We bought our '12 from the local dealer here in Portland, who had sold it new two years before to a man from across the Columbia River in Washington. He took it home and titled it in WA, and paid about 9% sales tax on it. Then, he apparently developed a health problem and couldn't use it. He consigned it to the dealer, who sold it to us. He accepted a pretty low offer, which surprised us.
The poor guy. In his less than 2 years of ownership, he probably took about a $30K bath, including the tax. As far as we could tell, the trailer had never been camped in. Everything is just like new. The only damage we found is the folding cover on the galley stove has been scuffed up by use of scouring powder.
Now, my *previous* airstream could probably tell some tales! And that would include "once around the planet" while I and my former GF owned it. NW to Key West, up to DC, into Mexico twice, up to Canada twice, 25K miles in 18 months. That was back in the 90's. It was a '71 18ft
Caravel, single axle.
When we decided to take our "tour," we bought an '86 F150 4x4 with cap, and found the
Caravel advertised in (remember those?) the Nickel Ads, in Vancouver, WA. "For Sale: 1971 18 ft Airstream and 1974 Cadillac Sedan DeVille tow vehicle. Will Not Sell Separately." We decided, wtf, let's go look anyway. We liked the trailer, and decided to press the issue about her selling it to us without the Caddy. "No way," she said. So, I pulled out the fat wad of hundreds and started laying them out for her, and pretty soon she was remembering somebody down at the beauty parlor who liked the Caddy. We bought the
Caravel for a stack of fifty Franklins.
When we returned from the "tour," my GF (who had actually paid for the trailer; I bought the truck) sold it to her sister in BC. I towed it up there, her sister bought it with Oregon plates and title, and she and her husband parked it at their lot on a lake on Vancouver Island. The sale wasn't reported, since duty, GST and PST would have been a tidy sum. That was over twenty years ago, and the trailer, which we dubbed "the Flying Toaster," hasn't moved from that wooded lot. It's right where I parked it for the last time. They use it as a "guest house" when they bring their 5th wheel up to the lot in the summer. It's spent twenty years sitting outside in BC winters. I heard a tree limb fell during a storm and put a bash in the front end cap.
Where had the Toaster been before we owned it? Big unknown. But I can account for its whereabouts ever since! Actually, I may be pressed back into service at some point to tow it back to the US since I promised to do so if her sister should ever decide to sell it. Or, at least help her find a buyer in the US, since she certainly can't sell it in Canada without opening a genuine can of snakes.
So now, we're generating a whole new set of memories in "Ted" (see sig below) - off to the desert in February! (a couple of months too late, if you ask me...)