Buy all your VW California Accessories at the Club Shop Visit Shop

Time to choose

Tompoole

Tompoole

Lifetime VIP Member
Messages
150
Location
Bucks
Vehicle
T6 Ocean 150
Time to choose between a new 150ps manual
Or
A demo 5-10k miles dsg
Or
28k miles dsg 4 motion 16 plate

Any help welcome all drive lovely 4 motion is a private sale others are dealers .....
Have to say the manual is winning ..... but!?
 
Yes brand new and ready to go
 
that's like choosing between curry sauce. mushy peas. and gravy on yer chips. all good depending on your mood
 
150 DSG if you don't need4motion.
Is your current vehicle 4WD? If not do you feel compromised?
 
If youre planning to keep it long term go for the manual - if you plan to keep it medium term go for the DSG - 4motion is nice to have but more weight / kit to lug around and ultimately go wrong.
 
Demo DSG - almost certainly the best value of the three, plus DSG is very good.

The new 150 manuals are like hen's teeth at the moment because VW have stopped dealers from registering new orders until they fix some issue with emissions. That will no doubt add a premium to the price.

The private sale 4Mo will be worse value than the demo - simply because there are so few secondhand Calis of any type and especially 4Mo, so they hold their value so well.

You should be able to get up to 15% discount on the demo from the list price. In a year's time you could probably sell it for the same price as if you had bought it brand new.
 
Depends on your own preference. I drive about 20k miles a year and love driving. I prefer manual and am a totally relaxed driver. That is my choice. I would suggest you drive both and make your own decision. I tried DSG and hated it but that is me. Others will totally disagree but that is their choice and suits them. Drive both and decide. You may love DSG.
 
I have 150 Manual by choice and its fabulous. My last two California were DSG as is my Land Rover Discovery (Auto)

PS: Its worth noting it is powerful enough to get up 99% of motorway hills without changing out of 6th gear or losing speed. Loads of Torque. :)
 
Last edited:
Manual or DSG is a matter of personal preference.

We were initially minded to go for manual but we tried both, and DSG with ACC is a delight to use.

Try both and see how they feel to drive.


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu
 
Better MPG with manual in my experience - better for pocket and planet!! - but it depends how you like to drive - in full control or remote gear choices
 
I agree if you like Cruise Control driving then go for DSG but if you like to drive choose manual. Just my opinion and it relates only to Campers I have always had manual Campers/Motorhomes and Auto every day cars/4x4. I like the extra control when parking and for me I like the extra control when driving a Camper as well. Horses for courses.
 
I currently have a 150ps manual Beach. I recently owned an SE 180ps DSG 4motion. They are both fantastic vehicles to own however if it were my choice I would definately go for the demo DSG for the following reasons:

1. The California with DSG is so nice to drive and it really suits the relaxed free spirited leisure vehicle nature of the California so well. The DSG is a very smooth and relaxing drive whereas the manual involves having to do a bit of work. That's not to say that the 6 speed manual box is a bad choice, it isn't. The manual box is very slick and a pleasure to drive. It might also prove to be more reliable and cheaper to run than the DSG but why have a manual box if you can just sit back and enjoy the drive.

2. The 4 motion is a heavy vehicle (the heaviest in the range), which means that it does feel well planted on the road but that extra weight does cut down the available pay load considerably. The 4 motion system will also add to servicing costs and adds another complication to the vehicle which might possibly come back to bight you later on. In the nearly two years that we owned ours we didn't once find ourselves in a position where we actually needed 4 motion.

3. Out of the three choices, the demo DSG probably represents the best value for money.
As has already been mentioned you should be able to get around 15% discount on an ex demo but only single figures on a new vehicle. The mileage on an up to 3 month old ex demo should only be a few hundred miles at most otherwise its second hand and should therefore be even cheaper still. Yes, you have to accept the spec that the dealer has ordered but if thats OK with you, you should get a bargain. The vehicle should be as new when collected and you should be able to get the extended warrantee and service package as well if you want it.

4. Judging from the survey that has previously been run on this forum the DSG Cali appears to be the most popular choice so should be a more attractive proposition for potential buyers come resale time.

5. Swiveling the front drivers seat on a Cali involves letting the handbrake off. With DSG the vehicle shouldn't move much when placed in Park. With a manual gear box you'll have to chock the wheels and select a gear opposite to the likely direction of travel to stop the van rolling down any gradient, all a bit of a PITA.
 
Last edited:
I like driving with cruise, hate driving an automatic, so it really is personal. Plus we don't know the pricing here, the new one may be discounted...
 
When we bought our 1st Cali (90miles on clock) demo the only downside was DSG. Relectantly went for it as the best van avalible at the time pre registered. No looking back when we bought van 2 DSG was a must and if no DGS did not make my short list.
 
Wow , have to say I prefer manual for gunning costs but DSG is smooth.

Someone mentioned 15%discount are you kidding the new demo 150 ps manual less than 200 miles is 51k ... which is £2k cheaper already but they are not budging on price .
 
Wow , have to say I prefer manual for gunning costs but DSG is smooth.

Someone mentioned 15%discount are you kidding the new demo 150 ps manual less than 200 miles is 51k ... which is £2k cheaper already but they are not budging on price .

We ordered a demo T6 Beach to our specification which we received from new, but registered to the dealer for the first 3 months. For that we had a 14% discount on van and options, but not OTR costs, extended warranty or service package.

It may have made a difference that we paid in cash. But if the vehicle is not to your chosen specification you should be looking at 15% off list price.


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu
 
Also I did ask dealer what the issue was on new reg t6 California’s but he maintained he didn’t know why, he was aware of the issue but didn’t know why... seems odd because if the don’t know why , how can they remedy the issue?
Starting to seem a bit odd this vw buying lol.
 
Seems a lot cheaper to me to buy a demo that was specced by the dealer and only has a few miles on it. We paid £41500 for a 2017/67 150 Beach manual in Red/White (52 miles) with a lot of options that is £52000+ if put through the VW California Configurator...

They have/had others and there are several pre specced Vans on the VW website at similar money...
 

Similar threads

Back
Top