how far would you ride

[C0305]

To go see and possibly buy an Airstream?
"of course after deducting the trip to the price of the Airstream"
Jaja

[Gene]

Seeing and buying are 2 different things. You can see them at any dealer, but some dealers are to be otherwise avoided. I believe Colonial in NJ will deliver to you, but you'll have to check on that. The reasons to buy far from home are that a good dealer will prepare the trailer better, but you'll still have to go somewhere for warranty work. That can be a problem and the dealer we bought from (240 miles away) was so bad we ended up going to the factory service center in Ohio for warranty work. A long trip, but they do good work there and we made it part of a road trip.

Texas has several dealers and hopefully some Forum members will give you recommendations on the best one.

Buying a new Airstream is not all that easy because they do not have a large dealer network. You might consider buying one a few years old—it has been through the initial problems that have hopefully been fixed and you avoid the big depreciation in the first years. Some forum members will inspect the trailer for you. Inspectors are listed on the right side on the Portal page. There is a classified ads section on the Forum too.

Gene

[Bk Yd Safari]

I drove about 400 miles to Florida to look at and possibly buy a used model fom an authorized Airstream dealer. A few weeks later I drove about 400 miles to North Carolina to look at another used model at a dealer that is also an authorized Airstream dealer. I did purchase the unit and had to return the following week to allow time for a few minor repairs.
I have been fortunate to find a local RV center (not an Airstream dealer) for needed service.

[robert claus]

I would not pay you, through a price adjustment, to come and look at my Airstream. If you are looking at used, that's at your expense.

[wxbuoy]

Well we drove 1200 miles to look at and buy our first airstream (trailer and 1100 mile to look at and buy our second (motor home). As long as you know everything and are ready to go and the only thing the trip will do is decide NOT to buy you are in good shape if you are just thinking about it or still deciding, than save your time and money and stay local...... But that perfect unit, layout, etc... is out there and I will be a diet soda it isn't in 100 miles of you!

[switz]

I believe there are less than 60 active dealers in operation now. So that means that there are 60 locales where it is a local drive to an authorized dealership. Everyone else gets to drive some distance to look, see, and feel the merchandise. In new units that are basic, the units will be like Fords or GMC trucks, they are identical vehicles on any dealership lot.

So the commute decision to a dealership may be based upon proximity, reputation, or specific inventory or a combination of these. Since it was not a "command performance" for the customer to show up at a specific dealership, I look at the driving expense as part of the cost the Airstream experience.

There is no way around it, this can be a very expensive hobby. One has to pay to play.

[AWCHIEF]

Mine was located almost 300 miles from my home. I had a member here pre-check it out for me. I made the drive over with cash in hand, prepared to buy if it worked out. Well it did and I made the drive back with an Airstream in tow. I was a nervous wreck by the time I pulled into the yard. I had never towed a travel trailer of any kind before.

[JackDog]

We purchased our 2013 16' Bambi Sport from South West Coaches in Corona, CA.

They are only 20 miles from our house and after reading some of the threads in the forums feel very fortunate to have a top notch dealer so close to our home.

We've only had it back once for a hitch adjustment and that was handled perfectly.

Good Luck,

Jack Dog
in So Cal

[DKB_SATX]

I have made the mistake of driving 900 miles (EACH way) to end up leaving an awful trailer there to continue rotting. I should have waited the extra week until someone more local could go inspect it, but I thought it wasn't the disaster it turned out to be and worried someone would buy it. I have a very particular floorplan in mind.

[Beer Snob]

For some unknown reason 200 miles each way seems to be the range for us in each of our two purchases. Once we decided that we wanted a mid 2000 used 20 footer we hung tight until the one we wanted appeared at Colonial in New Jersey. We looked at the pics online and went down immediately intending to buy that day if we liked what we saw. We did...bought an 06 in 09. Then this past year we decided to move up to a 25 so we watched the classifieds. I considered trips of 1000 to 1500 miles to look at ones we saw pics of but never got off the couch. Then one (another 06) came up from an individual in Connecticut. Again the pics were good and we made the trip intending to buy and we did. Both trips were almost exactly 400 miles round trip.

[Belegedhel]

The OP should have specified if buying new or used. Well, on the used front, I can share a little experience. The further you drive the more inclined you will naturally feel to buy, since you don't want to invest two days in a trip and come home empty handed. This can be dangerous. I drove 600 miles each way to get my trailer. I got just what I wanted at a very good price. But the fact was, over the two years I spent looking, I saw several trailers locally that would have fit the bill, though they were a little more expensive. I wasn't so conscious at the time of my purchase how much renovation I would be doing, regardless of how long I shopped. Had I known, I would have bought the first trailer I saw, and it would be done my now.

[DanielB]

If it was something that I really wanted I would drive to Hades and back.

[DBdotdot]

I drove 800 miles each way for my 2005 19 footer and 350 miles each way for my friend's. do you mean there are some actually close to home? Crap. worth every mile, btw.

[SeeMore]

We drove 520 miles each way to fetch our used, but tenderly cared for, unit listed in the classifieds after three days of telephone conference calls and e-mailed photos between the elderly owner in Florida and his son in Virginia who coordinated the sale to ensure satisfaction for all involved. Interestingly, this became the best deal experience of my life for accuracy of condition and valuation, and we encountered no surprises or regrets afterwards. Our community does have some very fine people among the membership.

[overlander64]

When I have been looking at Airstreams with the intent of purchase, I have taken my car for the initial inspection. My first Airstream purchase was my '64 Overlander in 1995 . . . it was my tenth inspection trip. Each of my inspection trips ran from a low of 125 miles to a high of 550 miles . . . the '64 Overlander was 325 miles away. The Minuet was far less effort as I had seen the trailer two years earlier and was confident that I would be completing the purchase . . . made one trip of 350 miles to inspect the Minuet and placed a deposit on the purchase price returning three days later to finalize the deal. I considered the drives to inspect the various trailers recreational as well as educational as it seemed that I learned something more about Vintage Airstreams during each trip.

Kevin

[Journalist]

550 to pick mine up, but it was a trailer that I was already familiar with.

[mistral blue]

1606 miles, each way, for a '77 Gronski 24'.

Totally worth it.

[Condoluminum]

You didn't clarify whether plan was to purchase new or used.. For new trailers, there are a handful of "internet specialist" dealers who are skilled at presenting inventory and marketing it and selling it via internet at minimal margins.. It may be worth traveling hundreds of miles to visit one of them to buy new, knowing that warranty work will be potential challenge, since local warranty dealer service shop will know you went around them for purchase. That said, many Airstream dealers find service (warranty or paid)to be significant contributor to margins, and may not miss making the sale..

For used, we (actually I - solo..) drove 1650 miles each way from Silicon Valley CA to Ft. Worth Texas to buy our '88 25' rear queen model. No regrets and worked out well... Not generally something I'd recommend, but we did spend enough time and effort in 72 hours to understand enough about sellers and trailer and contingency plans to justify making decision to buy, wire funds and make the drive down and back. (2 1/2 days each way). Certain used models and years are really a "National market" and people will cross half the country to get them if a good one is available at an attractive price. If one has been on the market for a long time that may be a clue that it is either over-priced by seller or in much worse condition than described in ads.. It is also generally true that small and mid-size trailers (up to 25 or 27') are more in demand than large models (31' to 34') which require larger and more specialized tow vehicles...

[mojo]

Flew over 2000 mikes one way to Florida and back to inspect my most recent purchase and then drove 2000 miles there and 2000 miles towing it back. Ya get em where ya find em!

[polarlyse]

We drove 1300 miles, one way, to get ours. But in all fairness we bought it from a friend and knew the trailer so didn't need to inspect it first. We drove out to Kansas and picked it up and continued on our way west. Would not have done that otherwise.