Hoping to buy a used Cali 35-39k

[Ollie Masters]

Having hired a Cali in May this year and spent the best part of 18 months contemplating a purchase my wife, 2 children (6yrs & 4yrs) and I are pretty much ready to take the plunge and buy a California SE. The best part of 40k is way more than we've ever spent on a car before but I think it will enrich our lives massively. We've just re-mortgaged our house which has released 35k of equity so this is approximately what we would be looking to spend (I also have an irrational phobia of going too close to 40).

Any advice and hints would be much appreciated or if anyone is selling one in this sort of budget range over the next 6 months then I'd love to hear about it. I'm still a bit daunted by the roof problems and some sort of valve (?) that can malfuntion so if anyone wants to either allay, or exacerbate my fears over this then please feel free.

We are not in a massive rush to get one asap and are certainly prepared to wait for a few months for a good deal to come along. At the same time, I can't help but get excited about the prospect of having it for a trip or two later this year.

Look forward to hearing any advice/thoughts/suggestions

 

[Martin]

October is a good time to start looking as we always see quite a few people sell at the end of the season, try and buy something with a bit of warranty remaining on it.

As for roof corrosion, make sure it has been registered and check with VWCS that it is on their system, also try and get a letter from the seller as the repair is fully transferable


Wipe EGR from your mind, if it happens ... it happens same as all the other faults than can occur

 

[reserves]

As long as the Cali is under 6 years old then the roof will be covered anyway so I wouldn't worry too much about this.

At that budget you should be able to get something still under warranty (3 years from registration date) which is transferable so that should alleviate too many worries.

 

[reserves]

You might want to start researching which model you're after, 140 or 180, manual or automatic (there are LOADS of threads on these).

Also what factory extras you need, I was only ever worried about extras which cannot be retrofitted as many can.

Extras which are not easy or impossible to fit after are:

Climate Control (impractical to retrofit)
Parking Sensors, essential and a pain to retrofit
Middle rail for 5th seat (if needed)


Fairly easy to retrofit:

Multi Function Steering Wheel
Sat Nav

Nice to have (for me):

DAB (as the aftermarket aerials are not as good and don't look great)

 

[Ollie Masters]

That's very interesting thanks.

I had planned on getting a 180 (not that I think I necessarily need the extra power) and probably manual (just as I'm old-fashioned and always think less to go wrong). Having said that the one we hired was an automatic and I did rather enjoy it.

Regarding extras most people seem to think parking sensors and privacy glass are the two main things that are essential. Climate control would be nice. I'm not that fussed about much else in all honesty. It's useful to know that many things can be fitted retrospectively.

 

[larrylamb]

That's very interesting thanks.

I had planned on getting a 180 (not that I think I necessarily need the extra power) and probably manual (just as I'm old-fashioned and always think less to go wrong). Having said that the one we hired was an automatic and I did rather enjoy it.

Regarding extras most people seem to think parking sensors and privacy glass are the two main things that are essential. Climate control would be nice. I'm not that fussed about much else in all honesty. It's useful to know that many things can be fitted retrospectively.

Hi, regarding extras you are correct re privacy glass and p. sensors. We have the 3 zone climatronic a/c which is very powerful but lots of people say normal/c is fine. I do like the multifunction wheel and cruise control. A good dab stereo and satnav is worthwhile, you are on the road a long time but there are great units out there that can be retrofitted. Good luck, be a bit flexible and check the ads on here.

 

[motacyclist]

Hi Ollie, good luck in your search, you should get a good one for that.

Re 3 zone Climatronic vs standard a/c, we've had both and although not essential the former is much more convenient and we never have to touch it once set.

DSG is nice to have but the standard gearbox and clutch are a delight so wouldn't worry too much if the van you fancy turns out to be manual.

Roof corrosion - you should be covered by warranty in your price bracket.

EGR valve - ditto.

Sat nav - take it or leave it, it's OK but a bit dated compared to smartphone apps

140 vs 180 - I would go for the latter, but again if the van you fancy turns out to be a 140 I wouldn't worry too much, you'll still be in the outside lane