Has a new Cali become just too expensive?

[Calimili]

Excellent! Thanks.

So... a decent VW-based campervan was roughly 1.8 times the price of a Mini in the early sixties. Today, a base level Coast is £55,339, which is 3.5 times the price of a modern edition Mini.

From your analysis, people are paid too much today and the Cali got too expensive anyway!

 

[Karlos]

£915 in 1962 when I was still a twinkle.View attachment 66807

£915 in 62 would be about £13700 now according to an online calculator.

 

[sidepod]

Interesting opinions on fully loaded versus min spec.
Previous experience looking for a decent Porsche, loads of base spec PCP fodder around but very few with all the right kit.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Interesting opinions on fully loaded versus min spec.
Previous experience looking for a decent Porsche, loads of base spec PCP fodder around but very few with all the right kit.

But then there’s the right kit and to much.
With Porsche, there are a lot of options wasted on a road going car that never sees the track.
Similar with the California. There’s a lot of options which aren’t really required.
Actually, I think a Poverty spec coast is probably the way to go for 90% of campers...

 

[Bellcrew]

£915 in 62 would be about £13700 now according to an online calculator.

Inflation is a curious thing, local houses bought for £2100 new in1962 are worth over £900,000 today, the iron law of supply and demand is the key.
If a company could ignore patents/copyrights to undercut the existing manufacturers they would go for it if allowed. The likelihood of a cheap Chinese copy of the Cali can never be completely discounted but the power of the EU is such that it could never be sold here, who knows perhaps after December they will appear in the UK along side the dodgy copies of Eberspacher's etc?

 

[SimonK]

Interesting opinions on fully loaded versus min spec.
Previous experience looking for a decent Porsche, loads of base spec PCP fodder around but very few with all the right kit.

Back in 2016 I almost had a moment of madness and wanted to order a 718 Boxster through one of the Porsche dealers in the North West. He advised me to not select a lot of extras I wanted, because I wouldn't get any extra money at the end of the PCP for them. So, no to special paint, no to full extended leather in black/crayon, no to 18 way seats, no to sports exhaust etc. 'Keep it simple and think of resale, otherwise you'll get a shock at trade in'.

I'm glad I didn't pursue it actually now. I'd rather buy a used 981 in the right colour with a few nice bits on for sub £30k.

 

[SimonK]

But then there’s the right kit and to much.
With Porsche, there are a lot of options wasted on a road going car that never sees the track.
Similar with the California. There’s a lot of options which aren’t really required.
Actually, I think a Poverty spec coast is probably the way to go for 90% of campers...

If I was going to get a new California i'd go poverty spec Coast too. With a couple of key options.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Back in 2016 I almost had a moment of madness and wanted to order a 718 Boxster through one of the Porsche dealers in the North West. He advised me to not select a lot of extras I wanted, because I wouldn't get any extra money at the end of the PCP for them. So, no to special paint, no to full extended leather in black/crayon, no to 18 way seats, no to sports exhaust etc. 'Keep it simple and think of resale, otherwise you'll get a shock at trade in'.

I'm glad I didn't pursue it actually now. I'd rather buy a used 981 in the right colour with a few nice bits on for sub £30k.

I always thought a £65k 4 pot turbo made no sense whatsoever. You could get a 3 year old nicely specced 911 for that money...

 

[SimonK]

I always thought a £65k 4 pot turbo made no sense whatsoever. You could get a 3 year old nicely specced 911 for that money...

I agree. Ultimately, I ended up moving to a nicer area, to a bigger house and doubled my mortgage. So no Porsche for us now. We re-assessed our priorities and got off the leasing and PCP bandwagon and i'm much happier for it.

 

[Karlos]

But then there’s the right kit and to much.
With Porsche, there are a lot of options wasted on a road going car that never sees the track.
Similar with the California. There’s a lot of options which aren’t really required.
Actually, I think a Poverty spec coast is probably the way to go for 90% of campers...

That's my thinking, specked a Coast on DTD. Cherry Red. 17 inch Davenports. Fog Lights. Tow Bar. Heated Seats. Privacy Glass. Comfort Mattress. Opening Front Bellows. £52675 OTR. T6.1, 150 Ocean with Comfort Mattress & Tow Bar £58150 OTR.

 

[calibusje]

If I was going to get a new California i'd go poverty spec Coast too. With a couple of key options.

indeed, that's what we did, based on our experiences with a 1991 T4 westfalia: what do we have and want to keep, what do we not have and want, what do we not need because we've never missed it. The T6.1 coast we ordered costs a lot less (with discount) than a T6.1 ocean and even a second-hand T6. But each his choise.
Greetings and happy hunting for a california.

 

[SimonK]

indeed, that's what we did, based on our experiences with a 1991 T4 westfalia: what do we have and want to keep, what do we not have and want, what do we not need because we've never missed it. The T6.1 coast we ordered costs a lot less (with discount) than a T6.1 ocean and even a second-hand T6. But each his choise.
Greetings and happy hunting for a california.

We probably won't get one for a while now. We ended up buying a small caravan to tow with our Caddy Maxi in the short term, as the Cali doesn't have enough space for our 3 dogs.

 

[Karlos]

We probably won't get one for a while now. We ended up buying a small caravan to tow with our Caddy Maxi in the short term, as the Cali doesn't have enough space for our 3 dogs.

IMO. Not the right time to buy at the moment.

 

[Eber123]

Good morning,

To purchase a VW California is expensive, no doubt. A lot of money has to change hands before the new owner can enjoy the new vehicle.

I think the real value comes either if the product keeps the price if it is sold again or if it is used for a long time without any problems.

Reading many posts in many threads it seems that for many owners it is important that the California keeps its value if it is put on the market. May it be that the selling of the old California has to finance a new model or moving away from camper alltogether. Following this train of thoughts a high value of a used California after a few years of usage can mean that the price for a new vehicle wasn't that high after all.

When we bought the California I thought that we will keep this van until I am not able to drive. Hoping to get at least 300,000 km on the clock (minimum). In theory this is possible with every car. The question is how much money do I have invest for service and repair to get there? Meaning the more reliable the VW California is on the long run, the more affordable and better prices it is.

As mentioned before, I don't believe that the California got massivly expensive compare to just recent years. It feels to me that a California with "high spec" got over proportioned more expensive. If somebody feels storngly to get a standard California it is still possible. But if somebody wishes to change to a California looking more sporty or more adventures it feels that VW is taking advantage of this.

Happy California,
Eberhard

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

But then there’s the right kit and to much.
With Porsche, there are a lot of options wasted on a road going car that never sees the track.
Similar with the California. There’s a lot of options which aren’t really required.
Actually, I think a Poverty spec coast is probably the way to go for 90% of campers...

That seems to be a popular view so looks like I’m in the 10%. Creature comforts and gadgets - I love ‘em

 

[calibusje]

That seems to be a popular view so looks like I’m in the 10%. Creature comforts and gadgets - I love ‘em

and there must certainly be such; no low specs without the high specs ....

 

[Velma's Dad]

Thought experiment... let's say you buy a new Cali, keep it for ten years, after which it's worth 50% of its original price (factoring in some finance/time value of money etc etc). The exact numbers don't matter here. You use the van just as a camper/leisure ride, 30 nights a year, it's not your everyday drive.

Plan A is you buy a basic-spec Coast for £55k, Plan B is a full-loaded Ocean for £75k. Based on the above scenarios, the costs per night will be £91 a night for the Coast, versus £125 a night for the Ocean.

Or put another way, for your two week summer hols 'renting' the Ocean (from yourself) will be around £500 more than the Coast, or the price of several really nice evenings out during the trip.

Which would you choose? (And, whisper it quietly, which would your partner choose?)

(And yes I know the full-loaded Ocean will have 4-Motion etc, but let's assume you don't actually need that to get to the camping spots you want to use).

 

[Ch1pbutty]

(And, whisper it quietly, which would your partner choose?)

Hymer Grand Canyon.

 

[Haves1979]

Whether you can afford it or not was not part of the question.

There is also different ways of affording stuff with finance etc. We are trying to avoid finance hence going second hand, to me 70k+ just doesnt represent value for money. I have toyed with a new coast, which I think is much closer to the mark price wise.

 

[PaulMilton]

I th

Not really. I suppose we each put a value on items. I think Spotify is too expensive but would have no concern spending £6k on a bicycle. Another one to add to the collection.

I thought I’d better move on from that comment before it turn into a tortuous thread of discussing interpretation and semantics that are better thrashed in a pub than a forum. Except to say, I know what you mean.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

There is also different ways of affording stuff with finance etc. We are trying to avoid finance hence going second hand, to me 70k+ just doesnt represent value for money. I have toyed with a new coast, which I think is much closer to the mark price wise.

We have always been able to pay cash, but tend to go for 2nd hand vans as generally get more extras for no additional cost, frees up the price differential to spend on other things (garage, outbuilding, home improvement etc) which will go up in value over time.

Coast has everything you need to camp + the manual roof which is one less worry when the warranty period ends. For comfort add factory fitted camping heater + separate aircon/heating in the rear if its not standard kit.

That said. Its super cheap to borrow money at the moment!

 

[Velma's Dad]

I thought I’d better move on from that comment before it turn into a tortuous thread of discussing interpretation and semantics that are better thrashed in a pub than a forum. Except to say, I know what you mean.

We have a pub in the forum actually... the Three Cocks. I'd be up for a tortuous discussion of interpretation and semantics. But the beer is rubbish.

 

[sidepod]

Back in 2016 I almost had a moment of madness and wanted to order a 718 Boxster through one of the Porsche dealers in the North West. He advised me to not select a lot of extras I wanted, because I wouldn't get any extra money at the end of the PCP for them. So, no to special paint, no to full extended leather in black/crayon, no to 18 way seats, no to sports exhaust etc. 'Keep it simple and think of resale, otherwise you'll get a shock at trade in'.

I'm glad I didn't pursue it actually now. I'd rather buy a used 981 in the right colour with a few nice bits on for sub £30k.

Well NO to the 4 cyl turbo engine, that should’ve been as far as it went!!

 

[Karlos]

We have always been able to pay cash, but tend to go for 2nd hand vans as generally get more extras for no additional cost, frees up the price differential to spend on other things (garage, outbuilding, home improvement etc) which will go up in value over time.

Coast has everything you need to camp + the manual roof which is one less worry when the warranty period ends. For comfort add factory fitted camping heater + separate aircon/heating in the rear if its not standard kit.

That said. Its super cheap to borrow money at the moment!

Same Diesel heater in the Coast as the Ocean.

 

[sbmcd]

They have become too expensive for me to consider ever replacing mine. They are good but not that good.

Agreed