Price overview
The Grand California has been on the market since 2019 and over 10,000 vehicles have been built and delivered since then.
Most of them were originally used as company cars, which means that these vehicles are usually used for 3 years and then put up for sale.
You can now find quite a few used Grand California on the internet and the average price is around 60,000 euros.
Not bad when you consider that Volkswagen has tightened the price screw considerably in recent years and a new Grand California is not available for less than around 80,000 euros – and that for an absolute basic model.
If you add various equipment features at this point, you quickly end up with a price in excess of 100,000 euros.
Not everyone wants or can afford that for a camper and, to be honest, the car isn’t worth 120,000 euros.
I can already hear the cries: “How can you say that?”
Of course, Volkswagen only installs high-quality components in the Grand California, be it the Truma 6 kW heater or add-on parts from Thule, such as the awning or the step.
And of course, the chassis of the Crafter is unrivaled for me.
But hand on heart – there are simply a lot of things missing that have to be retrofitted for a lot of money.
Even in the 2024 facelift, Volkswagen is seriously forgoing a lithium battery, which is not even offered as an option.
However, this price trend runs through the entire industry.
But let’s get back to the topic…
Problems of the Grand California
The internet is full of horror stories surrounding the Grand California. There is even a website – I think it’s called GrandCali.com – that deals exclusively with the problems of this vehicle. 🫣
The Grand California is not without its aches and pains, and that doesn’t exactly make buying a used car any easier.
Let’s take a look at the most common problems and how you can check them during a vehicle inspection.
Water ingress
Even five years after the Grand California was launched, water damage can still be described as the vehicle’s biggest problem.
Volkswagen resisted this for a long time, blaming the customer and improper handling.
For example, until 1.5 years ago, when a brake light leaked, it was claimed that the damage was caused by car washes.
Warranty claims were sometimes rejected.
Fortunately, things look different today – the fault has been recognized and rectified.
There is an official quality improvement measure with the number 94R4.
You can find a detailed explanation of what is being done there in our article on this topic.
Service measure 94R4 – Quality improvement measure Grand California / 3rd brake light and step
3rd brake light is now proactively sealed The mills in Hanover grind slowly, very slowly. On 25.01. Volkswagen has finally forwarded a work instruction to
So if you are looking at a used Grand California, make sure that this measure has been carried out.
A corresponding entry is made in the Volkswagen service booklet.
Unfortunately, this is not the end of the water issue.
In addition to the brake light, the sealing of the GRP roof is also causing massive problems.
Someone at Volkswagen apparently thought it was a good idea to use non-UV-resistant sealant.
This is of course problematic, as a car is frequently exposed to UV radiation.
🫣 There is now an official TPI from Volkswagen for this too and the seal will be replaced under the factory warranty.
Make sure that this measure has also been carried out.
Incidentally, this phenomenon occurs more frequently in vehicles with a white roof seam.
You can read the complete TPI here:
New TPI 2073114 – Repair of GRP roof seal
TPI 2073114 was released at the end of May 2024. In terms of content, the TPI deals with water ingress at the A-pillar caused by
You think you’ve got the water issue behind you now?
Almost… 😅 There are still one or two tricky spots.
Check whether the toilet flap is cracked on the outside.
If this is the case, it definitely needs to be replaced, as water can get in here too.
Take a look inside the toilet shaft to see if moisture has already caused damage.
If the wood on the right and left is rotten or swollen, there is serious water damage.
The floor covering
Whether the floor in the Grand California is pretty or not is in the eye of the beholder.
However, you should definitely pay attention to whether the floor is damaged or wavy.
Individual scratches can of course be concealed with a carpet, but a wavy surface looks quite different.
Repairing or replacing the floor is extremely expensive and costs well over 15,000 euros.
The entire interior fittings have to be removed to replace the floor.
The kitchen
You should definitely check three things in the kitchen:
- Are the hinges of the drawers tight?
Do the drawers wobble when they are pulled out? - Is the refrigerator cooling properly?
If the refrigerator only runs at full speed and does not switch off, there is a known defect in the temperature sensor. - Is the “new” tap installed in the sink?
You can find a report on this here:
New faucet Grand California
After massive problems with the faucet in the Grand California, Volkswagen has finally responded. So far, the model Keramik de Luxe from Reich has been
Wall units
The latches on wall units often break because they are made of plastic and simply break off over time.
Therefore, check the function of all wall units.
Heating
Just a few days ago, a redeeming update was released for the central control unit of the Grand California.
Unfortunately, until then there had been a fault in all GCs delivered, which caused the heating to switch off during operation without any action or apparent reason.
A simple software update of the camper unit fixes this problem.
Therefore, check whether the version with the number SW0110 is installed.
Wondering how you can check this?
No problem:
Camper Unit service menu VW Grand California
To check the software version, for example, you can call up the service menu on the camper unit in your Grand California in two steps
Pleated blinds
The pleated blinds are actually a really good idea and darken your car when needed.
In the first version, however, the fabric or material was far too thin, so that tiny holes appeared in the blackout over time.
Here, too, there has been an update in the form of improved pleated blinds that no longer have this problem.
Battery
The Grand California comes from the factory with two AGM batteries, one for the body and the other as a starter battery.
Many suppliers, especially dealers who leave their vehicles in the yard for long periods of time, do not pay enough attention to the batteries, especially the body battery.
If, for example, the main battery switch in the rear is not switched off, the battery will discharge completely and will be defective after a long period of standing.
Bathroom
In the bathroom, you should take a close look at the joints. Although most vehicles have already been reworked here, the joints must be undamaged, otherwise showering will quickly become a disaster.
The bathroom door should also have an important detail: a small sealing lip should be fitted to the underside of the door.
This was not yet the case for the 2019 / 2020 model years.
Possible frost damage
Frost damage is also common in bathrooms and outdoor showers.
This happens if the water pipes are not completely emptied before the frost period.
A possible leak in the outside shower is easy to identify, a glance into the trunk with the water pump running is enough.
It is more difficult in the bathroom, where the hoses may burst and drip into the vanity unit of the washbasin.
A check with the pump running is also recommended here.
What equipment?
The equipment plays a central role when choosing a camper van.
We have created a small checklist to help you weigh up what makes sense for you and what your new used camper van should and shouldn’t have.
The list is from December 2022, so please bear with me if one or two points are no longer up to date.
However, the equipment itself has not changed.
The ideal equipment for the Grand California
The surcharge list is long, very long. The Grand California now has a base price of 71,000 euros, and with a few extras we quickly reach a range very close to 90,000 euros. Features and extras are, of course, always a matter of taste and, in the end, also a matter of money. But what do you really need? What makes sense? We want to get to the bottom of this matter in this article.
The basic model
The Grand California is basically available in 6 model variants:
- Grand California 600 with 3.5 tons
- Grand California 600 with 3.88 tons
- Grand California 600 with 3.88 tons and all-wheel drive
- Grand California 680 with 3.5 tons
- Grand California 680 with 3.88 tons
- Grand California 680 with 3.88 tons and all-wheel drive
Which model you choose depends on many factors, of course.
Do I need more than two sleeping places? Then the 600 is your friend. 3.5 or 3.88 tons? This depends on the driver’s license, as well as any restrictions and the desired payload.
From our point of view, it is simply not possible to make a recommendation for a basic model, as this is a very individual topic.
Special equipment
Let’s turn our attention to the optional equipment. One of the most important decision: the heating system!
Which heater is the most suitable?
A Truma gas heater is installed in every Grand California ex works. Volkswagen offers a total of 3 different heaters for the camping body. In addition to the already mentioned standard gas heater, you can still choose between a gas / electric heater or a diesel / electric heater. Think very carefully about how you want to use your future Grand California, as the choice of heating system will depend on this.
Gas heating
We would recommend the standard gas heater to anyone who travels mostly in the summer. There are two reasons for this:
- Heating is part of the basic equipment and therefore does not have to be paid extra.
- Is the diesel heater very vulnerable if it is permanently used only in partial load operation. Just that is often the case in the summer. The heating is usually only needed for hot water in the warm months. Since gas can be burned almost without residue, this operation does not harm the gas heater, unlike diesel heating, which then soots and tends to fail.
https://grandcali.com/wdb/der-sommer-geht-zu-ende-die-dieselheizungsprobleme-kommen/
Gas heating + heating rods
This variant can be understood as an upgrade to the gas heater, the electric heating elements cost around 600 euros extra. With them you can heat the water and the interior. This has the advantage that you do not need gas and can therefore heat at a campsite / site that has a flat rate electricity without additional costs. But just the last point is becoming increasingly rare, because as a rule, the actual electricity consumption is paid per kWH. At the prices that are called up by the places, heating is not worth it that way.
Since the gas heating, as described above, does not leave any residues when burning anyway and the partial load operation can be used without any problems, we would do without the heating rods.
Diesel heating
On the road all year? Don’t feel like changing gas cylinders in the middle of the night or in sub-zero temperatures? Then you are exactly right.
If you plan to be on the road with your Grand California all year round, the only choice is the diesel heater.
After our Scandinavia trip in January 2022, at that time still with gas heating, we knew that in the future only diesel heating would be an option. There are a number of reasons for this, one being this complete mess of different gas systems in Europe. Every country has a different gas connection on the bottles. So it needs adapters and or a bottle from the country you are in. Most of the time it is possible to fill up your German gas bottle abroad with an adapter, but not always. Unfortunately, we had to find that out in Sweden and Norway, so you have to accept detours, are bound to opening hours of stores and so on. It is also wonderful when the gas bottle is empty in the middle of the night and the heating goes out. Unlike diesel heating, there is no level indicator and it is sometimes necessary to guess how full a bottle still is. It is also annoying to change the gas bottles in wind and weather in the back of the Grand California and possibly first to clear out his luggage.
All these reasons simply speak in favor of diesel heating. Diesel is easy to fill up, is the same everywhere, at least in Europe, and can be filled up virtually anytime. Another small plus is that the diesel heater is always equipped with the electric heating rods.
Of course, there are ways and means to “pimp” a gas heater, for example, with tank bottles or external level indicators. But all these things require rebuilds again, so they are out for us.
Assistants
Volkswagen offers a whole range of assistance systems. You should definitely choose the following ones in the configurator.
Cruise control with automatic distance control
- Especially on long highway trips there is nothing more relaxing, the vehicle automatically keeps the safe distance and the set speed
Blind Spot Sensor
- Everyone knows about blind spots, and the Blind Spot Sensor helps the driver by signaling via LEDs in the exterior mirrors whether a vehicle is currently in the blind spot.
Parking pilot with edge protection
- The parking pilot gives acoustic signals to indicate obstacles. Particularly charming is the flank protection, with this option the vehicle detects obstacles on the side and not only in the front and rear area.
Rear View
- The absolute must-have among the assistants, the rear view camera is essential for accurate parking. Also worth its weight in gold for a safer reset without an introducer!
Trailer hitch
The trailer hitch is not a direct must, unless you want to attach a trailer or possibly already have a wheel carrier, which is mounted on the trailer hitch. If only the preparation is ordered, all cables are already laid and later retrofitting can be carried out without great effort.
Heated windshield
The heated windshield is incredibly practical, especially in winter, and saves you from scratching in freezing temperatures. But it also works wonders against a fogged window in the morning, clear pro!
Seat heating
Unfortunately, you also don’t get heated seats as standard in the Grand California, but you should definitely check this box in the configurator.
Multifunction steering wheel
Really very well spent 400 euros. The multifunction steering wheel lets you control the radio and phone and scroll through the MFA without taking your hands off the wheel.
LED headlight
The LED headlights are not only visually much nicer than the halogen version, the light output is also another world.
Awning
Also an accessory that we would not want to miss in any case. The awning is a fantastic weather protection, whether against the sun or just against the rain. Yes read correctly, weather protection. This is how it is marketed by Thule and gives you the opportunity to sit outside even in the rain.
With this small, but unfortunately very expensive list you have an overview of what we consider to be the “must haves” for the Grand California. The upcharge list offers a few more options, such as an LTE router or a roof air conditioner. If you choose all the extras, you won’t leave the dealership for less than 100,000 euros. Of course, there are always one or two discounts, but the order of magnitude remains correct.
In the end, it’s all a matter of taste or money, but more than the aforementioned extras aren’t necessary. In addition, many things can be purchased later from the accessories trade and better or cheaper offers can be found. First and foremost, this concerns the wheel carrier and the wifi router.
Crafter
We have already covered a whole range of topics.
You may have noticed that there was nothing about the Crafter as a base vehicle.
This is not an oversight, but a big plus point for the Grand California.
Of course, there are occasionally faults or problems with the engine, gearbox or other parts.
But on the whole, the Crafter is a very solid vehicle.
We can’t list practically anything that is always a problem with the Crafter itself.
If you opt for a Grand California and, above all, the “water problems” are fixed, you have a great vehicle.
The Crafter is in a different league to the Ducato.
If you have any further questions, please take a look at the knowledge base or get in touch with us using the contact form.
Conclusion
There is of course a whole range of things to consider when buying a motorhome.
It is not possible to list them all here, so I assume that you will look for scratches and other damage yourself.
After all, you want to live in it.
😊 You should of course also test all the functions of the body, be it the water system, heating, etc.
