Low mileage T5 or higher mileage T6

[DeclamFM]

high all looking to purchase my first California. (Previously owned 2008 conversion)
identified 2 in my price range.
2015 T5. 40000 miles
Or
2017. T6. 97000 miles
Both advertised at £39k both with full service history

currently leaning towards the 2017 as my earlier conversion had over 160k miles and never let me down and seems bit more refined inside
JUst wondering about other people's thoughts the best buy and why

 

[colintfcolintf]

Would it be in regular use or not? Is that T5 Adblue or not? (euro6)
If it wasn’t going to be in regular use then I might be tempted by a non Adblue option.
Are they both similar models ? Ie SE/Ocean ? Is one manual the other DSG ?
Lots to think about really

 

[WelshGas]

high all looking to purchase my first California. (Previously owned 2008 conversion)
identified 2 in my price range.
2015 T5. 40000 miles
Or
2017. T6. 97000 miles
Both advertised at £39k both with full service history

currently leaning towards the 2017 as my earlier conversion had over 160k miles and never let me down and seems bit more refined inside
JUst wondering about other people's thoughts the best buy and why

Personally I would go for the T6.
A lot rave about low milage vehicles, I do not.
The T5 has averaged 4,000 miles/ Yr and probably laid up for 6 to 9 months/Yr.
The California is a commercial vehicle base and built to be used. I had mine for 10 yrs and 140,000+ miles. Apart from wear items being replaced, pads and front disks the only fault was an ABS sensor.

 

[DeclamFM]

Personally I would go for the T6.
A lot rave about low milage vehicles, I do not.
The T5 has averaged 4,000 miles/ Yr and probably laid up for 6 to 9 months/Yr.
The California is a commercial vehicle base and built to be used. I had mine for 10 yrs and 140,000+ miles. Apart from wear items being replaced, pads and front disks the only fault was an ABS sensor.

I'm definitely thinking T6
Anything I should look out for in service history since it's about to top 100k miles.
Cam belt change maybe
Also does the T6 have any DPF issues with high mileage. Had real problems with DPF on a Volvo V50 lately ended up getting it replaced. Not cheap

 

[Resfeber]

I'm definitely thinking T6
Anything I should look out for in service history since it's about to top 100k miles.
Cam belt change maybe
Also does the T6 have any DPF issues with high mileage. Had real problems with DPF on a Volvo V50 lately ended up getting it replaced. Not cheap

Would it be a private sale or dealer?
Basic checks would be MOT history (Gov free

Check the MOT history of a vehicle

Check the MOT history of a vehicle from 2005 onwards, including if it passed or failed, its mileage and why it failed, download MOT test certificate

www.gov.uk

and accident damage check via Car Vertical or similar paid for check service.

VIN decoder, check a car and get vehicle history report

When using the carVertical platform, our Reg Lookup/VIN Decoder tools make it easy to get a full vehicle history report. Access to authentic odometer readings, in-depth summaries of accidents and the vehicle’s maintenance log. A blockchain-based solution that unlocks the true car history of...

www.carvertical.com

Main issues at this age will be
1) Cambelt due at 120k to 130k (recent change in VW advice with no time limit but 10years is good estimate, earlier if you have any concerns.
2) Front crankcase oil seal. (Ringed in blue.) Cheap part but labour intensive and also wise to replace Cambelt and water pump at same time.
Easy to spot through front drivers side wheel arch on full lock (see mine when it had just started at 6 years old and 60k but age related not mileage)


3) Coolant loss can be EGR cooler and valve assembly or Charge cooler.
4)Split egr pipes (front and rear of egr valve assembly)
5)Some dsg boxes had a manufacturing defect that required service fix of “glueing” a critical bolt back in with epoxy at around 2017/2018.
If it has failed (straw coloured dsg fluid in the undertray) then May need a new dsg box to resolve, so walk away
Best way to check is to get the under tray off and make sure the dsg is bone dry.
6) Roof position sensors. Check for 1001 errors in the control panel hidden menu

How-To Guide - Control Panel Diagnostics

For those of you who don't know, if you ever get any problems with roof stuck or any other error say with the heater or fridge, you are able to access the hidden menu in your control panel as used by the VW Engineers. Access as follows: 1. Hold...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

The rest is usual used vehicle due diligence and possibly an oil test (Millers) for sign of significant wear or contamination.

Oil Sample Analysis

Reduce the risk of unscheduled downtime and costly breakdowns for your vehicles or machinery using Millers Oils Oil Sample Analysis.

www.millersoils.co.uk

 

[Hawthorn37]

My natural inclination would be the newer model. But, if you’re going to do short trips mostly, steer clear of any diesel engine with an EGR / DPF. They’re trouble!

 

[DeclamFM]

Would it be a private sale or dealer?
Basic checks would be MOT history (Gov free

Check the MOT history of a vehicle

Check the MOT history of a vehicle from 2005 onwards, including if it passed or failed, its mileage and why it failed, download MOT test certificate

www.gov.uk

and accident damage check via Car Vertical or similar paid for check service.

VIN decoder, check a car and get vehicle history report

When using the carVertical platform, our Reg Lookup/VIN Decoder tools make it easy to get a full vehicle history report. Access to authentic odometer readings, in-depth summaries of accidents and the vehicle’s maintenance log. A blockchain-based solution that unlocks the true car history of...

www.carvertical.com

Main issues at this age will be
1) Cambelt due at 120k to 130k (recent change in VW advice with no time limit but 10years is good estimate, earlier if you have any concerns.
2) Front crankcase oil seal. (Ringed in blue.) Cheap part but labour intensive and also wise to replace Cambelt and water pump at same time.
Easy to spot through front drivers side wheel arch on full lock (see mine when it had just started at 6 years old and 60k but age related not mileage)

View attachment 140512
3) Coolant loss can be EGR cooler and valve assembly or Charge cooler.
4)Split egr pipes (front and rear of egr valve assembly)
5)Some dsg boxes had a manufacturing defect that required service fix of “glueing” a critical bolt back in with epoxy at around 2017/2018.
If it has failed (straw coloured dsg fluid in the undertray) then May need a new dsg box to resolve, so walk away
Best way to check is to get the under tray off and make sure the dsg is bone dry.
6) Roof position sensors. Check for 1001 errors in the control panel hidden menu

How-To Guide - Control Panel Diagnostics

For those of you who don't know, if you ever get any problems with roof stuck or any other error say with the heater or fridge, you are able to access the hidden menu in your control panel as used by the VW Engineers. Access as follows: 1. Hold...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

The rest is usual used vehicle due diligence and possibly an oil test (Millers) for sign of significant wear or contamination.

Oil Sample Analysis

Reduce the risk of unscheduled downtime and costly breakdowns for your vehicles or machinery using Millers Oils Oil Sample Analysis.

www.millersoils.co.uk

Thanks for that very useful