Warranty question

[GettinAway]

I am not sure where the best place is to post this, but I guess this section is as good as any.
We are in the process of trading our 19' Bambi in on a 23' FB Flying Cloud.

We have a pretty good relationship with the local dealer.
When we decided to go a little larger, we went to them first. They sold us the 04 Bambi three years ago.

I found a 23' FB FC, on line though.. It was $7,000 less (with trade)
That's a fairly large number to me.

When I told the local dealer, he was really pretty good about it. Gave me the differences between a 2011 (what I found still new) and a 2013 (what he was going to order) etc..

The one thing he told me though that has me concerned is, that AS dealers generally lose money on warranty work, so they would not be able to honor the warranty.. That means we have to pull it 200 miles to go back to the other dealer for warranty issues.

I guess I can live with that to save the money.

My question is (at last huh?) is it general knowledge that competing dealers do not honor the factory warranty? Any other ideas/suggestions appreciated..

I guess I will be extremely nit picky when we pick it up..

Thanks,
Jeff

[bike_addict]

To me that's just B.S. he's trying to sway you to buy from him. I bought mine at a dealer 3.5 hours away and all the warranty work I've had done has been at either another dealer or a repair shop that Airstream accepts. And I didn't get any grief from the dealer. The RV repair place seemed quite excited to have my warranty work.

Personally if I was told that by a dealer that would push me to send my business elsewhere. If he is planning on making enough money on the sale to make up for the "losses" he's going to take on the future warranty work then you're paying too much.

And when you do need warranty work you're not going to be calling that sales guy, you're going to be calling service.

[dznf0g]

Not only is that probably against the AS franchise agreement, it's marginally legal, if pressed.

I still have the FEW and dying dealers who try and pull that crap in the auto business. One call to AS will fix that....but then do you really want him to work on your AS after you rat him out???? It's a ticklish situation.

[reinergirl]

WHAT! He's an Airstream dealer , where you buy the product should make no difference. What if you moved? A warranty that is restricted to a geographical area isn't worth much!! My sense is that he's giving you a hard sell.... Those are the kind of dealers I walk from.

[SilverRanger]

Originally Posted by bike_addict

Personally if I was told that by a dealer that would push me to send my business elsewhere. If he is planning on making enough money on the sale to make up for the "losses" he's going to take on the future warranty work then you're paying too much.

And when you do need warranty work you're not going to be calling that sales guy, you're going to be calling service.

I totally agree with this. It also seems to imply there will be warranty work. That doesn't exactly instill confidence in a new product.

Should it be true that warranty work cost the dealership, it must have cost mine a fortune because there were numerous serious quality control issues missed at the AS factory. I'm not talking about cosmetic issues, missing screws, peeling laminate, or misaligned cabinet doors, etc., those were easy to fix myself. I had plumbing leaks that necessitated the removal of the shower wall, aluminum dust leaching through the already sagging mouse fur, non-functional tank flushing system, and a seriously flawed A/V system, things that were beyond my ability to repair. The Airstream solution for the mouse fur was to bring it to Jackson Center, on my dime.

I consider myself fortunate to have a had good relationship with my dealership because they actually covered some warranty work and parts that Airstream refused to honor, like the corrosion on the tail light bezels and the grab handle. The Airstream solution was that the dealer sand it off, and apply fingernail polish. The dealer ate the cost of the parts and labor for the sake of good customer relations. Unfortunately, they bought the OEM parts from AS, so they promptly corroded again (and still are). This could explain why they no longer sell Airstreams, but still repair them, and supply parts.

It's also true (at least in my case) that sales and service are separate. Fortunately, our salesman had transferred to service during the time most of the warranty work was being done, and that was a real bonus for us.
Rant over. Sometimes I need to vent.

[dkottum]

There are a few repair shops around that do warranty work for Airstream, no Airstream sales. They must be coming out ahead.

Or is your dealer's shop overhead that high? Probably would spend much time on pre-delivery inspection and repair then.

Might just be the sales pitch, and service is fine. Ask the service manager.

doug k

[jdalrymple]

Call the factory and confirm the warranty policy, but to my knowledge the 24 month factory warranty begins at dealer delivery to the first retail customer. Even on new "old stock" units.

Regards,

JD

[murreywalker]

Originally Posted by GettinAway

I am not sure where the best place is to post this, but I guess this section is as good as any.
We are in the process of trading our 19' Bambi in on a 23' FB Flying Cloud.

We have a pretty good relationship with the local dealer.
When we decided to go a little larger, we went to them first. They sold us the 04 Bambi three years ago.

I found a 23' FB FC, on line though.. It was $7,000 less (with trade)
That's a fairly large number to me.

When I told the local dealer, he was really pretty good about it. Gave me the differences between a 2011 (what I found still new) and a 2013 (what he was going to order) etc..

The one thing he told me though that has me concerned is, that AS dealers generally lose money on warranty work, so they would not be able to honor the warranty.. That means we have to pull it 200 miles to go back to the other dealer for warranty issues.

I guess I can live with that to save the money.

My question is (at last huh?) is it general knowledge that competing dealers do not honor the factory warranty? Any other ideas/suggestions appreciated..

I guess I will be extremely nit picky when we pick it up..

Thanks,
Jeff

I have to agree with what's been said before me.

I hope you're not dealing with Bill Thomas. I've heard good things about the dealership.

[GettinAway]

Originally Posted by murreywalker

I have to agree with what's been said before me.

I hope you're not dealing with Bill Thomas. I've heard good things about the dealership.

They've been fine to work with the last three years with our Bambi, although we haven't really had to do too much.. We did have a tree branch that fell on the front center panel, and they fixed it very well, and fast..

Maybe I misunderstood.. Hopefully I won't have many/any issues..

It sort of surprised me when I heard it. I guess if I get in a fix, I will have to call corporate, or head up to Davenport IA for repairs..

[Rich of SCal]

Sounds fishy to me. I wonder if they are an "authorized" AS dealer, including warranty work? Or maybe they resell ASs or order through another dealer. Many AS dealers apparently sell other brands as well. The tree repair, of course, would not have been under warranty, since it wasn't a manufacturer defect. So that doesn't verify their approval to do warranty work. That may be why it costs them more...if they have to get approval for every repair, individually.
As others have said, there are service centers that do warranty work, even tho they don't sell ASs. I am going to one in a week to get my refrigerator fixed under warranty. Maybe your dealer is the reverse of that. But either way, I wouldn't trust a dealer who told me what yours told you.
Both dealers I negotiated with when buying my 2012 said they hoped I would give them my warranty work.

[Gene]

You are being lied to. If a salesmen told you that, go over his head to confirm that. If a boss tells you the same lies, never go back. Some of these guys don't realize lies get posted on the internet and a lot of people learn who is dishonest.

Gene

[Wayne&Sam]

That's a dishonest salesman. The Airstream Warranty says to obtain service:

"Notify Airstream or one of its authorized, independent dealers".

It doesn't say I has to be the original selling dealer.

[Rich of SCal]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

That's a dishonest salesman. The Airstream Warranty says to obtain service:

"Notify Airstream or one of its authorized, independent dealers".

It doesn't say I has to be the original selling dealer.

As I read it they ARE the original selling dealer, so that is not even the issue.

[Aspirations]

Rich-
You may want to call around... as in many states away around (after all the AS&TV have wheels and love an excuse for a road trip!)

Last year I visited EVERY authorized AS dealer in CA and several in nearby states. I shall not repeat the names of the dealerships or the sales vultures I encountered, but I will tell you that I without hesitation will buy my next one from a state to our North. The California dealers oozed of greed & wanted .com $. One SoCal dealer even offered to cut $500 off retail & said that was a score (despite my knowledge of routine discounts, forum scuttlebutt & having an OR dealer quote me a price $12k less!). That's the tip of the iceberg of my CA AS dealer experiences - unfortunately

It sounds like you're leaning toward the 2013 model which would be available anywhere & likely at a more competitive price (IF you have time/inclination to do the drive. You'd also likely make way more $ selling your bambi by private party in SCal then trading it to any dealer, but some people prefer that simplicity.)