How hard would this damage be to fix?

[SierraSummit]

2006 Airstream Safari LS

Seems fairly localized. Does the price seem fair?

[Jim & Susan]

Strange how those hailstones only attacked that one one oddly placed segment. Photoshop? Sideline: We had some minor hail last week towing to Ft Campbell to visit #2 child and SIL. No damage, but lots o' noise. Sounded like the 'Stream and truck was being destroyed.

Jim

[idroba]

The "light hail" damage is far more than "light" in my opinion. Segments cost a lot to replace and there are at least two on this trailer which need replacing. There may be more that are not visible. I also think the price is high, for a 7 year old trailer with that damage.

Call and Airstream dealer to get an estimate on the replacement price per segment in your area.

[SierraSummit]

Thanks for the replies. That was my concern as well. I've read estimates of about $1200 per panel.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by SierraSummit

2006 Airstream Safari LS

Seems fairly localized. Does the price seem fair?

Hi, I think the asking price is a bit low for a trailer like that in near perfect condition, but you have to figure how much it would cost to replace those three panels that look to be damaged. Hard telling from the pictures, but the top center panel looks like it was damaged too.

Just guessing here; If the trailer was undamaged it could sell for maybe $7,000.00 more. But if the repairs cost $10,000.00 to $12,000.00 it would be better to find an undamaged trailer at a slightly higher price. [note these prices are fictitious estimates]

[polarlyse]

Just last spring we had 3 segment panels replaced on our '01 Excella. Two on one rear corner ( lower and upper ) and one on the other rear corner ( lower). All are formed panels and need to be ordered. The lower ones were actually put in over the original panel meaning that they are now double thick. Apparently there's some structural aspect to the lower corners and to remove them you need to access the inside by removing the interior panels. So done from the outside the rivets are taken out and the new panel is fitted in over top of the original one. The upper panels don't have this structural issue and are removed and replaced. Total for the job was just around $8k. Just to give you an idea what it might run you.

[Lumatic]

Hail dings tend to work themselves out somewhat over a couple of years. By that time you have probably forgotten about them anyway.

[azflycaster]

I would verify that the trailer has a clean title and not a salvage.

[Lumatic]

Salvage titles can be OK. I put some good scratches on the side of my 71. NO structural damage but the replacement of the 2 side panels would have cost over 10K to fix according to the local AS dealer. So my insurance totaled it and offered me 15K. I kept a salvage title for 4K and got a check for 11K. Now I have a trailer I don't worry about dents anymore and money in my pocket. I can still sell it with a salvage title.

What you really need to worry about is a clean title.

[Belegedhel]

To respond to the original post, I would say that the price seems a bit high for a trailer with this MUCH damage. I see at least three formed segments that would need to be replaced. It is NOT an easy or cheap fix. The dents will not just disappear over time. If you have dreams of an Airstream, it is all about the shell. The small dings are always going to catch your eye. A trailer so pummeled that it looks like a golf ball just ain't the same. The fact that you are asking how much trouble it would be to fix tells me that you are intent on making it look "normal again," and it would be less trouble and expense to just find one in decent shape in the first place.

A salvage title may not affect the utility of a trailer, but it ads a high level of stigma to it when it comes time to sell. If this trailer has a salvage title, it means the owner probably got a very nice pay-out from the insurance company (as described above), and now they are trying to double-dip by selling it at something much higher than "salvage" pricing. So....if it has a salvage title, then bargain the price down to salvage price--probably less than half of what they are asking. If it doesn't have a salve title, then they are just asking a lot for a very beat trailer. Keep looking.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

The dents will not just disappear over time. If you have dreams of an Airstream, it is all about the shell. The small dings are always going to catch your eye.

A salvage title may not affect the utility of a trailer, but it ads a high level of stigma to it when it comes time to sell.

Not to debate just clarify another point of view:
Small hail dents will work themself out over time, but will not "dissapear" I know this from experience.

A salvage title can mean there was major or in my case extensive but superficial damage. Caveat Emptor. Do your homework. Yeah, I don't expect now to sell her for the 16K she was appraised for. But if I do sell her someone could get a good trailer for a good price and we would both be ahead of the game. There are better things to invest money in than old trailers.

Maybe it's sour grapes but at this point I think of my dents and dings as character marks. But there is nothing wrong with getting your trailer as nice as you want.

[SteveSueMac]

Caveat - I'm not knowledgeable enough for you to take the following seriously...

Seems odd the hail damage would be THAT localized. It seems more likely to my untrained eye that there was some other damage (accident? hit a tree?) that they tried to bang out with golf-ball like results.

If that's true, there might be more structural damage or other internal damage.

The center top panel (above the propane tanks) looks like it's damaged as well.

Take that view with a huge grain of salt!

[SierraSummit]

Thanks everyone, we were thinking of putting an offer in but decided against it. It's too hard to tell how extensive the damage is. Could be a good deal or could be a total lemon.

[idroba]

BTW, I also saw it on CL, and was in Kalispell last week, but did not go to look. I don't need one, and too much visual damage in the photos, and I still say the price is too high.