On the verge of placing our order!

[SteveH]

Hi to everyone. We are new to the forum and in the process of ordering a Beach. Just made the last tweak to our configuration before getting dealers to quote us, added parking heating - painful £1500 option but I think probably a must for the UK. We did consider buying a fan heater but would then be cold in the absence of power. We have been tent guys up until now and are looking forward to the comforts of a nice bed and a warm cabin.

 

[Hotel California]

Welcome , if 1500£ for the heater holds one off buying a Cali i think one would be better off buying a panelvan and matrass...you did the right thing putting it on the list.
In fact it should be standard imo.
A small electric fan is very usefull when staying on site using hook-up , many carry one just in case , so you can put it on the list of things to get later if needed .
For now think only on putting a optionlist together you are happy with , all the bits and things will come later...

 

[T6 CFO]

Welcome and as per HC the heater is a must. You will be glad when you have it. Don't know how much you've read on here but there's a wealth of information on the Beach, what to get for it and more importantly where to go in it.


Mike

 

[larrylamb]

Hi to everyone. We are new to the forum and in the process of ordering a Beach. Just made the last tweak to our configuration before getting dealers to quote us, added parking heating - painful £1500 option but I think probably a must for the UK. We did consider buying a fan heater but would then be cold in the absence of power. We have been tent guys up until now and are looking forward to the comforts of a nice bed and a warm cabin.

You will get a competitive quote and good advice from Guy Vincent + Lancashire Van Centre (VW) 01772 280452 01772 655000

 

[B J G]

You may have it on your list but when arranging insurance I found that they wanted either rear parking sensors or preferably a rear view camera fitted.

Thankfully I had spec'd a rear view camera.

 

[CaliCrazy]

You will get a competitive quote and good advice from Guy Vincent + Lancashire Van Centre (VW) 01772 280452 01772 655000

+1 for Guy Vincent at Preston. A proper VW campervan salesperson. He even has an office as they recognise buying a California is a prestigious vehicle and want to treat customers likewise.

 

[SteveH]

Thanks for the welcome and tips. Don't mean to complain but it was a shock that heat wasn't included in a campervan and the fact that I had to add £1500 to £5000 of options already added. It seems like there are a lot of options you would expect to be standard on vehicle of this price. I am currently undergoing a VW attitude adjustment and have had to disable my cheapskate option

 

[larrylamb]

Thanks for the welcome and tips. Don't mean to complain but it was a shock that heat wasn't included in a campervan and the fact that I had to add £1500 to £5000 of options already added. It seems like there are a lot of options you would expect to be standard on vehicle of this price. I am currently undergoing a VW attitude adjustment and have had to disable my cheapskate option

I presume you know about the new RFL charges re new vehicles over £40k?

 

[OggSmith]

If I had bought a new rather than ex-demo Beach I would have added:

• Parking heater (saying that aftermarket heater is about same price)
• reversing camera (we've the sensors but I'd prefer to see whats going on)
• probably the LED lights and lights+vision package (every other car I've owned since 2002 has had automatic lights and wipers and decent headlights!)

 

[Amarillo]

Hi to everyone. We are new to the forum and in the process of ordering a Beach. Just made the last tweak to our configuration before getting dealers to quote us, added parking heating - painful £1500 option but I think probably a must for the UK. We did consider buying a fan heater but would then be cold in the absence of power. We have been tent guys up until now and are looking forward to the comforts of a nice bed and a warm cabin.

I'm at the other end of the Beach waiting line - I take delivery on Wednesday.

Here's my full options list:

1. California Beach 7 speed DSG
2. Awning - housing and rail in black
3. Kutamo Fabric
4. Adaptive cruise control
5. LED headlamps
6. Privacy glass with green insulating glass in cab
7. 2 x swivel seats with integrated child seats
8. Leather multi-function steering wheel
9. Discover Media navigation
10. 3 seater bench
11. Cliamatronic 3-zone air conditioning
12. Without model and engine badges
13. Towbar – removable/lockable
14. 80L fuel tank
15. Sliding window
16. Electric wing mirrors
17. Programable air parking heater with rc
18. Front and rear parking sensors + camera
19. Interior light concept
20. App connect
21. Grape yellow

 

[SteveH]

We are aware of the new VED rates. Nearly persuaded us to go used but we couldn't find anything close enough specification wise. We eventually decided that used vans held their value so well that there wasn't enough difference in price and decided to eat the VED cost (even though it sticks in my craw to have to pay any extra taxes).

 

[SteveH]

Jealous to death Tom. Hope it's everything you imagined it would be.

 

[Seaview]

Once you have your van I am sure you'll find it's one of the best £1500 you've ever spent. Not too sure if the heater remote comes standard with the heater but it's good to have too.

 

[Borris]

Hi to everyone. We are new to the forum and in the process of ordering a Beach. Just made the last tweak to our configuration before getting dealers to quote us, added parking heating - painful £1500 option but I think probably a must for the UK. We did consider buying a fan heater but would then be cold in the absence of power. We have been tent guys up until now and are looking forward to the comforts of a nice bed and a warm cabin.

Welcome,
You have done the right thing. That heater should come well before the wheels and seats on the must have list. You will not regret it.
I hope that you have many happy adventures in it/he/she.

 

[SteveH]

On another subject, what does a dealer mean when they say they have allocation ?

 

[SteveH]

Never mind. I should have searched before asking that. Seems like everyone is guessing on that subject and we are just going to have to trust our dealer to be up front.

 

[B J G]

On another subject, what does a dealer mean when they say they have allocation ?

Dealers have a fixed number of vehicles per year from VW (14 I think, not certain) Once the allocation is ordered they have to wait for the next year or apply for extra ones.
To stop any dealer discounting to corner the market.
Can be the cause of long delivery waits.

 

[oryx white]

It might be worth a morning off to ring round every VW dealer to see if they have a nearly new one to your spec before pressing the 'order' button.

That's what we did and we turned up a almost exact match to our spec with 2,500 miles on the clock and £6k saving to the best new price we could negotiate (admittedly for an Ocean rather than a Beach). Plus I got a pre-April17 RFL vehicle. If you go on the VW commercial vehicles site, there is a list of all the dealers and phone numbers. I have to say that all the dealers were helpful and understood exactly what I was doing and why it was a good idea. You can always ask them to quote on a new one while you're at it!

Good luck! The parking heater is a must. My local dealer has a used Beach he took in without a heater and is having a job shifting it ..

 

[Borris]

Hello Steve,
If you still haven't pressed the order button, SMG Tonbridge have this one for sale on Ebay at present. According to the add it's ready to go now. If you are interested then give Laine Watts a call. He is a great chap and knows his stuff. He gave us a very good deal on a identical vehicle last year. Remember, the price on the advert is only the starting point for negotiations.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volkswage...335532?hash=item4b0fe6ddec:g:Pa4AAOSwopRYeQ0H

 

[SteveH]

Thanks Boris, we did give it some consideration but in the end decided to order to get our perfect configuration (as perfect as we could make it without getting to carried away with options). Order was placed yesterday with estimated September delivery. We are so excited!

 

[Fast Freddie]

You won't regret it - we are only here once so enjoy the adventures, made even better with a Cali!

 

[Borris]

Thanks Boris, we did give it some consideration but in the end decided to order to get our perfect configuration (as perfect as we could make it without getting to carried away with options). Order was placed yesterday with estimated September delivery. We are so excited!

Congratulations. Roll on September.