I had been interested in the advertised 75th Bambi on the Bates site...emailed a salesperson back and forth, and was told that the unit DID have filiform corrosion...but that it was due to "not being waxed as we don't wax them on the lot"...
Hmmm...
I ended up getting the well known "bait and switch" from Bates. Turns out, just as we started talking more "seriously" about purchase, after supposedly 15 months on the lot, that the unit was suddenly sold...but that I could come in for "other" trailers that won't be near as good a deal because as I was told, "That was a manager's special price."
I had a strange feeling from the first couple emails...then after reading others' experiences with Bates, I wasn't shocked when the above happened. Seems they are famous for this.
BTW...someone else on this site posted that the 75th Bambi that Bates USED to have was indeed USED. When I tried to get Bates to clarify this, I couldn't get a straight answer...all in all, just too much runaround for me; especially when you're talking about the insane price and the apparent poor craftsmanship and corrosion of late.
Another thing...the same pics I was sent of a trailer from Bates are the ones showing up in some of the links above in Florida...with different dealers listed, or at least different names. I prefer things to be a bit more transparent and without question.
I had been interested in the advertised 75th Bambi on the Bates site...emailed a salesperson back and forth, and was told that the unit DID have filiform corrosion...but that it was due to "not being waxed as we don't wax them on the lot"...
Hmmm...
I ended up getting the well known "bait and switch" from Bates. Turns out, just as we started talking more "seriously" about purchase, after supposedly 15 months on the lot, that the unit was suddenly sold...but that I could come in for "other" trailers that won't be near as good a deal because as I was told, "That was a manager's special price."
I had a strange feeling from the first couple emails...then after reading others' experiences with Bates, I wasn't shocked when the above happened. Seems they are famous for this.
BTW...someone else on this site posted that the 75th Bambi that Bates USED to have was indeed USED. When I tried to get Bates to clarify this, I couldn't get a straight answer...all in all, just too much runaround for me; especially when you're talking about the insane price and the apparent poor craftsmanship and corrosion of late.
Another thing...the same pics I was sent of a trailer from Bates are the ones showing up in some of the links above in Florida...with different dealers listed, or at least different names. I prefer things to be a bit more transparent and without question.
Good luck...just be warned.
thank you very much for the info..........anything special that I should look out for about the craftsmanship and corrosion?
I was flabbergasted at what I read and saw...and checking my local Airstream dealer revealed that EVERY Airstream on the lot had the corrosion in several places.
Whether or not Bates actually had the 75th we emailed about didn't really matter regarding corrosion...fact was, the salesman was aware of it and blamed it on not waxing the units. He sent me several pictures of different trailers' taillights, hinges, handles, and aluminum panel seams. Not a pretty sight...I think when you spend $50-60k, the thing should at LEAST look NEW before you actually buy it.
Regarding craftsmanship...this forum is literally full of threads regarding what people have found regarding their trailers. When I went to my local dealer this past Monday, it was the little things...rust deposits in the rear bumper storage area, rusty screws, holes punched with no rivets in them, dings in the body around the rivets, sealant around windows cracking, chrome rings around taillights and clearance lights rotted and pitted, rust on the hitch, gaps between the cabinets and the walls, the plywood-look veneer (why would you want to make fake wood look like plywood of all things?) on the edges of the counters coming off...just things like that I don't expect for half the cost of a house.
You'll find out a LOT on the thread link above. It was enough to make me change my mind and say, "No thanks." Especially when you get to the later entries where Airstream is refusing ANY warranty work if they blame oxidation...
I was flabbergasted at what I read and saw...and checking my local Airstream dealer revealed that EVERY Airstream on the lot had the corrosion in several places.
Whether or not Bates actually had the 75th we emailed about didn't really matter regarding corrosion...fact was, the salesman was aware of it and blamed it on not waxing the units. He sent me several pictures of different trailers' taillights, hinges, handles, and aluminum panel seams. Not a pretty sight...I think when you spend $50-60k, the thing should at LEAST look NEW before you actually buy it.
Regarding craftsmanship...this forum is literally full of threads regarding what people have found regarding their trailers. When I went to my local dealer this past Monday, it was the little things...rust deposits in the rear bumper storage area, rusty screws, holes punched with no rivets in them, dings in the body around the rivets, sealant around windows cracking, chrome rings around taillights and clearance lights rotted and pitted, rust on the hitch, gaps between the cabinets and the walls, the plywood-look veneer (why would you want to make fake wood look like plywood of all things?) on the edges of the counters coming off...just things like that I don't expect for half the cost of a house.
You'll find out a LOT on the thread link above. It was enough to make me change my mind and say, "No thanks." Especially when you get to the later entries where Airstream is refusing ANY warranty work if they blame oxidation...
Again, just be warned.
as you can tell, I'm new to the AS product and appreciate your advice.....
Interesting about the 75th that Bates offered to you, then didn't. Notice that it was listed as an '06. Well, all 75 of the 75th anniversary Bambis that were produced were '07s!!! In fact, I was offered this very trailer when they got it on the lot a couple of years ago.
They told me at that time that it was the prototype that David Winnick made as the model for the anniversary models and that if I wanted it, they would take my new '06 19CCD in trade at what I paid for it, along with another $25K. That was almost like buying the trailer twice......for just about the same trailer!!!!!
Now that you have experienced the ' Bates runaround ' first hand, I would deal with some of the other reputable dealers , like Gene at Airstream of Arkansas or Colonial Airstream.
Both have great reputations on these boards, and I think that Gene will find you what you are looking for......if it exists!
Happy hunting!
__________________ Lew Farber -Certified Master RV Tech (currently on Forums posting sabbatical, but lurking in the background ) WBCCI #1456 and about to resign!/VAC (assoc) #1456/ AIR # 10325 TAC# OR-1 CHARTER MEMBER: FOUR CORNERS UNIT
Interesting about the 75th that Bates offered to you, then didn't. Notice that it was listed as an '06. Well, all 75 of the 75th anniversary Bambis that were produced were '07s!!! In fact, I was offered this very trailer when they got it on the lot a couple of years ago.
They told me at that time that it was the prototype that David Winnick made as the model for the anniversary models and that if I wanted it, they would take my new '06 19CCD in trade at what I paid for it, along with another $25K. That was almost like buying the trailer twice......for just about the same trailer!!!!!
Now that you have experienced the ' Bates runaround ' first hand, I would deal with some of the other reputable dealers , like Gene at Airstream of Arkansas or Colonial Airstream.
Both have great reputations on these boards, and I think that Gene will find you what you are looking for......if it exists!
Happy hunting!
very interesting.....Bates told me about the "prototype" unit today......that it had no number, hence the "prototype" status......that it would be at full MSLP......
Sorry to say that Bates is not the only one with questionable practices. I have related this before in a different thread, but it still sticks in my craw...so here goes...bear with me.
I won't name names but I won't have to because there's only one AS dealer in the Phx metro area (who also sells SOBs)...and as it happens that it was over a 75th Anniversary Special Edition that they had on their lot. We looked at it, liked it a lot, then came back down to Tucson, having not committed to anything.
The next day the sales person called us and made us and offer to trade in our small motor home, plus a $ amount...and we could take the 75th home. We hung up telling him we'll look the numbers over and get back to him. We called back in a bit after we discussed it and made the decision to go for it... we said "yes" and gave them a credit card number over the phone as earnest money and said we'd be up the next weekend to bring them the motor home and take possession of the 75th.
We were so excited! It didn't last long. We were still high from having committed to it when the phone rang, not 20 minutes later...it was the sales guy again...he said he'd need another $10,000 from us to make the deal work. Huh? Now we were in shock. We said, "No," and told him to destroy our credit card info. We had never heard of such a thing. After all, he had initiated the deal! We were very very angry, as you might imagine...talk about taking the wind out of our sails.
This guy called us every day for the next week asking, "What can I do to make this work?" We kept telling him that he could stick to his original deal (!) and that was all it would take. He just didn't get it. He thought he'd wear us down by repeating the question, I guess.
We went to Oasis here in Tucson, where we had seen a 2006 19' Bambi Safari SE LS with lots of extra stuff on it ...it was beautiful and we soon signed the dotted line. In retrospect it's is a much better unit for our needs (and a far better price)...
You can't imagine how much pleasure it gave me to tell the Phx sales guy that we'd bought elsewhere the next day when he called, and he could stop calling us now. There was a long silence on the other end of the line. I think it finally dawned on him that he had blown it terribly. We will never go back there and we caution others who are dealing with this particular dealer to be very very careful.
OK I'll step down from my soap box now. I feel better now...yup.
Sorry to say that Bates is not the only one with questionable practices. I have related this before in a different thread, but it still sticks in my craw...so here goes...bear with me.
I won't name names but I won't have to because there's only one AS dealer in the Phx metro area (who also sells SOBs)...and as it happens that it was over a 75th Anniversary Special Edition that they had on their lot. We looked at it, liked it a lot, then came back down to Tucson, having not committed to anything.
The next day the sales person called us and made us and offer to trade in our small motor home, plus a $ amount...and we could take the 75th home. We hung up telling him we'll look the numbers over and get back to him. We called back in a bit after we discussed it and made the decision to go for it... we said "yes" and gave them a credit card number over the phone as earnest money and said we'd be up the next weekend to bring them the motor home and take possession of the 75th.
We were so excited! It didn't last long. We were still high from having committed to it when the phone rang, not 20 minutes later...it was the sales guy again...he said he'd need another $10,000 from us to make the deal work. Huh? Now we were in shock. We said, "No," and told him to destroy our credit card info. We had never heard of such a thing. After all, he had initiated the deal! We were very very angry, as you might imagine...talk about taking the wind out of our sails.
This guy called us every day for the next week asking, "What can I do to make this work?" We kept telling him that he could stick to his original deal (!) and that was all it would take. He just didn't get it. He thought he'd wear us down by repeating the question, I guess.
We went to Oasis here in Tucson, where we had seen a 2006 19' Bambi Safari SE LS with lots of extra stuff on it ...it was beautiful and we soon signed the dotted line. In retrospect it's is a much better unit for our needs (and a far better price)...
You can't imagine how much pleasure it gave me to tell the Phx sales guy that we'd bought elsewhere the next day when he called, and he could stop calling us now. There was a long silence on the other end of the line. I think it finally dawned on him that he had blown it terribly. We will never go back there and we caution others who are dealing with this particular dealer to be very very careful.
OK I'll step down from my soap box now. I feel better now...yup.
thx, your "soap box" presentation has not fallen on deaf ears.........
Have you contacted David Winnick? He'll make you a cutom Airstream that's identical to the 75th model. It's a beautiful design - but I need it in a larger version.
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