Blue Compass

[bray millwee]

We've had nothing but problems with the service for our 2024 Airstream at Blue Compass (aka Airstream of Austin). The delivery when we bought it last year was an absolute disaster. We've had it in for service several times since and each time it's taken months to get it back, delays in getting parts, repaired incorrectly, etc. And worst is they never seem to tell you the truth, each week it's absolute assurances it will be ready on X day, X days comes and there is a new story. It's been extremely frustrating. Unfortunately, Blue Compass is the only Airstream game in town. We're seriously considering going to Fort Worth for any of our future maintenance needs and of course letting our friends interested in getting an Airstream to shop some where other than Austin.

It seems Airstream would be more selective about who they allow to be an authorized dealer, I've spoken to many other Airstream owners in Austin with the same complaint.

So, that's a long-winded way of asking the question, is this problem unique to Blue Compass in Austin and is it their modus operandi in other locations as well?

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The gotcha is that there are *very* few AS dealers out there. By some ways of looking at it, there are maybe 1/3 as may dealers as there should be. If you dumped every one that has a nonsense service / parts capability, you would close roughly 2/3 of the dealers out there. Yes, that may be a bit generous ....

Bob

[The Boot]

The service at Blue Compass is nothing but a joke. Tampa, Gainesville and St Augustine. I would warn anyone from using, long wait times and workers that are always changing and seem to on their first day on the job. I quickly learned that if I wanted something fixed or repaired, I was better off doing it myself.

[ksteve06]

I will not deal with Blue compass after trying to buy an airstream and talking with several of them. They are just down right rude and very cocky. We went from central FL all the way to Woodland Airstream in IN to trade in our 2018 for a 2024 Classic. They were awesome to work with and have an appointment in November with Jackson Center to fix some small issues.

[waninae39]

good as dealers are rare and far between. find the ones you like and frequent them with your business

we use CANAMRV https://www.canamrv.ca/in London Ontario. they are well respected and we have always received great service from them

[TBurton4]

We're in the process of purchasing a '25 International from the DFW dealer. I've read good reviews on their sales and service but you know how that goes!...I talked to the Austin store, he said he would be getting back soon.........glad he never did. Wish you luck with your repairs!....

[MOS]

Albany NY is the same alone with Tampa Fl.
The best is having the factory do the repairs .But it is in Jackson Center Ohio .

[Rich Jenkins]

We are in FL, and have visited the Tampa dealership many times, but never could work out a deal with them. Their prices always seemed high, relative to the market.

We have made the drive up to to Colonial Airstream in NJ for three out of the five rigs we've owned; two bought new, and one used. They are a class act.

[kb0zke]

Thanks for the tips. We're shopping for a used Airstream now, and will be going only to an RV dealer (no more private sales for us). Time is on our side, so we can cross off the list any dealer that doesn't have a good reputation.


I've read nothing but good about Colonial Airstream, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them should they have the right trailer. We're full-timers, so we can go wherever we need to go for service. In fact, when we had the Foretravel we went to Nacogdoches, TX annually for service. NJ might be a bit of a stretch for annual service, but the factory is well within our normal range.

[Deholden]

I would also give a very positive review for Woodland. Specifically we dealt with their Indiana location and Donnie was our salesman. Great experience with how they handled our trade and our new GT25 with a very thorough review at pickup and stayed on the lot overnight just in case something came up. They were quick to follow up with us the next morning as well. I used Jackson Center for my first service as it’s just as close but I have called the dealer service while traveling with a few issues and they walked me through the issue to resolution. Be worth a road trip sounds like compared to other dealer stories I’m hearing.

[WBB]

I had a similar experience with Airstream of Austin. They had the van four weeks total (two different times) for the same simple issue and they literally did nothing! I am serious. They called and said it was ready and in less than a minute, I could tell they did not touch the problem.

Blue Compass bought the Austin dealership and put a ton of money upgrading the facility, but the management team leaves a lot to be desired.

The one dealer I have had a good experience with was Airstream in SLC. Very professional. Hopefully Blue Compass did not buy them and run the skilled/talented workforce off!

My assessment is, warranties and especially extended warranties are worthless if the service departments can't service the vehicles in a timely manner (or ever!)

[JeffKim]

From experience we have little trust in our local dealer in Minnesota as well. I think it's very common for RV dealers to schedule appointments and then they get it done whenever it works out for them. And with warranty items they have to wait for approval and then get the parts, etc.

We bought from Woodland in Grand Rapids, MI. With our 2023 GT we had a bunch of minor issues, but majorly both fans broke on the way home from the dealer, the inverter remote and the furnace stopped working. Otherwise, I tried to fix everything myself since we didn't want any down time and we made a list for other stuff. I can say Woodland has been great sending parts as I need them.

I think we're in the minority but JC was not good to us. We took our trailer and 30 item punch list to JC last March since they are supposed to be the best. When we picked it up several items they claimed were fixed including the remote were still broken, the substitute tech guy got them fixed while we waited.

When we got back home, I found a couple more things not fixed and we noticed when they replaced the chipped countertop, they broke the cooktop reinstalling it. It turns out they made the countertop too small and it needs to be replaced as well. So, I guess a data point that JC isn't exactly repair paradise and if you make the pilgrimage, be vigilant. But hey, the tour and museum are a must for any Airstreamer.

Honestly, I'm not sure where we would go now for major repairs, maybe back to Woodland.