comfort mattress.
You get the "bed enlargement (multiflex) and storage compartment" whether or not you select this option. The configurator is a bit confusing.

Lots of discussion here about whether or not to get the comfort mattress, but doesn't seem like many have done direct comparisons.

(I didn't do direct comparisons either but decided to go without the comfort mattress, so use a Zonesleep Ultra which is OK but not amazing - upstairs still more comfy, but downstairs is comfortable enough. What *is* amazing is my Thermarest Mondoking XXL which I use for camping, will eventually try it in the van. That Mondoking is like my bed at home, even when placed directly on hard cold concrete. I even lost a headtorch underneath it and didn't notice. And bumps, rocks etc don't seem to matter either.... )

That’s good to know! This will be a brilliant thread to look back through when I eventually take the plunge!

 

[Elizabeth Silman]

Hi Martin,

I really can't see many on here answering with "There cali is totally overpriced, I really wasted my money...."

There are some lovely campers out there. The Wellhouse camper is impressive. It depends really on what use you intend to get for it.

My last Cali gave me a bedroom for over 300 nights, in often hard to get to locations, with comfort, ease and total reliability and when I sold it after four years it had cost me £3k a year. So, yes, I think that I had good value for money.

Similarly when I traded in my 11 year old Cali which has served very well in a variety of ways I worked out that it was not the extravagance I had thought. Just a very big purchase to begin with!! My new one is three weeks old and we are bonding nicely.

 

[mr_glasgow84]

I don’t see many posts relating to the deals people are currently getting against either model. Have I missed these somewhere or do people generally just not post this info up?

 

[Perfectos]

No your not missing anything , most on here have already purchased a Cali an could not give a fig for the current deals !

Deals are dealer and vehicle specific, just the way VW like it !

 

[mr_glasgow84]

No your not missing anything , most on here have already purchased a Cali an could not give a fig for the current deals !

Deals are dealer and vehicle specific, just the way VW like it !

Ah right, okay then. I found such threads very useful when purchasing our Golf R and Up GTI as they illustrated who was offering the best deals and what those deals looked like.

 

[Perfectos]

When your ready to buy, look et autoebid to get a bench mark, then negotiate with a dealer of your choice to get the deal that works for you or buy from autoebid!

 

[mr_glasgow84]

Since I last posted on this thread, I took my wife and daughter to the showroom I visited previously to let them see the Beach. This time I had the opportunity to speak to the ‘campervan specialist’ who was quick to tell me that I won’t get anything more than a 5% discount and that they risked the dealership being closed down if they offered what dealers affiliated with Auto e-buyer and the like are offering. I couldn’t quite understand that one and will hazard a guess that those dealerships offering better deals are not at risk of being closed down as a result.

Apparently the waiting time for a factory order is 12-16 months which is shorter than I thought. My wife and daughter liked the Beach - we all had an opportunity to try the roof bed - it felt quite disconcerting and a tad claustrophobic but I think sleeping head to the front of the van would improve things for me.

I have heard about a significant increase in price being likely for the 6.1 Cali next year - I know that nobody can say for sure, put what would the general consensus be on here and would you anticipate that the new model will negatively impact on the value of used 6.0 Beaches?

Cheers!

Martin

 

[Turfschipper]

An Cali Ocean will be more expensive than a Cali Grand.

Weird.

 

[kp64zl]

Apparently the waiting time for a factory order is 12-16 months

That seems like a load of rot -- I ordered my Beach on 18th October 2018 and I took delivery of it on 17th January 2019. i.e. 3 months. Lots of others on this forum have had similar build times recently.

I bought mine through Autoebid and got 8% off. The dealer that handled my purchase (Liverpool) was clearly selling *lots* of Californias

 

[mr_glasgow84]

That seems like a load of rot -- I ordered my Beach on 18th October 2018 and I took delivery of it on 17th January 2019. i.e. 3 months. Lots of others on this forum have had similar build times recently.

I bought mine through Autoebid and got 8% off. The dealer that handled my purchase (Liverpool) was clearly selling *lots* of Californias

Sorry, it was late last night and I should have written 12-18 weeks!

I thought Liverpool was part of Autoebid - do they offer the same pricing if you approach them directly, cutting out the middle man as it were? Chris seems like a nice guy going by the videos online.

 

[kp64zl]

Haven’t tried sorry!

 

[mr_glasgow84]

Haven’t tried sorry!

No worries, I’ll contact him soon all going to plan.

In the meantime, my wife and I have explored a few campsites in recent days and have been really impressed with the set-up so we’re looking forwarding to renting a Cali and trying them out in the first instance.

 

[LemonDrop]

Have you tried spec’ing your Cali on Autoebid? They aren’t pushy and if you go right through the process to the point of them putting you in touch with the dealer (for us it was also Liverpool, maybe it always is?) you can then either:

A) Do nothing
B) Buy through the dealer that autoebid put you in touch with
C) Approach a dealer more convenient to you and ask if they could beat autoebid’s price.

We tried option C and got a better price from a local dealer. Win-Win!

 

[mr_glasgow84]

Have you tried spec’ing your Cali on Autoebid? They aren’t pushy and if you go right through the process to the point of them putting you in touch with the dealer (for us it was also Liverpool, maybe it always is?) you can then either:

A) Do nothing
B) Buy throug the dealer that autoebid put you in touch with
C) Approach a dealer more convenient to you and ask if they could beat autoebid’s price.

We tried option C and got a better price from a local dealer. Win-Win!

Yeah, configurator a Beach to around £50k and the Autoebid price was around £45500. My local dealers can’t get close to that level of discount but I’m happy to go further afield as that’s what I usually do for my cars.

I’m wondering if the 6.1 Cali due next year will have a detrimental impact on Beach/Ocean residuals...

 

[Keith Smith]

I was looking to buy a Tiguan last week on PCP and VW are estimating the car will lose 62% of its value over four years. Contrast that to my three year old California which I traded in last week and is now for sale at more than we originally paid for it!

Past performance is no guarantee of future returns though.

 

[WelshGas]

Yeah, configurator a Beach to around £50k and the Autoebid price was around £45500. My local dealers can’t get close to that level of discount but I’m happy to go further afield as that’s what I usually do for my cars.

I’m wondering if the 6.1 Cali due next year will have a detrimental impact on Beach/Ocean residuals...

Hasn't in the past when an upgraded model came out, but you can bet there will a not insignificant price rise for the upgrade.
The best value for money would be the last of the T6's as many Options become standard.

 

[mr_glasgow84]

Hasn't in the past when an upgraded model came out, but you can bet there will a not insignificant price rise for the upgrade.
The best value for money would be the last of the T6's as many Options become standard.

When you say last of the T6s do you mean those built closer to the release of the 6.1?

 

[WelshGas]

When you say last of the T6s do you mean those built closer to the release of the 6.1?

Correct. The T6.1 California will probably not be available until mid to late 2020, Model Year 2021. ( VW model years Start 1st July previous year ).
So ordering June/July 2019 should get you one of the last T6 Californias.

 

[mr_glasgow84]

Correct. The T6.1 California will probably not be available until mid to late 2020, Model Year 2021. ( VW model years Start 1st July previous year ).
So ordering June/July 2019 should get you one of the last T6 Californias.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[mr_glasgow84]

Well just an update to this thread - I’ve booked an Ocean for 4 days in October. Booked 2 camp sites in Scotland that we recently had a look around and were impressed with so fingers crossed, we enjoy the experience and can buy a van.

Whilst the Ocean will be great to experience, I think we will probably opt for a Beach with awning etc.

Does anyone know when I’d need to get a factory order in to secure one of the current models? I don’t want to buy until early next year all going to plan.

Thanks,

Martin