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Pahaska · 09-23-2005, 01:14 PM

Camper Clinic II in Buda, TX has responded well to my refrigerator woes although I didn't purchase this trailer from them. The worked me immediately in at a time when they were preparing to take a score of units to a RV show and had the trailer ready the morning I was to depart.

Also, they inadvertently overcharged me for the LED taillight conversion kits. When I brought this to their attention, they cheerfully processed a refund to my credit card.

Great folks to deal with.

2airishuman · 09-23-2005, 02:21 PM

hi john, mark and others

wow i sure like reading the good service reports....so much so that i'm going to get a small usa map and put stars on the locations where great service is reported. maybe someone knows how to do this with mapping software and could put together an online map for us travelers.....the "beacons of service excellence" or some such thing.....for airstreamers at sea.......

service centers must be available to all owners regardless of 'port of origin'

as an owner it's my simple minded view that airstreams are

TRAVEL TRAILERS

and we trailer travelers

should have direct access to great service while on the road, in whatever region we travel.

furthermore, dealers with great service centers should compete for our service needs (even warranty work) whenever possible and especially when we did NOT buy from them.....since we might next time.

i'm certain the mothership is not doing enough to foster and expect superior service from it's dealerships.

mark, i'm not exactly clear on your "careful of what is said" comment.....who's an agent for the company....you or me? i certainly don't work for thor/as.....at least not directly.....but i'd offer that as owners we are all agents for the product and have some influence on others; whenever we talk about or show folks our tubes, as you mention.

your attempt to elaborate on the value/quality of airstreams is best explained by a 3 factor formula displayed throughout the plant/factory....

anyone know what this formual is????? come on now who's been on the tour? who knows it?

dealerships change, regions evolve, demographics shift and people move....still we'd all like to live just miles from an outstanding dealer/service center that sells at a great discount from msrp. i'll share the evolution of a dealership in a future post.....

i completely disagree with 'protected markets' for this product and think any attempt by airstream or it's franchisee's to foster protected markets is travel on a dead end road. a boss in jc recently suggested to me that major league baseball might be a model for how they handle dealerships.....oh my what a mistaken notion.

cheers all, and
2air'

**jcanavera** · 09-23-2005, 02:35 PM

I think some of the problems with service are relative to the wait to get things done. A good service department will be busy and once the travel season starts, its tough to get things done in an always timely manner. While I don't condone the "I won't work on it since you didn't buy it from me statement", I do understand that most dealers will probably prioritize their work on "did you buy it from me", "are you traveling and this is an emergency" and finally all other situations.

I've been worked in when they are busy and I know its because I bought from them.

Jack

2airishuman · 11-15-2006, 10:15 AM

ok dealer watchers....

i've rebooted this thread to take the focus off lynn and her situation...
enough has been posted about her behavior and the sales person...
how about we let her get on with shopping by email...

what we can all do HERE is post some of our experiences with dealers and service departments...

that's why the title of THIS thread was changed by andyR....
so we could do just that.

recently on a month long trip around the western usa i needed some work done...

a few warranty issues and brakes and tires.
also wanted so 'enhancements' done too...

about 7 days before expecting to hit dallas-ft worth, i called an area dealer...

"can i get some work done with a weeks notice"

"absolutely" was there reply, "we love to help out traveling airstreamers"

i outlined what needed 2b done and what i wanted done...
an appt was made for the day i expected to arrive...

i'd never been to this dealership, but had read good things from 'richl' and 'richc' also they had done some nifty things to tinhut's trailer...

well, what i found was a dealership where the salesmanager may be MORE enthusiastic about airstreams than even me!

a place where the airstream AND customer come first...

the work was top notch. they are even having parts fabricated locally that improve on some oem a/s stuff....

the sales/service guys made me feel very welcome. i camped in the lot 3 nights too.

anyone guess the dealer yet?

rogerwilliams airstream in weatherford, texas.

david tidmore is the sales manager and is WILD about airstreams...
robert and dallas in service do great work and take special requests...
my warranty works was done BETTER that at the factory s/c...i've been there several times so this is first hand experience
the upgrades are just awesome and i've already planned to go back for more improvements that david thinks up...he's superbe...they all are.

i'll post pics in a few days of what was done....

lets read somemore 'dealership, new old and otherwise' experiences now...
the grammar and spelling is suspect as usual...

bring it on!

cheers
2air'

2airishuman · 11-15-2006, 10:48 AM

a couple of specificly great things the weatherford dealership did, or did not do...

david has had stainless steel covers made to replace the cheesy painted ones for the water heater and furnace...

and a really nifty one to replace the plastic 'ventline' one for the stove vent...

they really improve the look of our trailers...and are similar to the covers used years ago...

the factory service center told me my brake pads were 60+% used up...
10,000 miles ago.

so i asked the weatherford folks to replace the pads...

david is now using 'lifetime' ceramic pads for the kodiak discs...

they ordered them and dallas started the install...

shortly he came to be and said..."we can put these on if ya want'em, but yours are fine"

we looked together, and sure enough by oem pads have 95% remaining so we opted not to replace....

another shop might have just done the work...
but these guys were honest about it...
and didn't charge me for the inspection...

if you are anywhere near weatherford texas, put them down as a dealer to buy from, have service done or get upgrades...

first class place.

cheers
2air'

jglabrown · 11-15-2006, 10:57 AM

Just had a pleasant experience with warranty work at Great American RV in Fife, Washington. Didn't buy the trailer from them originally because they weren't willing to "deal" (purchased the AS, instead, from a dealer just over the mountains who has since been dropped by Airstream), so I didn't know what to expect in terms of service. I was pleasantly surprised: good service, great people.

Fyrzowt · 11-15-2006, 10:59 AM

First, the disclaimer

I haven't actually used the service department here.

My local A/S dealer is Sky River RV in Paso Robles, CA. They are only about a mile from home, and I go there frequently, either for a part , advice or just to cruise the new models to see what the trends are.
I have talked to people in most if not all departments. So far, I have nothing bad to say about them, and I see constant improvement and growth. They are a newer dealership, only about 5 years old.
The service department continues to add capabilities - they recently got training on skin replacement, and are now performing those repairs.
The owner is visible and helpful.
They have a good selection of new trailers, both A/S and SOB, as well as a couple of used or consignment.
While I may never personally use the service department, (I'm cheap, and do my own work where I can) they are busy and that says something to me. If I do need them, I will have no hesitation.
Dave

herrgirdner · 11-15-2006, 04:34 PM

Since you axed:
I've had my Interstate into two dealerships:
Oasis in Tucson, and
Out of Doors Mart in Kernersville,NC (where the Interstate was bought).
Both of these dealers have done warranty work on the camper, and both of them have very competent service techs.
I recommend them for their expertise. It's nice that one is nearby, and one is located close to where my daughters live.
regards

2airishuman · 11-15-2006, 07:49 PM

nice reporting all...

someone asked "how do you search the dealers?"

well first go to www.airstream.com

then click on find a dealer...

then either enter your zip code, or click on 'by state'

with the 'state' option all/most of the dealers in that state will appear...

so to the service departments.

some dealers have websites linked; some don't

inventory at the dealer websites is only as current as their last update...

certainly they will have units on the lot, not listed on the web...

call or visit as a next step...

and ask here about member experience with 'dealer x'

cheers'
2air'

campadk · 11-15-2006, 08:17 PM

Thanks for some great info sovereignrwe and 2air.

Would be great to see some reports of service up here in the north east. Any takers?

We haven't broken anything ourselves yet (ha ha) so nothing to offer in regards to service.

denellen · 11-15-2006, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

a couple of specificly great things the weatherford dealership did, or did not do...

david has had stainless steel covers made to replace the cheesy painted ones for the water heater and furnace...

and a really nifty one to replace the plastic 'ventline' one for the stove vent...

they really improve the look of our trailers...and are similar to the covers used years ago...

2air'

Hey 2air:
The s.s. covers really hit one of my hot buttons. Do you think David would make them to ship? Details/picts?
I'll bet a lot of peops would like this upgrade.

Btw I just learned from another thread;"You're an agent of Thor!"

2airishuman · 11-15-2006, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by denellen

Hey 2air:
The s.s. covers really hit one of my hot buttons. Do you think David would make them to ship? Details/picts?
I'll bet a lot of peops would like this upgrade.

dennis

the stainless covers are awesome!
he's got a few dozen of each and the install is pretty easy on the furnace and water heater. stove vent is a little more work removing screws, but still even I could do it...it is a cool cover too....

sure he'd ship ya some....email him about 'em.

i'll put pictures up of b4 and after in a couple of days....

i agree lots of folks will want these after seeing how much nicer they are...

cheers
2air'

wbrownrr · 11-15-2006, 10:50 PM

2air,
Pictures of your stainless covers would be great. I'd love to replace the plastic refer covers and stove vent on my 22' CCD with stainless!

2airishuman · 11-19-2006, 12:37 PM

hi tom

instead of starting a new thread for every single dealer issue, how about searching or bookmarking THIS thread...

according to the dealership printout i have (aug2006) yes acefogdalls is still a dealer/service center...

according to the a/s website, they are still a dealer/service center...

why not just call cedar falls and ask?

i suspect dealership/factory relationships change...

some carry large inventories or in fact ONLY sell a/s

others carry only a few a/s and lots of sobs...

and still others may be able to 'order' a/s but carry no inventory...

a call should get the best info...

as for having to buy in missouri, well there are lots of options. 4 in iowa, 2 in illinois, 3 in michigan, 1 in wisconsin...and so on.

usadventure rv in davenport iowa also has a new dealership in bollingbrok, ill.

and shorewood rv in your home state has a dealership in des moines, iowa.

cheers
2air'

TomR · 11-19-2006, 01:15 PM

Hey 2air'...maybe we should have a Topic for "Dealers" and then could have threads on different issues. With a continuous thread on many topics you lose the history within the flow of the thread over time. If we had a topic it might be easier to find a "thread" and continue the flow...even weeks later.

As example...the immediately prior posts on this thread have little to do with my question...or the earlier posts on this thread.

Seems like a "Dealer" "Topic"...or whatever you call the "permanent" index items...might be a good addition for "Dealer" threads...then within you could find many threads on dis-similar issues????

Thanks...Tom R in Two Harbors, Minnesota

BTW...I am guessing there may be a number of interested Minnesota members IF Fogdalls is no longer AS...TMR

2airishuman · 11-19-2006, 01:44 PM

hi tom

the 800 # for fogdalls is 747-0747...

searching 'dealers' or ace fogdalls gets some info but none more recent than already posted here.

my general iimpression is that they are great for service and have a long history of repair experience with a/s....

tried to order from them 20 months ago.
working from a factory order sheet,
had exactly what i wanted detailed, model, lenght, options and even decor, every little item listed.

we discussed this at length and i was ready to place the order and give 'em a credit card deposit or send, by certified post a check...

the mngr explained that orders were only taken in person; took 3-4 months for delivery (others were quoting 6-8 wks) AND

they really preferred only to sell from deal stock.

wanted a 34; they had none, and weren't planning to order any. focus for them at the time was safari line.

dealerships sign a new agreement each year with the factory. as posted, they are IN the august 2006 list. that is pretty recent.

when you call monday why not let us know their current status?

cheers
2air'

TomR · 11-20-2006, 09:39 AM

Hi All...to close the communication "loop"...per Mike at Fogdalls...they are STILL an AS dealer...and have been for 45 years.

Mike said they would try to fix the new web site to include the Airstream brand in their "streaming" brand listing on their new web site...sorry if I caused any unnecessary concern

...Tom R in Two Harbors, Minnesota