Newbie plan to buy 2018 International

[playc]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Any dealer *should* service your AS. The gotcha as mentioned in many threads here is that a dealer you did not buy from may put you at the back of the line for service. Also not all dealers are equally skilled at working on these trailers. Some sell very few or focus on specific parts of the line. If you don't fit what they normally deal with, that can be an issue.

Bob

Thanks for the update. As this is our first and plan to be the last AS we want to buy to travel around US (and maybe Canada), we plan to get lifetime warranty for service. Like to learn from you all any dealer(s) to avoid or best rated service dealers as well.

[Rocinante]

Before buying a lifetime warranty, look carefully at what is covered and what is not covered. They sell those lifetime warranties for a reason, and that reason has nothing to do with the milk of human kindness.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

AFIK, Airstream does not sell lifetime warranties directly. You will be dealing with a third party for that warranty. Since it is effectively an insurance policy, dealers are under no obligation to accept payment at the rate the policy pays. In some cases that's no problem at all. In other cases it's a really big deal. You may be in the position of making up the difference yourself or hauling the broken trailer 300 miles to some other "warranty approved" repair facility.

Since it is insurance, there is a lot of fine print. There are some nice sounding things up in bold type. There are pages and pages of yack describing what they mean by those nice phrases. On other vehicles (not an AS) I've run into "Everything bumper to bumper for 5 years" up in the bold type. Later on they eliminate tires, brake pads, wipers, fluids, lamps, (so far ok), electrical, steering, and AC. The net result was that it's a limited drive train warranty. The fine print matters.

None of this is to say that there are no decent long term warranty providers. I'm sure there are some. Unfortunately, they are few and far between. The closest I have ever seen has been a dealer warranty. It only works at that specific dealer. It's only good as long as they are in business. At least you know the limits up front.

Bob

[playc]

Thanks for the advice on fine print. So what you all consider or experience with the best choice for warranties. Is it

1) just have the AS standard 2 year warranty, or
2) a Life time warranty with no deductible that few dealer offers. It requires annual inspection, or
3) a 7 year warranty

[Rocinante]

My money is on the standard Airstream warranty. It is two years for everything except sealants. Sealants (that stuff in the aluminum seams and around the windows that keeps your Airstream dry) are warrantied for only 6 months.

Oh, and get an annual inspection anyway. Every year you want a professional to inspect your sealants, do a manometer test (checks for propane leaks) and look for anything else that may need to be serviced. In our last inspection, the dealer discovered that the propane burner in our Dometic fridge was out of alignment. It was heating things that should *not* be heated. If he had not found and fixed that problem proactively, Very Bad Things might have happened.

Your mileage may vary - it's your money, spend it how you like, this is just what we did and so far we are happy with the results.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Take the >$30,000 that a proper lifetime warranty would cost you and put it in a investment of your choice. Pull a bit out each year to pay the dealer of your choice to look the trailer over. Every so often there will be a (likely minor) surprise. If you get tired of this or that dealer, move on. If you decide to go live in Costa Rica ... no problem with coverage.

My guess is that at the end of 30 years, you still will have the $30,000 in the bank. You also will have swapped out various appliances a few times and picked the ones you like better. Who wants a 30 year old television . If the AS passes on to the kids, they get the $30K as well. Usually that is *not* the case with lifetime warranties.

You can spend some time with Google researching warranties in general. The reviews I have seen are uniformly negative, no matter what the device is. The math and the odds simply are not in your favor.

Bob

[Troutboy]

I was talked into the extended warranty when I bought new 7 months ago. When I got home and read all the fine print, I decided to cancel it, there were so many caveats, and all burden on the warranty holder. The dealer refunded me all the money. Plus, if you plan to do any upgrades, the warranty usually is no good anymore. My assessment was it would be very difficult to make a claim and get it fixed.... I did what bob said above, put the money aside for future maintenance.

[playc]

Thanks you all for the great advice. As we are closer to make the purchase, the warranty decision is very important.

Based on your advice, we most likely wont buy/pay for extended warranty and simply take the AS standard 2 year one.

One Austin area dealer Camper Clinic II as part of the purchase has Lifetime Warranty as part of the purchase. The warranty requires annual service inspection, missing the inspection date will void future warranty. Anyone has this on your AS? Like to hear your advice.

The local dealers price are not competitive at all and too far apart from RVOne. Some of you warned future service at local may become an issue if not bought from them. However as AS owners travel around all across, is it realistic to not to expect the service may be needed on the road which may be thousand miles away? Your advice will be greatly appreciated as we plan to purchase within 30 days.

[Rocinante]

The warranty says you can get service anywhere. The only real question is how long it takes to get your trailer scheduled for the work. This is true, regardless of where you go for service.

[playc]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

The warranty says you can get service anywhere. The only real question is how long it takes to get your trailer scheduled for the work. This is true, regardless of where you go for service.

Thanks for the info. I take it is the same when service is needed then call for appointment. The wait can happen at any dealer, including at home town. Hope AS is made of quality and no need for service, at least for the beginning few years.

We plan to make our first and final purchase of 22FB by July. Local or nearby dealer price is thousands higher. At this time it seems we may drive 1200 miles for better pricing.

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by playc

Hope AS is made of quality and no need for service, at least for the beginning few years.

Maybe, maybe not. It seems largely be luck of the draw. We spent two years getting all the warranty issues resolved. None of the issues we experienced prevented us from camping, so we simply kept a running list of busted stuff. When it got long enough or our frustration level got high enough, we would schedule another service visit to get all that busted stuff fixed.

One thing that should help is to have an intense pre-delivery inspection using the checklists discussed previously. There were lots of things we should have spotted and made them fix before we even took it home.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

I think that the quality of the dealer's service department plays a big part in how quickly / well a given trailer comes up to speed. Like it or not, *they* are the real final QA.

Bob

[Urbanologist]

...are designed to NOT pay off when needed or cover much when you ultimately do battle with service department management. PERIOD! 1) Take the factory warranty; 2) Find out what the extended "warranty" would cost; 3) Put that amount away - upfront! 4) Add 1/12 of that amount each and every month you own the trailer/tow vehicle. I've done this for years! You're self insuring for the unexpected maintenance of your TOYS! You'll get to keep all funds you don't use!! The jilted warranty company (and dealership) will be disappointed. That money was big profit for them to divide. Buying used? Really do detailed INSPECTIONS and get service records! Where possible get expert guidance from AS people. Finally, understand that nothing will be inexpensive about the care and feeding of a Airstream.

[playc]

Originally Posted by Urbanologist

...are designed to NOT pay off when needed or cover much when you ultimately do battle with service department management. PERIOD! 1) Take the factory warranty; 2) Find out what the extended "warranty" would cost; 3) Put that amount away - upfront! 4) Add 1/12 of that amount each and every month you own the trailer/tow vehicle. I've done this for years! You're self insuring for the unexpected maintenance of your TOYS! You'll get to keep all funds you don't use!! The jilted warranty company (and dealership) will be disappointed. That money was big profit for them to divide. Buying used? Really do detailed INSPECTIONS and get service records! Where possible get expert guidance from AS people. Finally, understand that nothing will be inexpensive about the care and feeding of a Airstream.

Thanks for your great advice. Will do as you said. I am excited and ready to order my first (and last) AS. As local Houston, Austin, and DFW dealers pricing are not competitive significantly, we are seriously considering to take a 1,300 mile trip to Florida to buy there. As new to AS, I want to learn as much here and advice and tips from you all are greatly appreciated.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Right now (as in mid June) every RV dealer in the country is going a bit crazy selling stuff. Simply getting their attention is not as easy as it was a couple of months ago. My *guess* is that if you can get one of the local dealers to pay enough attention (and figure out you have a check in hand !!) you can get a pretty good deal locally. Of course I've been wrong before

Pulling a brand new trailer 600 to 1200 miles on it's first outing would worry me a bit ....People do it all the time so yes, it's just one of my phobias

Bob

[blakemn]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Right now (as in mid June) every RV dealer in the country is going a bit crazy selling stuff. Simply getting their attention is not as easy as it was a couple of months ago. My *guess* is that if you can get one of the local dealers to pay enough attention (and figure out you have a check in hand !!) you can get a pretty good deal locally. Of course I've been wrong before

Pulling a brand new trailer 600 to 1200 miles on it's first outing would worry me a bit ....People do it all the time so yes, it's just one of my phobias

Bob

We purchased a 2016 from Arborgast in Ohio received great price
But service terriblr,they glued my door shut on repairs.
We had agreed to buy at Hadocy in Ciolumbus We drove 1100 miles fr Minnesota
When we got there they changer the price STAY AWAY fr them

We recently ordered a 2018 Tommy Bahame and received a great price from Colonial in NJ
Know it's a ways but planning on returning to Gettysburg
Good luck

[mojoe7009]

Originally Posted by playc

Thanks for your great advice. Will do as you said. I am excited and ready to order my first (and last) AS. As local Houston, Austin, and DFW dealers pricing are not competitive significantly, we are seriously considering to take a 1,300 mile trip to Florida to buy there. As new to AS, I want to learn as much here and advice and tips from you all are greatly appreciated.

If you are going to buy from RV One do yourself a favor and do a complete and total inspection on one day and take delivery on another. Take out every drawer, open every panel, turn on every system, attempt to fill the fresh water tank, look under everything you can, turn on every light. Get the bad stuff fixed before you ever take it off the lot. I could fill 10 pages of information on the abject lack of professionalism and quality control of Orlando RV. Price was great, service was the worst I have ever experienced purchasing anything, much less a six figure trailer. Literally zero quality control. I'm 8 months in and still working through issues.
I will say Airstream corporate has made every attempt to do the right thing by us. Their customer service department has helped me so much and truly gone over the top to get things sorted out on our 2017 Classic. Hats off to Jon in Customer Service. He's outstanding!

[playc]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Right now (as in mid June) every RV dealer in the country is going a bit crazy selling stuff. Simply getting their attention is not as easy as it was a couple of months ago. My *guess* is that if you can get one of the local dealers to pay enough attention (and figure out you have a check in hand !!) you can get a pretty good deal locally. Of course I've been wrong before

Pulling a brand new trailer 600 to 1200 miles on it's first outing would worry me a bit ....People do it all the time so yes, it's just one of my phobias

Bob

Thanks for your advice. We have Littleguy T@B for 2 years and been towing locally around Houston area State Parks. We are selling our T@B for AS for more extensive camping since I enjoyed the last 2 years experience (first time RV camper since 2015) and meeting all nice folks at campgrounds.

Houston, Austin, and Dallas dealers price are not competitive so Florida is the best bet now. We plan one week camp at FORT PICKENS CAMPGROUND, and Grayton Beach State Park, and watch Blue Angels on return trip. We anticipate a great time to and from Florida then.

We hope the deal will go thru with no problem and the new AS will be in great quality. We are reading this forum daily to learn more and finding a checklist for pickup.

[dst]

Before you drive 1200 miles make sure you have the exact trailer and price documented. Some places, like the one in Austin, list a price but then have a mandatory prep fee they add on that is not in the price. Before we drove up to Dublin, Tx we had everything in writing. And it was less than 200 miles from Houston. And make sure you understand the whole sales/use tax and out of state registration issues, that could be done hidden costs you need to factor in.

We were in your same situation; pretty much decided on the sport 22. But then we saw all the additional stuff (storage cabinets, inverter, larger fridge, bed that was easier to make since it was a "walk around") that the FC 23FB offered. So we spent a little more up front and expect to keep it much longer before a possible upgrade than we would have with the sport. And the second axle gives me a little extra margin of safety in case of a tie failure.

Wanted a 25 foot model and we probably would have been done, but the tongue weights were too high for my Touareg. So once dieselgate settles out we might look for a truck, if for no other reason than the ability to haul stuff on the bed. Don't want a generator in the Touareg. But it tows great and I average around 16 mpg when towing.

Good luck on your quest, it will be the first of hopefully many adventures in your Airstream.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by blakemn

We purchased a 2016 from Arborgast in Ohio received great price
But service terriblr,they glued my door shut on repairs.
We had agreed to buy at Hadocy in Ciolumbus We drove 1100 miles fr Minnesota
When we got there they changer the price STAY AWAY fr them

We recently ordered a 2018 Tommy Bahame and received a great price from Colonial in NJ
Know it's a ways but planning on returning to Gettysburg
Good luck

Hi

Hmmm .... Gettysburg ... wonder where that is

One of the common ways to get there is to pull off the interstate about two miles from here. The route then takes you down a two lane road for a ways. Watch out for some of the blind curves and "blind" hills. They have a nasty tendency to have a horse and buggy on the other side. I have a lot of data on this

Bob