Where to start!

ShatteredMum · Jun 4, 2016

Hello!

I'm brand new here, thanks for having me. I've read what feels like a lot of threads in the last 24 hours!

Hubby and I have been to-if and froing on a holiday solution for our young family. At the minute we have a humongous tent, but we'd love to get away more frequently (soooo much stuff to pack up etc so not at all spontaneous, particularly when you have a baby and a not yet 3 year old). We started looking at older campers, but we are pretty keen on car safety and want the little ones isofixed in (crash tested) and rear-facing, so we gave up on our dream and started looking at caravans. Don't love the idea of towing, because we'd like to do Scotland, Cornwall and lots of remote hilly places. But good value! Then looked at log cabins. More sensible investment, but stuck in one place wouldn't suit us.

So here we are. Getting our heads around blowing our savings on a Cali, because we hanker after a lifestyle. We want our kids to grow up seeing the outside world and learning to play without the need for a room full of flashy toys. We want a bit of our pre-child and dog 'drop everything and b**ger off' spontaneity back. I'm a bit nervous about spending our best egg, but equally I don't want to look back in 20 years time and realise we missed out on what could have been an amazing time with our family.

I'm probably going to have lots of questions, but my first ones that I haven't already found answers to are these.
1. Do all models from 2011 onwards have Isofix points for 2 seats? I have seen that they can be a pain to access, but I guess this is just something we need to accept.

2. We've seen a 2011 SE 180 advertised which happens to be local to us. I then read the engine issues thread. Best to steer clear?

3. Do second hand SEs come up reasonably regularly, or do we need to be prepared to travel far to view one?

Soooo excited and nervous!

Hotel California · Jun 4, 2016

Hi and welcome ....
Where to start? Here offcoarse!
You joined the best forum

WelshGas · Jun 4, 2016

ShatteredMum said:
Hello!

I'm brand new here, thanks for having me. I've read what feels like a lot of threads in the last 24 hours!

Hubby and I have been to-if and froing on a holiday solution for our young family. At the minute we have a humongous tent, but we'd love to get away more frequently (soooo much stuff to pack up etc so not at all spontaneous, particularly when you have a baby and a not yet 3 year old). We started looking at older campers, but we are pretty keen on car safety and want the little ones isofixed in (crash tested) and rear-facing, so we gave up on our dream and started looking at caravans. Don't love the idea of towing, because we'd like to do Scotland, Cornwall and lots of remote hilly places. But good value! Then looked at log cabins. More sensible investment, but stuck in one place wouldn't suit us.

So here we are. Getting our heads around blowing our savings on a Cali, because we hanker after a lifestyle. We want our kids to grow up seeing the outside world and learning to play without the need for a room full of flashy toys. We want a bit of our pre-child and dog 'drop everything and b**ger off' spontaneity back. I'm a bit nervous about spending our best egg, but equally I don't want to look back in 20 years time and realise we missed out on what could have been an amazing time with our family.

I'm probably going to have lots of questions, but my first ones that I haven't already found answers to are these.
1. Do all models from 2011 onwards have Isofix points for 2 seats? I have seen that they can be a pain to access, but I guess this is just something we need to accept.

2. We've seen a 2011 SE 180 advertised which happens to be local to us. I then read the engine issues thread. Best to steer clear?

3. Do second hand SEs come up reasonably regularly, or do we need to be prepared to travel far to view one?

Soooo excited and nervous!

Welcome and ask away.
1. You say a 2011 SE 180. When was it registered, or better still built.
1st Registered from number plate and DVLA site.
Build date from VIN and a VW Dealership.
This is important as the problem was fixed in early 2011 so if the build date was after June 2011 it is a 2012 Model Year and will not have the problem.

2. Isofix from at least 2010.

3. You might well need to travel to view. Have you checked the For Sale section here, and VW Used Vans

ShatteredMum · Jun 4, 2016

WelshGas said:
Welcome and ask away.
1. You say a 2011 SE 180. When was it registered, or better still built.
1st Registered from number plate and DVLA site.
Build date from VIN and a VW Dealership.
This is important as the problem was fixed in early 2011 so if the build date was after June 2011 it is a 2012 Model Year and will not have the problem.

2. Isofix from at least 2010.

3. You might well need to travel to view. Have you checked the For Sale section here, and VW Used Vans

Thank you!

1. It was registered in March 2011, so definitely built before that (yes, I'm a smart cookie ;-) ) but we don;t know when exactly.

2. That's great. I love the fact that we've finally found a solution with isofix.

3 That's what I expected and yes, the for sale listings is how I found the forum (and how I found the local one). I have briefly looked at VW vans but will have a proper search. Thanks for your help!

WelshGas · Jun 4, 2016

ShatteredMum said:
Thank you!

1. It was registered in March 2011, so definitely built before that (yes, I'm a smart cookie ;-) ) but we don;t know when exactly.

2. That's great. I love the fact that we've finally found a solution with isofix.

3 That's what I expected and yes, the for sale listings is how I found the forum (and how I found the local one). I have briefly looked at VW vans but will have a proper search. Thanks for your help!

Yes probably best to avoid, but not all vehicles of that type are affected and if you got a very, very good reduction of at least 3-4K it could be worth a punt if everything else is good as VW have paid a big percentage of repair costs and that reduction could be set aside in case.

GillianC · Jun 4, 2016

Hello ShatteredMum.
I say go for it! We have had camper vans in one form or another since our boys were quite young and we have had some great times. Mainly staying on sites with decent facilities ( toilets, showers and washing up facilities) ... Pretty essential with children I think. They will love it and I totally agree with you about the safety issues. Just not worth the risk.
Your children will have some fantastic memories, as will you.
Can't advise on the Cali as I am new to them myself but so much help here.
Good luck in your search for the right vehicle.
Gillian

DM · Jun 4, 2016

Welcome - you'll get all the answers you need here.

I haven't fitted child seats (I'm sure someone who has will post soon) but it looks to me that the isofix points are pretty easy to access from the rear. Just remove the parcel shelf and they are clearly visible.

GrannyJen · Jun 5, 2016

Isofix after 2011 is standard:

Young children, as others have said, best using full facility camp sites but that is not a huge restriction. Expensive at high season but otherwise plenty of space at reasonable prices any other time, but then if you are mega-tent camping now you will have that experience. The huge bonus with the cali is the spontaneity, I know that I can be off within half an hour anytime, wth or without dogs, with or without children, with wine, with passport and with lap-top or tablet for finding somewhere to stop.

I am not an expert when it comes to engine problems with the pre-2012 cali's. I would venture to say most do not have problems, but I am not an expert. Best find something that you want and do a bit of brain picking here.

Finally, Welcome