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ghaynes755 · 05-21-2015, 09:07 AM

I have to ask. Is this a 'real' Airstream dealer we are talking about? In other words did you look at the Airstream USA, Airstream Travel Trailer, Silver Bullet | Airstream site and validate that they are a legit dealer? You mention that he has a 'website/ebay/etc'.

BoldAdventure · 05-21-2015, 12:02 PM

You are in California, stick to your coast. I'd try that dealer up in the Northwest there everyone raves about if you must buy new.

featherbedder · 05-21-2015, 01:01 PM

I would look for AS dealers closer to home, work them with price from coltonrv. I have done this with truck dealers and saved lots of money over others last chance deal. They want to sell get off lot as floor plan has interest, plus 2016 are out so yr. older. When I pur. my 1976 31 AS They reduced price almost $5,000, orig. sticker 14,600, they did this without any dickering when I asked price. This AS dealer still in bus. and has been pleasure to work with even tho they are in another state. Ask on forums about this dealer, get feed back about them. Also I think you can work with local truck dealer thru locate serv. then you can pick up truck there and local dealer handles deal [gets profit], not out of state dealer. Wen I pur. last peterbilt 379 long with 600hp eng. plus every option was $94,000, this listed for almost $130,000, this was also sleeper cab not day cab, so $100,00 plus for pick up I would think a little high in cost

mefly2 · 05-21-2015, 03:17 PM

Call AS Adventures NW in CA, WA, or ID ... we have had great luck with them!

Mrjkq · 05-22-2015, 10:54 AM

You made the right decision Joe. I haven't read every post in this thread but staying closer to California is pretty good advise. Airstream Dealers want to sell Airstreams and most will do what it takes to earn your business. Discounts very close to 20% is what it seem to boil down to when negotiating. Keep that in mind & you'll get a fair price. BTW, I'm from that area of NY State, Western NY to be more precise where that Dealer that was mentioned does business. They have less then a stellar reputation!

joe12pack · 05-22-2015, 12:25 PM

Just got a message from the same dealer again this morning. He is either messing with me or has some huevos of steel.

SteveSueMac · 05-22-2015, 05:37 PM

Steel (not aluminum) huevos. :-)

AtomicNo13 · 05-22-2015, 05:43 PM

Who would actually consider giving this looser their business? Here are tons of great dealers and private sellers!

**Rocinante** · 05-22-2015, 08:06 PM

His quota is killing him, and he's eager to make a sale.

Good for you for saying no, thanks. If it was me, I'd just ignore his entreaties from now on and keep doing my research in hopes of buying as locally as possible.

Foiled Again · 05-22-2015, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocinante

His quota is killing him, and he's eager to make a sale.

Good for you for saying no, thanks. If it was me, I'd just ignore his entreaties from now on and keep doing my research in hopes of buying as locally as possible.

True. Dealers HAVE to have quotas. Without them burned out sales people stay around and drag down the productivity of the whole team. With them the pressure cooker usually turns vehicle sales people into "gypsies" - six to nine months, then they move on to the next dealer.

Outfits like Colonial Airstream are the exception. They have long term, knowledgeable employees who LOVE to sell - but expect to sell you 3 or 4 or more Airstreams over time - and they plan to get your relatives and friends too.

Professional sales people simply don't p*** in the soup. This man is a gypsy, not a pro. He's frustrated, (and OH I DO understand the feeling! You're spending the commission check in your head and POOF it's gone.) but he hasn't learned the hard lesson: Play it supportive and helpful - sorry you couldn't decide - if you change your mind call me any time. It'll probably fly off the lot at this price but you never know. ..........THEN focus all your energy on the NEXT fish.

Whats actually worse than his exchange with you yesterday, is that he's still texting nasty today. Shooting himself in the foot - focusing TODAY on a fish that got off the hook YESTERDAY. He's probably ignoring someone who's IN the dealership, but afraid to even look at the $87K priced Airstream, though there is a little drool on the corner of his mouth and "I wish" in his eyes. If he was focused on that guy - with "bet you think that's beyond your budget, It's not... Could you dream if if I could get it for you for $...........?

**Rocinante** · 05-22-2015, 09:18 PM

One thing I learned in startup-land: the faster you get to "No" the better so you can focus on the next potential "Yes". The only thing worse than "No" is "Maybe." That's why you thank people when they say "No."

As Foiled-Again noted, this salesperson doesn't seem to have learned that yet.

cwf · 05-22-2015, 09:43 PM

Friend of mine wore "normal" clothing.. Rubber boots, suspended overalls and khaki long sleeve shirt. Drove a beater truck. He was 59 years my senior.. I was 21 he was 70. We drive to then walked into a Ford dealership around 10AM. By 10:15AM papers were signed, money changed hands (cash) and we drove out in a new truck.

I learned a lot from Mr. Fred,,, thank you, Sir!

LucasS · 05-23-2015, 12:20 AM

Good God I've never seen behavior quite like that. My family's in boat sales so same cast different script but I can't say I've seen a dealer act like that. I've heard of it, but only from shady used car dealerships.

Also I second Colonial AS and just once again must plug Toscano RV in Los Banos (about an hour south of San Jose AFTER TRAFFIC lol). They're not nearly the size of Colonial but they've always been great to me and everyone I've sent there. (Plus through family I'm well aware of dealer cost on every AS model so I've always paid a fair price. And the one thing they have on Colonial is they definitely give a better trade in value).