Free accessories - what's not to like!!!

[Martin12bar]

Hello from North Wales. Just had a deal on a Beach and collecting tomorrow. Good offers on at the moment with £1200 free accessories from VW so had some fun with their accessory brochure

Had a T5 previously and followed by a few different camper/motorhome examples. Retired now so looking to use the Cali as a daily driver and to tow a caravan when the plan is to go somewhere longer than a couple of nights. Look forward to using the forum and learning a lot more.

 

[MattBW]

Awesome, a lot of new Beach vans out there at the moment so welcome to the club and wishing you lots of lovely adventures! Don't be afraid to ask questions!

 

[highroad]

I'm in a similar situation, considering a used Beach which comes with £1200 of accessories, but am struggling to find things in the VW catalogue that are appealing aside from the bike rack. What did you go for?

 

[Seaview]

Hello from North Wales. Just had a deal on a Beach and collecting tomorrow. Good offers on at the moment with £1200 free accessories from VW so had some fun with their accessory brochure

Had a T5 previously and followed by a few different camper/motorhome examples. Retired now so looking to use the Cali as a daily driver and to tow a caravan when the plan is to go somewhere longer than a couple of nights. Look forward to using the forum and learning a lot more.

Congratulations on your new Beach!

How about a tow bar and rubber mats?

 

[Elmo3]

I'm in a similar situation, considering a used Beach which comes with £1200 of accessories, but am struggling to find things in the VW catalogue that are appealing aside from the bike rack. What did you go for?

How about 2 bike racks and selling one of them?

 

[2haw]

Hello from North Wales. Just had a deal on a Beach and collecting tomorrow. Good offers on at the moment with £1200 free accessories from VW so had some fun with their accessory brochure

Had a T5 previously and followed by a few different camper/motorhome examples. Retired now so looking to use the Cali as a daily driver and to tow a caravan when the plan is to go somewhere longer than a couple of nights. Look forward to using the forum and learning a lot more.

Is the £1200 accessory voucher on top of the large discounts available?

 

[Martin12bar]

I'm in a similar situation, considering a used Beach which comes with £1200 of accessories, but am struggling to find things in the VW catalogue that are appealing aside from the bike rack. What did you go for?

Front bumper lower spoiler, tailgate spoiler, rear bumper protector mudflaps and roof rails. I've always liked the look of the VW with the spoilers but probably would not have laid out that kind of cash to get them. (If I was going to pay for them, I can already hear my wife asking "What do you want those for" )
The spoilers are ready painted and rather than pay the main dealer labour rates, I will fit them myself. I also told the insurance that they would be fitted but other than making a note on their records, they said that was fine. The vehicle already has a towbar fitted and it is pretty well specced out with optional factory fitted extras.

 

[Martin12bar]

Is the £1200 accessory voucher on top of the large discounts available?

It's a used vehicle incentive which I understand is shared in cost between the dealer and VW. It will be over and above anything that may be negotiated at the time of purchase.

 

[highroad]

Thanks. I did think about getting two bike racks and selling one of them. At the moment I'm leaning toward bike rack, roof bars, roof box, floor mats. I'm not sure about the roof bars and box, though. It seems way better to just throw a big duffle bag on the bike rack. True, I couldn't bring the bikes and a duffle bag, but I'm not that likely to be taking bikes anywhere, I think.

That said, I just saw in the catalogue this absurdity:

I'm tempted, although it's a one seater and with a 2 year old and 4 year old I'd need two of them lest endless battles.

 

[BeagleMum]

Hello from North Wales. Just had a deal on a Beach and collecting tomorrow. Good offers on at the moment with £1200 free accessories from VW so had some fun with their accessory brochure

Had a T5 previously and followed by a few different camper/motorhome examples. Retired now so looking to use the Cali as a daily driver and to tow a caravan when the plan is to go somewhere longer than a couple of nights. Look forward to using the forum and learning a lot more.

Congratulations, we've had ours a couple of months & love it. Notice you're in N W, did you buy from Llandudno?

 

[Amarillo]

If it is the three seat bench version and doesn’t come with the comfort mattress, you will want one. Or is that an option rather than an accessory?

Does the dash cam count as an accessory? After 30 years of accident free motoring, we were hit twice at the front end - neither my fault, and have been able to prove my innocence. However, a dash cam would have saved a lot of bother.

Don’t bother with the VW cool box. You will need to buy a proper compressor fridge.

 

[highroad]

Thanks Amarillo (and apologies to the OP for jumping into the thread, I take it we have similar concern with accessories so hope that's okay). The beach comes with the comfort mattress, and a dash cam is an accessory. My sense is that having it running all the time (and taking up dash space?) just for that sort of thing is probably overkill, e.g., your 30 years accident-free motoring is some witness to that.

Does anyone know whether the standard VW seat covers are any good? They look a bit naff to me, but with a 2 year old and a 4 year old and a Labrador that loves to swim, they might be worth it. The dealer is saying £335 (probably plus VAT?) for all seats (7).

 

[MattBW]

Id say parking heater but it may not be something they can fit after on a used vehicle, well worthwhile addition.

 

[Martin12bar]

Congratulations, we've had ours a couple of months & love it. Notice you're in N W, did you buy from Llandudno?

I did go into the dealership in Llandudno Junction but they were not as competitive as the Liverpool Van Centre where I bought it from. The salesman that dealt with us tells me that their policy is to price low and go for volume (yeah I know ) but to be fair, I could not see another vehicle that was 12 months old, low mileage and with several accessories already fitted that was as keenly priced. Ours has 4000 miles on it and was showing Volkswagen as the original owners.

There is a coolbox with my vehicle and it is a 3 seat rear bench but no mattress - we did wonder if the upper one could be used but have not tried it yet? I have a dash cam already and use it pretty much all the time. It has been a nuisance in my last vehicle however as the 12 volt socket I was using was a permanent live rather than switched with the ignition so I had to remember to plug it in every time. I could have rewired it but did not bother.

@MattBW - I guess the parking heater you refer to may run off the diesel tank? We don't have one but if a retro fit is possible at reasonable cost, I may look into it as my wife suffers from the cold and will soon complain!! Either that or you may see us parked outside a hotel on a cold night somewhere

 

[Amarillo]

I guess the parking heater you refer to may run off the diesel tank? We don't have one but if a retro fit is possible at reasonable cost, I may look into it as my wife suffers from the cold and will soon complain!! Either that or you may see us parked outside a hotel on a cold night somewhere

If on hookup you can run a small electric heater in the van.

 

[Geoff York]

Hello from North Wales. Just had a deal on a Beach and collecting tomorrow. Good offers on at the moment with £1200 free accessories from VW so had some fun with their accessory brochure

Had a T5 previously and followed by a few different camper/motorhome examples. Retired now so looking to use the Cali as a daily driver and to tow a caravan when the plan is to go somewhere longer than a couple of nights. Look forward to using the forum and learning a lot more.

Excellent tow vehicle
Best I’ve had for towing caravan

 

[clarinetbcn]

I did go into the dealership in Llandudno Junction but they were not as competitive as the Liverpool Van Centre where I bought it from. The salesman that dealt with us tells me that their policy is to price low and go for volume (yeah I know ) but to be fair, I could not see another vehicle that was 12 months old, low mileage and with several accessories already fitted that was as keenly priced. Ours has 4000 miles on it and was showing Volkswagen as the original owners.

There is a coolbox with my vehicle and it is a 3 seat rear bench but no mattress - we did wonder if the upper one could be used but have not tried it yet? I have a dash cam already and use it pretty much all the time. It has been a nuisance in my last vehicle however as the 12 volt socket I was using was a permanent live rather than switched with the ignition so I had to remember to plug it in every time. I could have rewired it but did not bother.

@MattBW - I guess the parking heater you refer to may run off the diesel tank? We don't have one but if a retro fit is possible at reasonable cost, I may look into it as my wife suffers from the cold and will soon complain!! Either that or you may see us parked outside a hotel on a cold night somewhere

I have slept downstairs in my Beach with the parking heater at -17 in the Pyrenees with no top cover or inside top insulation while on a ski trip. Slept in skivvies and a summer sleeping bag, no problem. It's a must have.

 

[clarinetbcn]

If on hookup you can run a small electric heater in the van.

I had it retrofitted as part of the purchase of a 4 year old Beach. It already had the programable engine coolant heater, which allows me to heat up the motor before I start off, which saves a lot of wear and tear on the motor, and run dash fans for ventilation in summer.

 

[clarinetbcn]

I had it retrofitted as part of the purchase of a 4 year old Beach. It already had the programable engine coolant heater, which allows me to heat up the motor before I start off, which saves a lot of wear and tear on the motor, and run dash fans for ventilation in summer.

The parking heater, however, uses a fraction of the battery draw of the coolant heater, which also heats up the cabin through the dash vent system, so it's the only one adequate for all night heating. I am very satisfied with having both, especially since the capabilities of the progammable coolant heater (an optional upgrade to the automatic standard cold start coolant heater, which many don't realize is standard on all T5/T6 and cannot be controlled by the driver, kicks in to heat engine and cut emissions during very cold weather) is widely misunderstood.