Excited !!

[The JRM Cali Crew]

Hi everyone,
Just about to get our first California. Had a Mazda Bongo a few years back, which was great back then, with a community of Bongo owners out there that is much like California owners. We were interested in getting a campervan last year but then hired a Transit campervan last year, which put us off the idea of getting a campervan. Then we hired a California Ocean from Road Surfer last month for a trip to Scotland and we thought it was brilliant. It persuaded us to buy one. We want a 4motion Ocean. It was what we had from Road Surfer (who were brilliant BTW) and it just ticked all the boxes. We stayed at a camp site on Ardnamurchan on which the 4 wheel drive came in very handy, or at least it was very reassuring, so we decided that if we were to get one a 4motion would be good. There are so few 4motion Ocean's out there though but, as i write this, we are off to Northampton tomorrow (a 3 hour drive!) to look at one at VW dealership, so fingers crossed! We missed out on a couple of really good looking ones at another dealership so they do get snapped up quickly. No room for procrastination!

 

[Stargazing]

Hi and hopefully, welcome to the CaliClub. Exciting time viewing a potential candidate.
Go with your head not your heart, check over everything carefully including the roof bellows and check it does everything you want it to.
Main dealers will potentially only sell the well maintained ones, but any doubts / red flags then keep looking.
Good luck and feedback to the forum on your thoughts and decision as it is helpful to others.

 

[Perfectos]

Be exited, very exited

Photos required, or it never happened

 

[Wannabecamperman]

Hi everyone,
Just about to get our first California. Had a Mazda Bongo a few years back, which was great back then, with a community of Bongo owners out there that is much like California owners. We were interested in getting a campervan last year but then hired a Transit campervan last year, which put us off the idea of getting a campervan. Then we hired a California Ocean from Road Surfer last month for a trip to Scotland and we thought it was brilliant. It persuaded us to buy one. We want a 4motion Ocean. It was what we had from Road Surfer (who were brilliant BTW) and it just ticked all the boxes. We stayed at a camp site on Ardnamurchan on which the 4 wheel drive came in very handy, or at least it was very reassuring, so we decided that if we were to get one a 4motion would be good. There are so few 4motion Ocean's out there though but, as i write this, we are off to Northampton tomorrow (a 3 hour drive!) to look at one at VW dealership, so fingers crossed! We missed out on a couple of really good looking ones at another dealership so they do get snapped up quickly. No room for procrastination!

To be fair, there are very few times for 99% of UK campers that the Haldex 4 motion ever kicks in to aid traction. And though it's peace of mind, it's a substantial increase in cost (like £80k rather than £68k for the 2WD) for something you'll likely almost never use.

If you have the pennies to spare, then sure - it's piece of mind, but personally the cost-benefit analysis I did for our usage case meant it was prohibitively expensive.

 

[sticky1]

To be fair, there are very few times for 99% of UK campers that the Haldex 4 motion ever kicks in to aid traction. And though it's peace of mind, it's a substantial increase in cost (like £80k rather than £68k for the 2WD) for something you'll likely almost never use.

If you have the pennies to spare, then sure - it's piece of mind, but personally the cost-benefit analysis I did for our usage case meant it was prohibitively expensive.

If you think you’ll need 4 motion I think I would also be checking that it has the diff lock option, haldex alone on very slippy wet grass may not get you going.

 

[mr pg]

We were considering a 4motion, but gives you I think 110kg less payload, which when I totted things up soon disappeared so stuck with 2wd. Not many around with diff lock either.

 

[The JRM Cali Crew]

Hi and hopefully, welcome to the CaliClub. Exciting time viewing a potential candidate.
Go with your head not your heart, check over everything carefully including the roof bellows and check it does everything you want it to.
Main dealers will potentially only sell the well maintained ones, but any doubts / red flags then keep looking.
Good luck and feedback to the forum on your thoughts and decision as it is helpful to others.

Thank you. Good advice! Watch this space!

 

[The JRM Cali Crew]

A bit last minute but what are the most important questions to ask/things to look for at the dealership?
It’s a 2022 Ocean 4motion.

 

[Wannabecamperman]

A bit last minute but what are the most important questions to ask/things to look for at the dealership?
It’s a 2022 Ocean 4motion.

Service history and remaining transferable. Also diff lock as above or walk away

 

[AdamsFamily]

Hope you got on ok today... As Stargazing said, head over heart, its easy to get sucked in.
I remember a few bad visits to dealers that put us off buying from them even though we loved what we saw. Rather deal will someone decent and get something close than a bad attitude.

Hopefully you had a good experience and are on the way to a purchase.

 

[Hawthorn37]

A bit last minute but what are the most important questions to ask/things to look for at the dealership?
It’s a 2022 Ocean 4motion.

There’s a number of checklists posted on the Resources section of the forum which are designed for this exact purpose. See the top headers. I think you should get these, but if not you’ll need to subscribe to VIP status at £15 a year.

 

[SusiBus]

Yes a 'diff lock' is the icing on the cake, especially if you're thinking about tackling mud or snow. But driving on twisty mountain roads, there no scrubbing of wheels on hairpin bends, and always a more planted feel all the time. Finally, always in demand when you decide to sell.
A biased view from a owner having had T5.1, T6 and now a T6.1 Cali 4Motions, all with diff locks, which to be honest has been more use in selling than on the road.

 

[Viktorgeorge]

Yes a 'diff lock' is the icing on the cake, especially if you're thinking about tackling mud or snow. But driving on twisty mountain roads, there no scrubbing of wheels on hairpin bends, and always a more planted feel all the time. Finally, always in demand when you decide to sell.
A biased view from an owner having had T5.1, T6 and now a T6.1 Cali 4Motions, all with diff locks, which to be honest has been more use in selling than on the road.

I have diff lock @SusiBus (which I have never had to use to get out of trouble, though from time to time I do engage it on soft surfaces to exercise it) and always assumed that when engaged it would scrub the wheels on tarmac surfaces. Are you saying that the VW electronic diff lock is more tolerant in that regard?

I also wonder if occasionally engaging the diff lock is good for it and how often would be ideal?

 

[SusiBus]

Sorry my post has miss led you. I didn't mean l use the diff lock when driving on twisty mountain roads. Your right, it would seriously scrubbing the tyres.
I meant with a 4Motion there's no scrubbing of the front tyres on sharp uphill corners.

 

[CaliforniaPhil]

It's worth checking what bellows are fitted. The first new bellows were started around Nov 2022. If its before this it probably has the old (non leaking) bellows, which are ok.

It's not a problem having the new bellows but you might need to buy a cali wrap or topper. If you want to use the upper bed in the rain. Get the dealer to knock it off the price.

Our 72 plate 204bhp 4motion is great, no diff lock and never missed it. It might use a bit more fuel but we sometimes tow a caravan. No wheelspin when pulling off and plenty of power. We are not about to sell it but when the time comes, I hope it will retain its value better. It's got the new bellows and we have had them swapped from S03 to 4 to 5 and finally 6.

Weight can be a problem, especially if there are more than 2 of you. It's very easy to go over the max 3080kg total weight limit.

 

[lohr500]

We went for 4motion and the rear diff lock option when we ordered our new Cali which was delivered in March 2024. We also chose the all-seasons tyre option.

The 4motion and all season tyres helped a lot in the snow last winter and the Cali handled the steep farm track to our house easily.

Driving on wet grass is also drama free, but obviously it doesn't have the ground clearance or underbody protection for any serious off-roading (although I have seen videos where T6.1's go places I would never dream of taking ours!!)

I've never needed to use the diff lock in anger, but as @Viktorgeorge says, I too "exercise" it every month or so on soft ground, just to keep the mechanism free. And it's good to know it is there if it is ever needed.

It did add a lot to the cost, but hopefully it will make the Cali worth more when we do decide to sell it.