Looked at a Nest

[Jon in AZ]

In general, any time you can walk into a dealer and buy a brand new product (with financing and no wait), people will be less likely to pay a higher price for a late model used unit. My observation is that Bigfoot, which also sells through dealers, seems to follow a similar pattern, though it may be less pronounced because the dealer network is so small compared to Airstream.

It can also be difficult to gauge true retained value for dealer-sold makes because actual transaction prices vary and are not public information.

The factory-direct sales model does seem to support higher resale values because the lack of discounting and long wait times for new trailers mean people are more willing to pay a premium for a late-model used unit.

I don't know about the target demographic for the Nest- it will be interesting to see. Barely a week after they went on sale I saw one on the interstate pulled by an Audi Q5. Couldn't see who was in the vehicle.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

The factory-direct sales model does seem to support higher resale because of the lack of discounting and long wait times. People are more willing to pay a premium for a late-model used unit.

I have noticed this too. In looking at Bigfoot models from new to various ages of used, they seem to drop a fair bit in the first few years, then stabilize at price that drops little in subsequent years.

We may see this with the Nest as well.

[rbryan]

A quick read through of the Nest owner forums shows numerous reports of serious deficiencies and defects. Holes in the shell, large cracks appearing in numerous places, thin layup, numerous leaks, water damage, etc.

The good news is that reading further, it appears that Airstream is pretty good at making it right, even up to a full replacement of the rig.

I see this as a brilliant design by Robert Johans, and a not so brilliant implementation. There is no way on earth that Robert would let such glaring problems leave the factory floor. Perhaps as Airstream gains more experience building fiberglass shells, their quality will improve.

[trainman]

Just watch the recent post on the Nest and how the fiberglass shells are made. Goldshield makes the shells for Airstream, they tell about the quality work that is done by them. Goldshield is a large company that does a lot of fiberglass work for several companies, boats, auto, etc.


trainman