Questions questions

Victor_Tango_ · Jun 8, 2016

Hi all,

This is my first post, so hello everyone and thank you for hosting such an incredibly useful (and entertaining) forum.

We hired a Cali last year and are now ready to take the plunge.

After extensive/obsessive scouring of past threads, we are considering two options and would love to hear your views. I realise it's all subjective/horses for courses, but expert's views always help!

1.) 2008ish pre facelift Cali, probably a 2.5. A few on Autotrader between the £26-30k mark

2.) Order a brand new (or try and get lucky with an ex demo) T6.

For option 2 we'd have to finance a good chunk more and wait until next year for the build (unless we found an ex demo). But we'd obviously have a warrantied, shiner and more fuel efficient van.

For option 1 the examples seem to be well looked after, and to have done quite a bit of their depreciation. There's more that could wrong of course, but having had several VWs and Audis with 80-120k on the clock I'm moderately relaxed about the mechanicals.

Option 3 would be to find a T5.1, but so many of them are priced at close to list it seems to be more worthwhile to pay the extra and wait for a T6.

I'm leaning towards Option 1. Are there any pre facelift owners with any tips/thoughts/things to look for? Is the 2.5TDI heavy on fuel around town?

Thanks for reading!

Hotel California · Jun 8, 2016

Hi and welcome , your countryflag shows france at this moment , so buying there or the UK
If i not have the cash to buy new i would go for a recent T5

hirsty · Jun 8, 2016

Hi David - you'll likely get as many different view as you get replies! Rule #1 is that it's a very personal and highly subjective decision & there really are no bad choices.

If you are starting from scratch then my first thought would be that there's not as much difference between each of the models (T5, T5.1, T6) as you'd first think when reading through this & other sites - as everyone here either has a van, or is looking for one, much of the discussion naturally focuses on the (mostly minor) differences between them, aside from the 'face' of the vehicle itself. VW take a conservative approach to each update & it seems to work for them.

I've just been through a similar purchase process myself & knew after 4-years with a T5 conversion that I wanted a 'factory' California post-facelift & found that used T5.1 prices are still firm due in part at least to the short supply of T6s. Having not been able to find a realistic deal on a T5.1 I spent more than I'd initially planned after finding a pre-registered T6 demo with delivery miles that broadly met my very short wishlist - two months later I'm glad I pushed it a bit & I'll soon get over the financial shock.

Having spent time in both a T5 1.9 and a T6 150 I've found the latter to be a much more refined car-like experience, but I still loved the slightly more utilitarian interior / dash of my T5 too - whether it was worth another 10-grand is a more difficult subject!

Go drive a few, try to enjoy looking & remember it's supposed to fun

bvddobb · Jun 8, 2016

campdavid said:
1.) 2008ish pre facelift Cali, probably a 2.5.

Be sure to have a 2.5 5 cylinder from MJ 2007 or later, not older. The 2.5 5 cylinder motor has seen significant improvements then. Before there are all sorts of issues with the injection system. Since then there are enough examples of Calis and Multivans with that engine having done close to or more than 500.000 km.

jts46 · Jun 8, 2016

I have a 2.5, 5 pot engine, built like a brick ****house, had a few things break or been replaced as service parts.
From new i have averaged 34 mpg and done 129000 miles

Victor_Tango_ · Jun 8, 2016

Fantastic, thanks all.

@hotel california I'm UK based but in France at the moment. Back next week to start Cali shopping! We would have to finance a T6, but recent T5s are hardly any cheaper, which is why we're thinking about an older T5.

@hirsty Great info, thanks. The Cali we hired last year was a lovely 2012 DSG 180 so good to know the older T5s aren't that different. Really leaning towards an older one now (and I miss the old school blue and red VW dash colours from when I had a '98 Passat!).

@bvddobb Very useful info, cheers. Will look out for that. Excuse my ignorance but is MJ 2007 mid-June? Mid-Jule? And am I right in thinking these engines don't have belts or chains that need changing?

@johntowers46 Great to know. Is it for sale?

Victor_Tango_ · Jun 8, 2016

One more question: a few I've seen have no awning, just a rail. I can see the benefits of not having an awning (I do think the vans look better without) but on balance I think we'd want one. Can you get them fitted later? (Apologies if there's a thread on this I've missed).

bvddobb · Jun 8, 2016

campdavid said:
@bvddobb Very useful info, cheers. Will look out for that. Excuse my ignorance but is MJ 2007 mid-June? Mid-Jule? And am I right in thinking these engines don't have belts or chains that need changing?

Sorry, MJ = Modell Jahr, Model Year. If you look for a 2008 Cali you should be OK. And you are right, these engines have no belts or chains, the distribution is all gears.

hirsty · Jun 8, 2016

Yes you can add an awning later - the VW multirail on the shoulder of the van is a wonderful thing.

Worth having a think at your pre-purchase shortlisting stage about things you can retrofit, replace or upgrade afterwards (wind-out awing, drive-away awning, alloys, aux heater, tow bar, window tints, bike rack, headunit etc) versus things you can't add later (4Motion, air con, auto gearbox etc).

There's an unbelievable volume of content on this site via forum search facility, and even more if you pay the subs & get access to the downloads section (old brochures etc).