1998 Airstream - Excella 28' - Value?

[MacStreamer]

Greetings =)

We are a few states away from a trailer we are thinking of buying. She is a 28' 1998 Excella. My parents are traveling by the dealer tomorrow and will be taking a look at her for us. She seems to be in good shape but the carpet needs replaced. We would put in hardwood floors throughout. Stored outside but the skin looks in good shape. She is not in "Excellent condition" but "good". The Nada site says $14,170 - $17,070. The sale price is $24,000. What would be a good honest offer?

Thanks for any help,
Dana

[ArtStream]

I think 20,000 would be more like it, BUT it is a sellers market.
I have a 28 Excella and think it's the best size and model Airstream.

Make sure all the appliences work. You should demand New tires and repacked wheel bearings, brakes A-OK.New Batteries
Tow hitch

No leaks in the plumbing.
Check for loose lower belt line

Good Luck, welcome, you've come to the right place.

Michael

[Coastalview]

Dana, Sounds like this one.
http://toscanorv.com/moredetails.htm...code=toscanorv
These used units don't stay around long at this location. Jeff

[MacStreamer]

Jeff & Michael, yep.. thats the one =) You can see from the photos that she just needs some cleaning. The dealer was nice and answered all my questions. He said the carpet and and wood flooring would need replaced. They still need to do a P.D.I. on her too. Hopefully tomorrow my parents will come back with a "thumbs" up. =) The MOST we wanted to spend was $20. It all depends on what all needs fixed on the trailer. Also.. we would need to pay both Fed. sales tax and Cali state tax too right? I grew up in Morgan Hill Cal, but have not had to pay sales tax here in Washington State =) Unfortunently we are relying on my parents and the dealer for pointing out any issues. We will about 16 hours away. Hopefully she is in good shape and we will be going on a road trip here soon =) If not, the right one will come along someday. Thanks for the feedback. Dana

[Coastalview]

Dana, I'm not sure about you paying any federal taxes, But Arnold will be happy to take his share of sales tax 7.25% for this trailer location.
Based on the info you mentioned, I would consider $ 20 to be a tow-away price. Good luck in your quest, Jeff

[ArtStream]

If you are registering the rig in WA, you do not pay the dealer at the CA tax rate. You pay the dealer the tax rate of the state you register the rig in, and get a recipt for it!

No tax in WA, great don't pay the dealer a thing

This is a hassel for the dealer and they may ask you to pay the CA rate, DON'T GET RIPPED OFF.

I have purchesed a few vehicles out of state, and each time have been given a story on how I had to pay the local tax. It's just not true and they know it!


Good Luck,
Michael

[Bob Thompson]

We purchased our '97 Excella 25 for $17k two years ago, but it needed a lot of updating, including flooring, wall carpet, skylight, window gaskets, commode, tires, brake drums, OPD devices, new regulator, new Intellipower, etc, etc. We've probably done another $8k worth of work to her. You should plan on having to spend more as soon as you buy it. I know that's not what you want to hear, but the trailer is 8 years old. Likely it has clearcoat issues because as Andy at Inland RV says, the clearcoat is only good for about 3-4 years. Just a heads up to keep in mind.

[MacStreamer]

Ok.. Not State Tax... adding it my list. =) I have learned so much from this site and just searching around on the net. I did not know what P.D.I. (Pre-Delivery Inspection) was till today. I thought it stood for Pressure wash, Detail and Inspection =P I have my list of things to ask and check. Michael, since you have a 28' Excella, any issues beside the "loose lower belt line" that I should make sure to look closely at? I really like this floorplan. Wrap around windows. Twins in back. We had wanted one with a dinette too.. 6 sleeper, but.. looks like the living room is more roomy without it.
Dana

[MacStreamer]

Rob, Spendy things we need to fix after we get her home. Yep.. I was hoping to find one that was stored in a garage and rarely used. Yah right. Dreaming. So ya, we are ready to spend some to get her in good shape. I just want to know up front all I need to replace and estimate what it will cost. If there are too many items and the dealer is unwilling to lower the price then we will just have to keep looking. Most of the work we will do ourselves. About the clear coat on that year, is this something that NEEDS to be put back on? The ugly "pealing" is what I don't like. Can we do it ourselves? From the photos she looks pretty nice. Again, my parents will give me an update tomorrow when they see it in person.

Dana

[lewster]

I agree with Art-link on the tax issue. I have bought a few motorcycles and the Airstream form dealers in FL but I register them in OR where there is NO SALES TAX. I almost got into a fist fight at one dealer who insisted that they HAD to collect the tax. I wound up calling Oregon DMV and put them on the phone with the finance guy to get him straight!

As far as PDI goes, it is (or should be) a total and complete inspection of every operating system in the trailer. If you buy this, be sure to go over the list IN PERSON after the PDI is done with the service manager of the dealer and personally VERIFY that everything that is checked is actually working properly. Do this BEFORE you pay for it!!!!!

I have seen PDI lists that had every item checked even though some of them were not present on the unit. The tech was obviously in a hurry and didn't do the job correctly, just checked it all down the page. Good Luck!

[Bob Thompson]

For the record, the clearcoat from about '96 thru '99 is noted for being the worst Airstream ever used. From what I have read, Airstream went with a clearcoat which had fewer hydrocarbons gasing off. Problem was, durability suffered.

[Coastalview]

Dana, you will have a better idea as to the real condition of this unit tomorrow, when your family can see it in person. I had to chuckle a bit about your comment about finding a rare trailer like sleeping beauty. You can get lucky, we bought ours 4 years ago for very little, sight unseen, with new tires on it. As for maintance needs and costs, we replaced the thermal heating unit in the refrigerator with a used one for twenty bucks two years ago. And that's been it. Ours is no show queen, but I can't complain for a unit that is 28 years old, with all the original equipment still working like it should, and sits ready for another road trip next month. Jeff

[ArtStream]

The interior headliner will be falling down. This is a problem with most 90's units. The fridg looks original, check it out.

Make surr the toilet holds water in the bowl.

Make sure to pull out the draw in the rear bumper and check for rust under the liner of the draw.

Michael