T6 Cali vs T6 transporter and a custom job

[2into1]

Standard advice to anyone buying a demo / showroom Cali: I trust you've checked it hasn't got the comfort seat option, which means the front seats don't swivel?
I notice they are facing forward in the image, so worth double checking.

 

[Borris]

View attachment 13073 Thanks for all your help on this. We took the plunge and ordered the Cali today. Great spec and it is in the showroom now but we can't get our hands on it until 1 August!

Congratulations Chill,
Why August 1st? VW apparently insist that dealers keep there demo vehicles for three months. If they aleady have it in the showrooms surely you should be able to get your mits on it at the beginning of July.

 

[calimera]

Standard advice to anyone buying a demo / showroom Cali: I trust you've checked it hasn't got the comfort seat option, which means the front seats don't swivel?
I notice they are facing forward in the image, so worth double checking.

Agree there is one being advertised " seats comfort " .

 

[Chill]

Hi all, it definitely has swivel seats as I had to demo them to the dealer! Why August 1 is an interesting one, apparently they have to have a California in the showroom at all times. This one arrived Monday and will not be used at all but cannot be released until their next showroom model arrives.

Once again thanks for all the comments and advice. Here are some more pics..

 

[Chill]

 

[Andyclockwise]

Congrats, but something fishy going on there, dealers should not need to keep demo's that long, also come August it is the end of the season so better deals will be available on ex demo stock so if this was me I would wait as you have possibly paid a premium. Also I would not fancy having my van being the showroom model for 4 months with kids climbing all over it doing no end of damage. Also what's with the two rails? All Cali's now come with 3 rails now or is it a 4motion?

 

[Chill]

It is a 4motion, I too am perplexed as to why I can't take it, I am all set to go. I am sure the reason is genuine as I would have thought they would rather have my money in their bank.

 

[Meoncoast]

apparently they have to have a California in the showroom at all times.

I think that is fair enough and not "fishy" if they have decided to keep one in their showroom at all times, too often i have wanted to buy a car without a model in the show room for customers to look at

Welcome to the club

 

[Stoneybroke]

View attachment 13073 Thanks for all your help on this. We took the plunge and ordered the Cali today. Great spec and it is in the showroom now but we can't get our hands on it until 1 August!

Chill, can you confirm that colour? Bamboo Garden Green?

 

[Chill]

Starlight Blue, the fake grass is lovely !!

 

[Stoneybroke]

Starlight Blue, the fake grass is lovely !!

As if the colours aren't already hard enough to disgust (edit.. Should read distinguish - autocorrect!) the AstroTurf reflection really skews it!

 

[_MSn_]

For £65,000 have you not considered a T6 Westfalia? A pop-top Club Joker City or a high-top Club Joker would fit the bill nicely I'm sure.

 

[sdes]

One really obvious option I'd want if ordering a custom camper - I'd want the Long wheelbase van as the donor vehicle. I've never understood why VW don't offer it. We love our 2007 rusty roof 4motion 140,000 mile "veteran" Cali , but even for two it can be a bit cramped. 30cm longer would just make it a bit less squeezy and scarcely any different for manoeuvrability etc. Might even have room for three burners on the cooker!
Welcome to the club anyhow. You will find the Cali is better designed / resolved than any of the alternatives I think, although there are still plenty of areas that could be improved - but remain unchanged in three generations of the vehicle - VW tend to focus on changing the engines, dashboard, upholstry and styling (I'd stuff that changes for all the range anyhow) and leave the interior arrangement (stuff that is Cali specific) largely unaltered.

 

[nesarajah]

Hi all

I am new here so please be gentle...

I am looking for a t6 DSG 4 motion with a fair few bells and whistles but can't seem to get one for this summer. I am now considering a well speced T6 DSG 4motion transporter and taking it to a custom shop. Budget is circa £65k. Any advice would be appreciated in terms of should I just order the Cali and wait or would a custom job be a better bet.

Thanks.

Hi,
I have a T6 204 California DSG 4motion. Two months old with full specification. I maybe reluctantly selling it as I have a business opportunity and need to raised funds for that.
I do think the specification of my VW can't be bettered as I requested all the toys! If interested please contact me. Thanks, Pete

 

[Borris]

One really obvious option I'd want if ordering a custom camper - I'd want the Long wheelbase van as the donor vehicle. I've never understood why VW don't offer it. We love our 2007 rusty roof 4motion 140,000 mile "veteran" Cali , but even for two it can be a bit cramped. 30cm longer would just make it a bit less squeezy and scarcely any different for manoeuvrability etc. Might even have room for three burners on the cooker!
Welcome to the club anyhow. You will find the Cali is better designed / resolved than any of the alternatives I think, although there are still plenty of areas that could be improved - but remain unchanged in three generations of the vehicle - VW tend to focus on changing the engines, dashboard, upholstry and styling (I'd stuff that changes for all the range anyhow) and leave the interior arrangement (stuff that is Cali specific) largely unaltered.

Like you, I also wondered why VW don't base the Cali on the LWB van. However since owning our Cali since October it now makes complete sense.

Firstly, I think their market research has led them to target people who want all the freedom of a campervan but also want to be able to park it easily and therefore don't want anything bigger than a large car. Also for many people their Cali is their only transport so often has to fulfil several roles. Having previously owned a LWB T4 van I found that finding a suitable parking space could sometimes be an issue.

In addition, a long wheel base version of the Cali could raise other issues. The extra space could potentially lead to pay load weight issues. The more space people have the more clobber they will be tempted to take with them and thats in addition to the extra weight of the longer kitchen etc. The usable payload on some versions of the current Cali range can be very tight, especially the 4motion version fitted with lots of options.

Finally, the current version of the iconic VW campervan is such a good well rounded design package that it has maintained its position as the market leader in its field for many years. If customers want to buy a longer camper van there are lots available to choose from but IMO you are starting to move away from the compact, high quality, factory built VW campervan concept.

 

[Keith Smith]

I drive a LWB Vivaro for work and the extra 300mm length makes it disproportionally difficult to manoeuvre and park compared to our Cali. However the reason most converters don't use long wheel based donor vans is the seat fixing points are set 300mm back from the side door on the LWB,(ie the same distance from the back doors on both vehicles) this makes more living space but means that passengers sit a long way back in the van and doesn't really increase your storage space by much. Now if VW produced a LWB Cali with sliding seats the extra 300mm would be a bigger benefit, but I'd still go for the SWB.

 

[Bibs]

The 3 month and 6 month situation was clarified by a VW dealer on a previous thread.
"Vehicles are registered in two different ways, depending on the registering dealership. Demo vehicles are required to be held for 90 days from registration, Rental vehicles are required to be held for 180 days."

 

[Chill]

Hi Bibs, the particular vehicle I have bought will be band new with myself as the first owner, but thanks for the clarification on the demonstrators.