Hunter Passport III worth getting?

[Cole D]

I saw a Hunter Passport III in AB at Habitat for $20. Is it worth getting at that price? It didn't seem to have the canopy though. There is also a Casablanca Delta I in antique white with stencil blades that's been there a while. I'm not huge on four blade Casas or I would get have gotten it by now.

[steelcityfancollector]

Personally I wouldn't. Not unless the price was in the single digits and even then, it'd be parts or replacement fodder as far as I'm concerned.

[fancollector12]

I'd say it's worth getting. It has an Airmax motor and it just has those classic Hunter looks that you don't see anymore. $20 is a good price for one.

[Adam D.]

Something I would walk away from even if it were being given away.. But I tend to do that with originals too all the time

[Cole D]

I can agree with all of you I guess. I've always liked the traditional style imported Hunters so these were one of my favorites. They are just about the cutoff point for my interest in these though. The Passport IIIs were made from what, 2003-2006, maybe? I know by 2007 Home Depot had stopped selling them and had the Eastern Shore which was like a Passport III with no filigree and beadboard blades. Those were still good, but after that they got junky really fast. Lowes had the Leighton which was like a Passport III but with an opal light kit and different blade tips. Our Lowes opened in 2006 and I never got to see the fan display at the time, or I don't recall it. They may have had them at first.

IMO the last good imported Hunters were the 42" Low Profiles with the oblong blades, the Bayport, and the Sea Air and Mariner they made at that time. Most of today's models are totally different and today's Sea Air and Mariner are junk compared to back in the 90s and 2000s, sadly.

[Cole D]

Mar 15, 2020 13:34:05 GMT -5 Adam D. said:

Something I would walk away from even if it were being given away.. But I tend to do that with originals too all the time

I never see Originals at Habitat here unfortunately. I know when I started driving and going myself (2007-08) they had some white Original motors but no blades and I even remember seeing an Original copy there. Another thrift seemed to get 80s and 90s Originals sometimes. I wish I had gotten them looking back. Mostly today all Habitat gets is 90s white/brass fans with builder or GE vents, and modern Hampton Bay/Harbor Breeze stuff. Little worth getting. The other thrift store I go to doesn't get fans anymore.

Now doesn't seem like a great era to collect fans anymore, or at least the ones I'm interested in. Maybe I just live in the wrong area.

I still see houses for sale with nice fans (Originals, Fascos, Emersons, spinners, etc).

[Jean Lemieux]

Yes the Passport III was made around 2003-2006. As long as you like antique brass you should defintely get it at that price. For me the finish is an important decisive factor. If I know a certain model I like a lot shows up in a finish I don't like as much and I know it was made in my favorite finish, then I prefer to wait till I find it in that specific finish.

[Cole D]

Mar 15, 2020 19:38:38 GMT -5 Jean Lemieux said:

Yes the Passport III was made around 2003-2006. As long as you like antique brass you should defintely get it at that price. For me the finish is an important decisive factor. If I know a certain model I like a lot shows up in a finish I don't like as much and I know it was made in my favorite finish, then I prefer to wait till I find it in that specific finish.

I really like brushed nickel but not sure if that finish was available on the Passport. The AB is nice but the blade finish was a bit dull to me. I looked online and it appears the blades reverse to rosewood which looks nicer I think.

An antique shop here has had a white one sitting around for years but I've never seen a price on it and I've never asked. Not sure it's even for sale or not.

[Adam D.]

Originals are so common here, out of Craigslist, Offerup, Letgo, and Facebook Marketplace there are always at least 3 of them listed, mostly 90s originals, some early 80s popup here and there.. I don't think a day has gone by where I don't see them when searching for fans.. I honestly get sick of seeing them.. I wish someone was local that could buy them up.. I don't have the room, nor the time to buy them and sell them.. I'm more interested in rare stuff that there is very few of, and that is becoming more and more scarce.. I'm much more interested in 70s, early 80s imported stuff, and very early Emerson stuff from the 70s and early 80s, and of course some Fasco and NuTone stuff like the World's Fair and the Sea Island..

[Parkman]

Mar 15, 2020 21:48:39 GMT -5 Cole D said:

Mar 15, 2020 19:38:38 GMT -5 Jean Lemieux said:

Yes the Passport III was made around 2003-2006. As long as you like antique brass you should defintely get it at that price. For me the finish is an important decisive factor. If I know a certain model I like a lot shows up in a finish I don't like as much and I know it was made in my favorite finish, then I prefer to wait till I find it in that specific finish.

I really like brushed nickel but not sure if that finish was available on the Passport. The AB is nice but the blade finish was a bit dull to me. I looked online and it appears the blades reverse to rosewood which looks nicer I think.

An antique shop here has had a white one sitting around for years but I've never seen a price on it and I've never asked. Not sure it's even for sale or not.

The passport was antique brass and white only the Leighton had brushed nickel as an option which I always found strange for that style fan.

[fancollector12]

Lowe's sold the version with a globe light called the Leighton. But it came in Brushed Nickel, which the Passport III did NOT.

[Cole D]

The Leighton also had different blade tips.

Anyway, this is all on hold now since everything has shut down. If and when this blows over (and I still have a job) I may still go for it. But getting a house to install fans in looks to be over for quite a while I'm sure. :/

[Parkman]

Mar 20, 2020 20:35:32 GMT -5 Cole D said:

The Leighton also had different blade tips.

Anyway, this is all on hold now since everything has shut down. If and when this blows over (and I still have a job) I may still go for it. But getting a house to install fans in looks to be over for quite a while I'm sure. :/

I don’t know my wife and I are looking at a house right now my fear is that the housing industry is going to not necessarily collapse but take a chunk out of prices which might be a better time to buy in a little bit but who knows what will happen with interest rates. Hoping everyone job wise is still doing well with all of this!!

[Cole D]

From what I read we were headed into a recession even before the virus came along. Some are saying home prices won't be as affected as much as they were in 2009 because this recession won't be caused by the subprime loans and lax lending policies this time. But now especially with the virus in with it anything could happen.

I'm hoping this mess passes more quickly and people can get back to work and not having to wait months to have income again. I'm afraid though anything related to housing especially might be slowing down. You are right though good deals may come, but the interest rates right now are so low so who knows what will happen with that. The Fed actually had 0% interest, of course that doesn't get passed onto the consumer mortgage rate but it shows you how much they were trying to keep things moving with the virus.

Since I work in the housing industry I'm not going to plan on buying anything for some time, unless the deals are so good it's not risky. There were a few good deals once in a while the last few years that I didn't like missing out on but I was afraid of taking on debt because I knew the economy couldn't keep thriving forever.

[Parkman]

Mar 21, 2020 10:45:10 GMT -5 Cole D said:

From what I read we were headed into a recession even before the virus came along. Some are saying home prices won't be as affected as much as they were in 2009 because this recession won't be caused by the subprime loans and lax lending policies this time. But now especially with the virus in with it anything could happen.

I'm hoping this mess passes more quickly and people can get back to work and not having to wait months to have income again. I'm afraid though anything related to housing especially might be slowing down. You are right though good deals may come, but the interest rates right now are so low so who knows what will happen with that. The Fed actually had 0% interest, of course that doesn't get passed onto the consumer mortgage rate but it shows you how much they were trying to keep things moving with the virus.

Since I work in the housing industry I'm not going to plan on buying anything for some time, unless the deals are so good it's not risky. There were a few good deals once in a while the last few years that I didn't like missing out on but I was afraid of taking on debt because I knew the economy couldn't keep thriving forever.

Good points! My fear is that the interest rates will go up or that if I buy now house values will plummet. I live in southern NJ and my county had the highest foreclosure rate in the country after the recession cleaned up we got hit with multiple casino closures and it’s never truly recovered. Now with the casino industry locally still not great and the casinos closed to die the Coronavirus its not gonna be a positive.. granted I heard President Trump say that we will not be having foreclosures due to this that’s good however I fear this may put a nail in the coffin for one or two of the smaller casinos and that will ripple beyond belief in this area. I think a buyers market is coming although nothing like 2009 like you said.