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Try SMG Tonbridge. They have a shiny new red one in their showrooms. Ask for Laine Watts, lovely chap and knows his stuff on Californias. The one I saw may have been this one:Hi everyone
Just joined the forum as a VIP. Been speaking with dealers (and autoebid) about a new purchase as seems to be the only way to get all the options we want, however also keeping an eye on the used section. Must be red!!!
Thanks! Wasn't aware of the PP factor ;-)Welcome and good luck with the search - not many about in red due to the PP factor!
The red one is pretty good, had my eye on it, but wanted rear air con unit and heated front screen, plus maybe comfort dash (if possible).Nice red Beach for sale in the forum small ads, also a lovely 2 tone red/white Beach for sale, any good?
Thanks for the recommendation. Was hoping for black interior. Seems a little strong money, thought new was possible for £45k with dealer discount of £5k, then £5k of extras.Try SMG Tonbridge. They have a shiny new red one in their showrooms. Ask for Laine Watts, lovely chap and knows his stuff on Californias. The one I saw may have been this one:
https://smgvwvans.co.uk/used-vans/california-ku18xwt/
Hi Mintstuff
Limiting yourself to a particular colour will limit the potential for stock vehicles severely, I know when I was looking, the chances of getting a stock vehicle, to the spec you require and in the colour you require will be a game of pure chance, and probably not a real possibility considering all the possible options ( depending on your requirements).
I had a very specific list of requirements and a specific colour, I obtained a list price from VW configurator which gave me a bench mark to work with.
I searched dealers and second hand for about a year to try and get what I was after, which simply was not available, new stock (demonstrators) or second hand through various sources!
I then went down the auto bid route, they provided a very competitive quote for the exact vehicle I chose on the VW configurator. I found autoebid excellent and very very professional, although I did not actually order from them.
I ended up going to see some stock demonstrator vehicle at a dealer, to confirm for myself that the spec and colour I wanted was 100% what I wanted, I armed myself with the knowledge of the autoebid price I had. (8% discount from list) I also got a very competitive quote from Guy at Preston (thanks Guy)
I then went to a dealer to test drive and check out the extras I wanted, I found a Cali which was not the colour I wanted, although it had all the extra I wanted and more at a competitive price.
I used the autoebid price and the fact the colour was not one that I considered to negotiate a further discount with the dealer + 5 year warranty + 2 services, front mats and tank of fuel.
Be aware that dealers do not like autoebid comparison, be guarded with the details of the autoebid quote, never give then the quote number, always give then the VW configurator number, so they can check out your requirements from the VW configurator.
After much tooing and froing, I came away with a very very high speck vehicle, (not the original colour I wanted) which was a compromise I was prepared to make, (having seen it in the flesh) offset against some very nice extra spec items that the dealer had missed in their screen pricing of the demonstrator, which effectively increased the discount even further to approx 10% from VW list price. The vehicle had done under 200 miles.
I know your dilemma, new = exactly what you want vs demonstrator/ second hand possible compromise!
I have to say that the end result for me was perfect, I got a very nice vehicle at a price I could live (not cheap) with and a very high spec to boot.
I would suggest going to see some of the other colours available purely if only to galvanise your thoughts or open the possibility of other colours, even if you are set on Red, it may open your eyes to other possibilities with a cost / spec benefit, with the added bounds of driving away a Vehicle soon after.
Good luck in whatever you choose to do.
Tried to convince Mrs Mintstuff when I saw a good value T5.1, however she wasn't very receptive. I also like the Grape Yellow T6, but I have agreed to not talk about yellow again!Are you sure you don't want a yellow one
Hi Katy, thanks for the information and pictures, I've just been comparing after my visit to the dealer this afternoon. You certainly have most of the options we are looking for, after today we are swaying more towards a new one and just focusing on negotiation with all the options we want.Hi Mintstuff and welcome,
Ive been putting it off for a while, but were looking to sell our cherry red beach cali due to a very much needed house move.(plus ive seen a nice early bay I like)
Shes pretty much got everything (10k worth of factory extras)
Registered march 2017, so beats new tax rise(£120 per year)
Will be Listing later today on here
she was a showroom van from smg tonbridge with 4 miles on the clock when we bought her
2.0 tdi 140 7 speed dsg
14,000 miles, shes a daily driver so mostly dual carrige way miles
Prob only camped in her about 8 times, always waxed and polished
just had first service, two new front continental tyres and roof corrosion mod(although roof was fine anyway)
7 seater ( two removeable single seats)
Two parking heaters
Comfort dash
Heated front and back windows
Composition media with app connect and vw sat nav, hands free bluetooth etc
2nd evaporater for rear air con
Removable tow bar (have a small camping trailer and tow bar bike rack)
Soft close power latching
Tinted rear windows
Interior Lighting pack
Auto lights and wipers with cornering fogs
Bike rack preperation
And probably loads more I cant recall at moment
Were a non smoking family and this van was gonna be a keeper so always looked after
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Asking for £48,500
Located in Horsham West Sussex
Thanks Peter, looking at them today, we confirmed that it's 100% red for us!Personally to us the colour was one of the most important factors. We have a red T5 and have never got fed up with the colour. It’s just more vibrant than the grey or silver or brown. It’s a camper van for holidays and you can’t miss it in a car park. We love it and have never regretted buying the red for one minute. Just our personal opinion. The days of “You can have any colour as long as it’s black” have long gone.
I'm sure the uncomfortable dash was my line!!!!Hi mintstuff
Glad your finding the community useful and friendly, we’ve all been there before, It’s a bit daunting and a major purchase, one I’m sure you won’t you won’t regret with the right research.
I too considered Yellow, but was vetoed, must be a Girl thang, but as you said , we won’t mention that again!
From experience I found the comfort dash was a really limiting factor with in stock vehicles, not many available, but that was a high priority for me as I didn’t like the uncomfortable dash as much. (That’ll start a whole other debate). I hit lucky with my vehicle.
Glad to hear your going to a dealer for some real life inspections, report back and let us know how it went.
All the best and good luck
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