VW Beach - Is this good value ?

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Discussion

Wilmslowboy

Original Poster:

4,188 posts

205 months

Thursday 21st April 2022
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Kicking around the idea of getting a VW Beach, which must have 5 seats (No kitchen is needed)

A few must-have options
Nav, active cruise, auto, LED lights, park heater, parking sensors

Spotted this one looks expensive (especially as it appears to be a non facelift i.e 6.1)

Thoughts please?



https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203193... New&onesearchad=Used&price-from=11000&radius=1500&sort=price-desc&year-from=2017




Benny Saltstein

642 posts

212 months

Friday 22nd April 2022
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The prices on these are now mental. I bought a basic spec T6 Beach in Feb 2020 for £37k but with 7 seats and the removable tow bar.

At the time VW were offloading a load of Beaches all with about 8-10k miles. They typically had the DSG gearbox, the basic aircon, standard H4 headlights (a bit rubbish), Discovery Nav with CarPlay but not the parking heater, LED lights, comfort dash with rear aircon. I think these were former VW staff leases all with a KY (snigger) registration prefix which were specified to a particular price ceiling.

The van in the link has all the desirable options I can see but it’s £60k. Obviously if you want a new van you might be waiting years at the moment but still I think you really have to want the van to part with that kind of money. We sold ours last September as our kids had grown too big and didn't want to share the bed in the pop top. The increase in values also had something to do with it!

As a day van for family outings they’re brilliant and certainly offer a fantastic base station for outdoor stuff hence why you see them at the seaside, trail centres, national parks etc etc. We didn’t think twice about chucking 4 bikes on the back and heading off. Again, if you have pets they’re brilliant given the amount of room in the back. The awning comes into its own when it’s raining and having the 7 seat option meant it got pressed into frequent family taxi service.

We felt in the end the camping experience was compromised for a family of 4 with a 10 and 12 year old. With younger kids it might work better but in the end it was no easier as we had a massive drive away awning which still took 30 mins to set up. The space in the van meant we took way more than we needed - I don’t think we had it long enough to really work out the best approach which was probably less is more. Certainly I think for a couple they’d be brilliant and the parking heater would have been the one option I wish we’d had.

So, a totally unstructured load of waffle on my experience with the Beach. At this price point you’re also into fairly serious proper motor home territory and some very nice Hymer Ducato based vans which look fantastic. There’s loads of useful info on the VW California club forum even if some of it was a bit rose tinted.



Edited by Benny Saltstein on Friday 22 April 18:45

paulwf

106 posts

169 months

Friday 22nd April 2022
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It is very high spec - would have been around 67k new (though would have been discounted). Mine was a similar spec without the DCC suspension but with a few other options, and pre registered cost 47k in Jan 2020 - the list price was 64k. At the time, base spec beaches with 20k miles ~1 year old (ex VW ones) were about £36k - they are now £45k and are now 3 years old.

However lots has changed since then.

The only options it seems to be missing is the lighting in the pop top and the side assist.

A new order would cost substantially more for the same spec, but I doubt you would see it before the end of 2023.

I'd see if the dealer would fit the new bellows for the price (the replacement ones have an opening panoramic front. I changed mine and it makes a huge difference

paulwf

106 posts

169 months

Friday 22nd April 2022
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Benny Saltstein said:
The prices on these are now mental.

As a day van for family outings they’re brilliant and certainly offer a fantastic base station for outdoor stuff hence why you see them at the seaside, trail centres, national parks etc etc.

We felt in the end the camping experience was compromised for a family of 4 with a 10 and 12 year old.
I'd echo these comments. We love ours as a day van, (and we had a splitscreen before that, which was fun but so slow and smelly). Last year we spent 3 weeks in Scotland in it.

It gets very tiresome packing away to use the van for the day. They are fine for weekends, or if you don't need to move the van. If you need to move the van, you need a small pop up tent to chuck the bedding into. Self inflating mattresses instead of the comfort mat made it a lot better, much easier to pack up as they are less bulky.

In the end, however you go camping there is some sort of compromise. We have tried 1,2,3 of the list below. It all depends on what you are willing to live with

1)Tent.
  • Disadvantages- lots of stuff to pack, sleeping on the ground, when wet a pain.
  • Advantages - car is free to be used during day
2)T6 size van -
  • Disadvantages- very little space, needs to be packed up if want to use for drive out.
  • Advantages - fits under 2m barriers. Can be used as a daily driver. Can be used as a general van for furniture, tip runs
3)Trailer tent
  • Disadvantages - has to be towed, so limited speed limits. Fewer sites than camper vans. Has to be stored. Takes ages to assemble
  • Easily stored compared to caravan
4)Motorhome
  • Similar to T6 size van, except usually have bathroom, but can't be used as a daily driver, some small sites won't allow them, if you need to drive out it is more difficult to park. Weight limit is often quite low
5)Caravan
  • Disadvantages - has to be towed, so limited speed limits. Fewer sites than camper vans.
  • Advantages - once setup, car is free to be used

Benny Saltstein

642 posts

212 months

Friday 22nd April 2022
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paulwf said:
It gets very tiresome packing away to use the van for the day. They are fine for weekends, or if you don't need to move the van. If you need to move the van, you need a small pop up tent to chuck the bedding into.
This was probably the biggest ballache and the one I’ve already forgotten. We ended up trying to find sites where we didn’t move the van and cycle everywhere. It was that or just end up chucking all the bedding, mattresses etc in the awning and then struggling to set everything back up again usually late in the evening when we’d returned from an evening meal.

Wilmslowboy

Original Poster:

4,188 posts

205 months

Friday 22nd April 2022
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Thanks for all the replies

We currently have a 7 seater Defender (late 2020) which is great for lots of stuff such as carrying sporting kits/ bikes etc, dogs etc

but not great for dogs on very long journeys (couped up in the boot)
we don't need 7 seats (although 5 would be useful)
and not possible to sleep in for the very occasional stopover

I'm struggling with the idea of paying near £60k for what is basically a Caravelle with a pop-top roof.


Carlososos

976 posts

95 months

Friday 22nd April 2022
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Crikey me. I would say that is crackers money for that but I suppose they hold there value like nothing else. But Christ on a bike £60k! silly

paulwf

106 posts

169 months

Saturday 23rd April 2022
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Wilmslowboy said:
I'm struggling with the idea of paying near £60k for what is basically a Caravelle with a pop-top roof.
Caravelles are also similarly much higher in price than pre covid, but not quite so bad. An option could be to get a caravelle and have a parking heater fitted

Robotron70

1,965 posts

42 months

Saturday 23rd April 2022
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That’s a lovely van, really great spec too and priced about right for the current climate.

We’ve got a Transporter too, but not a Cali. It’s a sleeper (full width/length, crash tested rock and roll bed and pop top), leisure battery, heater etc.

I looked at a new Cali when I got my Transporter, I didn’t like the slider on the wrong side and ideally wanted a lwb.

So I settled for a lwb Highline Kombi and then added the options I wanted to it. I paid £53k inc vat (inc £15k of extras) for it just over 4 years ago. It’s now 4 years old with 30k miles and I could sell it tomorrow for £45k, more if I hung on a bit.

My kids are just at the point now where they won’t both sleep in the roof so I have a Vango Galli driveaway awning and a Reimo multirail and the kids both have Outdoor Revolution air pod inner tents that they sleep in, with the dog. My wife and I get to sleep on the rock and roll bed and get a really good nights sleep and the popup roof gives us extra standing height.

For 2 or 3 nights away it’s a lot less hassle than collecting our caravan, also far easier to navigate narrow lanes in the T6, the 8ft wide caravan can be stressy when there’s an unplanned diversion.

If I can get away from work at 4 on a Friday and we’ve boxed everything up the night before then we can drive to our nearest site, get all setup and enjoy a cold cider and a few burgers on the bbq by 7.

All of this does depend on the weather though, if we didn’t have the kids then we’d venture down south to warmer climates.

RosscoPCole

3,300 posts

173 months

Saturday 23rd April 2022
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As has been mentioned we have a converted Transporter. Having a lot of the kit permanently in the van does help. The rest we have in crates ready to load. As a family car it is great. Going to the beach early in the morning and making bacon rolls and a cuppa is fabulous. The pop top is useful during the the day too.
We are looking at getting a newer van and having it converted to our spec in the near future.

austinsmirk

5,597 posts

122 months

Monday 25th April 2022
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Join the T5/6 group on FB and see what’s for sale. Variations are vast. Personally I have a full r n r bed in mine, a pop top, heating, 240 v, no cooking/ fridge stuff because in reality it’s a load of junk to drive around with endlessly. I have all the cooking/ fridge stuff, in just add into the van when needed. It’s also nice having tonnes of empty space.

Spuffington

1,203 posts

167 months

Tuesday 26th April 2022
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OP - you may already have seen on here that I bought a T6 Ocean a couple of months ago. Coming from a brand new X5 and before that a combo of 9m Motorhome and Porsche Cayenne GTS, I wondered what I was getting myself into with the Cali. Having said that, 1.2k miles and 2months later, I’m loving it and wishing I’d done it sooner.

It’s such a practical, versatile and remarkably comfortable vehicle to drive and travel in. On smooth ish roads it’s very comfortable, its van roots become obvious over rougher bits of road, but it’s surprisingly useable as an everyday car (albeit we have an X1 for short trips too).

The price is the price. You could spend months agonising over trying to get a deal in an inflated market. I think I got one in the end (£54.5k for a fully loaded MY2018 150PS Ocean w/11k on the clock) but I’d have been willing to pay another £10k for the right van. That said, the one in your link is expensive for a Beach IMO. If it’s what you really want though, just go for it. My other half was sceptical when I settled on the Cali. She owned a Westfalia KeplerOne previously which we liked but didn’t love. And she was concerned the petrolhead in me wouldn’t be satisfied with a 150ps van. However, after a few trips out as a family using it as a day van, a couple of overnights with my 9yr old daughter with me and a couple of solo MTBing excursions, the van has become the “do it all” fun bus.

I have no problems driving it every day to the station or school run. At this stage we’d probably struggle to go back to having just a “normal” car (even if it was a Performance Car).

Wholehearted recommendation from me. Sure, get the best deal you can but don’t hold out for cheaper ones if it’s what you really want and can see yourself in it longterm. I’m gutted I didn’t do it 10-20yrs ago (and I’m 43!).

To the poster who mentioned swapping the bellows for the T6.1 - can you provide more info? Cost? Who was it done by? It’s high on my list of upgrades since the pre facelift tent is way too bright and doesn’t have the front opening either.

Wilmslowboy

Original Poster:

4,188 posts

205 months

Tuesday 26th April 2022
quotequote all
Thanks for the feedback on your ownership experiance, and the nudge biggrin




Spuffington said:
OP - you may already have seen on here that I bought a T6 Ocean a couple of months ago. Coming from a brand new X5 and before that a combo of 9m Motorhome and Porsche Cayenne GTS, I wondered what I was getting myself into with the Cali. Having said that, 1.2k miles and 2months later, I’m loving it and wishing I’d done it sooner.

It’s such a practical, versatile and remarkably comfortable vehicle to drive and travel in. On smooth ish roads it’s very comfortable, its van roots become obvious over rougher bits of road, but it’s surprisingly useable as an everyday car (albeit we have an X1 for short trips too).

The price is the price. You could spend months agonising over trying to get a deal in an inflated market. I think I got one in the end (£54.5k for a fully loaded MY2018 150PS Ocean w/11k on the clock) but I’d have been willing to pay another £10k for the right van. That said, the one in your link is expensive for a Beach IMO. If it’s what you really want though, just go for it. My other half was sceptical when I settled on the Cali. She owned a Westfalia KeplerOne previously which we liked but didn’t love. And she was concerned the petrolhead in me wouldn’t be satisfied with a 150ps van. However, after a few trips out as a family using it as a day van, a couple of overnights with my 9yr old daughter with me and a couple of solo MTBing excursions, the van has become the “do it all” fun bus.

I have no problems driving it every day to the station or school run. At this stage we’d probably struggle to go back to having just a “normal” car (even if it was a Performance Car).

Wholehearted recommendation from me. Sure, get the best deal you can but don’t hold out for cheaper ones if it’s what you really want and can see yourself in it longterm. I’m gutted I didn’t do it 10-20yrs ago (and I’m 43!).

To the poster who mentioned swapping the bellows for the T6.1 - can you provide more info? Cost? Who was it done by? It’s high on my list of upgrades since the pre facelift tent is way too bright and doesn’t have the front opening either.

dave_s13

13,813 posts

268 months

Tuesday 26th April 2022
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Fckk that..mental price.

Get a caravan. We love ours.

We been away a few times where my brother and his kids have come as well, were in a 6 berth caravan, they're in a vw camper. It takes them an absolute age to set up and then pack up. Detaching the van from the tent is a ballache. If it's chilly they are all sat their in jumpers and hats with a token heater doing naff all...Mita basically really expensive camping.

Day vans seem fine for just that, a day out but fck living in one for a week. The cost of them is just mind boggling as well.

Caveat being all the faff is much easier to manage with no kids.

AlBondigaz

172 posts

66 months

Tuesday 26th April 2022
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I considered a VW Beach / Cali when downsizing from my 7m A Class motorhome as I wanted something that would sit on the drive, rather than kept in a storage yard, so it could be used at short notice.

Ended up with a 2021, Hymer Grand Canyon S on a 6m Mercedes Sprinter. Basically a full on mini motorhome. Proper kitchen, toilet / shower room. Full heating and hot water system. Double bed and another double in the pop top. Could easily use it for a couple of weeks at a time. Also is great for day trip mountain biking missions.

Drives like a big car, all the Merc goodies inc 7G Auto, LED lights, Distronic and Blind spot assist. Realistically is too big to replace our second car but works along side rather well.

If you fancy a look at it I’m also in SK9.

downthepub

1,373 posts

205 months

Tuesday 26th April 2022
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Some thoughts from this thread, VW factory vans are always more expensive but better resale at the expense of customisation ie if you want bikes in the van, or kitchen at the back or barn doors rather than a tailgate, or something else then the built-not-bought route is the best.

When it comes to tent vs camper vs great white vs caravan there are always strengths and cautions with each option. I can see the attraction of a caravan with having a car for day trips, but thanks to caravan holidays with my parents as a young ‘un a) I hate caravans, 2) they are a pain to tow, wide and bouncy weavey bds, 3) you will be judged by other road captains on the highway, 4), I hate caravans. But it does give an excuse to have a stomping motor to “tow the ‘van”….

For us and our circumstances, we bought a ‘17 California Ocean in August ‘20 - clearly an ex demo or VW management vehicle due to the high and slightly wacky spec. Light alcantara seating on an outdoor vehicle, eh? Anyway, we always stay on locations with proper facilities. There’s so much choice it really is time to get out a pen and paper and write out what you want.

paulwf

106 posts

169 months

Wednesday 27th April 2022
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Spuffington said:
To the poster who mentioned swapping the bellows for the T6.1 - can you provide more info? Cost? Who was it done by? It’s high on my list of upgrades since the pre facelift tent is way too bright and doesn’t have the front opening either.
I put some information here, I also have a translated PDF from a German site.

It was fairly easy to DIY, dealers will do it for you but they won't be able to remove the old one without damage. I sold my non opening bellows for £300

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/roof-canvas-m...

stevemcs

8,592 posts

92 months

Wednesday 27th April 2022
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downthepub said:
Some thoughts from this thread, VW factory vans are always more expensive but better resale at the expense of customisation ie if you want bikes in the van, or kitchen at the back or barn doors rather than a tailgate, or something else then the built-not-bought route is the best.

When it comes to tent vs camper vs great white vs caravan there are always strengths and cautions with each option. I can see the attraction of a caravan with having a car for day trips, but thanks to caravan holidays with my parents as a young ‘un a) I hate caravans, 2) they are a pain to tow, wide and bouncy weavey bds, 3) you will be judged by other road captains on the highway, 4), I hate caravans. But it does give an excuse to have a stomping motor to “tow the ‘van”….

For us and our circumstances, we bought a ‘17 California Ocean in August ‘20 - clearly an ex demo or VW management vehicle due to the high and slightly wacky spec. Light alcantara seating on an outdoor vehicle, eh? Anyway, we always stay on locations with proper facilities. There’s so much choice it really is time to get out a pen and paper and write out what you want.
I went the other way, I don't like caravans but hate transporters even more, I did consider a self build based on a Transit but small camper vans have no headroom, small beds no proper wash or cooking facilities and you have to put an awning up all the time if going for a long weekend. I did go for a 2 berth Caravan its easy to tow, doesn't wobble (sensible tow car) and so far hasn't held anyone up and if i do see a few cars forming behind I'll pull over.

I'd go either caravan or motorhome but something based around a sprinter/transit jumbo. There is no way I would spend 60k on a VW van.

Robotron70

1,965 posts

42 months

Wednesday 27th April 2022
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Fortunately I have the choice of Transporter, caravan, motorhome and a big tent. They all have their place depending on where you go and for how long.

This weekend we are off to River Dart in the VW, taking everything including kitchen sink. We should be there and all set up by 16:00 and first cider in hand shortly afterwards.

Mark Asread

2,981 posts

138 months

Wednesday 27th April 2022
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Carlososos said:
Crikey me. I would say that is crackers money for that but I suppose they hold there value like nothing else. But Christ on a bike £60k! silly
I drove mine round Europe and lived in it for 6 months straight, plus a load of other trips over 2 years of ownership. I sold it for £250 less than I paid. Try that with a knackered converted builder's van! smile