Making progress/More Questions on purchasing AS

[hiking1]

Good afternoon from sunny Bradenton, FL. I will keep my posts more brief hoping it is less painful for all who have been so helpful to us, thus far. My husband and I went to Tampa RV again just to walk back into the23 and 25 FC. We see pros in both, but tend to think the 25 would be best (unless the 23 proves the best deal). Many posts in the forum lean to 25 from experience (and I kinda see that wisdom). There is a 2013 FC 25A (twins fb) Colonial Airstream for 54,900 (that is the their 'red blow out price listed). Would one "expect a 20% on that as reasonable"? Dont see any extras except reese hitch and 1000 inverter (?) There was queen 2014 25 fb about 3 grand more. Would one 'expect' a more wheel n' deal onthe 2013? Would YOU go for the 2013 over 15? There are some 23s in the 40s. I have to tell you we need to be in the 42 grand range (because we need to also get a truck as our 1.5 yr old SUV cannot tow over 3000). It seemed wise to go nothing earlier tan 2012 (admittedly, not best wisdom as condition is everything and we know the least re: that on anything so far)! For these reasons, we are trying to stay financially responsible, but very green in AS world (as you can tell). Made no calls to anyone (but did see Colonial's pricing very close to the ones in AS Classifieds although those see to come s some extras). What are your thoughts on this Colonial posting vs some in current Classifieds? (as always,.... thank you)!!

[FCStreamer]

I've seen the 20% off deals on new Airstreams, not so much on used ones. You can make an offer, and the worst they can do is decline.

I would not hesitate to buy a 2-3 year old Airstream and save some $$$. Especially from Colonial. We bought a 2014 from Patrick at Colonial and will be going to pick it up next Monday. The 1000 mile trip is part of the adventure.

Good luck on your purchase!

[NWGetaways]

Originally Posted by hiking1;

...
I will keep my posts more brief hoping it is less painful for all who have been so helpful to us, thus far.

Brief is good, whitespace is better!

Hit return a couple times every once in a while.

[hiking1]

FC Streamer, I see that you are close by (Tampa) ever get out to Bradenton (we live in Palma Sola - right on the way to Anna Maria Island). We would love to meet more people Airstreaming (we are not retired - in our 50s) - kids grown but are very involved w our 7 yo granddaughter (lovely blessing that came early in life for us). Anyway, we would be camping/traveling just my husband and I. Those rallys and clubs in Tampa/ St Pete don't start up until after summer. I emailed some folks but they didn't respond. Ugh... disheartened to think that 20% is mostly on "new" only. Will make it harder for us since we would be only considering used (and be at mercy of "getting it right" using just a list of what to look for on here somewhere and our good sensibilities). :neutral

[hiking1]

Will

Do.

Thanks for the tip. :-) (my own posts make cross eyed) :-)

[FCStreamer]

We looked hard at new trailers, but never discussed prices. The 20% off new I got from some posters here. Buying a trailer is like buying a car. Some dealers will deal, others will not. It depends on you finding what you want, and not letting them know that's what you want, so you can negotiate.

My wife and I are also 50 with no kids, and we purchased an RV lot at River Ranch RV Resort. It is about 90 minutes from Tampa. We plan on spending the weekends there, with a couple of trips planned in between. We are keeping track of our adventure here:

http://fcstreamer.blogspot.com/

So feel free to stop by and see our madness. Don't be afraid of finding your trailer in New Jersey or in California. I found a really good one in Texas, but my wife was not thrilled about me spending that kind of money on a third party purchase. The logistics were also very daunting to a newbie such as myself. Colonial RV has a very good reputation, and buying from a reputable dealer does put our minds at ease, even if you pay a little more.

[greghoro]

Couple of random thoughts.

Springtime is a sellers market, you have a lot of competition from buyers at this time of the year, so be forewarned.

in a 25', 2015 has ducted air, 2013 does not. Several other modernization's, but that is the "killer app" of changes Airstream has made lately to their line.

When I went seriously shopping for a trailer in the Fall of 2014, I decided to buy used (or a discounted 2014 as the 2015's were coming in), no more than 4 model years old and had it narrowed down to 25' with twin beds. Kept my initial search somewhat close to home and when I missed two by just a few days, decided to open up my search.

One night, I went to the Airstream corporate dealer page and using their links, visited the web page of every dealer in North America looking at their stock. It was through this search, that I found two which matched my criteria and made a call to each dealer the next day. One was sold but the other was available and I put down a deposit based on their pictures, a Facetime lookaround and a long discussion with the dealer salesman.

Had to drive from Chicago to Gulfport MS to pick it up but its been well worth it.


Greg

[mfrez]

I doubt you could get a 4 year old or less 25 ft for under $50k. I bought a 2012 from a private party last fall, searched all over the country. Lost 2 when I tried to get a deal, both were sold at asking price before I could even get there. Paid a little above that. Mine has the 3 awnings, zamp solar package, and an upgraded mattress.

I wouldn't hesitate to look at private parties instead of a dealer. You can save the dealer markup. And there are volunteers who can help with the inspection.

[jcanavera]

Time of year has a lot to do with the kind of deals you are going to get. I bought my Classic new in November and bought my Safari in February. In both cases I got great deals and I think the late and early timeframes of my purchases helped. You are in high sales time at this point so its more of a sellers market right now.

Jack

[switz]

The new model Airstream dealer meeting is in May and they start down the assembly line at the end of June to the first week of July.

[TwoSporks]

Based on our own experience, your price range could be too low, especially for a 25. We bought a 2011 25FB Flying Cloud through a dealer for $45,500 in October of 2014. We negotiated the price down a few thousand dollars and felt like we got a fair deal based on our price research during the preceding 9 months. Getting 20% off the price for a used trailer seems unrealistic based on our experience but you might find a super-motivated/desperate seller (as in not Colonial Airstream).

We just looked at prices again because we were briefly considering a 27' and prices seem to be quite a bit higher on used Airstreams than when we bought. As I mentioned above, we spent 9 months looking and during that time, we only saw about 5 trailers that fit our criteria (2009 to 2013 25FB Flying Cloud or International with a light interior) on the Airstream Classified site. If you see a trailer that might meet your needs, you might want to move fairly quickly in contacting the seller or you could be looking for months.

In terms of model year, I would be more interested in how much use the trailer has seen than how old it is. Airstream hasn't changed most of the features on Flying Clouds in recent years so I would rather have a lightly used 2011 than a heavily used 2013 (assuming you are looking at Flying Clouds since Internationals will probably be well out of your price range).

[FCStreamer]

Price difference between FC and Internationals are just a few grand new. Nothing major. the Classics were a bigger jump. I got lucky and my wife did not like the Classic interior. Whew. Saved a few grand and a couple thousand pounds...

[switz]

The spread between the list prices of the FC and International trim lines was widened in the last couple of years by the addition of some inexpensive (in volume) fluff. I mean a tiny scrap of Corian counter top raises the price several thousand? Perhaps if the Corian was also used for the dinette table and the lavatory top versus the formica like the FC models, one might feel less taken advantage off when writing the check,