Help buying used California

roadrunner 45 · Mar 17, 2015

Hello...
I am looking at buying a used California but beginning to realise how difficult this could be for a newbie.
We were looking to buy a ex demo but just missed out on one and finding it difficult to find another suitable vehicle. Does anyone know of any manual ex demo for sale?
We have heard of a Cali 4 motion about 4 years old which might become available, if we get the chance is there anything I should be aware of or look out for when viewing?
Any help is appreciated due to inexperience.
Thanks.

motacyclist · Mar 17, 2015

Hi Roadrunner, and welcome. There is a "Used California Check List" in the Downloads section which has all the points to look out for. You need to become a VIP member to access this, it costs £10 but worth it for the info on the checklist alone; plus you get all the other benefits.

Colin

reserves · Mar 17, 2015

Might be worth posting here what spec / year you're after and maybe budget too.

Members here have helped other members find Cali's in the past, more eyes the better!

cleve · Mar 17, 2015

I found SMG to be the most helpful when we were looking at ex demo beaches and my dad just bought an SE privately but will also vouch for the excellent customer service he had from SMG. I ended up buying an ex rental one from c a m p e r v a n t a s t i c who have an SE for sale atm but called round loads of dealers to see what they had. It surprised me how many demos and ex demos were available but not listed on the vw for sale pages.

crazygrandad · Mar 17, 2015

Loads for sale on this website ( two pages worth last time I looked), that is where we bought ours

crazygrandad · Mar 17, 2015

Not a great fan of campervantastic as he advertises his vans for sale on auto trader as if they are a private seller, a bit misleading a wasted me a day of travel.

larrylamb · Mar 18, 2015

crazygrandad said:
Not a great fan of campervantastic as he advertises his vans for sale on auto trader as if they are a private seller, a bit misleading a wasted me a day of travel.

That's not uncommon amongst hire companies/individuals or even VW dealers.

ian210 · Mar 18, 2015

I bought mine a month ago. The VW van centre Nr Edinburgh had an Olimpia Blue, 140 BMT manual, pre-registered coming up for sale. 0131 473 9300. Very helpful dealer.

calikev · Mar 18, 2015

crazygrandad said:
Not a great fan of campervantastic as he advertises his vans for sale on auto trader as if they are a private seller, a bit misleading a wasted me a day of travel.

Also illegal.

johnyboy · Mar 18, 2015

No offence to any of the campervan rentals but the reason I chose not to go for an ex-rental was not the mileage but rather that the camper areas would be way more used than a private van - more time used camping, more use of the fridge, cooker and beds by folks who aren't used to the operation and don't own the van

spanner · Mar 18, 2015

Just looked at the ones on here, some very good prices, if you buy with some warranty left you cant go wrong really.

Chris Figg · Mar 18, 2015

Hi Roadrunner

Chris from SMG here, If you can give me a wish list I will do my best to find something of interest, or let you know if one of our customers are putting there's up for sale, Wishing you all the best in your search. I promise that if you speak to any of the people who have bought a California , most would agree that it was the best decision they ever made.

Regards

Chris Figg
01403 864104

cleve · Mar 18, 2015

crazygrandad said:
Not a great fan of campervantastic as he advertises his vans for sale on auto trader as if they are a private seller, a bit misleading a wasted me a day of travel.

I think I saw ours advertised online but when I called the phone number he did nothing to mislead me and was completely upfront with the fact it was ex rental. They take a lot of pride in their vehicles and it was high spec for what was available at the time. They had even been to Germany to have EHU fitted prior to it becoming standard with new beaches. The after sales support they have given us has been fantastic hence my recommendation. Remember demo vehicles can be hired out by vw too so no reason why they too haven't been used by people who don't know what they're doing.

I think there has to be a few wasted journeys to know you've ended up with the right vehicle for you in the end. I know we had our time wasted by a vw dealer who put the price up once he'd enticed us into the showroom 2 hours from home with 3 small children in tow! My dad looked at several SE's and felt let down by the description/discussions on the telephone before finding the one for him.

roadrunner 45 · Mar 19, 2015

Thanks to everyone for the advice.
Regarding the used 4motion are they a reliable Cali ? Or are we better to find a newer Cali with 2 wheel drive.
Regarding the spec we are after is fairly flexible , we are just after a well loved used Cali as new as possible, 2011 onwards, with a few extras , whether we need 140 or 180 ps not really sure. We are beginning to realise that we are restricted to what is available and ideally not too far away.
Reliable Cali for me and the family to enjoy, hopefully we will get there soon.

reserves · Mar 19, 2015

roadrunner 45 said:
Thanks to everyone for the advice.
Regarding the used 4motion are they a reliable Cali ? Or are we better to find a newer Cali with 2 wheel drive.
Regarding the spec we are after is fairly flexible , we are just after a well loved used Cali as new as possible, 2011 onwards, with a few extras , whether we need 140 or 180 ps not really sure. We are beginning to realise that we are restricted to what is available and ideally not too far away.
Reliable Cali for me and the family to enjoy, hopefully we will get there soon.

4Motions are reliable as far as I know. Would I buy a 4Motion out of warranty unless I really needed one is a different question, the MPG is less too as they are heavier.

Personally I think the 140's are fine, so think you're right in that it depends on what's available.

There's a few well priced one's here which i'm guessing wouldn't too far away from you if you ask enough questions before.

Getting one within warranty would take a lot of stress away getting one 2nd hand.