I mentioned here in the April 2024 issue that we had bid (at auction) on our next potential CM project – a nine-seater Volkswagen Shuttle T30. I thought the price was too much for a van that had DSG problems, so pulled out at £5500. Well... things went very weird the following month! As I said in the April issue, CM contributor, Ian Cushway, wanted me to buy a van of his choice as one, he would fund the purchase and two, he would collect it from me, once fixed, to ship back to his home in France and run it as a family vehicle and as part of his Editorial role at VWt magazine.
Our search for VW Transporters now included the Caravelle model – a posh version of the Shuttle. When the 2010 Caravelle (pictured below) appeared on the auction list, we both scrutinised the details and its MOT history. This was a six-seater version – two at the front, two in the middle and two at the rear. Most Caravelles are seven-seaters, with the third row normally being a bench seat for three.
Two models were available back in 2010 – SE or Executive. Our van was listed as Executive with the 2.0-litre TDI and DSG – it had everything Ian wanted, and he said I should bid on it. So as the days drew nearer to the auction date, Ian started sending me emails saying, “Don’t worry Martyn, keep bidding until you win it!” What? That’s not normal car buying practice, though that was the instructions, and I was hoping Ian had enough money to pay for it!
Anyway, a further complication came on the day of auction. The Caravelle had been reclassified as a Grade 4 (down from Grade 2) the day before sale. This nearly stopped me bidding, but I had those emails from Ian in the back of my mind.
This Caravelle had covered just over 200,000 miles with two owners. The CAP Clean price from the auction was £6925. I can’t remember how many times I bidded against others, whether I was bidding against one, two or seven potential buyers. The bids often rose by £200 at a time – you can increase the bid by £200 during a ‘live’ auction from a laptop but not from a mobile phone app (only by £100).
We outbid everyone with a £10,400 final bid. I couldn’t get my head around it at first, my blood pressure had risen through the roof. Nearly £10,900 with BCA buyers’ fees.
Only a few understand the prices of these VW Transporters and this one, albeit with over 200k is in fact a lovely example. After Ian paid me, I paid BCA. I went up to Nottingham on the train to fetch MA60 AXO. Even the taxi driver who drove me from Nottingham station to the auction house chuckled to himself when I said I was collecting a
