Hi there - searching for an Ocean

Dee · Aug 6, 2021

Hi there, I’m Dee and new to this lovely group. We are from Herefordshire/South Wales area, and have been desperately searching for our dream VW California, but we have yet to find ‘the one’! There seems to be few on the market presently which I guess is reflective of the current situation, but we are hopeful that we’ll find one very soon! We are a family of four, two adults and two girls (6 and 3 years) who just cannot wait to go on Cali adventures!! This site has been so useful in preparation for getting our dream vehicle, lots of useful information and we will look forward to being more interactive once we have made our purchase.
For information, we are desperately looking for a DSG Ocean with a budget of 50K, but given the heat in the market currently, wondered whether we should wait until the winter (grudgingly)!
We will continue our search and come back once we have been successful! Any tips or advice on buying would be really welcomed, and I will keep you updated with developments

BigJohn · Aug 6, 2021

2nd hand prices are crazy at the moment - we casually looked around for a few months and concluded that we might as well get in the queue for a new one - 10 ish months though it would seem at the moment.

Alan Andrews · Aug 6, 2021

Dee said:
Hi there, I’m Dee and new to this lovely group. We are from Herefordshire/South Wales area, and have been desperately searching for our dream VW California, but we have yet to find ‘the one’! There seems to be few on the market presently which I guess is reflective of the current situation, but we are hopeful that we’ll find one very soon! We are a family of four, two adults and two girls (6 and 3 years) who just cannot wait to go on Cali adventures!! This site has been so useful in preparation for getting our dream vehicle, lots of useful information and we will look forward to being more interactive once we have made our purchase.
For information, we are desperately looking for a DSG Ocean with a budget of 50K, but given the heat in the market currently, wondered whether we should wait until the winter (grudgingly)!
We will continue our search and come back once we have been successful! Any tips or advice on buying would be really welcomed, and I will keep you updated with developments

You might only need to wait until the summer holidays are over and kids are properly back to school.

But are you specific in what colour and spec you require? This might prove to be the limitation in availability.

Be prepared to search the whole of the UK. We travelled 300 miles to view ours and then a further trip to Perth to collect.

Borris · Aug 6, 2021

Hello Dee and welcome to you and your crew.

With the covid issues effecting foriegn travel at present there has obviously been a frenzy to buy anything that enables a staycation in the UK. I believe tents, caravans, motor homes etc have all been in high demand. Californias appear to have been no exception.

If you need to get one straight away you may struggle and as has aleady been said, you will probably end up paying a premium for it. It's usual for there to be a few more on the market come autumn and the prices asked might be more realistic, although don't bank on it.

What ever you do don't despair as the right van is out there somewhere waiting for you. Just take your time and give every candidate a thorough methodical check over. If you can take someone with you that knows these vehicles or at least has some mechanical knowledge, then all the better. If you have any queries then don't forget to ask this forum. Someone should be able to help.

Make detailed notes as you inspect. These notes will be your bargaining chips when negotiating so write down every blemish or fault. Also Californias are complicated vehicles that are often expensive to fix so having a good appreciation of the full state of the vehicle is very important. Don't be afraid of going away in order to get quotes on parts or repairs. Minor bodywork repairs can cost a "Kings Ransom" so it's as well to get the full picture before deciding whether to make an offer and if so how much. Any offer should reflect the work that is required. Having said all this most Calis have been reasonably well looked after and should be offered for sale in good fault free condition.

Telephone the dealer that's done the previous servicing and ask for a run down of it's service history and recalls. You don't get a written record of servicing these days as it's all gone electronic.

Ask if it has ever been repaired after an accident. If so by whom and was the work guaranteed.

Check that all functions work as they should.

Most of these comments are aimed at private sales where you'll buy "sold as seen" with no guarantee. If buying from a dealer you should get a warranty so any faults should be covered however check the terms before committing.

Lastly, you should be prepaired drop everything and move very quickly to view any potential purchase. The saying "He/She who hestitates is lost" is very appropriate when Cali buying at present.

Good luck and don't forget to keep us informed with photos of course.

Papx2 · Aug 6, 2021

We got our Cali last year from Speeds in Loudwater Bucks. https://www.speedsgx.co.uk/
They have 3 vehicles at present.
We went to view ours one week and they delivered it to Devon the following week for free.
They are not cheap, but nowhere is at present. The vehicles seem to be in good nick, and we are very pleased with ours.

Dee · Aug 6, 2021

Borris said:
Hello Dee and welcome to you and your crew.

With the covid issues effecting foriegn travel at present there has obviously been a frenzy to buy anything that enables a staycation in the UK. I believe tents, caravans, motor homes etc have all been in high demand. Californias appear to have been no exception.

If you need to get one straight away you may struggle and as has aleady been said, you will probably end up paying a premium for it. It's usual for there to be a few more on the market come autumn and the prices asked might be more realistic, although don't bank on it.

What ever you do don't despair as the right van is out there somewhere waiting for you. Just take your time and give every candidate a thorough methodical check over. If you can take someone with you that knows these vehicles or at least has some mechanical knowledge, then all the better. If you have any queries then don't forget to ask this forum. Someone should be able to help.

Make detailed notes as you inspect. These notes will be your bargaining chips when negotiating so write down every blemish or fault. Also Californias are complicated vehicles that are often expensive to fix so having a good appreciation of the full state of the vehicle is very important. Don't be afraid of going away in order to get quotes on parts or repairs. Minor bodywork repairs can cost a "Kings Ransom" so it's as well to get the full picture before deciding whether to make an offer and if so how much. Any offer should reflect the work that is required. Having said all this most Calis have been reasonably well looked after and should be offered for sale in good fault free condition.

Telephone the dealer that's done the previous servicing and ask for a run down of it's service history and recalls. You don't get a written record of servicing these days as it's all gone electronic.

Ask if it has ever been repaired after an accident. If so by whom and was the work guaranteed.

Check that all functions work as they should.

Most of these comments are aimed at private sales where you'll buy "sold as seen" with no guarantee. If buying from a dealer you should get a warranty so any faults should be covered however check the terms before committing.

Lastly, you should be prepaired drop everything and move very quickly to view any potential purchase. The saying "He/She who hestitates is lost" is very appropriate when Cali buying at present.

Good luck and don't forget to keep us informed with photos of course.

Thank you so much for your warm welcome and helpful advice. Very wise words and much appreciated.