Airstream Nest Quality... Questionable?

[thrifty bill]

Do a search on google of most of the higher priced, perceived higher quality RVs and you will find a common thread. "The customer has to act as the quality inspector." Lots of details not only get past the factories, they get past the dealers too. So careful and complete inspection when you pick up the RV is critical to future enjoyment and reduced frustration.

Its a shame, but you can't just go pay your money and pick up the RV anymore. There was a great article several months ago on RV companies in Elkhart, IN. Its become so tough to get help that they have stopped drug testing (no one can pass), they use workers from the local prison, etc. And the prisoners, once released from jail, do not take jobs with the RV companies. Tells you how bad working conditions have to be. If you can't retain people, you have to look at the work itself, and raise the pay. But higher pay does not eliminate turnover if the work conditions are bad.

And the quality issues are not limited to Elkhart. Check out quality complaints on Tiffins (made in Alabama) and Airstream (made in Ohio).

Again, the buyer has to act as the quality inspector, or plan on getting disappointed later.

One relatively common factor is that the RV factories do warranty repairs on site. Think about it, what car company has to have their cars go back to the factory for warranty work. When these RV companies build complete repair facilities at their factories, it tells you something about quality! They wouldn't do it unless they were busy with warranty work!

I can tell you, if I was shopping for a car, and one company had a large factory repair center and you had to make an appointment well in advance, I would NOT be choosing that car. But its the norm in the RV business.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f106/tota...ty-423853.html

[honda03842]

I have two consideration when buying expensive products.

1, Never buy a new design, it can have significant design issues that take time and desire to work out.

Buy used with a careful eye.

We've bought 4 used RVs. For the most part the 'bones' were good and the price was right, and often the owner maintained them well or at least were honest about problems.

Our four rigs varied in age from 4 years to 26 years old. Our two most recent were a 1991 Scamp 16, 19 years old when purchased and a 1993 Born Free 21, 25 years old when purchased.

Both the Scamp 16 and the Born Free 21 had been built for years and with relatively inexpensive repairs and upgrades resulted in comfortable, reliable RVs.

Of course when you buy these older used RVs you don't expect perfection...they already have their first dents and dings.

We have now traveled for 19 years, covered a few 100,000 miles, camped for over 4,000 nights, looped the USA 7 times and our total purchase price of our four RVs is under $50,000 (the last 3 purchases totaled $12,000).

RVing does not have to be expensive, does not require new, yet can be rewarding and fun.

[Magpie Nest]

Hello everyone. It's been a long week and I am sorry for the delayed response on this matter.

Here is the run-down as brief as I can make it:

Airstream Corp: the COO has gotten involved and done the following - informed the dealership that all necessary materials needed to make the repairs will be supplied immediately (typically this takes about 3 weeks, but they are expediting matters). Once repairs are complete, AS is re-issuing a factory warranty to start all over again (3 years). Items that were not included with he trailer from the dealership (not sure why...) are being sent as well!

Dealership: The service manager met with me and personally went through the camper with me to review all of the defects. He was also very familiar with the video, so this helped things go much quicker. I left the camper with them for the day. I was impressed to see that they had repaired everything that was manageable at the time, and the rest will be repaired once the parts arrive from AS. This includes a complete, new drop ceiling and new side panels. The floor, I was informed, is a "floating" design, and the service manager had to admit that there was no way he could repair the buckle. He advised me to live with it for now, unless it gets worse.

The cabinet did, ironically enough, come detached again after transporting the camper home. But, I was able to fix this myself and didn't bother to mention it to either party.

Overall, I am satisfied with the results I have received. AS really stepped up and made things right by offering the extension on the warranty. I think that was a true sign to them being supportive of the buyer.

A side note: I asked AS if they have had any other reports of defects of this sort from any other owners. Here is the Manager of Owner Relations response,

"I can’t say that we have never had a problem with a headliner, however certainly wouldn’t say it has been a wide-spread issue. You are correct with your assessment that with any new unit there will likely be improvements from what is being reported to us or seen in warranty repairs."

I wish to thank everyone for their support, advise and wisdom. My wife and I are hoping to have many more wonderful miles ahead of us in our Nest.

Thanks!

(For any who care to follow our blog, and our journeys from tiny teardrop to now: Two M@gpies Tiny Teardrop Trailer. and @twomagpiesrv on Instagram)

[Al and Cindy K]

Thanks for the update. Good to know Airstream is handling this in what appears to be a professional manner. Hope to see you out camping sometime and get a firsthand look at your camper.


Al

[Roy in TO]

+1
Same as what Al and Cindy K said.
Glad to hear it worked out to your satisfaction.

[Lady Scamp]

I, too am glad that your Nest was repaired. HOWEVER, I think Airstream took too long thus not good customer support.

[Dick Kasnick]

Originally Posted by Magpie Nest

Thank you, Dave. I am also hoping that AS does the right thing. So far, it is looking they are expecting the dealer to repair things.

In a dealership organization, the dealer is tasked with repairs, warranty and non-warranty. The Company (AS) will compensate the dealer for their work. I would get a dealer that will help you get the claims thru AS as a first resort. I doubt that AS has any capability to do repairs as they do not have the shop or setup to do so.

[mprevost]

I have a 2019 Nest. #68 off the line. I've had it for 3 months and have spent 3 weeks in it so far. I've towed it more than 1,000 miles. I have one screw missing on one window, and one bolt fell out in a cabinet. The screen door handle fell due to a loose bolt. Other than that, so far, so good. Initially the batteries were not being charged by the inverter. I suspect that the dealership initially hooked up the batteries wrong and blew the reverse polarity fuse. They replaced a fuse (they did not indicate which one) and now it charges fine. No problems otherwise. We are really happy with it. The layout and design are really good. I would not have paid full price for it, but for the disciount they were offering, I feel like I got a great value.