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Old 04-29-2010, 07:15 PM   #41
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I agree that it is unacceptable. Looks like the installer had no clue on how to put in an aluminum panel. It should look just like the other side when they are done. There is not a color mismatch there, just very, very poor workmanship.

I would right a letter to the dealer and ask for a refund and make a trip to Jackson Center. If they balk, offer to see them in court. Or have an attorney write you a letter, quite often that is all it will take.

Aaron
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Old 04-29-2010, 10:33 PM   #42
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The so called repairman never heard of Clecos. He should not be allowed near an Airstream.

If done properly the new segment should fit like the skin on a grape.
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Old 04-30-2010, 12:14 AM   #43
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And the price for the repair.

$2942.78
Parts were $516.78 and labor was $2426.00

So I will call the Rv Center tomorrow. Tell them that the roof is leaking and that I find the repair work unacceptable. I'll demand a refund. I did sign the invoice so I'm not sure how that affects me legally. If I get push back I could threaten to release the name of the dealer to this forum, complain to airstream and threaten legal action if necessary. If they offer to redo the work I will likely decline, as I know longer trust them. Someone suggested making them pay another dealer to redo the job? Does that sound like a fair deal?

Thanks for the support! Tom
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Old 04-30-2010, 05:49 AM   #44
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Looks like you got riveted
Include more telling pictures, such as a close up/1 ft. span of a proper seam, and the
same perspective of the Dealer's crappy rippled seam. Of course the top corner panel should have been one piece/with no seam at all.

Once again, Andy shined, and gave valuable detailed information.
I can see it now....your trailer parked at the end of the Plaintiff's bench in Judge Judy's courtroom, and the right time, the trailer door opens,,,and out walks Andy Rogozinski! After being charmed and impressed by Andy's concise explanation, superior knowledge, and riveting testimony, Judy would lower the hammer on the lack of quality workmanship, on such a beautiful new trailer.
Let us know when that episode airs so we can stream it on the internet.
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Old 04-30-2010, 06:14 AM   #45
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So sorry to read about your troubles. Please keep us posted on how it turns out. I just found myself in an uncomfortable spot with a dealer but it all turned out right in the end. With Andy's help I might add! Good luck.
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Old 04-30-2010, 02:22 PM   #46
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tmarquis View Post
$2942.78
Parts were $516.78 and labor was $2426.00

"If they offer to redo the work I will likely decline.."
Tom, I'm a rookie, so take what I say with a grain of salt and listen to the gray beards, like ANDY, on this site.

You were robbed and raped. As far as I am concerned, your trailer was in better shape before they destroyed it. I wouldn't let one of their "armpit mechanics" get within 100 feet of my trailer.

For you dealer to give ANY kind of an excuse for such shoddy work makes him a crook without an ounce of integrity. I would show him no quarter.

If I was not satisfied within 7 to 10 days, I would pull out all the stops, take the dealer to court, bitch him to the Airstream company and do anything I could legally do to shut his dealership down or at least cost him thousands. I would find the dealer that I trust to do it right and get it to them.

That dealer should have immediately fired the guy who did the job and begged you to give them a chance to make it right.

Now, as you may see, I can be a bit of a hothead, so my approach might not fit with your personality. I'm still mad at a kid that borrowed 4 cents from me for milk in the lunch line when I was in the 4th grade. Do you hear that Ron Spenner, I am still waiting and if I ever find you, I'll get that 4 cents back.

I don't remember, but did you turn this into your insurance company? If so, I would try to get them involved. Point out to your agent that further claimable damage is "now" occurring because of this incompetency. Point out that the adjoining skins and the studs (whatever they call them) may now have to also be replaced. You can't use this trailer until it's fixed right, for fear of further damage, so it might as well be totaled. Of course it won't be totaled, but it sounds nice. LOL

I know that my agent would be all over this.

Good luck and stay in control of this.. do not let them wear you down. You were definatly screwed. Fight them until they beg you to quit.
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Old 04-30-2010, 02:51 PM   #47
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Tom,
If you don't prevail, and I believe you will, I would be tempted to use sealer and duct tape at the seams, leaving some of the seam visible, and put a brightly colored decal on that skin that reads, "Dealers name and location, fixed this dent and charged me $2942.78". Then I would park it in front of your local newspaper office. I would also send a copy of a photo to Airstream Co. and a few Rv magazines.I would have that dealer thinking that I was his ex-wife-- come back from her grave. ;>)
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Old 04-30-2010, 05:22 PM   #48
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I talked to the dealer today

He was understanding and sounds like he's willing make things right. He asked to have some pics sent so that he can get someone else to evaluate the repair and see what needs to be done to fix the problem. I will be keeping my insurance company up to date as well. I'll keep you posted.
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Old 04-30-2010, 07:03 PM   #49
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Tom... Good.

It troubles me to see someone forced to have to deal with such nonsense. A few short weeks ago it could have easily been me going through this garbage. A true artist blessed my AS, so I was fortunate, at the time I didn't realize how much. Your story really drives that home.

I would really like to know if/when this has a happy ending.

I hope to see Virginia someday. Your state has such rich history. Should we ever run across each other, lets hope that both of our beautiful Airstreams are without dent's. ;>)

You have my best wishes, fellow rookie.

Dan
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Old 04-30-2010, 10:35 PM   #50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tmarquis View Post
He was understanding and sounds like he's willing make things right. He asked to have some pics sent so that he can get someone else to evaluate the repair and see what needs to be done to fix the problem. I will be keeping my insurance company up to date as well. I'll keep you posted.
Hi, hopefully this will work out for you. Legally, You have to let the shop have at least have one chance to make good. Either fix it right or refund your money. Then you go to plan "B" if not satisfied.
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Old 05-23-2010, 09:08 PM   #51
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Just checking for an update?
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Old 05-23-2010, 09:45 PM   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiny metal View Post
Andy,
How about a tutorial on the correct sequence for rivet placement.
The ends of the segments are riveted last.

You can use cleco's (best) or #8 screws (in case cleco's are not available.

Drill a couple of holes in each segment side seam, near the middle of the segment seam.

Fan those holes out, like every other one. But, alternate between the 2 seams.

Then remove the segment, to get rid of the shavings.

Apply vulkem sealer to the segment seam that will be underneath a seam, and install vulkem sealer to the stationary segment. Also apply some vulkem to both ends of the segment

When thru drilling, every other hole is open.

Reinstall the segment, aligning the holes.

Install the olympic rivets in those open holes. Remove the cleco's and install rivets in the remaining holes.

Install the rivets in the ends of the segments last.

Lastly, snip the olympic pins and shave the pins down to the rivet head.

For the final touch up, remove the excess vulkem sealer that squeezed out of the seams.

It's obvious, that an amateur install the pictured segment, or the sheet metal tech, had a bad night, or day, as the case may be.

Certainly, the owner has every right to be unhappy, and an insurance company, if any was involved, should step up to the plate for their insured.

The insured, or owner, should also have asked for a "ball park" cost, from another dealer. Or for that matter, kicked it around on this Forums.

There obviously can be a few bucks difference between dealers, but certainly not several hundreds of dollars, especially for one segment.

A word of caution to all, at this point. Airstream early this month, May 2010, raised the prices on sheetmetal by 10 percent. That increase must be added to recent quotes so that a dealer is not accused of inflating the deal.

Some small steps were omitted in the brief instructions, but the basics are there for an individuals perusal.

Andy
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Old 05-24-2010, 09:52 AM   #53
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Repair on 06 International 25

I hadn't checked back in earlier because we were researching our options. It looks like we have two scratches that went through the clear coat. Although we could replace the entire panel (length of driver side), that seems too over the top. In talking with Jackson Center and others, the recommendation is to use REJEX on the scratches. They're saying the polymer finish will seal and protect. We'll try that and see how it goes. We'll be at the factory in June for Alumapalooza. Unfortunately, they don't have any service shop openings but we're hoping to have someone look at it and get their first-hand advice.

Donna
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Old 05-24-2010, 11:48 PM   #54
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Hi all, This is the original poster. I have some vacations planned and worked out a date in late June to have the repair done. I let you know how things turn out. Thanks!
Tom
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Old 05-26-2010, 06:51 AM   #55
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Correction

OK, I had it wrong on the suggested fix for the clear coat. It's a paint stick, 480S, acrylic clear, sold by Airstream in Jackson Center.

Tom, enjoy your travels!
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Old 05-26-2010, 10:05 AM   #56
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tmarquis View Post
Hi all, This is the original poster. I have some vacations planned and worked out a date in late June to have the repair done. I let you know how things turn out. Thanks!
Tom
Enjoy your camping trip and good luck on the fix.
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Old 05-31-2010, 08:23 PM   #57
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From the pics it looks like a blind, drunk, angry baboon used a lead hammer and custom formed your repair section then had a three toed sloth align the rivets for the elephant to set with his back foot. I sure hope this gets corrected for you.
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Old 05-31-2010, 09:38 PM   #58
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From the pics it looks like a blind, drunk, angry baboon used a lead hammer and custom formed your repair section then had a three toed sloth align the rivets for the elephant to set with his back foot. I sure hope this gets corrected for you.
Hi, with such a detailed discription of how this trailer was repaired, you must have been an eye witness.
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Old 05-31-2010, 09:54 PM   #59
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Was the dealer in Fredericksburg? I took my 75 Argosy that had a big dent in the front from a tree limb that fell during a bad storm in Oct. 09 to the Airstream dealer in Fredericksburg. I went through the proper Insurance channels etc. and felt good about gettting it fixed and maybe even a paint job as my insurance co. was willing to spend about 4k. The dealer in Fredericksburg came back with an estimate for $11,700!!!! yes you read it right. almost 12g's I politely said wow, you are not going to get that job and the service writer actualy acted surprised. So I picked up my poor dented argy (see my pics) and pretty much had come to grips with living with the dent. ( I did not want to drill holes and pull the dent out because I thought the Argosy, like Airstream was aluminum all over. Well its not, once I found this out I quickly got ahold of a good body man, he used the weld-on studs to pull the dent out (no holes drilled-no leaks!) got it almost perfectly back to shape and smoothed it out with marine type adhesive body filler & painted the end cap. I'm so happy and very satisfied with the repair! (cost: we traded some work, I fixed his car, he fixed my camper!!) My point is I have to wonder about this dealerships integrity. I mean if they priced way out there to just not get the job why not just tell me. My family has been in the Rv business since the 70's. I went to them because we don't do airstreams, never have. (Even though I secretly always thought they were AWESOME, my Dad would say they were just to expensive.) Now I have my Argosy and I see firsthand what outstanding quality goes into these babies! I doubt there are very many 1975 campers of any brand still in use except for the products built by Airstream. Beware of these guys (if we are talking about the same dealer) and I hope they get everything taken care of for you. There is no excuse for poor workmanship at any price.
Good luck! PD
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Old 06-01-2010, 09:49 AM   #60
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No, I moved out west from Virginia to Colorado. I'm going to hold off naming the dealer since he is making an effort to make the situation right. I'll be dropping the trailer off next week. Cross you fingers. Hopefully everything will look as good as new.
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