Where have all the beaches gone?

tuono001 · Sep 9, 2017

So I'm in the need for a Cali Beach now sproglet N°3 is here, so the SE will be up for sale at some point.
Now there are plenty of new T6 beaches about, but all north of 40k which I'm not ready pay, but very few t5s. Is the lack of t5 beaches down to people keeping hold of them for longer or just that fewer were sold?
I don't want to sell my se but the practicality of having the fifth seat and trying to camp is not going to work.
Thoughts.
How many of you have swapped to a beach?

Ocean Spirit · Sep 9, 2017

Have you seen the 2 in the for sale section? one under and one just over £40K last time I looked

tuono001 · Sep 9, 2017

Yes, one was the ideal beach but sold, but not!
My main reason for the post was that if you look around the web T5 ones are a rare thing. The market seems to being flooded with t6s, no doubt preorders for dealers.
I'm in no rush as just started looking.

Borris · Sep 9, 2017

We have just sold our gorgeous SE in favour of our seven seat T6 Beach. I loved our SE but it just wasn't getting enough use and I just hated seeing it standing there and not being able to get out enjoy it.
On the other hand, our Beach is in constant use. It is such a useful vehicle and I haven't found anything yet that it doesn't do really well. We use ours as a people carrier, load lugger, mobile beach hut, tow vehicle, utterly superb picnic pavillion as well as a spacious and very comfortable camping facility.
I think that the reason second hand ones are in short supply is that once you own one they just become far too useful to get rid of.

You will find the Beach ideal for your family. Our grandchildren love the Bluebell Bus.

Ocean Spirit · Sep 9, 2017

I'm not getting the short supply thing guys.
When I search sub £40k the majority of search results are Beaches 140/150PS DSG (and there are plenty).

Ocean Spirit · Sep 10, 2017

?
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/classi...-tdi-7-speed-dsg/devon/vw-t5-california-beach

tuono001 · Sep 10, 2017

Have found a few more t5s but still fewer it seems than the amount of t6 beaches on the market.

Told my eldest today about having to sell our se, gutted is all I can say. Mildly subdued with the thought of having a beach as a replacement. The next response was about having to think of a new name for the next vehicle.

KEZZA27 · Sep 18, 2017

We are in a similar situation. We have the same as you but have the 5th seat which has worked wel with our 3kids but they're getting too big so going to sell and go for beach! Hardly any out there especially when you used to high spec with SE and would like a few extras! Reassuring to know others are doing the same thing as feels wrong selling our lovely van!!

MattBW · Sep 18, 2017

I have planned to keep mine for 5 years and the higher t6 prices have reinforced that for me.

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andyinluton · Sep 18, 2017

KEZZA27 said:
We are in a similar situation. We have the same as you but have the 5th seat which has worked wel with our 3kids but they're getting too big so going to sell and go for beach! Hardly any out there especially when you used to high spec with SE and would like a few extras! Reassuring to know others are doing the same thing as feels wrong selling our lovely van!!

We've decided to leave couple of kids behind rather than change the van, have also found it makes eating out a lot cheaper.

Richardmk · Sep 18, 2017

Have you thought of looking for a swap with a Beach owner looking to upgrade?

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Stuart · Sep 18, 2017

Richardmk said:
Have you thought of looking for a swap with a Beach owner looking to upgrade?

You mean downgrade? ;-)

Richardmk · Sep 18, 2017

Stuart said:
You mean downgrade? ;-)

As a Beach owner, would have to agree! However, met another Beach owner on the ferry dock in St. Helier last week who wanted to "move to" (a compromise) an Ocean for the fitted kitchen etc.

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Borris · Sep 19, 2017

Stuart said:
You mean downgrade? ;-)

Having owned an SE and a Beach at the same time, I can assure you that one version is not better than the other but merely different. So any talk of an upgrade/downgrade is just plain wrong. You buy the version that suits your personal requirements and thats it.

I loved our SE but you cannot use it as a people carrier and it isn't as useful as a lugger of very large items. Yes, you can cook a meal in the SE/Ocean but you can also do that in a Beach. When my wife and I have more spare time to ourselves we will look to purchase another SE/Ocean but until then the Beach better suits our requirements.

CALI FATE · Sep 19, 2017

My T6 Beach has just been written off - part of the hassle was me trying to 'prove' to the insurers the true value. They asked me to find evidence of other 18 month old Beaches - sold and for sale. The whole exercise convinced me that although there are a number of nearly new demos in the dealers, there are hardly no private sales out there. There is a T5 on Auto trader for £33k - People tend to keep them for good reason. They hang on to their value like nothing else it seems

Borris · Sep 19, 2017

CALI FATE said:
My T6 Beach has just been written off - part of the hassle was me trying to 'prove' to the insurers the true value. They asked me to find evidence of other 18 month old Beaches - sold and for sale. The whole exercise convinced me that although there are a number of nearly new demos in the dealers, there are hardly no private sales out there. There is a T5 on Auto trader for £33k - People tend to keep them for good reason. They hang on to their value like nothing else it seems

I hope that you get this horrible episode sorted out soon and to your satisfaction. Surely, the fact that there are so few around to compare and that their prices are high, helps your case.