New owner of a 2nd hand Coast (and future new Ocean?) figuring it all out

ThisIsChristoph · Jun 18, 2022

Hi everyone, my little family and I (London) just picked up a very nice 2020 Coast from Liverpool. Joined as a VIP member here this morning after several weeks of reading the odd post here and there and I am now figuring out not only how to use this site and the search functions (there are some pretty old threads here!) but also which insurance to go for, how to kit out the kitchen, where to order water tank cleaning tabs and how to keep the table from clanging around during the drive - it's a long list!

On insurance, which is most urgent, some threads have been useful but as an EU license holder (might now trade that in for a UK one) living in darkest dangerousest London with 0 years of no claims bonus (we've happily NOT owned a car in London for 10 years, we have Zipcar etc!) it's hard to find
a) a willing insurer (it's no from CAMC and Comfort, because London) and
b) one who will quote anthing under £1500 p/a - Adrian Flux quoting me £1500 p/a with £700(!) excess, Admiral £869 p/a with £500 excess and many mean looking caveats and Safeguard is £1700 (with VWCC discount) £350 excess
Trawling through comparison websites is driving me nuts, trying to figure out which one's the least evil and offers reasonable EU cover & breakdown. I've looked at the VW insurance which I got as the free 5 day driveaway insurance from the dealership and it's surprisingly decent (lowest excess of them all at 250 AND vandalism promise, though still £1500 p/a, and no contents cover) - does anyone have experience with that one?
I was going to get GAP insurance through ALA/Honest John.

So as soon as I have insurance sorted I'll get back on here and start searching the threads. I saw an excellent handover checklist - is there a list of 'absolute essentials' to buy to kit the campervan out?

Part two of this adventure is that we are considering putting in an order for a new California Ocean and trading this one in. The garage sounded open to this but of couldn't/would't make a committment, or at what price - though they did offer a 8% discount on a new order. Does anyone have experience with this and have any advice to offer?

This might need breaking into different posts in different places - please tell me if this is a case, I am quite the newbie.

Thank you all!
Christoph

Stu@rt · Jun 18, 2022

ThisIsChristoph said:
Hi everyone, my little family and I (London) just picked up a very nice 2020 Coast from Liverpool. Joined as a VIP member here this morning after several weeks of reading the odd post here and there and I am now figuring out not only how to use this site and the search functions (there are some pretty old threads here!) but also which insurance to go for, how to kit out the kitchen, where to order water tank cleaning tabs and how to keep the table from clanging around during the drive - it's a long list!

On insurance, which is most urgent, some threads have been useful but as an EU license holder (might now trade that in for a UK one) living in darkest dangerousest London with 0 years of no claims bonus (we've happily NOT owned a car in London for 10 years, we have Zipcar etc!) it's hard to find
a) a willing insurer (it's no from CAMC and Comfort, because London) and
b) one who will quote anthing under £1500 p/a - Adrian Flux quoting me £1500 p/a with £700(!) excess, Admiral £869 p/a with £500 excess and many mean looking caveats and Safeguard is £1700 (with VWCC discount) £350 excess
Trawling through comparison websites is driving me nuts, trying to figure out which one's the least evil and offers reasonable EU cover & breakdown. I've looked at the VW insurance which I got as the free 5 day driveaway insurance from the dealership and it's surprisingly decent (lowest excess of them all at 250 AND vandalism promise, though still £1500 p/a, and no contents cover) - does anyone have experience with that one?
I was going to get GAP insurance through ALA/Honest John.

So as soon as I have insurance sorted I'll get back on here and start searching the threads. I saw an excellent handover checklist - is there a list of 'absolute essentials' to buy to kit the campervan out?

Part two of this adventure is that we are considering putting in an order for a new California Ocean and trading this one in. The garage sounded open to this but of couldn't/would't make a committment, or at what price - though they did offer a 8% discount on a new order. Does anyone have experience with this and have any advice to offer?

This might need breaking into different posts in different places - please tell me if this is a case, I am quite the newbie.

Thank you all!
Christoph

Welcome.
The table is the easy win from your post. It is likely that it isn't docked properly (Not caught on the catch nearest the floor. Just ensure you apply some mild pressure as you slide it back the last few inches and ensure that the catch clips in ok at the bottom - that should do the trick.

ThisIsChristoph · Jun 18, 2022

Stu@rt said:
Welcome.
The table is the easy win from your post. It is likely that it isn't docked properly (Not caught on the catch nearest the floor. Just ensure you apply some mild pressure as you slide it back the last few inches and ensure that the catch clips in ok at the bottom - that should do the trick.

There was indeed a catch at the bottom (which I only just discovered) which hadn’t engaged - genius. Easy wins are good wins - thank you Stu@rt!

phil keegan · Jun 19, 2022

Not in your situation (and don’t live in London) but try a quote from AIB for insurance. They were a recommendation from this forum, give a discount to those that use it and for me turned out really competitive.

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Perfectos · Jun 19, 2022

Try LV for insurance sensible premium decent cover.

not sure about the effect of Zero NCB, with any insurer, you could explain your situation re Zip car and ask the call handler to refer to underwriter to re assess the risk (rather than the previous loaded data on the screen in front of the call handler. Do you have proof or regular Zip car hire as back up and prof of vehicle usage without damage etc?

also try A plan insurance - old school broker who actually speak to you before quoting a premium

Perfectos · Jun 19, 2022

You may be better off taking out VW assist cover independent to insurance.

VW assist is circa £160 for two years cover includes EU (via partners )

Perfectos · Jun 19, 2022

GAP insurance

personally not a fan, having had previous experience where the insurer would not pay out the full amount.

if you go down the GAP route read the Smalls very very carefully, not all that glitters is Gold !

Perfectos · Jun 19, 2022

Re new order

Use your coast first, get used to it and how you use it.

IMO 8% discount is reasonable ATM,

future events (cost of living pressure) may make it more economical to wait for a period of time ? (Who knows)

either way use your coast, this will show you how you use it and what factory extras you would / would not like on an Ocean