Ready to cancel order

[Saluda372]

Ordered a 20' 2021 Caravel Oct. of last year. I was given an est. delivery date of 4/21. They have never contacted me and required a 5 k deposit which I foolishly gave them. After calling them multiple times they are now saying 5/21 est. delivery.
I finally got a VIN number. I called the factory to verify, after them messing up my model and size they gave me a start build date of 5/21, est. delivery date to dealer 6 or 7/21.
They claim to have extreme shortages of refrigerators and A.C. units. This has not been a pleasant experience, I understand the times but can not even get straight or consistent answers.

[LNBright]

Understandable frustration: but these are unparalleled times for them, the demand the factory is under is unlike any they've ever had. Their delay is unintentional, and unavoidable... there simply aren't enough parts coming to them fast enough.

Good luck, hang in there....

[brick1]

Stick with it. This is a wide ranging issue, beyond just the RV business. Waited several months for some simple parts for my boat...

[Saluda372]

What scares me is the lack of good or consistent information. No one repeats the same thing twice. They don't even seem to know what I ordered. This has sucked all the fun out of it. Appreciate your replies.

[brokeboater]

I can confirm parts are scarce right now. I'd just say be patient. There are much more important things in life and overly fretting on the deliver date of an Airstream isn't going to change anything. Once you actually take delivery you'll have something most people can only dream about, a new Airstream.

[panamerican]

Originally Posted by Saluda372

What scares me is the lack of good or consistent information. No one repeats the same thing twice. They don't even seem to know what I ordered. This has sucked all the fun out of it. Appreciate your replies.

I can understand how you feel and you won't see a lot of sympathy from me about the factory in general, but it is a very uncharted time and if you want a brand new Airstream, if you back out now, you will prob not see it until end of the year of longer. If however you happen to find a reasonably price pre-owned, like it and the numbers work, pull that lever and then cancel the order. Either of these will get you an Airstream sooner than later.

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by panamerican

I can understand how you feel and you won't see a lot of sympathy from me about the factory in general, but it is a very uncharted time and if you want a brand new Airstream, if you back out now, you will prob not see it until end of the year of longer. If however you happen to find a reasonably price pre-owned, like it and the numbers work, pull that lever and then cancel the order. Either of these will get you an Airstream sooner than later.

This sounds like good advice to me! I think this is what I would do if in a similar situation.

[Daquenzer]

Originally Posted by Saluda372

Ordered a 20' 2021 Caravel Oct. of last year. I was given an est. delivery date of 4/21. They have never contacted me and required a 5 k deposit which I foolishly gave them. After calling them multiple times they are now saying 5/21 est. delivery.
I finally got a VIN number. I called the factory to verify, after them messing up my model and size they gave me a start build date of 5/21, est. delivery date to dealer 6 or 7/21.
They claim to have extreme shortages of refrigerators and A.C. units. This has not been a pleasant experience, I understand the times but can not even get straight or consistent answers.

I feel your pain. We are building a new house. Builder said end of 2020 or January 2021. We sold our house based upon that information. Well we are living in a VRBO with all our belongings in storage. Getting expensive. Had I known what I know now we would have sold our house in the Spring. It’s practically like living in a 3rd world country with all the shortages. Some I can understand, and some I think are just plain dumb and people are scamming the system. But it is frustrating; especially living in a vrbo without our belongings 30 to 50 minutes from where we want to live.

[Bcc75]

Ditto What they all said ^.

My delivery was delayed a little back in November, but not terrible. I too had a hard time getting info, its just the nature of the times I guess. AC and Fridge parts are no joke though. I had bad parts on my brand new unit with a brand new refrigerator. Took 2 months to get parts and they still shipped the wrong parts! Luckily the dealer was kind enough to rob the part from one of their in stock units on their lot to in order to fix mine. And...unless your dealer is very generous, you probably will not get your deposit back. They made it very clear to me that the deposit was non-refundable unless Airstream cancels the order for some reason, or just fails to deliver the unit all together, which they will deliver, eventually.

[Bill M.]

You just have to decided what you want to do. It is really hard to buy a lot of things right now. I doubt if the dealer can set a firm delivery date this year. Airstreams are optional in life and you do not have to have one. And if you want one right now you are apparently in a long line.

[Bcc75]

Originally Posted by Daquenzer

I feel your pain. We are building a new house. Builder said end of 2020 or January 2021. We sold our house based upon that information. Well we are living in a VRBO with all our belongings in storage. Getting expensive. Had I known what I know now we would have sold our house in the Spring. It’s practically like living in a 3rd world country with all the shortages. Some I can understand, and some I think are just plain dumb and people are scamming the system. But it is frustrating; especially living in a vrbo without our belongings 30 to 50 minutes from where we want to live.

My in-laws are building a house. Started early spring of last year. Just now started running trim on the inside. Couple that plus the fact that they are 30-40% over budget based on their original quotes, makes for a very sour experience indeed. When I think of it that way, I don't mind the Airstream issues so much.

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by Saluda372

What scares me is the lack of good or consistent information. No one repeats the same thing twice. They don't even seem to know what I ordered. This has sucked all the fun out of it. Appreciate your replies.

I certainly understand your frustration but this is not just an Airstream issue. They can’t give you consistent info because they can’t consistent info from their suppliers. I had a new microwave quit. They needed 3 parts for the fix. Said it would take 10 days. One part had to come from Germany. Took almost 70 days. COVID created huge supply chain issues. I couldn’t get mad at the appliance store.

[kittmaster]

Originally Posted by Saluda372

What scares me is the lack of good or consistent information. No one repeats the same thing twice. They don't even seem to know what I ordered. This has sucked all the fun out of it. Appreciate your replies.

Hang in there, it will be a good story later on when your own enjoying your shiny new camper.

Covid has turned the industry on its head....trust me, you'll be happy when they deliver it!

We will want pics.....

[RivetED]

Everything has already been said and I concur, like that makes a difference, but be patient or look used as suggested.

When we started we thought just owning an Airstream would be cool but had no idea of the great people and many new friends we'd meet.

If it's any consolation, I've been trying to get some standard suspension parts for my pickup for over 6 months with no luck. Just doing my best to wait this thing out.

[thewarden]

There are many here that feel your pain. My AS was damaged in a hail storm in the Spring. All the replacement parts and panels were ordered in June, and the dealership is still waiting.

These are obviously unusual and difficult times in which most of us have no control. Many manufacturing industries have been hit hard by this pandemic, and it may be some time before things catch up. Be patient, and it will all come around. And as one of my favorite TV chefs always says, "your patience will be rewarded." Once that AS is in your driveway, your anxiety will be a distant memory.

[Saluda372]

They've stepped up my concerns, will keep you posted. Some good points have once again been brought to my attention.
The saying goes if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any. Learned a lot of years ago that buying used for us is a bad thing. New and warranty required.
Sorry for those of you with similar issues. Glad when the majority of things gets back to near normal or as some say, new normal.
Thanks

[AirstreamInc]

Hi Saluda372,

Can you message us your name, phone number and dealership so that we can look into his more?

Thank you.

[kidjedi]

Originally Posted by Daquenzer

It’s practically like living in a 3rd world country with all the shortages.

No. It's not. Not even close. It's this kind of sentiment from a position of priveledge that keeps the classes so wildly separated. I try to keep socio-politics to a minimum, but during this time especially, it's pretty difficult to tolerate these kinds of comments when there are people in our country *actually* suffering.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Saluda372

They've stepped up my concerns, will keep you posted. Some good points have once again been brought to my attention.
The saying goes if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any. Learned a lot of years ago that buying used for us is a bad thing. New and warranty required.
Sorry for those of you with similar issues. Glad when the majority of things gets back to near normal or as some say, new normal.
Thanks

Buy gently used....

“Change is the new normal, if nothing changes, nothing is normal, everything changes, everything is normal.”
RLC

Bob
🇺🇸

[waninae39]

Just be patient

these are very special times. COVID has created huge supply chain issues