Purchase of Beach vs velle - help required

[2into1]

The Beach is fine for sleeping five.

Tom, everyone admires how you and your family made and enjoyed your mammoth trip, but just because you managed it doesn't mean everyone else can. Me and my little dog can sometimes fall out in my SE. I think @soulstyledevon 's comment is a useful warning / advice to newcomers.

 

[Amarillo]

Tom, everyone admires how you and your family made and enjoyed your mammoth trip, but just because you managed it doesn't mean everyone else can. Me and my little dog can sometimes fall out in my SE. I think @soulstyledevon 's comment is a useful warning / advice to newcomers.

Thanks for the reality check. The first part of our trip was pretty hard work. It wasn't until our brief return to the UK and a full reconfiguration of how we packed, jettisoning redundant gear, that it became more comfortable.

 

[soulstyledevon]

You could probably find a well specced used Velle with all toys and still find a half decent trailer, for the same price as a well specced New Beach.
It’s worth investigating...

 

[larrylamb]

Family of 5...???

If you really want to enjoy time away with the family, get a Caravan.
These vans are to small for more than 4, unless you like erecting tents(cough) sorry I meant awnings.

You could probably find a well specced used Velle with all toys and still find a half decent trailer, for the same price as a well specced New Beach.
It’s worth investigating...

My thoughts exactly. Get a nice Velle for everyday use and days out and a caravan for the hols. Much more practical and less stressful.

 

[Borris]

Exactly. This will have to be the main family car. Unfortunately, the GTI has us spoiled.

Our wish list is namely:

Led headlights
Leather+Alcantara
Adaptive cruise control
Climatronic
Powerful engine (199ps)
DSG
Multifunction wheel
Electrically folding mirrors

Would like heated windscreen

oh, and my budget is a fiver.

Many of those are expensive extras - hence why they are not frequently in the beach. If I up-spec, it will cost more than putting a roof into a velle or buying an ocean.

I was told recently by a reputable VW source that the reason why there are a lot of basic Beaches for sale at present is that staff at VW's UK HQ were allowed to have them. Presumably their grades didn't entitle them to push the boat out on the options front.

You will have a job on finding a well specced Beach because options are expensive compared to the packages available on the Ocean so most are fairly basic. A well specced Beach would have cost as much if not more than a similar Ocean. I should know as I've just bought one of the last UK Beaches to my desired specification. I had to give two arms and a leg for it.

As for your desired options:
1. You won't find a 199ps Beach, at least not one originally exported from the factory destined for the UK market.
2. You won't get leather/alcantara in a nearly new Beach or Ocean for that matter. Leather was quietly dropped by VW some time ago so whilst you could spec alcantara the rest of the seat is faux leather ie plastic. It was never an option on older Beaches. I believe the Caravelle still has real leather seat facings.
3. The standard headlights on a Beach are almost worse than useless. So hold out for one with better lights. The H7s aren't bad and were a considerable saving on the über expensive LEDs. I believe you could spec them as part of an exterior pack.
4. The remaining options are not that rare on a Beach so you should be able to find one if you wait.
5. The must have on a beach is none of the above (with the exception of the headlights). Just ensure you find one with a parking heater.

A second hand one with all the options you require will come up. You'll just have to bide your time. When one does, jump there and then. I sold our previous well specced Beach over the phone on the same day I advertised it. I had about a dozen other dissapointed enquiries hot on the buyers heels. Well specced Beaches sell themselves. A fact confirmed by my dealer.

Like you I originally thought if buying a Caravelle. I have seen one that had been converted and frankly I wasn't impressed. It looked very shoddy. However there may be companies that could do a much better job. It's a lot of work to convert one properly and I'm sure it wouldn't be cheap either. Don't forget that you would loose the interior lights and ventilation in the Caravelle roof. So you they would have to be replaced with something else. There would be no black out blinds, no picnic chairs or table, no multi flex and the front seats wouldn't swivel. Also it will not hold it's value like a Beach. Frankly, it really isn't worth all the hassle. Instead, keep looking for the right Beach. It's out there somewhere.

I also like what others have suggested. Consider a Caravelle and a caravan combo. My choice would either be a well specced 7 seat "Executive" or a LWB seven seat SE.

 

[NZCol]

I’ll be readvertising my 2019 Beach with LEDs and Hester etc on here in the next few days -‘fully loaded spec as well so could be of interest.

 

[Borris]

I’ll be readvertising my 2019 Beach with LEDs and Hester etc on here in the next few days -‘fully loaded spec as well so could be of interest.

Who's Hester? Surely you're not doing a BOGOF with your wife? Which one is fully loaded?

 

[jamessclarke]

Can the bed go down without removing the 5th seat?

No... This starts the chain of events as to why they need so much stuff. They now just take a pop up pup tent to 'throw' the extra seat in when camped. (they weigh a tonne!)

In a Beach with 3 seater bench you can make the bed with the "extra" single seats in place. Amarillo has posted different methods in other threads.

 

[jamessclarke]

Tom, everyone admires how you and your family made and enjoyed your mammoth trip, but just because you managed it doesn't mean everyone else can. Me and my little dog can sometimes fall out in my SE. I think @soulstyledevon 's comment is a useful warning / advice to newcomers.

Same old arguments. We slept 6 in our Beach when the children were small. It is always different for different folks. If you want maximum space get a great white or caravan. If you want a true multipurpose super machine - get a Beach (with 3 seat bench)

 

[2haw]

We also sleep 5 in our Beach and think its fine, admittedly not that often but it can be done.

Our Beach was bought mainly as a family bus but has been a play house for my daughters whilst my son is playing football, a mobile office, a shed and a Holiday home.

No other car can do this so well with as little depreciation.

 

[MattBW]

When the weather is bad we find it a little cramped, that is with 2 adults and 2 smallish dogs, I cant even imagine another 2 people in there without a decent awning... Its more than fine when the weather is good and you are outside, but as soon as you are restricted to just inside that lack of space will become really evident.

I agree with the above some people will find it doable others will find it not so good. Best approach is the old recommendation of hiring something and having a go. Try before you buy.

 

[soulstyledevon]

We also sleep 5 in our Beach and think its fine, admittedly not that often but it can be done.

Bit of a clue in there.
Its possible, "admittedly not that often".
Speaks volumes really...

 

[soulstyledevon]

I would say people won't be any better off with a bigger van.
Its just means more stuff to lug around, toilet, bathroom, rear garage etc.

Its still a cramped space for multiple bodies.

 

[An-j]

I love my beach. It’s the best thing I’ve ever owned. I have one with lots of the options you want and I think it is worth waiting to get the spec. We had to compromise on getting one with a high mileage for its age (3 years) but so far, it’s been great.

The beach is a great family car - the sliding door and the ability to walk through the front seats into the back is so useful. There’s loads of room and plenty of charging sockets/cup holders!
But, parking it on busy school runs and in cramped car parks can be stressful when it’s your pride and joy. So, I would think about whether it’s size might make routine trips more awkward if you don’t have a runaround type car as well?
Camping trips with 2 adults and 2 growing kids are snug and we mostly use an awning even if it’s just one night. There is enough physical space for 3 to sleep on the lower bed. But kids tend to argue or won’t sleep in a certain space so it can be very tiring. We love weekends away but it is hard work, constantly rearranging stuff, beds etc. I’m honestly not sure if we would manage much camping with 3 kids in it although I know people do!

 

[MattBW]

I was just thinking as well about the fact that many are the lower powered engines but again in most cases that too can be resolved.

Mine for example was the 114ps model, but I can get this properly and entirely safely remapped to 140 ballpark very easily and it will apparently go up to about 170-180 (which I didnt want to do on my gearbox and not sure the impact on wear and tear this would have). Isnt a lot on top of the insurance either.

 

[Crell]

Exactly. This will have to be the main family car. Unfortunately, the GTI has us spoiled.

Our wish list is namely:

Led headlights
Leather+Alcantara
Adaptive cruise control
Climatronic
Powerful engine (199ps)
DSG
Multifunction wheel
Electrically folding mirrors

Would like heated windscreen

oh, and my budget is a fiver.

Many of those are expensive extras - hence why they are not frequently in the beach. If I up-spec, it will cost more than putting a roof into a velle or buying an ocean.

I had a T5.1 Caravelle Exec for 4.5 years, then bought a dealer-stock T6 Beach because there was a fairly long wait at the time for new orders, and I made a fair saving on the new price. I was wedded to my "perfect" spec, but wanted a change and wasn't prepared to wait. That meant compromising on a couple of things :

The Lights - I regret this, in fact it's my only regret. I hate the H4s in the Beach with a passion, even with upgraded bulbs. The lights on the High Up we have are far better, but still use H4s. I wish I had the upgraded H7s or the LEDs.

The engine: It was a moot point, I can't say I miss it that much. The challenge you'll have is that there were no t6s with the bigger engine IIRC.

I managed to get everything else on the van I was after, alloys aside; but I've never bothered changing them . It was a big spec and was more than and Ocean retail (54 ish new IIRC)

As an ex-Caravelle Exec owner the Beach is the van you'll want after 12 months with a young, active family When I had the Caravelle I was seriously looking at getting the roof done. This was before the Beach was announced. There are a few threads on the other van forums looking at converting the Exec Caravelle (With the climatronic) and IIRC it was done more recently, and there's at least one company doing a conversion. Personally I thought the fit and finish / trimming didn't really match up to the rest of the van. I think there may be someone on here who had it done as well.

The 5.1 beach when it launched looked perfect, though it was a drop in spec compared to the 'velle. Then the 6 Beach got a bit closer to the Exec spec wise - you just had to load it with options. There was no leather option AFAIK when I bought mine (2017), but I can't say I miss it that much (The 'velle had full nappa leather). We have seat covers in the van anyway.

Personally I'd find the closest spec Beach to your ideal spec rather than think about converting a Caravelle. There seem to be loads of Beaches at dealers for < 40k and circa 1000 miles at the moment as they sell-out the final production. These seem to be low spec but a bargain. You can add your own parking heater, seat covers etc.

The closest (only) Beach I could find near your spec is currently 52k with 1000 miles on the VW Used site. I know because I was looking last night, and it's the most expensive one on sale, but still with the 150 obviously.

Happy hunting.

 

[Crell]

On the subject of sleeping 5 people, we forgot the Kador strip for the Awning so ended up with basically 4 adults in the van. We've done it before, but "cramped" is an understatement with the downstairs bed up (as you also can't sit up as the height of the bed is much higher). With all your gear in there, you don't have much room to move around. As your kids get bigger and older the awning comes in to its own to sleep in or just dump gear in to that lets you move around the van a little easier. There's only so much you can do with a given volume of space. Four adults for an occasional night away maybe, but doing it even for a week without an awning / tent would be a non--starter for me. As you can see, others see it differently.

 

[EmCal76]

We have 3 kids and specifically spec’s our Cali for our crew. It’s been the best family car we’ve ever had. Selling due to overseas move. https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/classi...-bluemotion-5sp/surrey/vw-t6-california-beach

 

[Borris]

We have 3 kids and specifically spec’s our Cali for our crew. It’s been the best family car we’ve ever had. Selling due to overseas move. https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/classi...-bluemotion-5sp/surrey/vw-t6-california-beach

Interesting colour combo.

 

[PeteS]

I have a Caravelle I looked at Beach’s but could not afford one. We have been camping and use a tent. I did think about fitting a pop top but the heating and wiring would be difficult to get right and it would devalue the vehicle.
if you are only going to use the vehicle for occasional camping trips the a awning tent might be ok.
The Beach has some advantages like you can put the pop up and stand in the vehicle which will help in changing.
From a driving point of view I like the high up driving position. it does not handle like a GTI as I have had a couple but it is a different experience but I enjoy it all the same.