Just bought a second hand 2022 Cali and now back in the Garage!

[Kccase]

Hi all,

I bought a 2022 California beach last week- it wouldnt start after a few days of ownership it is now back with them since 3 days and not heard anything. Should i be concerned and ask for the money back! (Over £55k!)

 

[Kccase]

Appears it is the starter motor that needs replacing….hopefully that resolves it

 

[pchmlk]

That was a quick thread.

 

[Kccase]

That was a quick thread.

Efficient

 

[Resfeber]

Hi all,

I bought a 2022 California beach last week- it wouldnt start after a few days of ownership it is now back with them since 3 days and not heard anything. Should i be concerned and ask for the money back! (Over £55k!)

Ease you angst with an All in Plan if your van didn’t have a warranty.


Check T&C as there are some exclusion (mainly Oil seals, wear &Tear, DPF, consumables)
I benefitted from all the services, VW assist and had nearly £4,000 or warranty repairs for £800 over 2 years on a van that was 7 years old before the warranty ran out.
If you are quick you could have your beach covered until nearly 6 years old and just before 6th birthday, when the old one ends take out another giving you same benefits until your van would be 8 years old!
Occasionally this plan is discounted by around 20% March April & 25% Black Friday (17th Nov 25 to 15 Dec 25.)
Unfortunately nothing at moment
Think you may have some redress under consumer rights for going wrong a few days after sale (fit for purpose) but Sh1t does happen

 

[Quiddle]

Efficient

Seems that you were on the case.

 

[Quiddle]

Ease you angst with an All in Plan if your van didn’t have a warranty.

View attachment 145898
Check T&C as there are some exclusion (mainly Oil seals, wear &Tear, DPF, consumables)
I benefitted from all the services, VW assist and had nearly £4,000 or warranty repairs for £800 over 2 years on a van that was 7 years old before the warranty ran out.
If you are quick you could have your beach covered until nearly 6 years old and just before 6th birthday, when the old one ends take out another giving you same benefits until your van would be 8 years old!
Occasionally this plan is discounted by around 20% March April & 25% Black Friday (17th Nov 25 to 15 Dec 25.)
Unfortunately nothing at moment
Think you may have some redress under consumer rights for going wrong a few days after sale (fit for purpose) but Sh1t does happen

Farming out risk to a third party only increases angst in my experience. They'll wriggle and writhe not to pay out and even if they eventually do it is only after a lot of stress. In this situation the OP would have been fully entitled to demand a full refund for a fault occurring within 30 days of the sale and any subsequent faults during the first 6 months of ownership must be rectified at the first attempt or else the option of a refund exists. VW doesn't offer the All-in-Plan because it cares about its customers, it's there to make VW money.

 

[Dave Wickham]

Farming out risk to a third party only increases angst in my experience. They'll wriggle and writhe not to pay out and even if they eventually do it is only after a lot of stress. In this situation the OP would have been fully entitled to demand a full refund for a fault occurring within 30 days of the sale and any subsequent faults during the first 6 months of ownership must be rectified at the first attempt or else the option of a refund exists. VW doesn't offer the All-in-Plan because it cares about its customers, it's there to make VW money.

Like most threads there seems to be no consistency in people's experiences of what happens when things go wrong!! I read some 'less than great' reviews about the all-in-one plan (won't cover this, won't cover that - I made extensive enquiries about what would be covered, even using scenarios!). But I took it out anyway. 1 year into it, the water pump packed in but it WAS replaced under the plan which I was told would probably NOT be covered!!! Confused.com.

 

[Kccase]

Hi, so the problem was not the starter motor. It is now 2 weeks later, and it appears that they think it could be an aftermarket imobiliser and tracker that has been fitted. they are now trying to get installer to come and remove it. Do you think i should continue or ask for a refund, or ask them to continue? Will removing it all be okay for the ongoing electrics is what i am thinking?

 

[Perfectos]

Hi, so the problem was not the starter motor. It is now 2 weeks later, and it appears that they think it could be an aftermarket imobiliser and tracker that has been fitted. they are now trying to get installer to come and remove it. Do you think i should continue or ask for a refund, or ask them to continue? Will removing it all be okay for the ongoing electrics is what i am thinking?

Ask for a full refund.

They have had an opportunity to sort it. (And failed) within a reasonable time, particularly given they have 55k of your money and your van !

They clearly did not do the 5 zillion point check they say they do for "peace of mind"

If they fix the van, then you can decide if you want it again !

 

[Wannabecamperman]

Ask for a full refund.

They have had an opportunity to sort it. (And failed) within a reasonable time, particularly given they have 55k of your money and your van !

They clearly did not do the 5 zillion point check they say they do for "peace of mind"

If they fix the van, then you can decide if you want it again !

Agree. Not to mention the absurdly high price you paid.

 

[Kccase]

It had only had 3k on the clock, extras- auxillary heater, LED lights, 3 seat bench, (plus an extra seat and bike rack), in mint condition so thought checking prices on autotrader that 55k was okay as via dealer too??

They say they have removed the tracker and imobiliser now and meets the recommended guidelines? I am asking for a report to say it is actually back to factory standard.

 

[vbk1975]

It had only had 3k on the clock, extras- auxillary heater, LED lights, 3 seat bench, (plus an extra seat and bike rack), in mint condition so thought checking prices on autotrader that 55k was okay as via dealer too??

They say they have removed the tracker and imobiliser now and meets the recommended guidelines? I am asking for a report to say it is actually back to factory standard.

If you want to keep the van, then a few things to consider and check.

Aftermarket Trackers and esp. Immobilisers will have involved the installer cutting wires in the original harness and adding in these devices. So the immobiliser effectively adds another set of switches into critical circuits that prevent starting unless the both the original car immobiliser and the aftermarket one have a valid device . Hence the need for critical circuits to be cut and the immobiliser joined in between. So regardless the act of fitting it will have resulted in the harness being cut into.

So the critical thing to understand is how the devices have been removed and the harness made good. These devices tend to come with lengths of black wire already attracted and these are spliced into the car harness. If it was my car, i would want evidence that not only the tracker and immobiliser had been removed, but also that all the extra wiring had been removed and the original wires joined back directly to each other and professionally. It would be easy for someone to just remove the devices and leave the black aftermarket wiring in place and join these wires together. But then you have multiple joints and extra wiring and the quality of the original install and how the black wires were added in could be the fault.

So you will never get it back to how it left the factory, as the wires will have been cut. Professional auto electricians join wires all the time, done correctly it is completely robust, so it doesn't mean the repair is an issue. So i would be asking how the repair was done and who did it, then speak to the fitter directly and ask what they did. But ensure all the extra wiring was removed and ask how they repaired the joints and it is a VW approved method. Ideally with photos.

A

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Money back.
Tbh I never like vehicles with mega low mileage. It just suggests the owner didn’t like driving / owning it.
And reading @vbk1975 comment, definitely money back. Refuse to take it back.

 

[Lakes5]

I would agree about the mega low mileage. 3k in 4 years means it has either done very short journeys or sat for months not used - either option is not good for a modern vehicle.

 

[SusiBus]

I would not be worried about the low milage apart from the risk that the batteries may not have been regularly keep charged. Maybe get them checked.

 

[sidepod]

If you want to keep the van, then a few things to consider and check.

Aftermarket Trackers and esp. Immobilisers will have involved the installer cutting wires in the original harness and adding in these devices. So the immobiliser effectively adds another set of switches into critical circuits that prevent starting unless the both the original car immobiliser and the aftermarket one have a valid device . Hence the need for critical circuits to be cut and the immobiliser joined in between. So regardless the act of fitting it will have resulted in the harness being cut into.

So the critical thing to understand is how the devices have been removed and the harness made good. These devices tend to come with lengths of black wire already attracted and these are spliced into the car harness. If it was my car, i would want evidence that not only the tracker and immobiliser had been removed, but also that all the extra wiring had been removed and the original wires joined back directly to each other and professionally. It would be easy for someone to just remove the devices and leave the black aftermarket wiring in place and join these wires together. But then you have multiple joints and extra wiring and the quality of the original install and how the black wires were added in could be the fault.

So you will never get it back to how it left the factory, as the wires will have been cut. Professional auto electricians join wires all the time, done correctly it is completely robust, so it doesn't mean the repair is an issue. So i would be asking how the repair was done and who did it, then speak to the fitter directly and ask what they did. But ensure all the extra wiring was removed and ask how they repaired the joints and it is a VW approved method. Ideally with photos.

A

I think we can pretty safely assume they’ll just cut the wires and tape up.

 

[Wannabecamperman]

It had only had 3k on the clock, extras- auxillary heater, LED lights, 3 seat bench, (plus an extra seat and bike rack), in mint condition so thought checking prices on autotrader that 55k was okay as via dealer too??

They say they have removed the tracker and imobiliser now and meets the recommended guidelines? I am asking for a report to say it is actually back to factory standard.

But when a virtually new T7 Beach with the 5 Year Promise is just around £8k more, (and I've seen them from £62k) why wouldn't you?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202602210101798?sort=price-asc&searchId=db3cfcc7-1503-491d-900c-43f1516bd68b&make=Volkswagen&model=California&page=1&postcode=B64+5LL&year-from=2022&advertising-location=at_vans&fromsra=&backLinkQueryParams=channel%3Dvans%26make%3DVolkswagen%26model%3DCalifornia%26postcode%3DB64%25205LL%26sort%3Dprice-asc%26year-from%3D2022%26flrfc%3D1&calc-deposit=6319&calc-term=48&calc-mileage=10000

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Actually my 2008 T5 has only done 80k miles in 18 years but they were all done by me.

 

[sidepod]

Given that the dealer was incapable of correctly diagnosing a faulty starter motor (not exactly a difficult task!) I think the chances of a successful outcome here is minimal!

Get your money back.