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Ag&Au · 10-29-2012, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glfbllrcks

Our dealer provided a VERY brief walk through, provided by the sales person. We are newbies. Is this common?

Yes, if they can get away with it.

At many RV dealers these days, it seems to be up to the buyer to demand the amount of in depth explanation they want . Also keep in mind the salesman may not be that knowledgeable himself. One of the technicians would be a better choice to conduct a checkout.

Ken

Dwellstream · 10-29-2012, 05:05 PM

We set aside an entire day and two nights on the dealer's lot. Instead we got a hour when we arrived and half hour when the hitch was installed the next day. What does AS expect to happen?

Dwellstream · 10-29-2012, 05:08 PM

Sorry, I am getting off topic. I need to find a better place to vent.

dkottum · 10-30-2012, 08:22 AM

I think Airstream company proves a checkoff sheet for you to sign that you got a good briefing on systems. Nonetheless our salesman knew Airstreams well and gave us a good walkthrough.

That's where local dealership service ended though. Argumentive service department. So Jackson Center will resolve your after-purchase needs if you buy a trailer in Minnesota.

doug k

Dwellstream · 10-30-2012, 09:13 AM

Thanks Ken & Doug. I appreciate the advice.

**jcanavera** · 10-30-2012, 10:57 AM

Our dealer had us come and spend an overnight in the trailer. No paperwork is done until the trailer is "ready" to go. We got a full tour with the fellow who does all the prep work. This included the awnings which was much appreciated. We spent the night in a full hookup site (the dealer has several) and tried out everything. We even showered and cooked breakfast the next morning. After getting ready we went into the service area and reported what we had found (shower leaked). They got that repaired and then we did the paper work. For all intents we could have walked away if we had gotten spooked out. I was offered an additional night if I wanted but felt we had things well in hand. Personally I found the lack of pressure to complete the sale refreshing.

Jack

PharmGeek · 12-16-2012, 12:09 AM

I am looking to buy in about 1 year time...I live in birmingham AL....in reading about this, I am a bit worried about the prospect of not having good service within some reasonable distance. The airstream website dealer locator lists "dandy RV" in anniston AL which is about 1 hr away from me....I have not met them yet...they have only 3 AS's on their lot per online inventory listing.....no idea of selling AS and doing work on them is something they do.....perhaps I need to look to mississippi as well...although im guessing that is more like 2-4 hr drive to a dealer there...FL at least 5 hours to the panhandle...

Should I be concerned? Having a growing family I do not need the inconvenience of having to drive 1-2 x per year (or more

) quite long distances to take care of maintenance issues....

If it is going to be a huge deal I will go with an SOB I guess.

I think the wife and I will likely order our own...this will be a luxury purchase and price is secondary to feeling very good about the purchase....all the talk about new ones having issues worries me, but we will just keep our expectations realistic.....I dont mind having issue come up....but would VERY much like the comfort of knowing good folks will work on my issues..

How would I figure this info out on this dealer?

Gene · 12-22-2012, 02:02 PM

'Geek,

Airstream does not have a big dealer network and too many dealers are not good. There is a new dealer is southern Mississippi that may be worth checking out.

We would have to travel 5 hours to the nearest dealer and from experience we would never go there again. This is a problem for many of us, especially in the west where distances are long.

You are closer than us to the factory where you can get warranty work done well. We went there twice before the warranty was up and were pleased with them. And you can buy a new one anywhere via the internet after you go to a few dealers to see what they have and check them out so you can decide what you like best. Plan an Airstream tour and visit dealers to see how they treat you as well as look over trailers.

Airstream will authorize warranty repairs done at some other shops if you are far from a dealer, but check with the company first about that. Once the warranty is up, see if there is a good RV shop close to home. Since you will find repairs are sometimes necessary on the road (things break when you use them, so repairs on the road are inevitable), so you'll find yourself learning how to fix things and bringing a lot of tools. I have fixed just about everything myself and if you are good with tools, it will come to you.

Gene

RUMSHIP · 12-22-2012, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

I am looking to buy in about 1 year time...I live in birmingham AL....in reading about this, I am a bit worried about the prospect of not having good service within some reasonable distance. The airstream website dealer locator lists "dandy RV" in anniston AL which is about 1 hr away from me....I have not met them yet...they have only 3 AS's on their lot per online inventory listing.....no idea of selling AS and doing work on them is something they do.....perhaps I need to look to mississippi as well...although im guessing that is more like 2-4 hr drive to a dealer there...FL at least 5 hours to the panhandle...

Should I be concerned? Having a growing family I do not need the inconvenience of having to drive 1-2 x per year (or more

) quite long distances to take care of maintenance issues....

If it is going to be a huge deal I will go with an SOB I guess.

I think the wife and I will likely order our own...this will be a luxury purchase and price is secondary to feeling very good about the purchase....all the talk about new ones having issues worries me, but we will just keep our expectations realistic.....I dont mind having issue come up....but would VERY much like the comfort of knowing good folks will work on my issues..

How would I figure this info out on this dealer?

I've had conversations about this before. This forum is a good place for info but, for someone new to the airstream lifestyle it can be overwhelming. With all the doom and gloom, we tend to scare newbies off. Not all new rigs have problems. You tend to hear more from people with problems then from the vast more population that love and enjoy their rigs. It's a learning experience, that's true. Don't get discouraged by the na sayers. Just be informed. An SOB will never last as long as an airstream and may not come to mean as much to your family as a wood square. Yes you may have to find a good dealer to deal with. It's worth it in the long run.

GettinAway · 12-23-2012, 06:04 AM

One other thing about service, it's been said before, but I'll bring it up again..
If its a appliance, or something like that, (toilet, air conditioner, hot water heater, etc) those are standard items in almost all SOBs, I've been told they all are under the two year warranty also and can be serviced anywhere..
I would think the only time you absolutely had to go to a AS dealer, was for some thing specific to AS.
Just a thought.

PharmGeek · 12-23-2012, 07:22 AM

thanks you all....the idea of having to two 8 hours to repair something is rather scary...but hopefully it would be a rare event.

Dandy RV in Anniston AL list having 3 AS's - got that listing from a search on the AS website.

On this site, I am wondering if there is a way I can get a sense of how good they are? Otherwise I suppose I will just have to find out. Ill have to check that one out in MS as well.

thanks for the advice you all...ill gather as much info in the next year as I can.