Prospective Buyer - Rate My Spec!

[pumpsump]

Hi All, tapping your collective experience to guide my choice...

New T32 LWB Highline Kombi 150 Manual; Options: LED headlights, front passenger storage bench seat, 2+1 rear seat, solid rear tailgate; aftermarket metal bulkhead, deadlocks, ply lining, sound deadening and seat covers of course.

And here's why: Daily drive for work as a sparks so space for tools & some materials, plus carting around bits for home renovation (so seats will probs need to come out now & then), occasional weekend warrior biking for 4-5 hairy a****d blokes in UK and Europe. Don't do much city driving - DSG looks great but not essential, Highline spec mostly because of heated front screen (I'm a long term Ford owner and I'd hate to do without one now). Sensible side says met indium or silver, heart says Ravenna blue - once I saw it in the flesh in the dealership.

It will have to tick a lot of boxes, so for the trades, mtber's among you and anyone else who wants to share their wisdom, rate my spec! What would you ditch and what would you add?

Cheers, Al

 

[mjn]

Welcome. I’m a plumber but have a kombi that I use for family days and camping. Could you get away with a T30 and have a solid paint? Use the money you’ve saved to put towards DSG! I’ve just installed a Kombi Nation bed frame which doubles as extra shelf when folded back on itself. This will be used as a bed in my T6.1 if it ever turns up! Doesn’t matter what colour your van is, it’ll always be dirty. Sparks never clean up after themselves!

 

[dubber36]

Sparks never clean up after themselves!

And sweeping everything behind the bath panel is cleaning up?

 

[Gavinda]

And sweeping everything behind the bath panel is cleaning up?

How very dare you! I'll have you know I put all mine neatly under the floorboards!

 

[mjn]

And sweeping everything behind the bath panel is cleaning up?

Definitely. Stops it going to landfill!

 

[Gavinda]

Don't get a double front seat! They're uncomfortable, too close to the dash and not big enough for 2 adults, never mind how much it'll cost to upgrade to a single after the fact if you did go for the bench. I'm a heating engineer this is how I've got mine set up;

https://www.t6forum.com/threads/kombi-workvan-racking.24309/post-336402

 

[pumpsump]

You know - builders bin is under the floorboards

 

[pumpsump]

Gavinda - thanks for front seat comment, I'll try it out when I go to the dealers. Liking that bespoke rack out, my plan was to ply sides and have a couple of rails for different heights of bed board, set low for toolboxes/materials, set high for bikes below/luggage above.

mjn - is a close call on SWB/LWB and manual/DSG. If I can get away with SWB I will, it's bikes that push me to consider LWB. As for DSG, never had auto so won't miss it, but if its that good... and colour? I'm a sucker for shiny things, hide your tools!

 

[Gavinda]

Always LWB because why not? As for DSG, I like mine and it was the only choice with the engine I wanted but I'm under no illusions that it's the best auto box and certainly has its shortcomings so if you're happy with a manual I would save the money and spend it on something else. Have you seen fortana red for a colour, it would be my choice by a long way if I were to get a 6.1 looks lovely in picture and even better in the metal. https://www.t6forum.com/threads/team-fortana-red.22579/

 

[$immo]

And sweeping everything behind the bath panel is cleaning up?

Initial verification of a system involves plugging in a Henry Hoover and cleaning up to check it's all working and live. #Sparks.

 

[3crispies]

we have motexion bulkhead as with weight of tools flying around in event of a crash is not an option, depends on use also mine is just dewalt tool boxes and fixing trays which take minutes to remove. Tailgates hold resale better but then again panel vans then convert are more tax/vat efficient. Watch the T32 height if like us like to slide into low car parks, crept in a Leicester square other day with a claimed height of 1820mm but was butt clenching close

 

[DaveD]

From what you say you'd use it for, it's hard to see a T30 running out of weight carrying capacity. A T30 rides nicer, apparently.

 

[czmate1999]

Gavinda - thanks for front seat comment, I'll try it out when I go to the dealers. Liking that bespoke rack out, my plan was to ply sides and have a couple of rails for different heights of bed board, set low for toolboxes/materials, set high for bikes below/luggage above.

mjn - is a close call on SWB/LWB and manual/DSG. If I can get away with SWB I will, it's bikes that push me to consider LWB. As for DSG, never had auto so won't miss it, but if its that good... and colour? I'm a sucker for shiny things, hide your tools!

Go LWB, definitely worth it!

 

[czmate1999]

Always LWB because why not? As for DSG, I like mine and it was the only choice with the engine I wanted but I'm under no illusions that it's the best auto box and certainly has its shortcomings so if you're happy with a manual I would save the money and spend it on something else. Have you seen fortana red for a colour, it would be my choice by a long way if I were to get a 6.1 looks lovely in picture and even better in the metal. https://www.t6forum.com/threads/team-fortana-red.22579/

The dsg is good and makes driving it so much less work. If it was a sports car or boy racer type of vehicle I’d go manual but this is a van— DST would also help on future resale…

 

[czmate1999]

Don’t forget the led headlights and adaptive cruise control

 

[pumpsump]

Initial verification with a Henry? Nah - socket & see, wouldn't want to get the Megger all dirty

 

[pumpsump]

Thanks for all your input so far, much appreciated

LED headlights are top of the list, so many lovely toys to choose from, have to draw a line somewhere.

LWB Kombis only in T32 as I understand, but may be wrong. Fortana red does look good, much better than Ron on the Transit. Dealers must have sprinkled fairy dust or powdered unicorn over the showroom models, that blue was mesmerising

 

[pumpsump]

Do the uprated springs on a T32 over the others increase the ride height, wasn't expecting that!

 

[Skyliner33]

Do the uprated springs on a T32 over the others increase the ride height, wasn't expecting that!

First I’ve heard about it as well.

 

[Ozi]

As it’s a Kombi, and if order lead time accuracy is important to you, be vary wary on checking if the dealer has confirmed factory allocation slots before ordering.

VW Is currently swamped with orders and PV orders and coming through quicker than Kombi’s. Most quoted delivery times for an order now are Nov/Dec and some into spring 21. But it all depends on whether the dealer you’re are talking to has used up all of their currently confirmed factory allocation or not.....it’s not an equal system so don’t assume it’s going to be the same lead time wherever you order from...it most definitely wont be.

Those with factory slots will be able to tell you a build month, and you can then currently add on 6-7 weeks for shipping and delivery once built. Dealers who have used their slots will simply take your order and give you the stock lead time quote, (often quoted as 16-20 weeks) and you’ll just end up dangling and waiting an awful lot longer.

And shop around for quotes too. With strong demand and inflated second hand prices, these things are selling themselves and a lot of dealers simply can’t be arsed to make any effort. So don’t assume your local dealer will give you the best quote as there is a lot of variation in discounts out there. The best recent offers ( inc first £1000 factory extras free if still available) have been around the 18 to 19% discount area as a benchmark, but some dealers won’t go anywhere near that, so do some leg work.

Dealers that I know have recently been giving good deals are Ipswich VWVC, and Heritage in Bristol. There will be others, and I wouldn’t worry about distance as many will deliver it for you free anyway. But make sure you check factory allocation too. Your other option is to ask if they have a stock order similar to your spec that can be modified to your exact spec. That can reduce delivery time hugely.