New van trip dilemma

[BigJohn]

Hi all, we're getting close to picking up our new Ocean 4Mo, getting excited, but obviously until it's actually in the country we don't know when it's going to be ready.

The dilemma is, we will be driving from south UK down to the south of France for skiing in 3 weeks - if it arrives the week before, should we go in the new van which we will probably only have done a couple of hundred miles in, if that, or ask the dealer to hang on to it until we get back?

We're a bit concerned that we won't have had time to shake down any teething issues that there might be. We won't be camping, so not concerned about that side of things.

What do you think?

John

 

[Sad]

Do it, can go to any VW van centre in France if any issues...

 

[TheDoc]

Go for it. It’s a new van so it’s highly unlikely you’ll get any issues that would frustrate you travels.

 

[Hawthorn37]

I’d definitely do it! What a great first trip. If you are tempted to tell the dealer to keep it though, just check if you’ve got any promo deals that are dependant on registering and completing the purchase within 14 days of hitting the UK - that nearly caught us a few weeks ago.

 

[Pinkietee]

Do it. I picked mine up on 19th September 2020 and was on the ferry to Spain the next day for six months. I had no problems at all. Watch the California Chris YouTube videos to make sure you understand things like the heating controls.

 

[Perfectos]

What a great shake down journey for the Van and you.

explain the situation to your dealer,
ask the dealer to specifically apply all available updates prior to your collection date !
(that is simply the dealer hooking your van up to the Mothership, which will automatically apply any software updates that may be available.)

drive the van as much as possible in the short time before the trip, camp on your driveway for a few nights and you’ll be good to go

if the worst should happen you have VW assist at your disposal

edit: make sure you take the option of the Five year warranty (must be registered with VWCV within three months of first registration) the dealer should be able to do this for you before collecting

 

[andyinluton]

edit: make sure you take the option of the Five year warranty (must be registered with VWCV within three months of first registration) the dealer should be able to do this for you before collecting

I'm not convinced the 5 year warranty is the best bet at the moment, I am considering it for my new van in 2 weeks time but think the "all in" scheme works out cheaper overall.

The warranty on its own is £500. whereas the all in scheme is £720 for the same 2 years but includes breakdown cover, two services & 2 MOT in addition.
Trouble is I don't know how much the All In scheme might cost in 2 years time.

 

[Stu@rt]

I'm not convinced the 5 year warranty is the best bet at the moment, I am considering it for my new van in 2 weeks time but think the "all in" scheme works out cheaper overall.

The warranty on its own is £500. whereas the all in scheme is £720 for the same 2 years but includes breakdown cover, two services & 2 MOT in addition.
Trouble is I don't know how much the All In scheme might cost in 2 years time.

£500? Not sure we paid anywhere near that when we bought ours 7months ago. I assume that it must have gone up a lot?

Edit..just found the invoice £394.80 for the 2 year extension / 80k miles.

Maybe they honoured the price that they quoted when we placed the order the year before?

 

[Hedley Wright]

I wish I had your dilemma

 

[Van Diesel VW]

I'm not convinced the 5 year warranty is the best bet at the moment, I am considering it for my new van in 2 weeks time but think the "all in" scheme works out cheaper overall.

The warranty on its own is £500. whereas the all in scheme is £720 for the same 2 years but includes breakdown cover, two services & 2 MOT in addition.
Trouble is I don't know how much the All In scheme might cost in 2 years time.

Risk is the all in scheme may not be available in 3 years time, or changed or price gone up.

 

[Mr T]

£500? Not sure we paid anywhere near that when we bought ours 7months ago. I assume that it must have gone up a lot?

Edit..just found the invoice £394.80 for the 2 year extension / 80k miles.

Maybe they honoured the price that they quoted when we placed the order the year before?

Maybe the cost is different for a Grand California?

 

[andyinluton]

£500? Not sure we paid anywhere near that when we bought ours 7months ago. I assume that it must have gone up a lot?

Edit..just found the invoice £394.80 for the 2 year extension / 80k miles.

Maybe they honoured the price that they quoted when we placed the order the year before?

Its £399 + VAT same for all transporter / crafter based vans.

 

[andyinluton]

We're a bit concerned that we won't have had time to shake down any teething issues that there might be. We won't be camping, so not concerned about that side of things.

What do you think?

John

I think from users experiences on here, on a new van things either work or they don't. Get it all tested on day one & use VW assist if they don't.
Make sure the heating works & the roof goes up & down properly, they are the two main items. Oh and take a paper map just in case the sat nav throws a hissy fit.

 

[5i1ver8ack]

Hi all, we're getting close to picking up our new Ocean 4Mo, getting excited, but obviously until it's actually in the country we don't know when it's going to be ready.

The dilemma is, we will be driving from south UK down to the south of France for skiing in 3 weeks - if it arrives the week before, should we go in the new van which we will probably only have done a couple of hundred miles in, if that, or ask the dealer to hang on to it until we get back?

We're a bit concerned that we won't have had time to shake down any teething issues that there might be. We won't be camping, so not concerned about that side of things.

What do you think?

John

We did when ours was brand new. It was summer rather than winter. We had booked to stay in a villa and weren’t expecting the California to be ready for another two months.

Our only problem was in changing vehicle details on the channel tunnel crossing. They wouldn’t swap a California for a Land Rover Discovery so we had to unbook and rebook. Inevitably our original conveniently-timed booked slot was no longer available and we ended up crossing in the middle of the night. We took the opportunity to make our first overnight stop in a camping aire not far from Calais.

We had to do the same on the way back.

Great holiday! 3,500 miles in the first three weeks of ownership. Flawless…..other than a puncture caused by a discarded piece of horseshoe.

 

[Mr T]

Its £399 + VAT same for all transporter / crafter based vans.

Thanks Andy. I have a similar dilemma when I (hopefully) collect my GC next month. My other consideration is I tend to change vehicles frequently, my longest ownership record is 2 years.

 

[Richi]

Hi all, we're getting close to picking up our new Ocean 4Mo, getting excited, but obviously until it's actually in the country we don't know when it's going to be ready.

The dilemma is, we will be driving from south UK down to the south of France for skiing in 3 weeks - if it arrives the week before, should we go in the new van which we will probably only have done a couple of hundred miles in, if that, or ask the dealer to hang on to it until we get back?

We're a bit concerned that we won't have had time to shake down any teething issues that there might be. We won't be camping, so not concerned about that side of things.

What do you think?

John

Hi.

This is very good question. Same thing over here. Plan to have a trip to our home country Slovakia as soon as we get our Cali. This could be June od July time. I wasn’t sure if is good idea to go straightaway for such a long journey. We’ll probably do some test drive. Let’s say 200-300 miles for over night stay somewhere here in the UK. Just get used to little bit with a new car. And as others experieces saying shold be good to go. We can’t wait.

 

[Stu@rt]

Its £399 + VAT same for all transporter / crafter based vans.

Yeah I see that the prices are dated May 21. So a 20% price hike from the previous November when we ordered. Wowsers. And I guess another hike could well be on the cards too, with inflation running away.

 

[Wrongford]

Try & give it a couple of hundred miles shake down before you go. If no major issues then go for it?

 

[BigJohn]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone, I think as long as we have 3 or 4 days, then we'll be able to get some miles in to uncover any issues

 

[Meoncoast]

Trouble is I don't know how much the All In scheme might cost in 2 years time.

or will it still be avalible