Nearly New Values

[christophergeorge]

Hi

This is a great Forum with so much knowledge and invaluable advice. Congratulations to all

My question is pretty simple...I think.

We are ready to commit to buying a 12/18mth old California. To help us navigate this expensive decision, I wondered if there was a useful quick reference price guide on nearly new vehicles. Price guides (e.g. Parkers) seem to be on a different planet when looking at prices). (If not I will put one together myself but wondered if anyone else had done the same thing!)

Thanks


Chris

 

[calikev]

Hi Chris and welcome thanks for your kind comment re the forum.
The question you ask is a really good one as far as I'm aware there is no accurate price guide for used cali's. We have known for a long time parkers are way off.the way most people gauge it is by looking at our for sale section and comparing vehicles looking on auto trader and at dealers. Sometimes it will vary on location.we also know the Cali has great residual value
the Cali is still in great demand keeping prices up

 

[Martin]

Hi Chris and welcome, ditto what Kev says , it is also a very good time to buy at the moment as it is the end of the season and there is a great selection around. If you were looking back in spring time there was only around three private used Cali's for sale nationwide, right now you have an excellent choice.

If you need any other advice just let us know

 

[Californiaman]

There have been a couple of people that have purchased recently that found the difference between a 12 month old Cali and new was negligible and they ended up buying new.

Good luck with your search, it is an exciting time!

 

[Bjohnson]

Looking now and into the winter period is the best time to be looking and comparing used and nearly new prices; we did just that last winter.

You will find (as already mentioned here) that the volume of advertisments on Autotrader, here and on the VW commercials websites will increase significantly now we are in the autumn and approaching winter. Prices typically remain high but perhaps not as high as peak season due also to the additional vehicles available at this time of year.

My best advice; decide your base vehicle spec if you can. i.e. 140 or 180, manual, DSG or 4Motion. Makes your comparison for cost a lot easier, allowing you to decide which other options you can compromise on i.e. colour, options, accessories etc.

We watched used vehicle prices and specs last winter (as we werent ready to buy) and decided on our preferred spec/options, which in turn generated our preferred budget range to purchase this winter.

The Cali's are generally well looked after and from time to time older models come up for sale at low £30k prices. I think the cheapest I've ever seen was about £26k. Most used or nearly new vehicles tend to be £35k upwards depending on th eusual variants of age, mileage, spec, options etc.

I cant recommend hiring a vehicle enough though - contact Oli at BMVS for an excellent selection of vehicles and specs.

This was a massive bonus for us when we hired for a week. Primarily it allowed us to decide quite clearly what our preferred spec/options would be when we were finally ready to purchase.

Once you've hired, you also understand how everything works and - should you be planning on buying a used vehicle from a private seller - you will have a far greater understanding of what to look for in a second hand vehicle.

I viewed a private sellers vehicle last winter which was at a good price, I was seriously tempted to buy but in hindsight I'm glad I didnt. The Cali was probably fine, but it wasnt until we hired one that I then knew what I should have been looking at :crazy

As Californiaman has already mentioned, we recently ordered brand new as we found we could get a new vehicle for the same cost as a good spec used one. Whilst we had to compromise a little on specification of the new vehicle compared to a used one for the same cost, it was a no brainer for us to get a brand new unused fully warranted Cali.

Hope this helps and good luck with your search

 

[BMVS-Camper-Hire]

Thanks for the recommend Brian. We do lots of 'try before you buy' hires.

There is nowhere to look for a baseline price, bar autotrader and on here. They are very price/spec dependant. When we sell ours, we usually command a slightly higher price than some, but all of ours have the 5th remoavble seat, and are higher spec models, than other available. If buying new, the wait can be up to 6-9 months, however this has recently shortened, probably due to the end of the season, but come December/January time, I expect this to lenghten again as demand goes up.

I have three coming off this year, before March, one available now and two November onwards (one of which I have just taken a deposit on last week). Let me know what spec you are after, and Ill see what I have.

 

[christophergeorge]

Thanks CaliKev, Martin, Californiaman, BJonhson and Oli

Amazed at the response, the help and the offers of more help.

I am pretty sure we want the 140 SE - still working through optional extra's we would like though privacy glass seems a must from everyone else.

Given the prices, new or nearly new is an interesting and unexpected decision! I looked at Drive the Deal and the discount seems high and as competitve as a nearly new (exactly as advice suggest).

Will take on board comments and may be back again - support really appreciated as we enter an interesting few weeks or months searching!

 

[CannellWalker]

We were in the same boat about 11 months ago. We were originally looking for a Cali 1-2 years old. After seeing advice to check out Drivethedeal.com we took there price to a couple of dealers and bought new in the end. Ordered December and collected in March.

 

[BMVS-Camper-Hire]

Thanks CaliKev, Martin, Californiaman, BJonhson and Oli

Amazed at the response, the help and the offers of more help.

I am pretty sure we want the 140 SE - still working through optional extra's we would like though privacy glass seems a must from everyone else.

Given the prices, new or nearly new is an interesting and unexpected decision! I looked at Drive the Deal and the discount seems high and as competitve as a nearly new (exactly as advice suggest).

Will take on board comments and may be back again - support really appreciated as we enter an interesting few weeks or months searching!

I've got a July 2011 Natural Grey 140 SE Manual SE for sale, fully loaded with literally every option. 17,000 miles, looking for £39995 Ono. Finance and part exchange possible