Hello! Hoping to buy today, so quick advice very welcome :-)

[KiggyCliffy]

Hi everyone, we are previous owners of a T5 conversion, sold a couple of years ago, then we rented an Ocean California last year and rekindled our desire for more! So, have looked around the forums for advice etc.. hoping to but today either via Autoebid or Drive to Deal. Any quick advice/hints most welcome!
We are going for Ocean 6.1 199/204, two tone, tow bar, Media Pro, Art velour and wood effect flooring, chrome pack, shower attach, comfort mattress and 235 tyres on Woodstock wheels. Avoiding all the drive assist features which are too fiddly for us (we have in a car). Questions:

- warranty: what is standard and what is price/time of extended?
- lead time: seen the painful stories on here.. is 5-6 months factory build reasonable?
- any tips on getting best price? (Two brokers mentioned seem very good, about 8K off list)
- of course many options are personal choice and preference but any ‘must haves’ for better resale value you can spot?

Looking forward to joining the club and will definitely be active on here
best wishes for 2021 everyone
X

 

[kurienp]

Hi everyone, we are previous owners of a T5 conversion, sold a couple of years ago, then we rented an Ocean California last year and rekindled our desire for more! So, have looked around the forums for advice etc.. hoping to but today either via Autoebid or Drive to Deal. Any quick advice/hints most welcome!
We are going for Ocean 6.1 199/204, two tone, tow bar, Media Pro, Art velour and wood effect flooring, chrome pack, shower attach, comfort mattress and 235 tyres on Woodstock wheels. Avoiding all the drive assist features which are too fiddly for us (we have in a car). Questions:

- warranty: what is standard and what is price/time of extended?
- lead time: seen the painful stories on here.. is 5-6 months factory build reasonable?
- any tips on getting best price? (Two brokers mentioned seem very good, about 8K off list)
- of course many options are personal choice and preference but any ‘must haves’ for better resale value you can spot?

Looking forward to joining the club and will definitely be active on here
best wishes for 2021 everyone
X

Welcome on board @KiggyCliffy .

A few notes. my views:
- ditch the comfort mattress. It takes too much of valuable space. The after market options are better.
- get the drive assist features. Will enhance the resale value. At least adaptive cruise and lane assist should be on your list. You may not want to use the features.
- warranty - when you take delivery, you can extend the warranty then.
- lead time - unfortunately may be more.
- best price - autoebid and others have been mentioned on here so who ever gets you the best. Also, if you have the time, take that quote to a trusted dealer such as Breeze in Poole and see if they can match or beat that price.
- LED light are a must have and definitely makes the the driving experience better and also the resale value. See if you can also justify the cost of the Alcantara seats. Enhances the overall looks and comfort as well.

Enjoy the purchase experience.

 

[Loz]

I would second the above, particularly the Alcantara seats as the cloth stains easy, you can get aftermarket leather but getting it done is a hassle.
Definitely speak to Breeze Pool as they often have cancelled orders ready for you to take over.

 

[soulstyledevon]

I would ditch the drive assist options.
I can’t stand adaptive cruise.
Should be able to add standard cruise feature via hazzy days if required.

 

[Ladymuck]

Hi everyone, we are previous owners of a T5 conversion, sold a couple of years ago, then we rented an Ocean California last year and rekindled our desire for more! So, have looked around the forums for advice etc.. hoping to but today either via Autoebid or Drive to Deal. Any quick advice/hints most welcome!
We are going for Ocean 6.1 199/204, two tone, tow bar, Media Pro, Art velour and wood effect flooring, chrome pack, shower attach, comfort mattress and 235 tyres on Woodstock wheels. Avoiding all the drive assist features which are too fiddly for us (we have in a car). Questions:

- warranty: what is standard and what is price/time of extended?
- lead time: seen the painful stories on here.. is 5-6 months factory build reasonable?
- any tips on getting best price? (Two brokers mentioned seem very good, about 8K off list)
- of course many options are personal choice and preference but any ‘must haves’ for better resale value you can spot?

Looking forward to joining the club and will definitely be active on here
best wishes for 2021 everyone
X

The thing that I've seen have caught people out are mudflaps and fog lights being an optional spec - well they are for the Coast so i advise you to double check for the Ocean.
Bare in mind that people who ordered 199/204's last year as far back as last August have unconfirmed mid year build.dates.

 

[KiggyCliffy]

Welcome on board @KiggyCliffy .

A few notes. my views:
- ditch the comfort mattress. It takes too much of valuable space. The after market options are better.
- get the drive assist features. Will enhance the resale value. At least adaptive cruise and lane assist should be on your list. You may not want to use the features.
- warranty - when you take delivery, you can extend the warranty then.
- lead time - unfortunately may be more.
- best price - autoebid and others have been mentioned on here so who ever gets you the best. Also, if you have the time, take that quote to a trusted dealer such as Breeze in Poole and see if they can match or beat that price.
- LED light are a must have and definitely makes the the driving experience better and also the resale value. See if you can also justify the cost of the Alcantara seats. Enhances the overall looks and comfort as well.

Enjoy the purchase experience.

Thanks so much for the welcome and super quick response.
Great have now now removed the £318 bed extra and will go after market.
Alcantara seats aren’t mentioned in options, must be no longer available, just the standard or ‘Art Velour’ (which we chose).
LED lights are included in Ocean 6.1 so OK there.
ACC, lane assist and side assist are all included as standard also. You can pay extra for ‘Active Lane Assist’ (£478) which works in conjunction with ACC to keep you in lane more easily. Think we’ll just add that now as we plan a lot of travel.

 

[KiggyCliffy]

The thing that I've seen have caught people out are mudflaps and fog lights being an optional spec - well they are for the Coast so i advise you to double check for the Ocean.
Bare in mind that people who ordered 199/204's last year as far back as last August have unconfirmed mid year build.dates.

You are right, mudflats are optional but fog lights included as standard. Thanks!

 

[soulstyledevon]

Don’t forget 4motion...

 

[AndyP12345]

You might want to call round dealers as well to check on demo vehicle availability. We bought an Ocean in December with 35miles on clock (delivery mileage) registered in Oct. usually have good spec levels as well and available immediately or within few months

 

[AndyP12345]

Forgot to say because of COVID dealers are being allowed to sell demonstrators early

 

[andyinluton]

Currently available Oceans.
I understand that VW released a load of Californias to dealers at xmas as a bulk deal with a batch of transporters.
I don't know if its the change in emissions requirements that brought it about, but they all seem to have been registered in the last few days of December.
This time last week I was aware of about 15 of these vans, having just checked all of those 15 have been sold & as far as I know I got the only one of them with 5 seats,
Lookers have just put what I a pre registered van, I assume its a 150 in white with almost no options at £62k - that's the cheapest "new" Ocean out there. There are a handful of pre-reg coasts as well but I haven't looked at those.

Looks like anything priced reasonably is selling very quickly, I imagine the more uncertainty there is about deliveries the quicker anything reasonably priced is flying out the door.

Interestingly the my dealer said there is almost no interest in the slightly older vans at present but they are buying them in with a view to the demand going ballistic as it did last year.

 

[Stu@rt]

There are a handful of pre-reg coasts as well but I haven't looked at those

Can I ask where you are seeing these?

 

[andyinluton]

If you try auto trader for a start, you need to check daily. Chances are if a dealer has one on there, they may have a few more in the yard or allocated to them.

Also look for the vans with no pictures. This usually means they've been allocated it from VW but not actually received it.

Anything on VWs own site is usually either overpriced or already sold.

 

[Saesneg Shaun]

You can pay extra for ‘Active Lane Assist’ (£478) which works in conjunction with ACC to keep you in lane more easily. Think we’ll just add that now as we plan a lot of travel.

If active lane asist is the function that physically takes over the steering it was the1st thing I switched off on my other car and never used it. The side warning feature lights built in to the mirror housing are excellent though.

 

[Drpps]

80l fuel tank upgrade

 

[Alan Andrews]

I'm assuming that rear view camera is standard. If not then a definite must have.

Many also go for the increased size fuel tank. Around £100

If 4WD then downhill assist option. Around £100

Heavy duty rubber front mats. Around £80

Also carefully check the no cost options. Many have come unstuck by not ticking these boxes in the configurator.


Finally and even if you do not think you will need it. Consider the VW Bike rack. Use it as a bargaining chip for the final deal. Aim to get thrown in., along with the rubber mats.
You can always sell on the rack later. They go for good £500 money.

 

[Stu@rt]

Many also go for the increased size fuel tank. Around £100

Might be worth a look at the other threads where guys waiting for 4Motion build dates have been contacted by VW and advised this has to go to meet RDE2.

 

[Jenny H]

Can I ask where you are seeing these?

Stuart have a look on VW Commercials Used Vehicles - theres quite a few Coasts on there

Used Volkswagen California/California Beach/California Ocean/California 6.1 Coast/California 6.1 Ocean/Grand California 600/Grand California 680 Vans for Sale | VWCV

used.volkswagen-vans.co.uk

 

[Stu@rt]

Stuart have a look on VW Commercials Used Vehicles - theres quite a few Coasts on there

Used Volkswagen California/California Beach/California Ocean/California 6.1 Coast/California 6.1 Ocean/Grand California 600/Grand California 680 Vans for Sale | VWCV

used.volkswagen-vans.co.uk

Thanks Jenny. After placing our order I stopped the daily round robin of AutoTrader and the VW used sites. Deleted the Autotrader app from my phone and settled down for the 4 month wait. It's only the more recent uncertainty that has started me looking again. A few posters suggesting that there are pre-reg deals out there at similar discounted prices to that we ordered at. I was just wondering if I was missing something? Maybe some "secret" site where all these bargains were lurking. I am not seeing any pre-reg Coasts at 10% below retail. So the real choice is "wait", "cancel", or "pay retail prices" from what I can see. So I'll settle back down for now and wait for the colour and options that we chose to arrive at the dealers. Should something similar appear at the same 10+% discount then I would be interested, but I think that is unlikely. Hope you are progressing well with the shopping lists. And remember we (I) need some pics of how that floor looks up against the grey ! Enjoy the anticipation and enjoy the lifestyle that lies ahead.

 

[soulstyledevon]

80l fuel tank upgrade

Definitely...
Two things I wish I had on my van.
80l fuel tank and 4motion.
Won’t make those mistakes again...

 

[Jabberwocky]

Care about smoothness of ride? Opt for the 235/55 tyres over the std 215. Its like night and day.

All-season tires 235/55 R17 103H xl super-low rolling resistance​

 

[subthree]

Great have now now removed the £318 bed extra and will go after market.

Welcome!

This is what you need in size "campervan", fits the California perfectly.

Comfort Deluxe Self Inflating Sleeping Pad | Sea to Summit

LIFETIME GUARANTEE. The ultimate in luxury for base campers, the Comfort Deluxe Self-Inflating Sleeping Mat features four inches of plush foam and a 30D stretch knit fabric on the upper surface for a luxurious warm feeling when it’s cool, and a cool feeling when it’s hot. The flip-over...

www.seatosummit.co.uk

 

[KiggyCliffy]

Thank you so much everyone! We have had some excellent advice and have now become a ‘virtual’ Cali owner (ie. who knows when delivery ;-).
Advice taken after research:
- added active lane assist
- ditched the bed extension/mattress and will go after market
- added 80L fuel tank
- decided against 4motion

And lastly a shout out to Tom at Breeze in Poole whom I contacted for last minute queries, advice and price quote. He was very knowledgable, responsive and gave a very fair price (I checked various sources recommended on this site).

And now we wait.. happy campervanning everyone!