new cali owner later this week

outandabout66 · Dec 14, 2022

Hi everyone

We are excited to be (hopefully) picking up and driving off our new cali ocean from preston VW dealership vans later this week. We have hired calis a few times just to check we liked it and so ordered one about 12 months ago- its finally here !

We are newbies so hopefully I wont irritate anyone with questions !

does anyone have insurance advice? I’ve read conflicting advice both here and via google. we have a ‘clean’ insurance profile . i have been quoted between £ 450 and £1050 …. (the later was from comfort which was recommended elsewhere on the forum )

it looks like joining as a VIP member here is a no brainier ? also camping and caravan club had the cheapest online quote as long as we were members - I guess its worth joining ?

I’ve been watching ‘top 10 new camper van must do/ must get/ must not do ‘ videos on youtube but any other newbie advice anyone has will be greatly received . hopefully I can be a net contributer on here in the future !!!

PS— videos mentioned (in no particular order ….. ) ridge monkey cooking pans , beware being over the limit even if not driving ?!! , magnetic lights, thetford 335, awning storm fittings / side panels , collapsible pans and buckets , various covers such as windscreen / pop top etc

thanks again - photos etc to follow once we have seen and bought it !

Hawthorn37 · Dec 14, 2022

I wish you well on your collection - I’m sure you’ll fall in love with your new van like us. Great idea hiring first, it makes you not so much of a newbie. Worth downloading the vehicle collection checklist - you’ll find it under Resources.

On insurance - a number of threads running, started over the past 12 months. It’s a very personal thing - depends on your perception of risk really. When looking at past posts, I’ve noticed over the year that people getting new vans are facing more “must do’s” and some high quotes by insurance companies, due to the increased replacement value of Calis. New for Old, and contents/camping cover were a couple of items we homed in on, plus a UK based customer team.

outandabout66 · Dec 14, 2022

Hawthorn37 said:
I wish you well on your collection - I’m sure you’ll fall in love with your new van like us. Great idea hiring first, it makes you not so much of a newbie. Worth downloading the vehicle collection checklist - you’ll find it under Resources.

On insurance - a number of threads running, started over the past 12 months. It’s a very personal thing - depends on your perception of risk really. When looking at past posts, I’ve noticed over the year that people getting new vans are facing more “must do’s” and some high quotes by insurance companies, due to the increased replacement value of Calis. New for Old, and contents/camping cover were a couple of items we homed in on, plus a UK based customer team.

Thanks very much for your advice and support - much appreciated

I have paid and joined as VIP so hopefully will be able to download that checklist but awaiting ‘approval’ before I can do so !

Mehdime · Dec 14, 2022

Congrats! My advice on buying “stuff” for the van is: don’t. Get the essentials (a toilet if you plan wild camping, bed sheet / pillows / duvet, cutlery, a set of camping pots and pans). And then go camping. You’ll quickly see if you need more stuff.

I wouldn’t look at awnings, side panels, windscreen or pop-top covers or ridge monkeys until you’ve used the van a fair bit and found you really need these.

Graham T · Dec 15, 2022

Fish111111111. · Dec 15, 2022

Welcome try NFU for insurance, its was several hundred pounds less for me and the additional benefits are great!

HowieDog · Dec 15, 2022

Good deal with safeguard last few years.

BigJohn · Dec 15, 2022

We used LV+ for insurance - the price was much cheaper than the 'specialists'. We checked that the cover was for camping equipment, cooking fires etc. and it seemed to cover everything we needed.

We unfortunately had to claim soon after taking delivery when someone hit us from behind - the claim process was pretty painless and efficient... that is until the other party decided they hadn't hit us after all (despite stopping, offering to pay cash and letting us take a photo of her driving licence!) so now it looks like we're off to court! Can't really fault LV throughout it all though.

rpevans99 · Dec 16, 2022

We have 3 vehicles - including the Cali, a nearly new Golf and an old Fox - on a combined policy with LV for £870 for the year. Full no claims.

outandabout66 · Dec 17, 2022

Thanks for all the friendly and supportive feedback so far !

just an update - my collection day from the dealership has been pushed back to next week - understandable reasons - ice / delays etc

on insurance - I went with safeguard in the end. I did phone round quite a few inc admiral , comfort , NFU , CAMH club. we have a multicar policy with admiral but they wouldn’t quote at all ! there was massive differences in prices , need for trackers etc. I was surprised by how much the expected mileage mattered - I honestly don’t know what that will be so guessed at 6000 …..(any thoughts gratefully received - I appreciate everyone will be different in what they do. we will be UK , short stay trips )

on ‘bits and pieces ‘ - thanks Mehdime - Its tempting to go crazy and buy loads of stuff but sensible to see how it goes. I must confess I do like the idea of an awning and side panels with a storm fitting but happy to see what others think . we just got some basics as suggested

I plan to take my bike around on some trips so have a vw tailgate bike carrier fitted by the dealers- I hope it will be easy to take on and off -I imagine using the awning and side panels as a sort of changing room/ garage…… ( I am a newbie so go easy ! ) - as I said above I have hired a cali before and didn’t have any ‘extras’ apart from the bike rack

the excitement of the collection is building !

OxonCalifornia · Dec 18, 2022

outandabout66 said:
Thanks for all the friendly and supportive feedback so far !

just an update - my collection day from the dealership has been pushed back to next week - understandable reasons - ice / delays etc

on insurance - I went with safeguard in the end. I did phone round quite a few inc admiral , comfort , NFU , CAMH club. we have a multicar policy with admiral but they wouldn’t quote at all ! there was massive differences in prices , need for trackers etc. I was surprised by how much the expected mileage mattered - I honestly don’t know what that will be so guessed at 6000 …..(any thoughts gratefully received - I appreciate everyone will be different in what they do. we will be UK , short stay trips )

on ‘bits and pieces ‘ - thanks Mehdime - Its tempting to go crazy and buy loads of stuff but sensible to see how it goes. I must confess I do like the idea of an awning and side panels with a storm fitting but happy to see what others think . we just got some basics as suggested

I plan to take my bike around on some trips so have a vw tailgate bike carrier fitted by the dealers- I hope it will be easy to take on and off -I imagine using the awning and side panels as a sort of changing room/ garage…… ( I am a newbie so go easy ! ) - as I said above I have hired a cali before and didn’t have any ‘extras’ apart from the bike rack

the excitement of the collection is building !

Im with admiral (& also I am aware of a friend Cali owner with Admiral) and no issues at all with my multi car policy (also have house on it to reduce cost further ...just £50 addition for fully comp from end of Nov when we collected our new cali to at end of April 23. If you are unsure my advice would be take out the Free 5 day VW insurance on collection...dealer sorted for me in showroom then use the next week to sort slow time ...just takes away another thing to sort prior pick up.

Hawthorn37 · Dec 18, 2022

outandabout66 said:
Thanks for all the friendly and supportive feedback so far !

just an update - my collection day from the dealership has been pushed back to next week - understandable reasons - ice / delays etc

on insurance - I went with safeguard in the end. I did phone round quite a few inc admiral , comfort , NFU , CAMH club. we have a multicar policy with admiral but they wouldn’t quote at all ! there was massive differences in prices , need for trackers etc. I was surprised by how much the expected mileage mattered - I honestly don’t know what that will be so guessed at 6000 …..(any thoughts gratefully received - I appreciate everyone will be different in what they do. we will be UK , short stay trips )

on ‘bits and pieces ‘ - thanks Mehdime - Its tempting to go crazy and buy loads of stuff but sensible to see how it goes. I must confess I do like the idea of an awning and side panels with a storm fitting but happy to see what others think . we just got some basics as suggested

I plan to take my bike around on some trips so have a vw tailgate bike carrier fitted by the dealers- I hope it will be easy to take on and off -I imagine using the awning and side panels as a sort of changing room/ garage…… ( I am a newbie so go easy ! ) - as I said above I have hired a cali before and didn’t have any ‘extras’ apart from the bike rack

the excitement of the collection is building !

Well done - a bit daunting isn’t it! On mileage, we originally had quotes for 6k as a couple of insurers said it wasn’t a big deal to up the mileage during the year if you’re going over. As it happened, we had a round trip to Toulouse, and one to Aberdeen from Derbyshire added to our planned year of outings, as once we had the van we couldn’t stop going places!! In the end we’ve done over 9k in 10 months. When I went back to Comfort to increase to 10k they said above 10k it’s unlimited, so we changed to that - about £70 extra.

On side panels, depends the type you buy. We went for lightweight / small storage volume, and speed to pitch, and so bought Outwell. Normally you’d pitch them with sloping sides to get the best space, but we‘ve also pitched them vertically, and although not gap free, you could do a quick change. In my opinion they’re one of the better buys we’ve made., bettered only by the Party Grill 400 (Campinggaz), and Ridge Monkey deep pan with grill lid.