Looking for Airstream Dealer

[StrmyWeather]

We just purchased our AS from Patrick at Colonial. The entire transaction was great, from our first call until we pulled out of the lot. Everyone we came in contact with were knowledgeable and helpful. A stabilizer was not recessing properly during the checkout and the technician pointed it out and had it changed; no prompting needed. I contacted several dealers that have good reviews on this forum when we decided on the model we wanted and none were as knowledgeable and straightforward as Patrick. He made the process enjoyable and I would recommend him and his dealership without hesitation.

I have read a lot on this forum and used the time between buying and picking up the trailer to get some additional gear such as levelers... Patrick was great about answering questions I had, never having to ask twice. Very thorough as well.

By the way, we're from Florida and it would've been worth the drive if we were from Alaska. We took 10 days to go home so we could camp and get to know the trailer. We're brand new at this. We pulled into our first site, were leveled and unhooked with everything on in about 15 minutes and looked at each other wondering what we had missed. Colonial's orientation was very good. The trailer is so nice and I hope your experience is as good.

[SeaLevel]

Another vote for Colonial; but, since they are so far away from you, as they are for us, you most likely won't be going back there for service. Generally speaking, going with someone closer to home might make sense when you need service. They've been okay to work with after the sale, but I've pretty much had to fix everything myself.

[Starstream]

Another dealership in Texas who sells AS is Holiday World of Houston. Their Katy dealership on I-10 carries them. We bought a reno project from a private seller but do occasionally by some parts from Holiday World. If we have a project we prefer not to work on, our trailer goes to Bob Jones RV in South Houston. They have no problem with our Pro-Pride.

To sell your fifth-wheel, look into PPL Motorhomes. They have 3 or 4 large consignment dealerships in Texas.

[lonestarpipe]

Originally Posted by Leslieotr

Has anyone had any dealings with RCsuperstore in Fla? Vogt and Camper Clinic II are both in Texas. Anyone ever deal with either of them?

We have tried Vogt and Camper Clinic and were underwhelmed with the sales staff we encountered. That's why we're now looking out of state. We visited the RV Superstore in Defuniak Springs, Florida on a recent trip to Destin, but only to grab a few items from their camp store. That particular dealership didn't have a large inventory. Not sure about their other two stores.

[AWCHIEF]

The main reason I can see for some buyers to not purchase from a local dealer is to save a few (?) bucks. Next might be the quality and reputation of its service department if planning on using it. In my limited experience with new Airstream shopping the dealerships seems to very competitive in prices. Keep in mind the cost of travel from home to the dealer and back.
I recently called 10 dealerships checking prices on a 26U. The initial lowest price was Colonial as I expected. I called several of the previously contacted dealers to to do a little haggling. Most were willing to price match to get my business. Next I had to consider the service departments and if travel for the expected warranty work was a consideration. As it stands now Foley RV in Gulfport is the clear winner. I have personal positive experience with their management and service department. Now all I need to do is sell my house and win the lottery and the 26U will be mine.
As a side note, trade in price offered for my 23 Safari was universally insulting and were based on NADA. Airforums classified is the way to go in selling my Safari to a good home.

[RonaldC303]

[QUOTE=AWCHIEF;1862929]The main reason I can see for some buyers to not purchase from a local dealer is to save a few (?) bucks. Next might be the quality and reputation of its service department if planning on using it.

For me, the quality of the pre-delivery inspection (PDI) is critical. I want as many factory problems caught and corrected before I ever take delivery. Airstream Adventures NW in Covington, WA did a superb job of delivering a clean and essentially trouble free unit. Yes, little things became apparent after some use such as drawer latches not holding when filled but nothing major was discovered.

[switz]

Even though the PDI form was "checked", I wonder if the dealer actually looked at the trailer.

Betty Furness said of Westinghouse on television adds that "the quality goes in before the name goes on".

So, the name "AIRSTREAM" was left off of the back of 2015 23D International Serenity. That was the first clue to what lay in store.

Shower improperly installed with cracks and toilet installed improperly to the drawings.

One of the VistaView windows with ½" pleats broken. Replacement reflected cost cutting with 1" pleats so the other one had to be replaced as well.

Big wad of the protective film on the lower body panel that was not removed was above the mattress (which was installed at the factory on the assembly line) and the bed spread was put on by the dealer.

The door stops for the bathroom door were installed on the wrong side.

Pantry cabinet drawer catch did not function properly.

Not even a good wash job after sitting on their lot 8 months and lots of rust on the screws and exposed steel parts.

I did pay them to install both the Hensley hitch and Tekonsha brake head along with the 15" Michelin LTX (P) 235/75R15 XL tires mounted on SenDel five lug T03-56545 wheels. Since the wheel well openings were not cut the same on both sides of the trailer, a little triming was needed curb side for the 15" tire fit like did on the street side.

The 23D was trucked to the dealer along with a similar unit, so no towing miles.

I towed it from New Jersey to CanAM in London, Ontario (to tweak the hitch setup) and then continued to Paradise, TX (about 30 miles northwest of Dallas) to A&P Vintage Trailer Works to have custom work done and repairs made (for a towing distance of under 2,000 miles).

For grins, I suggested checking the wheel bearings. One set was completely scored from lack of grease and the other three were low on grease. We replaced the scored one with a Timken bearing set. On the second trip over to A&P, we replaced the drum brake backing plate with ones with the auto-adjust feature and put in new Timken bearing sets all-around. It would have been a $5 additional cost per wheel option for Airstream at the time of building the trailer to put in the auto-adjust brakes in the International Serenity trim line.

Not every dealer does it right every time. I felt like my $70,000 purchase was beneath their interest while I was there since the unit would never be back there after I left.

Read about the dealer's performances as much as you can, especially if you plan for the selling one to also service the trailer.

[Leslieotr]

Where did you buy the Camper? Thanks.

[Mldun]

I recently worked with Ron Rawls at Airstream of South Carolina, near Columbia and was very happy!

[jkhoover2]

Colonial is awesome.....long way from you but worth the trip. They have about every model, color and size on site. No pressured sales pitches, fair prices and great service even after you have bought and taken possession.....practically like family!! Start up an email conversation with either Lauren or Patrick....

[jimfa440]

In Knoxville, TN, try Chillhowie RV. They are near the airport and very easy to find. They are experienced with out of state buyers. They also have a pretty good inventory, I was there last week.

[oldcoach]

We got our International at the RV Shop in Baton Rouge,La.--have been very happy with the salesman and the service. The salesman is John Spruell

[Rgentum]

Oh, my. Lone Star, your situation sounds so familiar.

A couple of years ago, I bought a 32 ft Forest River 5th wheel. At the end of the first day of its maiden voyage, I thought, "This doesn't work," at least for me. Arrggh!, I had made a big mistake, which was going to cost me thousands of dollars to get out of.

Some months later, I went to the Seattle RV Show & discovered the exhibit of our local AS dealer, AS Adventures NW. I spent a morning the following weekend there. I liked the trailers. I did not find its salesman particularly helpful, & his quotes on the price of a new AS I thought high & his offer of what he would allow me on a trade-in for my 5th wheel I thought low. That led me to call AS dealers throughout the country for their respective quote for the AS model I had settled on, the FC 27 FB. That included Colonial, in NJ, several other dealers in WA, OR, MT, & CO, numbers of dealers in the midwest (OH, IN, etc.), and numbers of dealers in the southwest (NM, AZ, & CA), a total of something like 12-15 AS dealers. Of all the sales people I spoke with, Denny Donaldson at Desert AutoPlex, in Mesa, AZ, seemed the most knowledgeable & helpful. My results:

1. The lowest quote I got was from Toscano RV, in Los Banos, CA.
2. The next lowest quote (a little over $1K more than Toscano's quote) was from the AS dealer in LA (San Gabriel, CA).
3. Most of the other quotes, including Colonial's, were $3-5K higher than Toscano's.
4. The quote from AS Adventures NW was --- zounds!!! --- the highest quote of them all --- $7K more than Toscano's. These guys (including the sales manager with whom I spoke) just wouldn't deal (at least not significantly). Not surprisingly, when I spoke to other dealers & told them my experience with AS Adventures NW (which was why I was calling other AS dealers), they told me that AS Adventures NW had that reputation, & that its owners had been VW dealers & were selling RVs as they had sold VWs, that is, at little discount --- a very pleasant, cordial, & helpful dealership but ...

Furthermore, Toscano not only provided the lowest quote for the purchase but was also the most generous in its trade-in value for my 5th wheel.

Another reason I felt irked with AS Adventures NW is that initially, they had told me they would give me 90% of wholesale value for my 5th wheel; a week later, for no reason, they lowered their trade-in value by over $1K. I have spent decades in my business negotiating, and in my world, changing one's terms for no reason in the middle of a negotiation to the detriment of the opposing party is bad form.

OK --- three guesses where I bought my AS: Toscano! which meant I had to drive the 5th wheel down from Seattle to Los Banos, around Modesto, in the San Joaquin Valley, south of San Jose. Big deal!

Four comments:

1. This occurred in November, 2015, and if I had to do it all over again, I would again do it in the depths, chill, & rain of winter, when "nobody" wants to buy a RV & RV dealers are desperate for serious customers & all-cash sales.

2. Toscano told me that the AS I bought (a new 2016) had been on its lot for many months, & they wanted to sell it & get it out of their inventory.

3. I did not ask the dealers "What's your best price?" I had researched prices & determined that if I could get the trailer I wanted for $70K, I would be pleased. Therefore, when I called a dealer, I told them I would pay $70,000 cash now for the trailer I wanted & waited for their response. I wound up buying the trailer for, as much as I could determine, around 20% off MSRP.

4. To their credit, a month or so after our face-to-face negotiations, and after I had already bought my AS, I got an Email from AS Adventures NW telling me that they would meet the best quote I received from other AS dealers. I responded that I had already bought a new AS elsewhere & regretted that they hadn't made their offer earlier, & that I had been willing to pay a premium for "buying locally" but $7K was more than I was willing to pay to do so.

[Rgentum]

Oh, my. Lone Star, your situation sounds so familiar.

A couple of years ago, I bought a 32 ft Forest River 5th wheel. At the end of the first day of its maiden voyage, I thought, "This doesn't work," at least for me. Arrggh!, I had made a big mistake, which was going to cost me thousands of dollars to get out of.

Some months later, I went to the Seattle RV Show & discovered the exhibit of our local AS dealer, AS Adventures NW. I spent a morning the following weekend there. I liked the trailers. I did not find its salesman particularly helpful, & his quotes on the price of a new AS I thought high & his offer of what he would allow me on a trade-in for my 5th wheel I thought low. That led me to call AS dealers throughout the country for their respective quote for the AS model I had settled on, the FC 27 FB. That included Colonial, in NJ, several other dealers in WA, OR, MT, & CO, numbers of dealers in the midwest (OH, IN, etc.), and numbers of dealers in the southwest (NM, AZ, & CA), a total of something like 12-15 AS dealers. Of all the sales people I spoke with, Denny Donaldson at Desert AutoPlex, in Mesa, AZ, seemed the most knowledgeable & helpful. My results:

1. The lowest quote I got was from Toscano RV, in Los Banos, CA.
2. The next lowest quote (a little over $1K more than Toscano's quote) was from the AS dealer in LA (San Gabriel, CA).
3. Most of the other quotes, including Colonial's, were $3-5K higher than Toscano's.
4. The quote from AS Adventures NW was --- zounds!!! --- the highest quote of them all --- $7K more than Toscano's. These guys (including the sales manager with whom I spoke) just wouldn't deal (at least not significantly). Not surprisingly, when I spoke to other dealers & told them my experience with AS Adventures NW (which was why I was calling other AS dealers), they told me that AS Adventures NW had that reputation, & that its owners had been VW dealers & were selling RVs as they had sold VWs, that is, at little discount --- a very pleasant, cordial, & helpful dealership but ...

Furthermore, Toscano not only provided the lowest quote for the purchase but was also the most generous in its trade-in value for my 5th wheel.

Another reason I felt irked with AS Adventures NW is that initially, they had told me they would give me 90% of wholesale value for my 5th wheel; a week later, for no reason, they lowered their trade-in value by over $1K. I have spent decades in my business negotiating, and in my world, changing one's terms for no reason in the middle of a negotiation to the detriment of the opposing party is bad form.

OK --- three guesses where I bought my AS: Toscano! which meant I had to drive the 5th wheel down from Seattle to Los Banos, around Modesto, in the San Joaquin Valley, south of San Jose. Big deal!

Four comments:

1. This occurred in November, 2015, and if I had to do it all over again, I would again do it in the depths, chill, & rain of winter, when "nobody" wants to buy a RV & RV dealers are desperate for serious customers & all-cash sales.

2. Toscano told me that the AS I bought (a new 2016) had been on its lot for many months, & they wanted to sell it & get it out of their inventory.

3. I did not ask the dealers "What's your best price?" I had researched prices & determined that if I could get the trailer I wanted for $70K, I would be pleased. Therefore, when I called a dealer, I told them I would pay $70,000 cash now for the trailer I wanted & waited for their response. I wound up buying the trailer for, as much as I could determine, around 20% off MSRP.

4. To their credit, a month or so after our face-to-face negotiations, and after I had already bought my AS, I got an Email from AS Adventures NW telling me that they would meet the best quote I received from other AS dealers. I responded that I had already bought a new AS elsewhere & regretted that they hadn't made their offer earlier, & that I had been willing to pay a premium for "buying locally" but $7K was more than I was willing to pay to do so.

[Spinonedad]

We have nothing but good things to say about Spokane Airstream
Really a first class operation,,,Nick and Karen really go out of their way to make sure you have a good experience

[Munnik]

I second the good experience at Safford Airstream, VA.

[Evelyn Hill]

We recommend AS Northwest, in Caldwell, I'd. 😎

[drairstream]

Recently toured Airstreams when on a trip to Traverse City, MI. They had at least 12 models there in Classic and International Serenity. Had great staff and minimal sales pressure. Initial pricing excellent on all. Didn't get into negotiation, but they are definitely worth a call.

[xrvr]

Trade ins are a whole dif deal. Some dealers don't want to take trades, others will, but you're gonna lose no matter what.

[MBT]

Love their other branch in Oregon!