[LFC Phil]

Hi all,

Bit of a long post this sorry...

Our company car goes back in April so being a bit of a car geek I started looking at its replacement (to buy this time) about a year ago.
I test drove an M340i and loved it. However, since lockdown, we had loads of time to think about future plans and decided to buy a VW California Campervan. We have always fancied having one, so we hired one for 2 days in August. I'm glad we did, as we were quite surprised. We were sure it would be right for us, but we were left a little disappointed to be honest. It was coming in at £67k with discount, so a lot of money. Then there was about £5-6k of extras needed to get it looking and working better.
We found the overall build quality and refinement to be nowhere near as good as BMW/Audi. It is essentially a van, a very nice van, but still a van and you could tell. There was no electrical adjustment on the seats and no leather option. The infotainment system is not the best. There were a few other bits and pieces that we didn't like, and after initially deciding to not order one, we changed our minds and went and ordered one in early September. We knew there were compromises, but we tried talking ourselves away from them. We were initially told delivery would be by the end of 2020, a bit early as we've still got the company car until April, but we'd have coped! Then it went to March delivery. Next thing we find out, by enquiring ourselves as VW never contacted us, that we had a Provisional build date of June 2021!! Apparently the 204bhp engine has had to be changed due to not meeting RDE2 emission standards - who'd have thought - VW and emissions problems!
We had still had some nagging doubts about the whole thing, so this delay pushed us into cancelling the order a couple of weeks ago. We just can't take the risk of being without a car for a few months, plus we'd lost all confidence in VW. We also thought long and hard about the amount of use it would get, and it really isn't the ideal time for us to go camping just yet. We just got carried away in all the hype and YouTube videos of the "wonderful" van life...

So, we have now ordered an M340i G21. I really wanted one and was a little sad that I wouldn't get one as we were buying the Cali, so I'm actually quite excited. However, as an active member on the California forum I've had a load of grief from people on there, openly slating me and my decision, together with slating BMW! I have owned a few BM's over the years and I know that they p all over VW for quality and the customer service is completely different. I would have been buying a Cali from VW Commercial Vehicles - the local dealership is a bit of a dump and they weren't interested in doing me a deal, so I purchased from a dealer 130 miles away. With BMW, I got my local dealer to match the best price I'd found, no problem. I asked what the lead time would be on an M340i and he said about 12 weeks. We ordered last week and he phoned me a couple of days ago to say as the dealership already had a build slot, they are expecting delivery on week 9, which is early March. I am still gobsmacked. It was looking like 12 months with VW.


Our order is for an M340i Touring
Oxide Grey
Technology Plus pack
Comfort plus pack
Aluminium mesh trim
Front M Sport Seats
Standard black leather
Cerium grey alloys/trim
Red brake calipers

We didn't go for the pano roof - we have one in our current car and it's ok, nothing special, plus we like dark interiors.
The Laserlights are my only "worry" - maybe I should have ordered them, but I'm hoping I won't regret that.

The bonus is that there's no compromises with the BM, unlike the Cali. There's nothing I can think of that isn't very good - maybe just the runflats but that's easily sorted if I need to. there's also not £5-6k worth of extras that need adding to the BM! For the Cali this included lowering springs, side bars, leather seats, gas and electric bits, spoilers, etc... not essentials but make it a lot better. So around £72k in total. That's a lot of cash, however those on the Cali forum reminded me that it was a much better financial proposition than a new BMW, and they are probably right when you take depreciation into account. But it's not just about that is it. You only live once and I'm at that stage of my life where I can finally afford a nice motor, so I'm going to have what I really want. The wife was never really fond of the camping aspect either, so she is relieved. She's well into detailing too, so at least she'll be able to reach the BM's roof

Soon, hopefully, we'll be doing the same road trips that we thought we'd be doing in the Cali, but stopping at cafe's and hotels instead of getting the gas stove on and stopping in a field. Oh, and getting there a lot quicker too!

[xenon]

Sounds excellent. Better than your football team at the moment, anyway... 🤓

[LFC Phil]

Originally Posted by xenon

Sounds excellent. Better than your football team at the moment, anyway... 🤓

Er....yeah...let's not talk about that

[AlexM666]

You made the right choice :-)

[Alpine110]

Sounds a great specification- before placing the M340i order it was going to be a Mk8 Golf .... 22-26 week delivery for an R or a Clubsport.

[paulockenden]

Drop the seats and you can sleep in the back - who needs a camper van!

[nil98]

That was quite a choice 340i or Camper van!

Nice spec on the 340 (apart from the black leather - I don;t do black interiors) I too went for Oxide Grey no regrets and not too many about in that colour.

Enjoy it.
regards
Neil

[Froggie401]

Great choice - oxide grey is a great looking colour.

[zorroone]

Loved the story... particularly so as I too had thought about buying a VW minibus but remained with the G21. Whilst I haven't knocked up a lot of mileage due to Covid I have enjoyed washing it lol. Its the first time I have experienced PPF and a ceramic coating and it is just absolutely awesome, best money I have spent on the car. IMO no comparison to the other protection products.

PS Its great to see so many new tourers... looking forward to lots of photos.

[LFC Phil]

Originally Posted by paulockenden

Drop the seats and you can sleep in the back - who needs a camper van!

Absolutely!!!

[LFC Phil]

Originally Posted by nil98

That was quite a choice 340i or Camper van!

Nice spec on the 340 (apart from the black leather - I don;t do black interiors) I too went for Oxide Grey no regrets and not too many about in that colour.

Enjoy it.
regards
Neil

Thanks. We've just had 3 years of cream leather in our company car and whilst it looks fab, it's a nightmare with jeans, dogs, coffee, pop etc, so we've played it safe this time with black. We actually like dark interiors, the blue stitching will hopefully break it up a bit too.

[xenon]

I went for the Mocha with blue stitching for the same reason. Oyster looks great on day one....

[paulockenden]

I like dark interiors so went for black merino leather.

Also ummed and arred over black wheels, tried the various options in the configurator but thought that back wheels (and grille) looked nicest with Tanzanite. But like black interiors, I think black wheels can be a bit Marmite.

[nil98]

Originally Posted by LFC Phil

Thanks. We've just had 3 years of cream leather in our company car and whilst it looks fab, it's a nightmare with jeans, dogs, coffee, pop etc, so we've played it safe this time with black. We actually like dark interiors, the blue stitching will hopefully break it up a bit too.

Originally Posted by LFC Phil

it's a nightmare with jeans, dogs, coffee, pop etc, so we've played it safe this time with

Haha true but don't want to worry you, but the same sh1t exists, you just won't be able to see it!

[nil98]

Originally Posted by zorroone

Loved the story... particularly so as I too had thought about buying a VW minibus but remained with the G21. Whilst I haven't knocked up a lot of mileage due to Covid I have enjoyed washing it lol. Its the first time I have experienced PPF and a ceramic coating and it is just absolutely awesome, best money I have spent on the car. IMO no comparison to the other protection products.

PS Its great to see so many new tourers... looking forward to lots of photos.

Originally Posted by LFC Phil

Thanks. We've just had 3 years of cream leather in our company car and whilst it looks fab, it's a nightmare with jeans, dogs, coffee, pop etc, so we've played it safe this time with black. We actually like dark interiors, the blue stitching will hopefully break it up a bit too.

Originally Posted by zorroone

Loved the story... particularly so as I too had thought about buying a VW minibus but remained with the G21. Whilst I haven't knocked up a lot of mileage due to Covid I have enjoyed washing it lol. Its the first time I have experienced PPF and a ceramic coating and it is just absolutely awesome, best money I have spent on the car. IMO no comparison to the other protection products.

PS Its great to see so many new tourers... looking forward to lots of photos.

We used to put ceramic coating on our race car and I'm convinced it made a tangible difference though it doesn't last like the manufacturers claim. On my 5 series I swear I saw 3-5 mpg improvement initially but it soon tailed off.

[Jim_330e]

Your M340i sounds nice but I still confused as to how on earth you can be deciding between an M340i and campervan. Surely almost everyone who has a camper van has it as a 2nd or 3rd vehicle? You wouldn't have one as your only mode of transport?

[Keith_C]

Originally Posted by xenon

Sounds excellent. Better than your football team at the moment, anyway... 🤓

Oi, you can pack that in or you'll get sent to...errr...bugger, someone beat me to it!!

LFC Phil, think you chose wisely, what I will say though, Visibility pack was the option I wasn't bothered about when searching for mine, found a car with the Packs I did want and the Visibility Pack. So glad I did, the laser lights are awesome and would be of much use bombing around your local roads at night.

[LFC Phil]

Originally Posted by Jim_330e

Your M340i sounds nice but I still confused as to how on earth you can be deciding between an M340i and campervan. Surely almost everyone who has a camper van has it as a 2nd or 3rd vehicle? You wouldn't have one as your only mode of transport?

Well there's the thing...it was going to be our main vehicle, to use as an everyday driver. We had read and watched loads of stuff about it being great as a daily driver, but the reality is is that maybe it is ok, but it's not going to be a patch on the M340i as a daily and for blasting between Wales and the Midlands, which is our main usage (when not in lockdown of course!).

For overnight stays, the BMW is rubbish compared to the Cali but we've reconsidered our travelling plans post Covid and we'll just stay in hotels instead - at least they have a toilet

[LFC Phil]

Just had an update from our dealer today - we ordered on 25/1 and today the car has left the factory - wow!!! I am impressed, but then again anything would have been better than VW. Still, that's mightily impressive

[xenon]

Mine left yesterday. They might be on the same boat.

[Alpine110]

Wow that is quick. I thought the dealer was being optimistic when they stated end of March delivery to me, something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

[verysideways]

Wonder if a roof tent will fit on a G21?