On the cusp of a decision

[Blackbrogue1962]

Having retired at Easter and with both children now away from home we’ve decided a VW California would be the best vehicle for adding adventure to our free time. We’ve looked at the Ocean at our local dealer and chatted to California owning friends and feel ready to take the plunge. Will have lots of questions I’m sure, but initially would just ask that if ordering a new vehicle or buying a low mileage used example, are there any non-standard features worth ordering/looking out for? We live in Scotland and envisage both shorter local trips and longer continental tours.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

I've just taken the plunge like yourself, but before you handover your credit card just be mindful of the deals there is. My local dealer at VW Birmingham was giving me the usual salesman nonsense about sellers market, long delays etc, so I've ordered from Eurovans in Crawley and got shy of £9k of a brand new Ocean 204 with various options. When I look at the 12m old examples around, even those for sale on here - they all have prices higher than what I paid new. So I'd suggest new/old is a bit of a no brainer. In terms of spec there are loads of posters on here who have asked that very same question so it's a case of viewing them I'd suggest.

 

[Seaview]

Having retired at Easter and with both children now away from home we’ve decided a VW California would be the best vehicle for adding adventure to our free time. We’ve looked at the Ocean at our local dealer and chatted to California owning friends and feel ready to take the plunge. Will have lots of questions I’m sure, but initially would just ask that if ordering a new vehicle or buying a low mileage used example, are there any non-standard features worth ordering/looking out for? We live in Scotland and envisage both shorter local trips and longer continental tours.

Having previously lived in Scotland, we enjoyed a heated windscreen on our second Cali, ideal for those frosty mornings.

 

[Andy C Berks.]

The reasons behind choosing options varies so much from person to person, so as Barry says have a good hunt around the various threads on this forum as most usually have plenty of people offering opinions for and against that will definitely help you.

we are three months or so in to ownership and I have to say that between stalking this forum prior to ordering and certain YouTube channels, when the thing arrived back in June it honestly felt like we had owned one forever and pretty much everything felt so familiar. The best channels I believe are California Chris, A Bus and Beyond and Campervan Time (previously known as California Time). Spend a few evenings watching the back catalogue on those three channels and you will know pretty much everything you need to know on day one.

to be honest I also found the VW California brochure a handy reference point too, so download that and flick through the pages.

good luck, you won’t regret it !

 

[Ryanrunsfar123]

Also in a holding pattern here - 'in to build this week' according to Eurovans. 6-8 weeks from now perhaps.. but who knows. Already booked a few trips for next year. Super exited

With such big discounts on offer through Drive the Deal and the strong probability of good residuals on these I don't see the justification for buying a used example - personal view!

 

[Blackbrogue1962]

Thanks for all the quick replies, while I’d originally thought a used Cali would be the way to go I’m now in lining towards a new one - and hopefully getting a decent discount. I know that I can get a military discount from one specialist dealer so this might also be a good bargaining chip. Without getting into the details of personal affordability, do most buyers use a PCP/HP deal to finance?

 

[dspuk]

There are a zillion threads discussing options. In the end we will all justify what we have and have paid for with our own reasons and the reality is you need to sit, think, and work out your own.

Same for finance. Given the cost of them most will be going PCP.

 

[BeeBee]

We were fortunate enough to find one 4 years ago that had been ‘dropped’ by the person who specked it. Who knows why , but our good fortune, only delivery miles on the clock and still at dealership who were on the look for us. Train to Liverpool and there we were with our Cal Ocean 150 DSG, drove home to Scotland.
Buying ‘off the forecourt’ was possible then without prices being silly, pre pandemic so not affected by the mad rush on Campervans and Motorhomes.

If your buying new and spec is yours I’ld advise :
LED lights ( we don’t have and would have liked)
Reversing camera ( we have one and feel it’s really useful and I’ve driven for over 50 years in all kinds of vehicles)
VW lower bed mattress ( we didn’t get with van and purchased later from dealership )
All weather tyres ( on our ‘to buy’ list when the current ones need replaced)

Everything else we feel is dependant on your own needs and as such pretty subjective, so have fun choosing… one thing retrospective fitting eg tow bar can be more expensive.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

I've taken out PCP as this currently gives a £1,000 finance contribution and also 3 years free servicing and the first MOT. I'll probably end up clearing this well before 3 years but to me it made sense as I'm guessing 3 services are probably worth a grand if not more?