New Adventures..............

Goldie · Sep 21, 2013

Today started off with me taking my New Zealand residency application to New Zealand House in London and then coming home to book flights to Belfast to pick up the California Beach tomorrow morning - returning via Dublin on Tuesday. Intention is to use Beach in UK for up to six months in UK and then send it to NZ in a container. We've decided to move over there as a lifestyle change and the Beach will certainly help.

Have been looking at the forum for a number of months and been planning to buy a Beach since May. Big decision on whether to buy dealer stock or order one to desired specification. Although a compromise, I went for a dealer demonstrator; 180 miles on clock and everything still wrapped in polythene. In all honesty I would have gone for Climatronic and Parking Heater over Xenons, Double Glazing and Thunder Wheels. But a saving of around £10k on a new Cali to same sec persuaded me! I also got the dealer to throw in detachable towbar/electrics, front fog lamps, rear bike rack, roof rack, stainless steel side bars, monster mats and fifth seat for less than the original advertised price.

We've gone for Yellow! We have a Grey Yeti and Grey Golf (to be replaced by the California) and decided that Yellow has the holiday mood about it and we have happy memories of a yellow Mazda 121 Funtop we brought back from Hong Kong and used for 15 years.

So far I've bought the following additional items:
Bestek 300w Inverter - Amazon.
Inka Seat Covers
4 Steel Wheel with winter tyres (see my other posts)
spare wheel locking bolt
Camp Kitchen from http://www.garden-camping.com/ (£10 cheaper than their Amazon prices)
Coleman Dual Fuel Powerhouse stove http://www.coleman.com/product/dual-fue ... jzOxD97G6U (from Amazon USA as the UK version is a lower spec)

Planning to buy:
Waeco CF40 or CF50 fridge
Awning or may go for a 3m x 3m gazebo http://www.garden-camping.com/product/P ... 0Sides/219. Only 2 of us and don't need to sleep in it so will be used for storage / shade and will let us benefit from the fitted awning.
May buy RNS-510 SatNav via eBay but aware of other Forum users issues.

Further updates to follow.

Andy and Christina

Andy · Sep 21, 2013

Wow you have got a great deal on your beach, well done !!
Am envious of your move to NZ. I know quite a lot of kiwis, but have never been there but would love to go. Am told it's beautiful out there, and of course better weather than here.
Good luck with the move.

Goldie · Sep 21, 2013

Collected it this afternoon and now sitting in a pub in Portrush with a Guinesss winding down - really chuffed

Off to the Giants Causeway and going to do the Causeway coastal drive tomorrow. By coincidence the Telegraph travel section today had an article on it (the drive).

TwentyOneThirtyFive · Sep 21, 2013

Good adventure

I keep getting the urge to drive Betty Bus to NZ.

dan

Igloo_sw · May 29, 2014

Hey there,

Just looking for an update on your NZ adventure and getting your Beach over there. My wife and I were going to buy a beach this year but we ended up getting a job in NZ and are moving over there in July, so some of the money we had set aside for the Beach is now being used to get us over there.

I've had a look at the availability of Beaches over in NZ and it looks like they're pretty rare and the easiest way to get one out there is to have it exported from the UK. What is your experience in seeing others out there and have you had to have any servicing or works done on yours - is it expensive and are parts readily available?

I would love to get a Beach when we're out there as the vast amount of exploring to do is part of the reason for our move, but from what I've seen I imagine we'll end up with some kind of Japanese camper thing instead of a Beach (not that I have anything against them, it's just that I would much prefer a Beach!).

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Goldie · May 30, 2014

By coincidence I collected my Beach today and have it registered and all ready to go for the Bank Holiday weekend here. Here's a quick summary:

I paid cash for the Beach but could have got the same deal on VW finance and wish I still had the cash

. Moving here is not cheap but make sure you get loans etc in UK before you come. Probably better not mention you are moving overseas as UK banks are very risk adverse and don't like lending no matter how good your credit rating and value of any UK property.

I was let down by shipping company at the last minute who decided Cali was too big for a container and they didn't ship Ro-Ro. Phoned around and shipped it in a container for about £1800 including insurance. Arrived in perfect condition - not a mark. The shipping agent in Wellington remarked on how well it had been secured.

Total cost to ship, clear and register was around £3500. This was offset by the fact I bought it VAT free in UK. The cost would be the same for a camper half the cost so no savings to be made in this area.

Make sure NZ Customs know Beach is classed and taxed as a car in UK. I had a letter from my dealer which saved me from 10% import tax which is applied to motorhomes including full Cali. I paid about £3k in GST, but saved £5k in VAT.

Going to build a small Pod for mine with sink as this means I save £100 plus per year on insurance and can wild camp - no campsite fees.

Going to bring our Skoda Yeti as it just two years old, but having second thoughts on my son's 2007 Golf!

NZ is very strict on bio-security so make sure everything is clean - no mud, insects, or plant material. You can understand given reliance on agriculture.

Yes, Beaches are pretty rare and I wouldn't mind betting I have the only one in NZ. I don't think spares are a problem as VW have an Australasian distribution centre in Singapore for VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat etc. They also sell T5s and the Multivan over here.

If you do decided on bringing a vehicle PM me, as a lot of rubbish is written on Expats Forums. All second hand rumours........

Andy

Igloo_sw · Jun 3, 2014

Thanks for that Andy, all great advice!

I know what you mean about the expense of moving over there! We're flying out on the 1st July so no time or money to get a Beach sorted now but will definitely be looking into it again in six months to a years time (if we can get some savings together again...).

Will pm you if (when, hehe) i seriously start to consider an import from the UK.

Cheers,

Nathan.

Jennie · Feb 28, 2018

Thanks Andy, I am a NZer who has been living in UK for 40+ years and thinking of going back to NZ at the end of this year 2018 and taking my 2010, 46,000 miles on the clock Cali for a year. If I decide to stay will have my Cali in NZ and if decide to return to UK will sell it in NZ. It is in quite good condition. Question: what can you tell me about shipping, customs, paperwork, which company you used, etc etc please
Thanks Jennie

Executive · Jun 11, 2024

Goldie said:
Today started off with me taking my New Zealand residency application to New Zealand House in London and then coming home to book flights to Belfast to pick up the California Beach tomorrow morning - returning via Dublin on Tuesday. Intention is to use Beach in UK for up to six months in UK and then send it to NZ in a container. We've decided to move over there as a lifestyle change and the Beach will certainly help.

Have been looking at the forum for a number of months and been planning to buy a Beach since May. Big decision on whether to buy dealer stock or order one to desired specification. Although a compromise, I went for a dealer demonstrator; 180 miles on clock and everything still wrapped in polythene. In all honesty I would have gone for Climatronic and Parking Heater over Xenons, Double Glazing and Thunder Wheels. But a saving of around £10k on a new Cali to same sec persuaded me! I also got the dealer to throw in detachable towbar/electrics, front fog lamps, rear bike rack, roof rack, stainless steel side bars, monster mats and fifth seat for less than the original advertised price.

We've gone for Yellow! We have a Grey Yeti and Grey Golf (to be replaced by the California) and decided that Yellow has the holiday mood about it and we have happy memories of a yellow Mazda 121 Funtop we brought back from Hong Kong and used for 15 years.

So far I've bought the following additional items:
Bestek 300w Inverter - Amazon.
Inka Seat Covers
4 Steel Wheel with winter tyres (see my other posts)
spare wheel locking bolt
Camp Kitchen from http://www.garden-camping.com/ (£10 cheaper than their Amazon prices)
Coleman Dual Fuel Powerhouse stove http://www.coleman.com/product/dual-fue ... jzOxD97G6U (from Amazon USA as the UK version is a lower spec)

Planning to buy:
Waeco CF40 or CF50 fridge
Awning or may go for a 3m x 3m gazebo http://www.garden-camping.com/product/P ... 0Sides/219. Only 2 of us and don't need to sleep in it so will be used for storage / shade and will let us benefit from the fitted awning.
May buy RNS-510 SatNav via eBay but aware of other Forum users issues.

Further updates to follow.

Andy and Christina

Hi, I'm so sorry to not be posting a message relevant to the thread (I couldn't find any message feature on this website), but I think I own your old car (the yellow 1993 Funtop, imported from HK) and I'd love to have a chat about it if that's possible to get in touch!