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Bigventure · 10-21-2018, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theBSLodge2

We decided to purchase new and order a model to our specs. Learned here (AS forums) that we should expect 20% off MSRP, and if not - go to Colonial in NJ.

We have a personal connection to a very high ranking executive in the AS company, and he directed is to a specific salesperson at our closest dealer 30 miles away, so we went there after making an appointment. The salesman was not feeling well that day, and seemed distracted; he eventually excused himself in the middle of our order to go home, which we understood. What we did NOT understand were some of the recommendations he gave us regarding AC, solar panels, and a few other things that were in direct conflict with our extensive research on our options and what we knew we wanted. He never called us back, so we called and asked to meet with a different salesperson. The second guy was more helpful, but we still ordered it the way we wanted it (despite his disagreement with some of our decisions). Long story short, we knew what we were doing and are so glad we researched thoroughly and stuck with our plans. We have a 26U with two AC units, and I can tell you that 1 unit would not be sufficient for our needs.

Our local dealer was not good (pretty close to AWFUL) despite knowing who sent us there. They didn’t communicate effectively, and we went to Jackson Center to see it being built only to learn our dealer messed up the VIN number, so our unit was not being built. We made 3 trips to Jackson Center and it took a long time to get the VIN snafu fixed. Additionally, after our initial shakedown trip, we made a list of things that were not right with our unit (some big, some minor) and brought it in to be fixed. It was there a very long time, and the dealership backed it into a wall, causing damage. WE had to keep calling THEM to get it fixed properly, and it took a ridiculous amount of time - so much that we had to cancel a trip!

My husband is also an engineer, very handy and can fix most anything, but when you have a brand new Airstream covered by a manufacturer’s warranty, you’re not going to be fixing those issues. We are not picky, demanding people - the issues were legitimate.

Knowing what I know now, I’m not sure what we’d do. Not happy at all with our local dealer. Yet, taking it all the way to N.J. (we live in Michigan) for routine warranty work would be super inconvenient. My best advice is to DO YOUR RESEARCH about the dealers closest to you. Had we done that, we might have had better service. Yet - we (mistakenly) thought that knowing the AS exec would help us and it certainly did not. We love our Airstream, we ordered the right options, but our dealer was not great.

You have a very good dealer in Grand Rapids. Woodland Travel center is one of the oldest dealers in the US

theBSLodge2 · 10-22-2018, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigventure

You have a very good dealer in Grand Rapids. Woodland Travel center is one of the oldest dealers in the US

We are not happy with them for the reasons outlined. The fact that they’ve been in business a long time does not automatically make them a good dealer. Our experience was less than satisfactory, but I’m happy for those who’ve had good experiences there; we are not one of those customers.

Golfingma · 10-22-2018, 07:53 AM

We are fortunate that our local dealer is a Five Rivet Dealer, but we weren’t aware of that until today! We did buy local, paid more, and are treated like family when we need something. This 2018 Tommy Bahama, although certainly not our first RV, IS our first AS. We love it. My husband is about as mechanically apt as a man can be, nonetheless we are glad we established a relationship with our local dealer. We wish you happy trails and safe travels!

uncle_bob · 10-22-2018, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsydad

We did visit the factory Rice Texas, outside Dallas, and almost ordered a new one for ~$18,000, pretty loaded. (or at least we talked about getting on the 5 month "order wait list"! (by the way, you can order without the carpet!)
We found out with a little more research, the Casita's are very popular, and hold their value; we purchased a 07' for $14K, had it 2 years, and sold it for $14K, with a line of folks wanting it! Crazy, but true!

Hi

You can drop the carpet !!! We should have asked when we were there. We have friends who were shopping so we went along with them. Without any prompting from me (who me sir things up ... never ...

) , the carpet issue came up .....

They are indeed a very cute little trailer. Twenty years ago they would have been ideal for our needs. We didn't go that route and stuck with tents instead.

Bob

uncle_bob · 10-22-2018, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by remac1

Dealers should service any Airstream bought anywhere. Personally, I bought my 2007 Safari 4 years ago and have yet to go to the dealer but if I did, there is one an hour away. I’ve purchased miscellaneous parts and supplies from the dealer and I would not expect any issue if I took my AS there for service.

Hi

Well, you have a very good dealer quite close to Hillsboro NC. There also is an absolutely terrible dealer if you happen to decide to drive quite a bit further into Tennessee.

Unfortunately figuring out which kind of dealer you have is a matter of finding out the hard way. No matter how good a dealer is, there will always be complainers. Equally, even with a total looser, he'll get it right for a few people. Simply getting a recommendation from one or two people may not give you the whole picture.

Just for the record, I have had dealings with both of the outfits I'm talking about here. Neither one sold me the trailer I have, it came from Colonial (who I also highly recommend)

Bob

Mniba1 · 10-22-2018, 09:20 AM

We bought our 19' Serenity a few years ago and had a wonderful experience with our local dealer. When the new Globetrotter came out we were smitten and knew we had to order one. For whatever reason our local dealer was unable or unwilling to deal with us on price, maybe because it was a brand new and popular model. We ended up with Nick @ Colonial and received both a wonderful discount to msrp and amazing customer service. Initially we had planned to drive across the country and pick up the new GT but "things" came up so we had it shipped across the country and were still thousands ahead. We were worried that our local dealer would not be terribly excited to help us with our new GT but that has not been the case, they have been terrific as well with a few warranty and other issues.

gypsydad · 10-22-2018, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

You can drop the carpet !!! We should have asked when we were there. We have friends who were shopping so we went along with them. Without any prompting from me (who me sir things up ... never ...

) , the carpet issue came up .....

They are indeed a very cute little trailer. Twenty years ago they would have been ideal for our needs. We didn't go that route and stuck with tents instead.

Bob

They will also leave off the decals, if you are purchasing new! I liked the carpet, because if you follow the Casita Forum, you will see several creative ways to use it to hang stuff on...plus, made us feel like we were at Elvis's mansion! (you'd have to visit his house in Whitehaven to understand..)

Petunia · 10-22-2018, 12:08 PM

Iam woundering why you whant to by an airsttream I own a 29 ft excella as i belong to wbcci and live in land yact harber in wa. State. I have owned about 6 rv'S in my life time and I find that airstreams are the most uncomfortable trailers i have ever owned. If you are really in love with the stile thats one thing but if you whant to be comforfable I would keep looking.

kittmaster · 10-22-2018, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petunia

Iam woundering why you whant to by an airsttream I own a 29 ft excella as i belong to wbcci and live in land yact harber in wa. State. I have owned about 6 rv'S in my life time and I find that airstreams are the most uncomfortable trailers i have ever owned. If you are really in love with the stile thats one thing but if you whant to be comforfable I would keep looking.

1st post on an AIRSTREAM forum and this is really your first response to a question out of the gate....???

While I understand the motivation for the question, yes, this is the trailer that I want to own and I've already been inside several, and I find them very comfortable.

Enjoy your stay on the airstream forum.

uncle_bob · 10-23-2018, 08:33 AM

Hi

There are a wide range of "trailers" that you can compare this or that AS to. If you compare the residential furniture and space in a 45' 5th wheel to a Nest, indeed one is more "comfortable" than the other. Getting closer to an apples to apples comparison, I'd take the Airstream .....

Bob

gypsydad · 10-23-2018, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petunia

Iam woundering why you whant to by an airsttream I own a 29 ft excella as i belong to wbcci and live in land yact harber in wa. State. I have owned about 6 rv'S in my life time and I find that airstreams are the most uncomfortable trailers i have ever owned. If you are really in love with the stile thats one thing but if you whant to be comforfable I would keep looking.

Wow; welcome to the Forum....but, why did you purchase an AS if you find it uncomfortable? I have owned 4 AS's, a Casita, a MH, and a pop-up tent trailer...I wouldn't have stayed with AS if it was "uncomfortable". You might look at replacing some of the "older" furniture you may have in your Excella if it is uncomfortable...then again, maybe your not cut out for an AS...want some slides perhaps? Many of us on the Forum have issues with AS for something or another, but that's typical with most RV's...

Hope you find what makes you happy...

uncle_bob · 10-24-2018, 06:40 AM

Hi

One of the easiest ways to change the "comfort" of the seating in any RV is to swap out the foam in the cushions. Just like tires and batteries, foam does *not* last forever. Exactly what this or that chunk does in it's old age is very much a "that depends" sort of thing. I have yet to find a chunk that improves with age ....

Past that, indeed, if the seating does not work for you, move on to another model or even another brand. We spent a *lot* of time digging into that kind of stuff before we bought our AS. It was very much part of what steered us to the model we bought.

Bob

KBAR · 10-24-2018, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

One of the easiest ways to change the "comfort" of the seating in any RV is to swap out the foam in the cushions. Just like tires and batteries, foam does *not* last forever. Exactly what this or that chunk does in it's old age is very much a "that depends" sort of thing. I have yet to find a chunk that improves with age ....

Past that, indeed, if the seating does not work for you, move on to another model or even another brand. We spent a *lot* of time digging into that kind of stuff before we bought our AS. It was very much part of what steered us to the model we bought.

Bob

Indeed. Among the many things we first added to the AS one had been large throw pillows from the "At Home Store" cheep and easy fix. Another cheep trick we found a small collapsible storage box with a padded top that makes for a great ottoman (COSTCO).

Albireo · 10-24-2018, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petunia

Iam woundering why you whant to by an airsttream I own a 29 ft excella as i belong to wbcci and live in land yact harber in wa. State. I have owned about 6 rv'S in my life time and I find that airstreams are the most uncomfortable trailers i have ever owned. If you are really in love with the stile thats one thing but if you whant to be comforfable I would keep looking.

You don't get hemorrhoids from sitting on cold cement as my dad told me. He was right about many things but not this.

kittmaster · 10-25-2018, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albireo

You don't get hemorrhoids from sitting on cold cement as my dad told me. He was right about many things but not this.

ok.....I chuckled when I read this....

VaTravelers · 10-25-2018, 08:25 PM

I had a local dealer in Virginia. Got a fantastic deal on a factory order. Delivery was exceptional and thorough. I was an informed buyer so no surprises. I’ve not been back, because I fix the little things, and have had no issues. I have been to JC for a warranty visit but for mods I wanted and minor adjustments. I don’t buy that you have to travel 1700 miles to Colonial. I appreciate they are a great outfit but I don’t buy that all others aren’t.

uncle_bob · 10-26-2018, 09:10 AM

Hi

There most certainly *are* a number of good dealers out there. The gotcha is that there are also a number of real lemons. Yes, hitting all the boxes ( sales, service, parts) isn't easy and a lot of people only deal with one part of a dealer's setup. To me, a "good" dealer needs to be good at all three things. It's very much a "one strike and you are out" kind of thing. That's not to say perfection in all three is the only way it can be. They need to at least get to a B- grade in each ....

Bob

kittmaster · 10-29-2018, 12:10 PM

Well it is official, we have settled on the size and model we are going to own:

2019 Serenity 25RB in Expresso

We put the deposit down and all the paperwork is in place putting us in the build queue.

We are asking them to hold off as long as possible to build it so we can pick it up in late March/early April as New England weather & snow can be tricky up here.

Lots of great input and feedback and thank you all!

Chris

KBAR · 10-29-2018, 01:23 PM

Congratulations

gertntrudy · 10-29-2018, 01:23 PM

Ha! This is fun and we are new to. My husband and I are a year into full timing. Welcome. We bought from our AS dealer in OR and we also got the extended warranty. I’m glad we did. We are all over the west coast and the mother ship in Ohio are the most helpful. When we aren’t near our dealer we simply call Ohio and they tell us the closest one to hit and we are typically in and out. That said our bigger fixes we save up and take to our dealer and they keep her for under a week. The dealers are busy these days so there’s that. We also run off grid full time so we have solar and lots of out side vendor things as well. Good luck