Private sale · Brisbane Northside, QLD
2012 VolkswagenCalifornia Ocean
Factory pop-top, 2.0 BiTDI 180, six-speed manual. Under 69,000 km from new, regularly serviced, and the full Ocean equipment list.
- Year
- 2012
- Model
- Ocean / SE
- Odometer
- 68,648 km
- Engine
- 2.0 BiTDI 180
- Gearbox
- 6-speed manual
- Sleeps
- 4
- Seats
- 4
- Rego until
- 06/02/2027
The write-up
Everything I'd want to know if I were buying it.
A genuine factory Volkswagen California Ocean — the top of the range, sold in the UK as the SE and everywhere else as the Ocean. Built as a camper at Hannover, not converted afterwards. The pop-top roof, the integrated kitchen, the swivelling front seats and the folding rear bench all came off the same line together, which is why everything still lines up and still works.
01 — Why I'm sellingA reluctant sale
Circumstances have changed and the van has to go. That's the whole story. It has never let us down and I would keep it if I could. $50,000, and I'm open to sensible offers — serious enquiries only, please.
02 — The vehicle2.0 BiTDI 180, six-speed, 68,648 km
Built in 2012 and imported from the UK. The 2.0 BiTDI is the twin-turbo 180 — the strongest engine offered in the T5 — through a six-speed manual, which you notice the moment the van is loaded or pointed up a hill. It has covered just 68,648 km, it has been serviced regularly throughout, and registration runs to 6 February 2027.
Everything works as it should. The roof lifts, the fridge cools, the air conditioning blows cold, and the van has never once left us stranded.
03 — Living in itSleeps four, set up for up here
The factory pop-top lifts to sleep two upstairs and the rear bench folds flat for two downstairs. The integrated kitchen unit carries the sink and the fridge, both working. Both front seats swivel round to face the back and the dining table stows in the door, so the cabin becomes a living room when the weather sends you inside.
For Queensland the things that actually matter are the air conditioning, the privacy glass and the fridge, and all three do their job. There is a night heater as well, which you won't need often here but you'll be glad of the first time you take it up the range or head south in July. It also has a 240 V hookup with the leads included, so on a powered site everything runs off the mains and the fridge looks after itself.
04 — ConditionExcellent for its age, and it shows
The bodywork is clean and straight, the interior has been looked after rather than just cleaned up for sale, and it presents well inside and out. It is a well-maintained, carefully owned camper — but it is also thirteen years old, so please come and look rather than take my word for it. First to see will very likely buy.
Worth knowing before you come
Three things to know before you drive over. I'd rather you read them here than find them in the driveway.
- The gas hob has been removed. The kitchen unit, the sink and the fridge are all present and working — the hob itself is gone. You would either cook on a portable stove, as we have, or refit a hob.
- The leisure batteries need replacing. They no longer hold a useful charge, so plan on a new set. Everything they power works normally on a hookup.
- Some minor upholstery repairs are needed. Nothing structural and nothing you would notice from a metre away, but it is there and I would rather say so.
What comes with it
The van is the Ocean, the top of the California range, so most of what people add later was fitted at the factory. The extras below go with it at no extra cost.
Factory specification
- VW factory pop-top roof, sleeps four
- Integrated kitchen with sink and fridge
- Swivelling front seats
- Dining table
- Folding rear bench and bed
- Air conditioning
- Heated seats
- Night heater
- 240 V mains hookup, with sockets inside
- Parking sensors
- Cruise control
- Alloy wheels
- Privacy glass
- Reversing camera
Extras included
- Wind-out awning
- Bike rack
- Folding table and chairs, stored in the tailgate
- Trickle charger
- Waterproof, washable seat covers
- Van cover
- Mains hookup leads for powered sites
- Pioneer head unit with Apple CarPlay, replacing the original factory radio
Photographs · 19 shots
Click any photo to enlarge · arrow keys to move through · Esc to close
Some of the interior photographs were taken before the stereo was upgraded. The van now has the Pioneer Apple CarPlay unit shown in the dashboard photograph.
Get in touch
Come and see it.
Come and see it.
Bring someone who knows vans.
Genuinely happy for you to spend an hour with it, take it up the road, put it on a hoist, or bring an inspector. It's kept at home on Brisbane's northside and I can usually do weekday evenings or any time on a weekend.
Bank transfer on collection. I won't hold it without a deposit, and I'll tell you straight away if someone else is ahead of you.
- Seller
- Chris
- Phone
- Call or text, 8am–8pm
- Location
- Brisbane Northside, QLDExact address once a time is agreed
- Viewings
- Weekday eveningsWeekends any time
How the sale works
There are a lot of vehicle scams going around at the moment, so I would rather set this out plainly than waste your time or mine. None of it is aimed at genuine buyers — if that's you, it should all read as common sense.
- Inspections in person, only. No buying agents, no shipping or courier arrangements, no sight-unseen purchases. If you can't come and look at it yourself, I'm not the right seller for you.
- Bank transfer, in person, at handover. Keys and signed transfer papers change hands once the money has actually cleared in my account — not when a receipt or a screenshot says it has. Worth checking your daily transfer limit before you come: most banks cap instant payments well below this figure, and raising the limit can take a day or two.
- I will not pay any fee to complete a sale. No "account upgrade", no overpayment with a refund of the difference, no third-party vehicle-history links to click. Every one of those is a scam, and I'll simply stop replying.
- Test drives need a current Australian licence, shown to me before you drive, and I'll come along with you.
- Say something specific in your first message. Ask about the service history, the hob, the batteries — anything that shows you've actually read this page. One-line "is this still available" messages tend to get ignored.