Would you support an Airstream dealer in Kansas City?

[walker77]

Originally Posted by switz

A comprehensive inventory of Airstream trained mechanics is a pipe dream at most dealerships.

In my experience, just because they hung up an Airstream banner does not mean they know squat about service or the details of the units on their lots from a sales perspective.

Exactly

The poster above you said that AS is selling everything they make. Just because AS is moving everything from the factory floor to dealerships, doesnt mean they are selling everything they make. I guarentee you there are a lot of dealers across the nation that still has 2013 models still on the lot.

Airstream has done this to themselves, and sooner or later they will run out of dealers who will want to deal with them or who has the money to deal with them. Bill Thomas use to be the larges AS dealer west of the Mississippi. Now they only have about 25 or 30 units on the lot. When they were in their old building they would usually have around 50 used units on their lot. Now they usually only have a couple when we stop in there.

From an outside perspective, it sounds like the dealer you bought from is either a fairly new dealer or isnt a full line AS service center (meaning body shop) and they try to play one. Anyone with the least bit of experience with AS would know you dont use that kind of pressure on these trailers.

Bill Thomas has been selling AS for 40 years. They make sure they keep salesmen in there that know the brand. And they keep guys in the service area that know how to rip the body apart and fix it right. But like you said, a lot of dealers dont. So many pop up think they can make a ton of money selling a premium brand, then fade away just as fast as the popped up because of the nonsense that AS requires of them. Like I said, AS was requiring dealers in the mid 80's to handle a million dollars in parts inventory. That was a lot back then. Imagine how much it is now.

Airstream needs to change how they handle dealers and they need to listen to their customer base.

[xrvr]

I would like to know if they are selling full production. That is what I understand. Jim

[Piggy Bank]

When we looked at AS last month, it was in Springfield. Salesperson didn't know a lot. I knew a lot of details that he didn't. Was a nice enough guy, but the lack of deep dive info was not what I had hoped for. He even mentioned that they don't sell volume-wise very many ASs, but they like them as a novelty. Meaning that that Bambi probably has 20-30 people traipsing through it every week.

So it sounds like you feel that the St. Louis dealer has a good depth of experience, is that the case?

[blmitch5]

I looked in St Louis and the salesman couldn't answer very many of my questions. They have a very small inventory and sell more SOBs than Airstreams. I just feel there should be an Airstream dealer in KC. We have 2006 19" Bambi and could answer any questions you might have. Where do you live?

[Piggy Bank]

blmitch,
Thanks so much for the offer. We are in KCMO just south of 435 and Wornall. We are just starting to look; probably not ready to actually buy until late next year or early 2016. (I am a detail nut, and really enjoy getting to know a lot about something new to me.)

We just got daughter #2 out of college, and she is doing grad school overseas. So we have our vacation $ and time lined up with that to visit her and then go to graduation.

Do you get your rig serviced here in the metro?

[blmitch5]

I go to Olathe RV for service we can't do. But we stay up on the caulking, winterizing etc on our own. We had hail damage and went to Griffith Rv repair in OKC, he did a great job! For an 06 she looks like new, that's the great thing about Airstreams is if you take care of them they hold up very well.

[walker77]

Its too bad to hear that Bill Thomas has let their sales team slip. They use to have some good guys there. But they were getting up there in age. Its been several years since I talked to any of their guys in sales.

Blmitch5, nice looking rig. Do you keep it stored inside? The clear coat on our 02 is already starting to peal

[lcurrie]

I'd support one!

[blmitch5]

That may prove to be costly.

[murreywalker]

We purchased our FC 23 FB at the Springfield dealership. And as previously metioned, their depth of knowledge is somewhat limited.

That said, what can you expect from a dealer which moves a relatively low number of units? Same probably applies to the dealer in St. Louis, although I know nothing about them.

For our current Airstream, we towed our 23 to Colonial Airstream in New Jersey, and didn't think twice about doing so. Our walkthrough with Colonial was in the morning, and their following walkthrough (that afternoon) was with a couple from the west coast.

It's not happenstance that Colonial is the number one dealer in the country.

I say this well into our second year of warranty with them. Part of their sales pitch to me, was the fact they do a quality control inspection on every unit they sell more than once. Our trailer has been, with a couple minor exceptions, trouble free.

Most dealers put their inventory on their lot, and nothing else.

[drew05]

I have found that most AS dealers are like car dealers... the demand for good people can not keep up with the turnover. I too wish there was a dealer closer than STL, but it is what it is.

We bought ours in 2010 at Bill Thomas, and have been back a few times since. I have noticed that the number of new AS have shrunk, and they appear no where near being as Air Stream exclusive as they once were in sales, but their service dept bays seem to have a lot of AS in for service...

[MattB]

Brad, Thanks for bringing this up. This is a question that I have wondered about. Why is there not a dealer in KC? I can tell you that I would definitely support one. A couple vignettes are appropriate here.

We bought our 2012 from Airstream NW in Coventry, WA, when we lived in the Tacoma area, and it was massively convenient, long after the sale, and frankly, it continues to be. The staff there remembers us, and treats us right. They have experienced technicians, and the shop isn't that old. Experience RV techs are out there, and the A/S systems are NOT that different. I have continued to order parts from them, and their parts department is awesome: knowledgable and easy to work with over the phone. For my 1955 Flying Cloud, they gave me all the prices for the interior skins, and offered to ship affordably. Unless Airparts, Inc. in KC gets a new product line of clear coated aluminum for the interior, I will spend that money to have it shipped out here from Airstream NW.

I also went to the dealer in the St. Louis area and was tremendously disappointed. We had an issue with our couch and Airstream (from the factory, also exceptional service from the factory BTW) was going to cover under warranty, just needed a dealer to accept the job, and the couch would be shipped there. Having spoken with the St Louis dealer at the RV show in KC, I thought to take it to them. Their service manager agreed over the phone, and I made plans to take of work and take the trailer in. Arrived in St Louis and completely different story. Service manager could not accept the job without the owner's (on vacation) say so. They would not let me leave it overnight, they would not do the warranty work, period. So...wasted trip, and X dollars of fuel, time, etc.

I made arrangements with the dealer in Des Moines, and they accepted it also over the phone. Understand the one in Des Moines is very small and Airstream is just a secondary aspect of this establishment, which sells truck and trailer A/C systems, and it is a sub unit for the main dealer in Anoka, MN. No inventory on the lot when I went. Nevertheless, they were happy to do it, Airstream shipped the new couch there, they did it same day in just a couple hours, and did some other routine maintenance at the same time. Knowledgeable techs, friendly and easy to work with. Just another 3+ hour drive from the KC area.

I have been to about seven different dealerships in my travels, and personality seems to play a bigger role than company policy in terms of customer experience. The dealers in St Louis and Denver wouldn't give me the time of day, but the rest: Portland, Spokane, Coventry, Des Moines, Anoka all bent over backwards, and then got paid for it. Seems fair to me.

I don't recommend the dealers in Saint Louis and Denver, and so a dealer KC would be welcome. Given that there are two WBCCI units in area, and a fairly vibrant forums community of owners, there should still be plenty more owners and potential owners in the area to support them. Now we just need an investor with a couple million to put down into a good location vic I-70/I-29/I-35 on the north side of town to get it started.

[73shark]

I think MBKC dropped Airstream was due to lack of interest on both their part and the public's. In the two years that I knew about them, I'm only aware of a couple of Interstates they sold besides mine. But then I never saw any marketing efforts. Not sure what the costs were associated with carrying the franchise but suspect they weren't warranted given the low sales.