Does Preston van centre still specialise in Californias?

[Cavilln]

Hi
Any recent experience of Preston van centre?

I had a terrible time at Manchester van centre and switched to Preston. Over the years (15+) they have fixed some very Cali-specific things for me, like leaking roof bellows, and even removed and replaced the entire kitchen so a dent could be fixed.

BUT I get the impression from their website that they don't 'do' Calis any more. I know they service them (any VW Van centre will) but do they still understand the Cali-specific things?

Thanks

 

[Resfeber]

Hi
Any recent experience of Preston van centre?

I had a terrible time at Manchester van centre and switched to Preston. Over the years (15+) they have fixed some very Cali-specific things for me, like leaking roof bellows, and even removed and replaced the entire kitchen so a dent could be fixed.

BUT I get the impression from their website that they don't 'do' Calis any more. I know they service them (any VW Van centre will) but do they still understand the Cali-specific things?

Thanks

AFAIK No
See VW California van centre locator

Find A Volkswagen Van Centre Near Me | VW Vans

Find the nearest Volkswagen Van Centre to your location for servicing & repair, rentals and sales of all campervan, van and VW commercial vehicle products.

www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk

Your best bet from Manchester would be Swansways Liverpool or JCT Leeds
I’m biased have used Liverpool van centre for last 3 services, on 2 vans, All in repairs x 2 and paid repairs x1.
They let me leave van for 2 weeks while on hol.
Had excellent service every time.
Travel from Cumbria for this so a round trip of 300 miles. Really stuck for anything Camper related near home but for a mechanical transporter breakdown I have VW transporter van centre in Carlisle.
From Manchester would be about 70 miles round trip

 

[Cavilln]

Thanks Resfeber very helpful I may switch to Liverpool (similar journey for me to Preston).

 

[Cutdweller]

We have also had a terrible time with Group 1 VW, Manchester - we won’t be returning there.

 

[Sancho Panza]

All VW Van Centre Workshops are able to work on VW Camper vehicles.
The only reduction in numbers has been in the Sales outlets.

 

[Sancho Panza]

To be clear, The VW Approved Camper sites relate to Sales outlets, any VW Commercial vehicle site ought to be able to attend to Workshop issues, there is no exclusion. Whether they choose to work on California models is a different matter.

 

[SeaKale]

To be clear, The VW Approved Camper sites relate to Sales outlets, any VW Commercial vehicle site ought to be able to attend to Workshop issues, there is no exclusion. Whether they choose to work on California models is a different matter.

The Preston showroom has a Cali on display and do work on California models regularly. On-site parking is challenging!

 

[NJacques]

No Preston are a commercial vehicle centre. The nearest Cali specific is Liverpool. The Preston service manager told me this today.
My cali is in Preston atm for some camper issues, and I haven’t been filled with confidence which is why I quizzed the service manager and am on this site this evening.

I think it is very misleading, we bought our 6.1 from Preston in 2021 and assumed we should therefore have it maintained there!

 

[dspuk]

I think it is very misleading, we bought our 6.1 from Preston in 2021 and assumed we should therefore have it maintained there!

As mentioned above you can have a Cali serviced and repaired at any van centre. Service is fine but they will have limited Cali experience in their workshop for any camper specialised repair items which should always be kept in mind. They will have mechanics and bulletins, but that’s it.

 

[Cavilln]

Due to the helpful replies on this thread I switched from Preston to Liverpool.

Result: TERRIBLE!

My 20-year old T5 was given a clean bill of health after a routine service. This included an assessment that the brakes were 40% worn. Then ONE WEEK (and about 50 miles) later the van failed the MOT due to excessively worn disks. When they were replaced they were clearly worn and rusted beyond belief. No surprise due to the amount of use they have had, but terrible that Liverpool van centre missed this.

After a complaint (which they acknowledged with an AI-written email...) they apologised and offereed me a free service, Only trouble is I don't want to go back there...

 

[larrylamb]

No Preston are a commercial vehicle centre. The nearest Cali specific is Liverpool. The Preston service manager told me this today.
My cali is in Preston atm for some camper issues, and I haven’t been filled with confidence which is why I quizzed the service manager and am on this site this evening.

I think it is very misleading, we bought our 6.1 from Preston in 2021 and assumed we should therefore have it maintained there!

Not the same at Preston since the excellent Cali salesman Guy Vincent left a few years ago.

 

[andyinluton]

As mentioned above you can have a Cali serviced and repaired at any van centre. Service is fine but they will have limited Cali experience in their workshop for any camper specialised repair items which should always be kept in mind. They will have mechanics and bulletins, but that’s it.

Somewhere like Preston you just need to ring them & check, if the workshop staff haven't changed they will still have all the specialist knowledge for T5-T6 vans.

I am guessing that unless they are a Cali specific dealer their staff won't get sent on the T7 training courses so may lack experience on the newer bits of kit.

Of course for servicing the multivan based Californias can be done at the car dealers ( or certainly at our closest) as the basic multivan is sold through them.