Dealership walk through

[jimla]

This is for new owners that visit this site. I think that folk that buy from certain dealers should ban together and go to the dealership and demand that they give you a complete walkthrough. I see on this site and other site, where folks are asking how to do this or that with their camper. Myself and others are very happy to help people with their problems but I think it is a shame that some dealers let a customer drive out the gate and not completely inform people how to use their camper. For instance early last night, a camper had gone to a CG, they are getting ready to enjoy a weekend. While setting up, one of their slides wont work. Their on a site asking for help, because the dealer hasn't told them what those crank handles in storage compartment is for. What a shame. If they knew their weekend could be better.

[formerFR]

while that may be true, most folks DO get a fair 'walk thru' lesson with their dealer, but the fact is that there are so many systems involved that nobody ever remembers 'everything' that a dealer can possible tell them in a small amount of time. It's a learning experience for all of us, even if you switch coaches to a new one, and you've been RVing for years, a new coach will have things differently than your last, and new systems that you may not 'fully' understand how they work in every situation, even sometimes until you get a 'understanding' when something goes 'wrong'.

People are quick to jump on the dealer's back, but the fact is, it's the job of the owner to fully understand everything they think they need to know, before they leave the dealership. I suspect that any dealer welcomes questions from new owners, but without knowing what you don't know, the dealer can only provide overviews of most things. There's probably not enough time in the day to satisfy everyone's complete understanding of everything with their RV.
Most seasoned RVrs would also advise that any 'new' owner should stay several nights at their dealership, in their new rv, to start to get a full understanding of 'what' they need to know, and what questions to then ask...
A trip afar for your 'first' journey is probably not best.

Most of us will admit that even today, we are learning new things about our coach, while we 'thought' we knew everything several years ago. It never ends, really.

Most of the true learning actually comes from times like these when we now 'understand' how something works, or where it's located, because now we have to deal with it. If you gave everyone a book that actually explained everything in complete detail, they'd still complain that the book was too long, too complicated, and too hard to understand.

But, yes, we've all had those 'starter' moments.... it happens.

[Teamfour]

I agree that in some cases it’s a case of the buyer not remembering everything explained in the PDI. With today’s technology there is no reason to not have someone video record the walk through.

[HappyCamper1962]

Walk-throughs do vary!! I'm sure many dealers make assumptions when they find out it's not your first camper, but I've had one where the dealer did the PDI in the middle of an open lot with no water and no electricity so they could not prove to me/show me that the AC was working or that all faucets worked properly/no leaking (Camping World) And on the other end of the spectrum, my PDI with RVOne/Tampa RV, the walk through was extremely thorough. They had water in the holding tank to use to show me that the water heater and all faucets worked, in addition to a very thorough walk outside and inside showing me every detail of my new camper in spite of our years of RV ownership. The rig was plugged into shore power to be able to work all features. It was absolutely excellent, even though he knew that I am an experienced owner. I had just installed a new brake controller, so he even got into my drivers seat and showed me all of the features and how to set it, even though it was not installed there. Best PDI ever. I will definitely be purchasing from RVOne again; this is my second purchase from them, one in Orlando and this new one in Tampa, and both have been a total pleasure.

I agree that it can be hard to remember everything, so taking notes is a good idea. I always carry a note pad with me during the PDI to remember what was said when something unfamiliar is being shown. Buyer responsibility.

[jimla]

I agree with the past three threads, but mostly with Happy. I have had in the past a dealer just glad to see me out the gate. As an example I was as green as you can be to camping. bought a camper and didn't ask a thing and they didn't offer anything up. Down the road had a leak and called the insurance and they denied the claim due to maintenance. I didn't know. Fast forward to todays times. The last 3 campers I bought. The dealer tech went over everything with a fine tooth comb. without me asking to do so. I can say I know just about everything there is to know about the TT we have now. If the leveler fail, what to do. If the slides fail, what to do etc. I know there are bits and pieces everywhere of how two's. Just a thought, it would be nice on this FR forum, to have some one start a thread that could be froze, where folks could see it when they come into the forum. What I'm getting at is have thread that is a check list for folks to print out and take with them to the dealer when they do their walkthrough. By the way, tell me if I'm wrong a PDI is when the dealer does their Pre Delivery Inspection. A walkthrough is when the dealer and buyer do their final walkthrough before signing the paperwork.

[Decon Blue]

Yep, unfortunately most Walk throughs are from the Showroom to the Finance office , then your forgotten.

[bikendan]

What I find difficult to understand, is why so many people accept poor PDIs/walkthroughs.
I find it shocking, that so many in the Information Age of the Internet, do little or no research in buying a RV.
When I was getting ready to purchase my first new RV, I went to various RV forum to learn how to do this correctly.
One of the constant themes was to have a PDI checklist and NOT to take ownership until you are given a proper walkthrough.
Yet I read so many posts by those who allow the dealer to rush the walkthrough, with little information provided. And then they go ahead and accept the RV, without any fuss.
Maybe I'm an exception, since I always research things before making any large purchase.

[NMWildcat]

Usually, we could care less if we get a thorough walk through. By the time we buy, we usually know more about the unit and options than the sales person does. So we check functionality of major things only before we sign. We fix all the inevitable little things, or have an independent service shop do any after purchase warranty. The less time I spend at a dealer, the better. After the sale, we never see a dealer again.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

With today’s technology there is no reason to not have someone video record the walk through.

I wonder if there is a video to show us how to properly sit on and use an RV toilet?

However, there is a learning curve on how to properly flush an RV toilet...

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by bikendan

One of the constant themes was to have a PDI checklist and NOT to take ownership until you are given a proper walkthrough.
.

X2

That's what we did. Even with notes though, there were some things we only learned later on. Most dealers sell with some sort of roadside protection and most plans have a technical help hot line. However, we didn't realize that until after we needed it.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

I wonder if there is a video to show us how to properly sit on and use an RV toilet?

However, there is a learning curve on how to properly flush an RV toilet...

One of many. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...TF-8#kpvalbx=0

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by bikendan

What I find difficult to understand, is why so many people accept poor PDIs/walkthroughs.

I find it shocking, that so many in the Information Age of the Internet, do little or no research in buying a RV.

Maybe I'm an exception, since I always research things before making any large purchase.

I know...

There are so many RV-haters websites and Facebook pages out there that it is unbelievable!

What is funny, though, is that most of the crybabies on them bloat about how they researched RV's to death before the purchase, then complain they knew nothing about PDI's...Camping World...build quality...warranty service issues...and any other thing they might come up with.

And then they find themselves on one of those sites, starting topic threads like "Anyone considered starting a class action lawsuit against XXX?"...or "I'll never buy from XXX brand or dealer ever again!"...or "I'll never buy another RV as long as I live!"...and on and on and so forth!

And when anyone tries to give any kind of positive feedback, it only makes matters worse and then get accused of being an "employee of XXX" or worse!

And then they will all pile on and fuel each others flames until there is so much hate that they all turn against each other as well!

If you don't believe me, do a FB search for 'The Camping World Experience' or 'Unhappy XXX RV Company Owners' pages, and don't forget the big bowl of popcorn and extra large drink!

There are several people who claim to be lawyers that are also fueling the flames against anything RV business related that hang out in those pages and poke everyone constantly to keep the fires burning!

I'm sorry, but in this day and age there is no excuse for anyone not to know about this kind of stuff...

But it is far easier to pass the buck and blame everyone else on this planet but themselves when they have problems, or when things didn't go the way they thought they should have gone.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

One of many. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...TF-8#kpvalbx=0

That first line was supposed to be a joke...

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by jimla

I agree with the past three threads, but mostly with Happy. I have had in the past a dealer just glad to see me out the gate. As an example I was as green as you can be to camping. bought a camper and didn't ask a thing and they didn't offer anything up. Down the road had a leak and called the insurance and they denied the claim due to maintenance. I didn't know. Fast forward to todays times. The last 3 campers I bought. The dealer tech went over everything with a fine tooth comb. without me asking to do so. I can say I know just about everything there is to know about the TT we have now. If the leveler fail, what to do. If the slides fail, what to do etc. I know there are bits and pieces everywhere of how two's. Just a thought, it would be nice on this FR forum, to have some one start a thread that could be froze, where folks could see it when they come into the forum. What I'm getting at is have thread that is a check list for folks to print out and take with them to the dealer when they do their

walkthrough.



There is a couple of checklists in the Library section of this forum.
New Trailer Owner PDI Version 2.6


PDI Checklist




By the way, tell me if I'm wrong a PDI is when the dealer does their Pre Delivery Inspection. A walkthrough is when the dealer and buyer do their final walkthrough before signing the paperwork.

That's the way it should be. The dealer needs to inspect the RV upon being delivered from the factory. If they find any major problems they will have time to send it back or repair/replace themselves.

But dealers see it as an inspection before they turn it over to the buyer. I am with you in the fact that most dealers are not delivering the RV to the buyer, rather the buyer is taking possession at the dealers lot.

The only time the dealer can really claim they delivere to the buyer is like in my case we examined the trailer at the dealer, ordered slide toppers and paid for the dealers setup crew to deliver it to our campsite, set it up and level it on cement blocks. The 2 delivery guys then went through the TT again and checked every thing out. After the on-site inspection they hooked up our trade-in and left.

[jimla]

That's a good thread Scrapper. It would be nice if it was posted where you didn't have to mine for it. I didn't anything was on the forum site.

[JimChow]

On our first RV we got a decent walk through, however I don't think the guy knew any more about it than we did. Now on our second RV I already knew a great deal more than the first time so I focused on the things new to me. The dealer suggested we not travel too far out the first time just in case. I was way ahead of him and had already planned a couple of close by weekend trips for the shakedown. Fortunately nothing major went wrong just small annoying things that I am taking care of myself. Can the dealer do a better job....sure, but that's true of most everything.

[Jrod]

I would like to chime in on the walk through. I have just purchased my 3rd TT, 2nd from a dealership. My first walk through was from Camping world in Greenwood In. It was terrific. The technician explained everything from how all systems worked, maintenance, and things to look out for. When I left, I felt very confident of my understanding of that camper. I did not expect that from a “big box store” I just had my second walk through last Friday with our new Vibe 268rks. We purchased this from a smaller dealership but by no means small. I could not of been more disappointed of the walk through. I asked several questions that could not be answered. Luckily I’m not a newbie and will figure out most things myself. If I were a newbie and recieved that walk through, my wife and I would be in trouble. Nothing about winterizeing, maintenance, water heater access, water pump location, gas line hookup, manual slide operation, the list goes on and on. Maybe it’s just the luck of the draw and we a tech that is not very thorough. I couldn’t be happier with the camper and am looking forward to talking it out this Thursday for its maiden voyage!

[TheWolfPaq82]

Now....newbies aren't going to know some of these questions, but....when we bought our second TT, I asked about "Manual slide operation, water pump location, winterization kit, type of WH, furnace..etc..." BEFORE we purchased the TT.

[Jrod]

I should of been more specific. I asked the questions about winterizeing, water heater bypass, water pump location, manual slide operation and the tech could not answer any of those questions. I expected my tech to be more knowledgeable. If you can’t tell me where the water pump or water heater access is, you can’t telk me if they have bypass valves installed.

[TheWolfPaq82]

Originally Posted by Jrod

I should of been more specific. I asked the questions about winterizeing, water heater bypass, water pump location, manual slide operation and the tech could not answer any of those questions. I expected my tech to be more knowledgeable. If you can’t tell me where the water pump or water heater access is, you can’t telk me if they have bypass valves installed.

When they couldn't answer those questions, I requested a tech come out and answer. Wife actually told the dealership owner...."If we can't get those questions answered...we're NOT BUYING !! Should've seen how fast they scrambled to find the answers.