new member

[procrastinator]

After hiring a California 10 years ago and loving it, but unable to justify a purchase then, due to my wife and my own working patterns, only one day a week off in common and one of us having our own business so not many weeks off, with semi retirement looming in the new year, we have decided to bite the bullit!
Having started to research, new versus almost new and reading your forum, I have to say it has scared the bejesus out of me, my wife would like new, but we are struggling with the options list, what is necessary? and what would be expected on a used van?
And with all the scare stories! dealers who won't deal and dont care if there is a problem even on a brand new van, leaking roof bellows, roof corrosion etc,
Probably covered before, but your forum is so huge! what extras are necessary ie, bungee for roof bellows, leveling ramps, length of external power cable, matress topper etc and what are not?

 

[Californication69]

After hiring a California 10 years ago and loving it, but unable to justify a purchase then, due to my wife and my own working patterns, only one day a week off in common and one of us having our own business so not many weeks off, with semi retirement looming in the new year, we have decided to bite the bullit!
Having started to research, new versus almost new and reading your forum, I have to say it has scared the bejesus out of me, my wife would like new, but we are struggling with the options list, what is necessary? and what would be expected on a used van?
And with all the scare stories! dealers who won't deal and dont care if there is a problem even on a brand new van, leaking roof bellows, roof corrosion etc,
Probably covered before, but your forum is so huge! what extras are necessary ie, bungee for roof bellows, leveling ramps, length of external power cable, matress topper etc and what are not?

My advice.
Rent one, read the forum every night, make an excel spreadsheet of what you think you need.
DONT write the prices down !
Try to buy things 2nd hand.
Muddle through it. If you can’t afford new.
Try AliExpress for some things. Dirt cheap!
I bought a brand new 4Motion as I want to keep it for 20 years. And that makes sense.
If I do retire in 10 years, will probs go for a massive RV, to travel for a month at a time.
But will keep the California as my Day, Trailer towing, safari day out, beach, hiking, E-Bike towball, do anything vehicle. It’s just so versatile.
If you buy new, get VIP here and download the checklist.
Good luck, any questions just ask….
After you’ve used the search button…. Lots !

 

[wildslammer22]

After hiring a California 10 years ago and loving it, but unable to justify a purchase then, due to my wife and my own working patterns, only one day a week off in common and one of us having our own business so not many weeks off, with semi retirement looming in the new year, we have decided to bite the bullit!
Having started to research, new versus almost new and reading your forum, I have to say it has scared the bejesus out of me, my wife would like new, but we are struggling with the options list, what is necessary? and what would be expected on a used van?
And with all the scare stories! dealers who won't deal and dont care if there is a problem even on a brand new van, leaking roof bellows, roof corrosion etc,
Probably covered before, but your forum is so huge! what extras are necessary ie, bungee for roof bellows, leveling ramps, length of external power cable, matress topper etc and what are not?

I had a similar dilemma, I was quite specific about the spec I wanted so was initialled resigned to buying new. However when I bought wait times were very long and deals hard to find. I found a late T6 that was exactly the spec I was looking for and more. It had done more miles than the average Cali but during my extensive research I concluded that very low mileage Calis can be more problematical than higher mileage, after all it’s a van and meant to be driven. Plenty of posters on here have done big mileage. I also reasoned that a nearly new van with a few miles on will have had any teething issues sorted under warranty. My advice is to make sure you get an extended all-in warranty for peace of mind and research on here a good service centre local to you,

I’m pleased to report after 20,000 trouble free miles both my assumptions seem to be working out for me. Remember that people don’t tend to post about trouble free motoring so it’s easy to be spooked about horror stories of pop top roofs, EGR's and poor after sales. They are great and very versatile vehicles and the only regret I have is I didn’t buy one sooner.

 

[NessL]

After hiring a California 10 years ago and loving it, but unable to justify a purchase then, due to my wife and my own working patterns, only one day a week off in common and one of us having our own business so not many weeks off, with semi retirement looming in the new year, we have decided to bite the bullit!
Having started to research, new versus almost new and reading your forum, I have to say it has scared the bejesus out of me, my wife would like new, but we are struggling with the options list, what is necessary? and what would be expected on a used van?
And with all the scare stories! dealers who won't deal and dont care if there is a problem even on a brand new van, leaking roof bellows, roof corrosion etc,
Probably covered before, but your forum is so huge! what extras are necessary ie, bungee for roof bellows, leveling ramps, length of external power cable, matress topper etc and what are not?

The first decision is do you want a kitchen. If yes that removes the Beach. Oceans are better spec’ed than Surf if buying new. If buying second hand Oceans are usually have more bits than Coasts, but not always. Some bought Coasts for the manual roof and lighter interior, then loaded with options to roughly an Ocean spec.
Extras have changed over the years, so it’s difficult to advise on what to look for, however, there are some general forum opinions e.g. LED headlights are a must and not many people think the safe is a good option ( not needed and takes up valuable cupboard space).
Think about how you plan to use the van, e.g. if you plan to take your bikes on every trip it’s worth considering a tow bar, as the towbar bike racks fold down to allow the tailgate to open, but maybe you won’t take bikes or not all the time so a tailgate bike rack will be fine.
If undecided on a particular option, search the forum. There’s certainly a lot of opinions here!
If you decide to buy new get a quote from drivethedeal. Even if you want to buy from a dealer, it will give you a target price. Be warned, the quality of dealers can vary considerably. Judging by forum feedback, two of the best are Breeze Poole and SMG Tonbridge.
Have fun in your search!