Lets talk specification.........

[BMVS-Camper-Hire]

Its the time of the year when we order our VW California's for the coming season. We will be ordering up to 8, in 180BHP guise, with either DSG or manual gearboxes.
Last year our California specifications were;

Metallic paint
Privacy
Safe
3 zone climate
5th seat
Awning
Parking sensors
Multi function steering wheel
Cruise control
and on some we have towbars

As a potential hirer, or purchaser for when we sell then in 12 months time, what specification would you like to see, or are we missing out on a certain specification, that you would find useful? We are already adding 4 motion to the fleet.

Thanks in advance

 

[James]

Auto lights/wipers - xenons - colour dis - sat nav

in that order



James

 

[PETER152]

Xenons

 

[KernowLad]

Satnav so punters don't get lost?
I think you have most things covered and while xenons are great, I don't think most would notice a lack of then.

 

[teeboy]

I assume the 5th seat is taken out and replaced when you sell to add resale value? I can imagine it being a major pain when actually camping

I think your spec is what I would expect if buying again.

SatNav might be an idea, but I guess you could just buy a bunch of 2nd hand RNS510s or Kenwoods and then just move them from van to van when you get new fleets. - or maybe just offer stick on TomToms for renters who need them.

It must be fun ordering 8 40+ grand vans - I hope you get a good deal

T

 

[rippers]

Unless its standard on the SE I didn't see Bluetooth listed which is an absolute must have imo

 

[BMVS-Camper-Hire]

I have Xenons on my own Kombis for the last 18 months, and I have to say they are the best upgrade available for the Transporter in my humble opinion, however I think they might be a bit extravagant for a rental van, and I'm not sure ill see my money back on them. The auto lights/wipers are a good option for the money.

At present all of our campers have TomToms, however the new Travel pack is of interest, and it includes the following;

RNS 510 satellite-navigation with DAB+, three-zone Climatronic air-conditioning, premium Bluetooth®, laminated glass in cab and privacy glass in passenger compartment, multi-function steering wheel with controls for radio/phone, and auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

I think for £2230+VAT, this represents excellent value, as the RNS510 is normally £1785+VAT but itself. I will certainly be seriously thinking about adding this option to at least a couple of the campers.

Reference the fifth seat, yes we take these out unless needed, to be fair, most sit brand new in our storage unit, until the vehicle is sold.

Thanks for the input so far

 

[James]

I have Xenons on my own Kombis for the last 18 months, and I have to say they are the best upgrade available for the Transporter in my humble opinion, however I think they might be a bit extravagant for a rental van, and I'm not sure ill see my money back on them. The auto lights/wipers are a good option for the money.

At present all of our campers have TomToms, however the new Travel pack is of interest, and it includes the following;

RNS 510 satellite-navigation with DAB+, three-zone Climatronic air-conditioning, premium Bluetooth®, laminated glass in cab and privacy glass in passenger compartment, multi-function steering wheel with controls for radio/phone, and auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

I think for £2230+VAT, this represents excellent value, as the RNS510 is normally £1785+VAT but itself. I will certainly be seriously thinking about adding this option to at least a couple of the campers.

Reference the fifth seat, yes we take these out unless needed, to be fair, most sit brand new in our storage unit, until the vehicle is sold.

Thanks for the input so far

Oli


Interesting - I always think if I was buying used... Most options you won't get your money back on or they won't significantly increase the resale value.

However if I was faced with two Cali's of the same colour, I know there are certain things that would make me favour one over the other, so from the sellers point of view some options start to have a point.

Like you say, the travel pack is excellent value, I agree, Xenons are extravagant for a rental van. I like the colour DIS between the dials, just feels a tiny bit more upmarket and something you might expect to see on an expensive vehicle.

I have to say, now, living in Devon an spending much of my life on country roads, I wouldn't be without the Xenons, at night with full beam, it's like a pair of floodlights, it makes driving so much more safer, though, there is a cost of course.

You always spec your rentals well in my mind, I was looking last night, if I was buying a Cali, I think you have most bases covered.

I wouldn't buy any full Cali or even now a Beach without full climtronic, buying used I would walk away from any Cali without.

James

 

[KernowLad]

That travel pack is great VFM; that's well over £5k of options!

 

[shrimper]

be great to find out when the next generation of nav/entertainment systems VW is already offering for their cars become available for the Cali?

I'm not too sure about the value of RNS510 - especially when the next generation of nav/entertainment systems are being introduced across the VW range.

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/navigation-and-entertainment-systems/discover-nav-pro

I like our Kenwood DAB 521 - at about half the prices of the RNS510 and having a reversing camera fitted makes getting into and out of tight spaces a really boon.

 

[James]

be great to find out when the next generation of nav/entertainment systems VW is already offering for their cars become available for the Cali?

I'm not too sure about the value of RNS510 - especially when the next generation of nav/entertainment systems are being introduced across the VW range.

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/navigation-and-entertainment-systems/discover-nav-pro

I like our Kenwood DAB 521 - at about half the prices of the RNS510 and having a reversing camera fitted makes getting into and out of tight spaces a really boon.

The new Golf is your clue to the next gen of sat nav and entertainment systems. The architecture in the new Golf is very different to the previous ten Golf and current T5's. It's far more part of the car.


The new Golf is the biggest clue to how the next gen T6 will look inside

James

 

[KernowLad]

Both systems are painfully slow to boot up.
The car system is running, connected to the phone and ready to satnav is around 5 seconds.
The Kenwood system takes about four weeks.

 

[Freeley]

I don't understand why in this day and age these systems take so long to boot up.
The pioneer sat nav I had installed in my cali is quicker than a lot of these kenwood systems but still seems to take ages when you're waiting for it, probably less than a minute but annoying when all you want to do is change the radio station!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[KernowLad]

The most annoying thing is listening to something good, starting, it switches off for aeons and you miss it!
I'm glad the car is nearly "old school stereo" quick or it would drive me nuts.

 

[timber]

The most annoying thing is listening to something good, starting, it switches off for aeons and you miss it!
I'm glad the car is nearly "old school stereo" quick or it would drive me nuts.

What I would like, is the RNS 510 radio connected to the leisure battery/s so that when I am in the rear with the table up I don't have to reach the dashboard to switch it back on. they say to save the engine starting battery. ( Why can't they link the 3 batts??????? )

It happens when some talk show is on the radio and I miss the best bit. :doh
Would be better if they supplied another fob to control the radio from the rear also. The twenty minute cut off is very annoying.
Other than that I am very happy with the Cali , this is my second one
I wonder what the next Cali will be like in a couple of years when this one goes.!!
Talking about smilies I always feel like smiling when I drive the Cali
Richard

 

[Freeley]

Yeah get it done! We had our pioneer linked to the leisure battery and it's bliss being able to relax on the rear seat without fear of being disturbed every 20 mins

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[KernowLad]

The most annoying thing is listening to something good, starting, it switches off for aeons and you miss it!
I'm glad the car is nearly "old school stereo" quick or it would drive me nuts.

What I would like, is the RNS 510 radio connected to the leisure battery/s so that when I am in the rear with the table up I don't have to reach the dashboard to switch it back on. they say to save the engine starting battery. ( Why can't they link the 3 batts??????? )

It happens when some talk show is on the radio and I miss the best bit. :doh
Would be better if they supplied another fob to control the radio from the rear also. The twenty minute cut off is very annoying.
Other than that I am very happy with the Cali , this is my second one
I wonder what the next Cali will be like in a couple of years when this one goes.!!
Talking about smilies I always feel like smiling when I drive the Cali
Richard

It's worth being careful - we uses CD stories to help get the kids to sleep. We flattened our driving battery once… Luckily it was easily bump started. Lesson learned!

 

[Andy]

The most annoying thing is listening to something good, starting, it switches off for aeons and you miss it!
I'm glad the car is nearly "old school stereo" quick or it would drive me nuts.

What I would like, is the RNS 510 radio connected to the leisure battery/s so that when I am in the rear with the table up I don't have to reach the dashboard to switch it back on. they say to save the engine starting battery. ( Why can't they link the 3 batts??????? )

It happens when some talk show is on the radio and I miss the best bit. :doh
Would be better if they supplied another fob to control the radio from the rear also. The twenty minute cut off is very annoying.
Other than that I am very happy with the Cali , this is my second one
I wonder what the next Cali will be like in a couple of years when this one goes.!!
Talking about smilies I always feel like smiling when I drive the Cali
Richard

Can get a change over kit that runs radio from main battery when engine running & leisure battery when stopped. £20

http://www.xtremevan.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4995

 

[Confuserated]

Can you use these on T5s? It says not to use on a cam bus system.

 

[Andy]

Can you use these on T5s? It says not to use on a cam bus system.

Silly me saw red writing but not read it. I guess no good for T5.
I will try to ring them some time this week & find out for sure.

 

[Confuserated]

thassashame, looked ideal