Cali Ocean to Ducatos to Grand California in 20 years-Glad to be back!

[Woody Woodwood]

So glad to be back with VW. We bought our first California in 2007 and it was great. We thought we would upgrade to something with a loo/shower and what followed was 10 years of different Ducato based motorhomes, Autotrail (Quite good), IH (multiple faults and poor aftersales service), Autosleeper (quite good), Adria (terrible). second California Ocean in 2020 (superb but still too small and no loo). Finally we bought a GC 600 and it's superb. Honestly for those who complain about their Grand California I can honestly say they are amongst the very best. No more Fiat dealer blaming Adria dealer and vice versa. No more dodgy Fiat build, noisy door, engine problems etc. No more Adria cupboards moving and creaking when on the road. No more Adria dealer ordering the wrong parts ( noisy panoramic window) and blaming Adria themselves. (Wandahome in SouthCave- terrible service from them). We decided to look for a Grey 2024/25 model (last of the solar equipped 600s) and found a lovely one at a great price and with the remainder of the 5 plus promise. Were absolutely thrilled to be back with VW and the Cali family.

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[pchmlk]

I love that!
I'm constantly considering a larger van - there's 4 of us and the mornings are a nightmare, there's no room. I keep looking at various Ducato based vans but the GC makes a lot of sense.
Is the bed above the seats useable realistically?

 

[Woody Woodwood]

I love that!
I'm constantly considering a larger van - there's 4 of us and the mornings are a nightmare, there's no room. I keep looking at various Ducato based vans but the GC makes a lot of sense.
Is the bed above the seats useable realistically?

I would say it’s best for kids. There are just the two of us and we use the back bed. Someone on here said that it’s difficult to turn over because the distance between the upper bed and the roof is narrow. Others have said it’s great so I guess it’s worth finding one and getting up there to try it. We use the top bed for storage so it works for us

 

[pchmlk]

Thanks, yes I keep looking for one for sale nearby to snoop around in.

 

[Woody Woodwood]

There’s not many, certainly in comparison to Fiat based motorhomes. In the end I rang around a few VW Commercial dealers until I found one to look around. Another plus for VW is that it’s OK to test drive before you buy. Motorhome dealers don’t like that. Having looked at one nearby I bought a ex demonstration GC sight unseen from a VW Commercial dealer 500 miles away and they took my Adria in px again without seeing it. A bit of a leap of faith but it turned out to be an excellent move, it’s in lovely condition.