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Time for my Tale of Woe...

Corradobrit

Corradobrit

Messages
3,866
Location
Europe
Vehicle
T6.1 Ocean 204 4 motion
Feeling pretty buoyant today after finally receiving some good news from VW via my dealer.

As some of you have been following my story as a Coast buyer on the Continent here is my tale of woe. I ordered my Pure grey Coast Edition model, 204 4Mo DSG in mid Nov 2020, while I was still living in the USA. Never seen one in real life, let alone driven one, but I knew instinctively this was the Campervan for me. A few extras not included in the Edition pack such as parking heater, wood effect floor, removable towbar, pano bellows, stiffer ARB,s, AS tyres, 4 keys etc added and the wheels were set in motion. Initially told delivery Sept 21.

Around March 2021 I see Calibusje's post about receiving a red Cali instead of the Ascot Grey he ordered. This got me concerned as my dealer is not a main VW dealer and I had not seen a final build sheet with all the options I wanted. The dealer duly replied sending the requested official VW build sheet. He said everything was present and accounted for. Excellent. So I relaxed and went about the business of tying up lose ends, putting a house on the market in preparation for my move to Germany.

Get to Sept and due to all the delays caused by Covid the build was pushed into Nov/Dec. No problem as I was in temporary rental accommodation without a garage. Dec passes and now its March 2022. No problem as I wasn't planning to go anywhere over winter and Hannover is a very bicycle friendly city. Further delays to the March delivery date due to Ukraine. No biggy. In early May I get the call I've been waiting for. Orso Grigio is in production and the dealer should have it by mid-May. I dug up the email from March 2020 and looked at the specs again, this time noticing a term I am not familiar with '150xx'. My spidey senses were tingling as up to this point I had only seen engine power quoted as ps, HP or kW. Quick check on Google tells me this a Dutch way to denote power. Now I'm freaking out. I fired off an email to the dealer for clarification. After not hearing anything for a couple of days I phone the dealer and one of his colleagues tells me not to worry. It was a clerical error and that I will be getting the 204HP engine I spec'ed. Feeling relieved I booked my train ticket, a vacation in Northern France and bought a few items I'd held off ordering.

A week before the scheduled collection on May 26th I get another email saying VW screwed up and installed the 150 rather than the 204 engine.... all this after 18 months of waiting and knowing the Coast had been discontinued last year. Was I going to get another shot at my dream Cali? Taking the 150 was not an option given the added weight of the 4Mo and DSG, the places I wanted to visit and the terrain I might be encountering. Plus the ownership experience would always be tainted having been so vested in this whole, protracted process. So the communications with VW were initiated based on the factory taking full responsibility for the cockup.

The excuse was the emission changes for the new biturbo engine which altered it from 198 to 199 to 204HP, all apparently made manually into the system. But the mistake was made on more than one occasion as the dealer said a build sheet they had seen after March 2021 had the correct engine allocated. Ultimately human error.

The good news is VW have stepped up and agreed to build another Coast to my original spec and I was able to add ACC (instead of the standard CC I originally requested). Expected production is end of July or beginning of August THIS year. Bravo VW and many thanks to the dealer for following through and turning lemons into lemonade.

How do those sayings go? All's well that end's well and patience is a virtue. So true when buying a new California. May all your orders go through smoother than this one.
 
So pleased for you Corradobrit. I have my fingers crossed the van is what you specced when it arrives.
 
are you sure you have that correct ? 150KW is actually 204HP and is easily confused. 110KW is 150 HP. i thought all 4 motions were 204 ?
 
I just hope you get one and they don’t make up some story in August once production ceases. Could you not ask for the 150van until the new one arrives…?
 
are you sure you have that correct ? 150KW is actually 204HP and is easily confused. 110KW is 150 HP. i thought all 4 motions were 204 ?
In the Netherlands HP is referred to as 'pk'. A 150HP motor would be 150pk or 110kW. This is what was delivered. I did go to the Factory in person to double check and they confirmed the mistake. I also thought both engines would look pretty much identical from the top but the dealer says the 204HP has an engine cover while the 150HP goes bareback. My original contract says 198HP. Hence all the confusion.
 
In the Netherlands HP is referred to as 'pk'. A 150HP motor would be 150pk or 110kW. This is what was delivered. I did go to the Factory in person to double check and they confirmed the mistake. I also thought both engines would look pretty much identical from the top but the dealer says the 204HP has an engine cover while the 150HP goes bareback. My original contract says 198HP. Hence all the confusion.
I see. Well what a cock up that is.
 
hello, I feel sorry for you how things went and the issues you had on your way to an actual building and delivery date but finally some positive news! And I am sure you will be the happiest person in the whole world at the time of delivery. It is and remains an incredibly cool vehicle to drive and travel with. I also use ours for commuting (unless I'm with the -electric- bike).
Of course, like almost everyone, you will also have a few hiccups shortly after your delivery (they already ordered a new seat for the driver's seat for us because of incredibly annoying creaks and squeaks. There was also a spring too short at the back of the system to move the bed board into lounge position; got new one so ok).
Yes, after 8 months they delivered a red one... it was a beautiful red one but not as we ordered and
no one took the blame and I don't care, it wasn't my fault and we got a compensation: a free brand new cali ocean to travel with in July 2021. Then I had to wait a 12 more months, but I'm very happy that we did: I think ascot grey is very beautiful, modest and gives me the feeling I wanted with it; You don't see many in this colour with us either.
Today I took some children from our sons class to the beach for a class trip (we have the 5-seater for that reason alone because I like to drive children around no matter how strange this sounds) and got a messenger back from a mom that her daughter wants to that they also buy such a car. Splendid isn't it?
289626167_317158110496093_4507165865536372187_n.jpgYou know what I'm wondering: you lived in America and ordered a T6.1 california coast. I suppose you knew people there: neighbors, colleagues, friends, and you told about your ordered campervan. What do they think of that, how do they react? I'm in some groups on facebook of volkswagen (camper) enthusiasts and they are very jealous of the california on the current transporter base (from T5 and on).
I hear from you later and maybe once we will meet.
Greetings
Calibusje
 
hello, I feel sorry for you how things went and the issues you had on your way to an actual building and delivery date but finally some positive news! And I am sure you will be the happiest person in the whole world at the time of delivery. It is and remains an incredibly cool vehicle to drive and travel with. I also use ours for commuting (unless I'm with the -electric- bike).
Of course, like almost everyone, you will also have a few hiccups shortly after your delivery (they already ordered a new seat for the driver's seat for us because of incredibly annoying creaks and squeaks. There was also a spring too short at the back of the system to move the bed board into lounge position; got new one so ok).
Yes, after 8 months they delivered a red one... it was a beautiful red one but not as we ordered and
no one took the blame and I don't care, it wasn't my fault and we got a compensation: a free brand new cali ocean to travel with in July 2021. Then I had to wait a 12 more months, but I'm very happy that we did: I think ascot grey is very beautiful, modest and gives me the feeling I wanted with it; You don't see many in this colour with us either.
Today I took some children from our sons class to the beach for a class trip (we have the 5-seater for that reason alone because I like to drive children around no matter how strange this sounds) and got a messenger back from a mom that her daughter wants to that they also buy such a car. Splendid isn't it?
View attachment 95000You know what I'm wondering: you lived in America and ordered a T6.1 california coast. I suppose you knew people there: neighbors, colleagues, friends, and you told about your ordered campervan. What do they think of that, how do they react? I'm in some groups on facebook of volkswagen (camper) enthusiasts and they are very jealous of the california on the current transporter base (from T5 and on).
I hear from you later and maybe once we will meet.
Greetings
Calibusje
Funny enough I have seen VERY few T6.1's in its birth city. Most are earlier T4's and T5's. That said walking back home from work I passed a T6.1 Ocean Edition in Pure Grey, which made me smile given the day I'd had. Sign from above....
Campervans are even rarer than Hannovarian T6.1's in Texas. Its all about RV's over there, so my mentioning a California is usually greeted with blank stares. The biggest responses have been from the post graduate researchers I work with. I can tell its the dream of many.

I was also offered the dealers rental California to tide me over in compensation for the mess and I had contemplated taking it if the wait was extended. We were both shocked to get such an early provisional delivery date but production certainly seems to have ramped up considerably in recent months.
 
Funny enough I have seen VERY few T6.1's in its birth city. Most are earlier T4's and T5's. That said walking back home from work I passed a T6.1 Ocean Edition in Pure Grey, which made me smile given the day I'd had. Sign from above....
Campervans are even rarer than Hannovarian T6.1's in Texas. Its all about RV's over there, so my mentioning a California is usually greeted with blank stares. The biggest responses have been from the post graduate researchers I work with. I can tell its the dream of many.

I was also offered the dealers rental California to tide me over in compensation for the mess and I had contemplated taking it if the wait was extended. We were both shocked to get such an early provisional delivery date but production certainly seems to have ramped up considerably in recent months.
How are you enjoy you camper now is soon 1 year this situation.
 
How are you enjoy you camper now is soon 1 year this situation.
Actually I had to wait another 8 months for the 2nd Coast to be built. I collected it beginning of Feb 2023. So early days. Besides the 2 days I took to drive back to Hannover, I used it for 3 days over Easter nearby. First proper extended trips panned for 2023 are 2 weeks in France next month and 3 weeks in Spain/Portugal in Sept/Oct. I will let you know then, but so far I've been super impressed. I am fine tuning what I need vs what I want in the Cali.
 
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