Cali Depreciation

[JezD]

Hi all,

I'm retiring from my job in a couple of days (although at 50 I'm still relatively young). I have a 10 year old son and the plan is to go on a campervan adventure with him around Europe for a couple of months next summer.

I've managed to persuade my wife that this is a good idea but only on the basis that we keep
the campervan for a year and sell it at a decent price at the end of next summer.

From the research I've done it would seem that the price of a Cali is slightly more than a Transporter conversion but that the residuals are far better on the Cali. I also much prefer the fit in the Cali.

So, can anybody give me a rough idea of what I could expect to lose if I bought a used Cali now for c£40-£45k privately and put 15,000 miles on it in a year and looked to sell it in a years time? (I'm hoping this is going to be academic and my wife will want to keep the Cali forever once she's tried it out. I think it only fair though that I give her the best figure I can)

I've attempted to compare like for like, taking into account a years difference in age and mileage but it's really difficult due to differences in spec and obviously what a vehicle is on for doesn't necessarily reflect what it is sold for.

Thanks in advance

Jez

 

[2into1]

It much depends on what happens to new prices. List prices have shot up, meaning that some well bought Cali's haven't depreciated.

Next, it depends on how well you buy it. Buying in winter and selling in late Spring will help. With a decent amount of research and effort, you should get away with £2.5K for the scenario you mention, assuming the economic situation doesn't change too much. That's buying and selling privately. If you buy from, and sell to a dealer, you can add £8k to that.

You'll improve your bets if you spend low £30's on a 2010 onwards T5.1 (facelift). If you fancy the 180hp, read about the oil consumption issues that impacts some early ones (and perhaps some later ones)

It sounds like it would be a cheap and life changing experience!

 

[larrylamb]

Hi Jez, welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have a plan. What price can you put on a marvellous family adventure in a VW camper -priceless!
Seriously, now is a good time to be picking up a deal from someone offloading their Cali. You will have to put some work in gauging prices, specs etc and be careful of some high prices. Decide which spec you want, colour is not really important.
Just seen @2into1 's post and agree £2.5k per year is possible depreciation but it is an ever growing market and you might lose less than that. Obviously you have to buy at a reasonable price and when you see one you like move fast to get it.
I convinced my wife that the camper would depreciate by no more than what we had been spending on 10 days in Mallorca and so far I am right. She is now converted and we have so many more holidays and weekends away now. One plus for us is going to places you wouldn't normally have visited and we are about to organise our second trip to southern Germany after having a great time there this summer.
Go for it, you can always sell it after 12-18 months.

 

[bigmac77]

You might want to sell it but I bet you won't

 

[Verity]

You might want to sell it but I bet you won't

That's what I was thinking. Once you've got a Cali, you'll never want to let it go!

 

[Jay586]

Yeah, I don't actually really use my conversion as a camper, it's a really good everyday vehicle for someone with many dogs. We love it & I get a lot of van-envy conversations, so it's fun too.

If I was in your position, I would look for a keenly priced demo/pre-reg/one season vehicle, as that will have a whack of depreciation gone & then if you do sell, it might not be as bad. Tho saying that as they keep putting the new price up, the used prices have held up well. Look at the used VW van site and get a feel for the prices, it becomes obvious who has the lower margins and you'll start to see what's a good price.

 

[MrP]

If depreciation is your concern, you could go for a well looked after late T4 or early T5. Just as capable as a new Cali. You might even make money!

 

[westfalia]

Probably about a fiver if you had a good trip.
The depreciation on my cali makes walking
seem expensive.

 

[Borris]

If depreciation is the main factor then a nice two or three year old Cali T5 1 with a good spec is probably your best bet. Like every thing else on wheels the greatest depreciation is suffered within this first period, even with a California. After that, things seem to settle down to a very small loss each year. You never know, it may even hold its value. Also many people sell when the warrantee period expires but there isn't really any reason why most Calis shouldn't give many more years of trouble free motoring, subject to regular servicing of course.

Make sure you look the vehicle over thoroughly checking all the usual issues detailed on this forum. Check its service history and if still happy then drive a hard bargain.

Good luck

 

[JezD]

Thanks very much for all the advice. it's good to know that I can reassure my wife in good faith that we'll be buying something that's going to hold its price pretty well.

I'm off find my Cali now, thanks again

Jez

 

[sdes]

One motoring article I read had the VW California as the slowest depreciating vehicle bar none, so that's encouraging (but only for those who already have one)

Fairly simple really IMHO:
The older the vehicle is, the less the depreciation will be.
The higher the mileage of the Cali you buy, the less the depreciation will be.

Other factors, of course, come into play, my 2007 Cali with 140,000 on the clock isn't as fuel efficient as the newer engines - but it was before they (VW) started lying about emissions, so probably almost as clean, but a relatively small amount extra. And more likely to break down I guess being older - but if you're doing a European trip you would doubtless get breakdown cover.

 

[GrannyJen]

Everything is relative in Cali-land.

One person's "Rock solid residual" is another's "stupidly priced second hand vehicle".

One person's boast "got a great price for mine" is another person reading that and thinking "Damn! Should have screwed the price down by another £1,000!

I have just sold one and bought another for what some would call "silly money", around £70k. However what is silly about having something that always, always puts a smile on my face and has given me, in my autumn years, some of the best memories of my life?

When I sold mine I did not want the hassle of haggling for hours, I wanted enough to allow me to buy the one that I was interested in without recourse to sending my bank manager a Christmas card --- I just hate sending Christmas cards . So I sold for a fair price, some will say an undervalued price, but then it gave me a return that meant the depreciation was less than that of a basic mini.

I could spend my next twenty years worrying over "did I ask enough for it", or spend twenty years worrying over "could I have got a bigger discount off the dealer?" but what would be the point? I bought the Cali to put a smile on my face, not wear an abacus out.

The Cali residuals are high, deservedly so for in general it is a fine machine that no matter what the age will always be able to put a smile on anyones face. The ownership costs that I have experienced so far have been miserly compared to the returned in smiles per miles it has given me. I have no reason to think that will change.

Go for it.

 

[BikerGran]

What Granny Jen said! Can't put it any better.

 

[Smiffy4bikes]

What Granny Jen said! Can't put it any better.

I completely agree BG!

And, to add my tuppence worth...

My motto is ‘if you can afford and you want, buy it’ Life really is too short. I have absolutely NO regrets about sinking just about all of my redundancy money and a little inheritance from my lovely late Mum into our Cali. Every family with kids should have one in my view It is simply the best thing, ever. Our Cali is our own mobile Memory Machine

And as a mum myself to 14yr old twins who have literally grown up with campervans pretty much since birth (always VW’s!!) the memories are literally priceless and life-changing. Put simply, you can't put a price on that.

A day out in the van will provide many more memories than a day at home watching the kids watching their screens...

As GJ said, go for it, what a brilliant plan for next summer! Keep us posted!

 

[PhillyWilly]

Couldn’t agree more. We bought our first one in 2006. It was the 174 hp with tiptronic back then and it was the best vehicle we ever had. Regret getting rid of it but it was a daily and we used to work in the city and use multi storey car parks so not ideal.
Had a bay window Westy between times which is a similar layout and as the kids grew up, got too big for it. So, now have a new Cali on order arriving next month (but happy if it delays until March) with pretty much the same spec and just as excited as we were back then. Kids love it!

 

[Gazellio]

You may want to consider buying a VW Dealer demonstrator at this time of the year December/January they are selling off existing demonstrators at great prices. Mine is a loaded Two Tone Beach 150 Manual and using the VW configurator I got to £51000+ but I did the deal on mine with only 55 miles on the clock/unmarked later 2017 model for just £41500. With a few more additions I have made I could probably sell it at a profit even after a year. Worth looking into as you effectively get the factory options free.

 

[Iain Dendle]

You may want to consider buying a VW Dealer demonstrator at this time of the year December/January they are selling off existing demonstrators at great prices. Mine is a loaded Two Tone Beach 150 Manual and using the VW configurator I got to £51000+ but I did the deal on mine with only 55 miles on the clock/unmarked later 2017 model for just £41500. With a few more additions I have made I could probably sell it at a profit even after a year. Worth looking into as you effectively get the factory options free.

Hi Gazellio, that seems like an awesome deal. I've been watching the VW used approved site, auto trader and the classified pages on this site for the past 3-4 months and haven't seen any two tone Beaches at all. Would you advise contacting dealers directly to get them to search for the spec I'm after?

 

[sbmcd]

It much depends on what happens to new prices. List prices have shot up, meaning that some well bought Cali's haven't depreciated.

Next, it depends on how well you buy it. Buying in winter and selling in late Spring will help. With a decent amount of research and effort, you should get away with £2.5K for the scenario you mention, assuming the economic situation doesn't change too much. That's buying and selling privately. If you buy from, and sell to a dealer, you can add £8k to that.

You'll improve your bets if you spend low £30's on a 2010 onwards T5.1 (facelift). If you fancy the 180hp, read about the oil consumption issues that impacts some early ones (and perhaps some later ones)

It sounds like it would be a cheap and life changing experience!

I have a 2014 180 and it used very little oil, now at over 50K

 

[Gazellio]

My dealer have just offered me another Beach demonstrator at the same price £41500 (£44000 asking) but this one is Grey not two tone but it is well specced van and it would be easy to get the top half wrapped white, deals are out there they want buyers at this time of the year. I may buy this one and sell it in May/June for a profit.:

• Driver Convenience
• Multi-Function Computer
• Cruise-Control
• Power Steering
• Height Adjustable Steering Wheel
• Rear Wash Wipe
• Privacy Glass
• Front & Rear Parking Sensors
• Awning Housing Rail In Black
• 3 Seater Movable Bench Seat With Reclining Action
• Single Side Sliding Door
• Bed Extension With Comfort Sleeping Mat
• Carpet Floor Covering Cab
• Leather Multi Function Steering Wheel
• Discover Media Satellite Navigation 6.33" Colour Touch Screen
• Daytime Running Lights
• Electric Hook Up
• Entertainment
• Colour DAB 6.33'' Touch Screen Radio/CD
• USB & AUX In / SD Card Slot / MP3 Compatible
• Bluetooth Phone Connectivity With Wi-Fi
• Exterior Features
• 16" Clayton Alloy Wheels
• Green Heat Insulating Glass
• Front Fog Lights With Cornering Function
• Electric Folding & Heated Door Mirrors
• LED Tail Lights
• 2 Camping Chairs
• Camping Table
• Interior Features
• 3-Zone Climatronic Air Conditioning
• Front Seat Armrests
• Electric Windows
• Heated Front Seats
• 2 Person Upper Bed
• Single Passenger Seat
• Multi Function Display Plus
• Swivelling Front Seats
• Miscellaneous
• BlueMotion Technology
• Start / Stop Function
• Paintwork
• Body Coloured Bumpers & Door Mirrors
• Safety
• ABS Brakes
• Driver & Passenger Airbags
• Traction Control
• Driver Alert System
• Electronic Stability Programme (ESP)
• Security
• Thatcham Cat 1 Alarm
• Central Locking
• 2 Person Lower Bed

 

[Amarillo]

• Miscellaneous

I wonder what it is.



Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[Gazellio]

Not sure but I want it!