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ljmiii · 08-04-2007, 01:45 PM

I bought my Airstream from Bates RV - right in your neighborhood. I bought my Quiksilver sight unseen (other than photos) and they arranged to have it towed up to New Jersey. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

My experience with Colonial Airstream is more mixed. The sales staff was great - in particular Patrick Botticelli was knowledgeable and customer focused. The service department was a different story - after a few weeks of unreturned phone calls, lost emails, and bizarely uninformed conversations (I had to tell them that yes, you can upgrade the axle on a Bambi, yes it is OK others have done it before, yes it was Airstream that told me this) I finally gave up and had Jackson Center do the work.

Jaxon · 08-04-2007, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljmiii

My experience with Colonial Airstream is more mixed. The sales staff was great - in particular Patrick Botticelli was knowledgeable and customer focused. The service department was a different story - after a few weeks of unreturned phone calls, lost emails, and bizarely uninformed conversations (I had to tell them that yes, you can upgrade the axle on a Bambi, yes it is OK others have done it before, yes it was Airstream that told me this) I finally gave up and had Jackson Center do the work.

Judging from the quality of work Patrick does, one can imagine how frustrating your experience is for him... His web presentation of Airstreams is outstanding - significantly more impressive than what Airstream does.

JerryMcMunn · 08-04-2007, 05:47 PM

We have enjoyed our dealings with Airstream of Chicago. Their pricing seems to be very aggressive and they seem to be very ethical. I suggest you speak with Scott Mattera. He is quite knowledgable having been a long time AS owner and the current manager of the dealership. If you speak to him, please tell him I said hello.

Regards,

Jerry McMunn

Silvertwinkie · 08-04-2007, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryMcMunn

We have enjoyed our dealings with Airstream of Chicago. Their pricing seems to be very aggressive and they seem to be very ethical. I suggest you speak with Scott Mattera. He is quite knowledgable having been a long time AS owner and the current manager of the dealership. If you speak to him, please tell him I said hello.

Regards,

Jerry McMunn

I too dealt with them and found that they were kind of take it or leave it as well when I came across a possible unit I was thinking of upgrading to. They had a new, untitled, prior year model on the lot, sitting for some time and I wasn't trying to get it for nothing, but they weren't willing to work the deal, they wanted way too much for the unit, given that it was already a year old by model year standards and I wasn't willing to pay a hefty some, only to loose even more when I took it off the lot because the NADA value already had it as a sunk cost because it was already a model year old. Scott, or whomever I spoke with just couldn't understand the fact that given it's age, regardless of untitled, it was worth less than a 2007, when other dealers were selling the same trailer for $54k, he wanted near $60k for it and wouldn't budge. They also tried to get me to agree to a trade in of less than wholesale, yet he wasn't giving me the 2006 unit at wholesale. Most place either do retail to retail or wholesale to wholesale (or pretty close), US Adventure RV AKA: Airstream of Chicago didn't work that way...... Needless to say, I passed.

Mikethefixit · 08-23-2007, 07:24 PM

Silvertwinkie
I introduced my wife to Airstream at Paul Sherry,Piqua. The saleman stayed with us the whole time.Maybe he thought we were gonna steal one.LOL.They were curtious and answered all our Q's.even knowing from the outset that we were LOOKING.
They are nice people but high priced.We are still looking.
Roger

starflyte1 · 08-24-2007, 12:52 PM

We have just returned with our new 2007 FB 25'. We traded our 2007 23'.

Colonial was quick to offer what we felt was a fair trade. When we arrived, after our 1300 mile trip to NJ, our new AS was hooked up to power, very cool, all curtains open, all lights on, refridgerator working, propane tanks full, everything checked out. They transfered our Hensley us and installed two MaxxAir vent covers. All very professionally done.

It was a long trip for us, but worth it . We (I) wanted a FB and did not care if it was a 2007. Fine with me. A few other 25' 2007s were available at other dealers, but Colonial was the best for us.

Also had some favorable talks with Airstream of Arkansas, but they did not have the unit I wanted and I did not want them to find one for me. They did offer.

Service may be an important part of the purchase, but it seems like problems are more apt to come up while on a trip, far from the dealer. We ended up with an independent repairman, rather than an Airstream dealer or Dometic service center. A trip to Jackson Center takes care anything that can wait. That, plus checking out the factory and staying at their port are interesting things to do.

shelly brown · 09-06-2007, 12:01 AM

Hello.......used to live in San Diego....could only find what I wanted in San Diego or so we thought!!....so off we went...while we were there another dealer (not airstream) mentioned that the owner of Southwest in Irvine was a really great guy....everything about them was #1..our original plan to buy in San Diego went sour and that is putting it mildly....so called S.W.they didn't have what we wanted . Bummer...some fast reasearch and found what we were looking for in Las Vegas at Pat Clarks ...paid for it over the phone sight unseen....our salesperson's name is Steve and I have to say he was great! professional....polite ...honest ...straight forward...never did I feel like he was pulling one over on me!!! Picked it up today....not one problem or delay.....it was a good thing our other deal didn't work out....we ended up with a newer model and a much better price.....one other Airstream dealer we would have gone to without hesitation is Sutton RV..

shelly brown · 09-06-2007, 01:55 AM

Buyer BEWARE of the Airstream dealer in Santee, CA....
I had a great experience at Pat Clarks in La Vegas...Have heard really goods things regarding Southwest in Irvine, CA and RV Sutton in Oregon....
Best of Luck

UAPachyderm · 09-10-2007, 04:30 AM

My wife and I have traveled the country in the Airstream we purchased from JD Sanders in Alachua, Florida. We've invested in some complicated enhancments ranging from solar panels, aluminum monitored propane tanks, bumper and fender replacement, and high definition satellite installation. We've utilized multiple Airstream dealers across the country. The guys at Airstream of Arkansas in Searcy, Arkansas are by far the most experienced, competent and responsive! If you are doing anything major --- it is worth the drive (no matter how far)!

Sonia · 09-25-2007, 11:34 AM

We have purchased 3 brand new Airstreams from Colonial over the years. Their sales department is THE BEST. Pat and David are great. We have had good experience with the service department too. Very good and quick to check problems, return calls, and get things done.

I would HIGHLY recommend them.

Sonia

Airstream 22 · 09-25-2007, 03:34 PM

I agree that David and Patrick are great to work with at Colonial but we bought our AS from Lauren and were greatly impressed. Her follow up skills were excellent and she was both knowledgable and patient as we started looking and finally made the decision to buy. An almost two year period of time elapsed during which time we bought SOB and then returned to AS. Lauren never gave the feeling that we were bothering her and couldn't have been more pleasant and interactive.

Since our purchase we have dealt with Tony in the service department and he has been great to work with as well. We would highly recommend Colonial from start to finish.