Hello all, interesting day today.....

[cal-ian]

Hello there, I'm Ian and I've been contemplating a camper for a few years now and am finally in the position to get it done.

It'll be me, the wife and our 7 month old daughter to be having all the fun and adventures so really looking forward to ownership.

Been reading the forum for a bit now which helped massively with spec, what to expect deal wise etc..

Walked into my local VW centre today to ask a couple of questions, took my spec with me and thought may as well get quoted up whilst there, I'm looking at an Ocean 204 4 motion DSG.

What I didn't expect however were the prices quoted!

Two options available, either order new and wait 9 months or compromise on colour and have it within a month, both at great prices though

The catch is these would both be registered by the dealer as a demo, kept for a month and I'm assured they'd be in a compound with no one messing about with them, and only have delivery miles, I'm not too troubled at all about being second registered owner.

All seemed pretty good to me as for that kind of discount I expected to be travelling the country to get one!

Thought I'd run that through here to see what people thought

 

[Hotel California]

Welcome , conciderd a petrol ? i would if buying new at this time....

 

[WelshGas]

Recent thread - all you need to know about buying a Demonstrator vehicle.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/advice-needed-buying-a-demo.19625/

 

[cal-ian]

Welcome , conciderd a petrol ? i would if buying new at this time....

Thank you, I have considered it to be fair, I just prefer the way diesels drive and the torque of them to a petrol. Also the unknown of it being new to the vehicle is a bit of a concern, when I asked them today he said they hadn't ordered a single petrol version yet.

 

[cal-ian]

Recent thread - all you need to know about buying a Demonstrator vehicle.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/advice-needed-buying-a-demo.19625/

Than you very much

 

[Verity]

Hello Ian! To be on the road in a month's time with that much discount, I think I'd be signing up now! They ARE expensive, but remember they hold their value brilliantly, so you won't lose much if it doesn't work out.

You, your wife and your little one will make so many wonderful memories with the freedom to roam in your Cali.

Our son is about to fly the nest and go to uni (suppresses sob) but with tents, caravans and the Cali even he admits he's had a great childhood with happy wanderings all over the UK and Europe, and I'm pleased he's seen so much of our planet which isn't just on our doorstep - he can't wait to get stuck into his chosen career (civ eng) and see a lot more of it under his own steam.

 

[cal-ian]

Hello Ian! To be on the road in a month's time with that much discount, I think I'd be signing up now! They ARE expensive, but remember they hold their value brilliantly, so you won't lose much if it doesn't work out.

You, your wife and your little one will make so many wonderful memories with the freedom to roam in your Cali.

Our son is about to fly the nest and go to uni (suppresses sob) but with tents, caravans and the Cali even he admits he's had a great childhood with happy wanderings all over the UK and Europe, and I'm pleased he's seen so much of our planet which isn't just on our doorstep - he can't wait to get stuck into his chosen career (civ eng) and see a lot more of it under his own steam.

That's great to hear and is definitely the plan for us

We were big campers (tent) before this and enjoyed nearly every minute, hopefully the fact there will be no soggy tents involved and the ability to actually stand up when it's raining will be a real novelty for us!

I have to admit the refundable deposit has gone down and we should be able to see it in the next couple of days so as long as the colour suits it will be a done deal hopefully

 

[Verity]

That's great to hear and is definitely the plan for us

We were big campers (tent) before this and enjoyed nearly every minute, hopefully the fact there will be no soggy tents involved and the ability to actually stand up when it's raining will be a real novelty for us!

I have to admit the refundable deposit has gone down and we should be able to see it in the next couple of days so as long as the colour suits it will be a done deal hopefully

Yippee! Let the adventures begin!

 

[sapto]

Welcome Ian and family

Great to read such a positive message! What ever it's going to be your plan sounds fab! And on top of it you have some money left to plan your first trip/adventure!

 

[cal-ian]

Welcome Ian and family

Great to read such a positiv message! What ever it's going to be your plan sounds fab! And on top of it you have some money left to plan your first trip/adventure!

Thank you, it was a pleasant experience to be fair and always good to report positives to keep up the faith.

I just feel fortunate it was at my local centre too so makes it that bit easier!

 

[Verity]

Thank you, it was a pleasant experience to be fair and always good to report positives to keep up the faith.

I just feel fortunate it was at my local centre too so makes it that bit easier!

It definitely makes parting with over sixty grand a little more bearable!

Our nearest dealer with a demo to look at in the showroom and one we could test drive for a day was about 40 miles away in Northampton. They were absolutely brilliant (though we were smitten, so it wasn't a hard sell!). Since then, we've had a couple of warranty jobs done at our local van centre in St Ives, who have a Cali expert on their team which makes me much more comfortable handing over my pride and joy, and the experience there has been very good too. It disappoints me when I hear of dealers who are not such a pleasure to deal with, so I'm lucky to be close to two such nice ones.

 

[Meoncoast]

I was very happy with our 1st van which was pre-registered and 90 miles on clock
I agree with you view re diesels v petrol. Looking forward to see some real owners feedback on a Petrol Ocean

 

[CYCLOPATH]

I'm with Verity,
Life is short. If you can get one now and enjoy the rest of the summer in it.
It is time you will never get back.
It is what I did, could have waited for a T6, but went for an ex demo, that was in stock, and ready to drive. 30 miles on the clock, and 4 months old.
I had an amazing 6 months, and am still loving every moment.

 

[GrannyJen]

Ian, firstly a big, big welcome.

I did the same as you. Specced up what I wanted, looked at a demo vehicle in the yard, different colour, some bits on it not in my original spec, and never hesitated. Since then I've had 4 great, brilliant, fantastic years in my camper and never looked back. Yes, a big slug of money, but in 4 years time it will still be worth a big slug of money. If it was me I would be doodling off somewhere in September in my nice brand new ex-demo cali.

 

[cal-ian]

I was very happy with our 1st van which was pre-registered and 90 miles on clock
I agree with you view re diesels v petrol. Looking forward to see some real owners feedback on a Petrol Ocean

It will be interesting to see as you say. For me, in what is essentially a commercial vehicle the characteristics of a diesel make a lot of sense, petrol for cars I get but this is a little different I guess, especially when loaded up!

 

[cal-ian]

I'm with Verity,
Life is short. If you can get one now and enjoy the rest of the summer in it.
It is time you will never get back.
It is what I did, could have waited for a T6, but went for an ex demo, that was in stock, and ready to drive. 30 miles on the clock, and 4 months old.
I had an amazing 6 months, and am still loving every moment.

This is exactly what I like to hear and couldn't agree more! Thank you

 

[Elmo3]

Sounds great, go for it! To be able to get the use out of it this year is a big bonus.

 

[cal-ian]

Ian, firstly a big, big welcome.

I did the same as you. Specced up what I wanted, looked at a demo vehicle in the yard, different colour, some bits on it not in my original spec, and never hesitated. Since then I've had 4 great, brilliant, fantastic years in my camper and never looked back. Yes, a big slug of money, but in 4 years time it will still be worth a big slug of money. If it was me I would be doodling off somewhere in September in my nice brand new ex-demo cali.

Thank you for the welcome
I can't imagine for one minute when I see it it won't be a done deal, they always look so much nicer when you are actually stood in front of them. It's a huge difference to not have the wait, I'm so impatient as it is and that would probably send me over the edge! Hopefully come September I'll be sat there sipping wine posting up pics of our first outing!

 

[phillme]

hi ... what colour did you want and what colour are you maybe getting ? not that it really matters as they all look good to me just being nosey

 

[pjm-84]

Welcome.

Great discount. My supplying dealer offered me £3100 off and considered that "great".

A few Cali added to the used website. Looked last night. Don't go for the electric side door!

 

[JohnGuppy]

Ian
I purchased an ex demo you don't have to wait !! the dealer reg. the vehicle on line takes 15 mins while I watched him do it and taxed it , I bought the vehicle and taxed it and drove it home , log book arrived with dealer within 2 days and was transferred to me arrived in 4 days all done by dealer on line
The only thing the dealer lost was one months tax the whole deal was done in 24hrs
go for it as I am sure if its a dealer demo it will be a high spec perhaps not the colour you wanted
good luck on your purchase

 

[cal-ian]

hi ... what colour did you want and what colour are you maybe getting ? not that it really matters as they all look good to me just being nosey

I was going for a black one although having a black car and knowing what a pita that can be it may have changed, the one in question is starlight blue but have only seen it on a panel van so far, looked ok to me though and for the saving in waiting time I'm more than happy to compromise

 

[cal-ian]

Welcome.

Great discount. My supplying dealer offered me £3100 off and considered that "great".

A few Cali added to the used website. Looked last night. Don't go for the electric side door!

They were really good in there today and have been the last few times I've been in. Not always had that kind of experience so it's a refreshing change!

 

[Meoncoast]

PS remember to add the extended warranty before it is 3 months old

 

[cal-ian]

Ian
I purchased an ex demo you don't have to wait !! the dealer reg. the vehicle on line takes 15 mins while I watched him do it and taxed it , I bought the vehicle and taxed it and drove it home , log book arrived with dealer within 2 days and was transferred to me arrived in 4 days all done by dealer on line
The only thing the dealer lost was one months tax the whole deal was done in 24hrs
go for it as I am sure if its a dealer demo it will be a high spec perhaps not the colour you wanted
good luck on your purchase

Thanks for the reply, it is a great spec and it's good to hear how easy it is to sort it all out, looking forward to get to see it now!