Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) - My List!

[Rvdixie]

With all due respect you are living in a fantasy world if you think the GM / Owner/ Sales Rep is going to repeat an inspection done by a technician. If you were to include a portion of the salaries of all these people in the price of the unit, you would be complaining that they are not competitive in pricing. From what I read on this forum, people will shop all over the country for the best price they can get, (which means that dealers will cut price to the bone) and expect to also get first class service. Just aint gonna happen my friend. Then to make matters worse, expect the local dealer who has not made a penny on the sale to perform the low paying warranty work when he has paying customers waiting for service or customers who have purchased from him. Unlike the auto business where dealers can actually turn a profit on warranty service this is not the case in the RV Industry. It will take a systematic change in the industry to accomplish that. Don't hold your breath.

[kluza2786]

I live in the Cincinnati area and Couch RV appears to be a good RV dealership. Last year when shopping for a TT, I did the internet shopping thing, then went to my local dealer to negotiate. I gave them a copy of the best deal that I had found, then asked them what they could do to "come close". I was willing to pay the additional $ 300 or so to have some leverage when I needed service. I must say it was money well-spent. I am surprised that your local dealer was unwilling - or unable - to come close to the internet price when you consider the cost of transporting it from Ohio to Texas.

[IronCobra]

Originally Posted by kluza2786

I live in the Cincinnati area and Couch RV appears to be a good RV dealership. Last year when shopping for a TT, I did the internet shopping thing, then went to my local dealer to negotiate. I gave them a copy of the best deal that I had found, then asked them what they could do to "come close". I was willing to pay the additional $ 300 or so to have some leverage when I needed service. I must say it was money well-spent. I am surprised that your local dealer was unwilling - or unable - to come close to the internet price when you consider the cost of transporting it from Ohio to Texas.

The closest both Vibe dealers could come to their price was still over $5050 more After all costs

You need to understand that because of the oil and gas boom in Texas, RV dealers can mark their units up higher than normal and aren't willing to budge on price. They know that another buyer will come along in a few hours and pay full price (or whatever they are asking).

[kluza2786]

Sounds about right - one of the local dealers was selling a lot of units to guys working on frac units in North Dakota. Of course, that was before the oil price crashed.

[IronCobra]

Originally Posted by kluza2786

Sounds about right - one of the local dealers was selling a lot of units to guys working on frac units in North Dakota. Of course, that was before the oil price crashed.

Yeah, our fracking has picked up again. I pretty much have $5000 worth of repair money if the dealers won't support warranty coverage.....that's how I look at it.

[kluza2786]

I haven't had any warranty work performed yet - have a couple of issues to get addressed once the camping season is over. Since it's nothing serious, figured that they'd be backed up right now. The minor issues that I've had have mostly been self-inflicted!

[bsmith001]

I have learned as part of your PDI you must crawl under the camper and inspect for rust. I purchased a new Lacrosse from Southern RV in Lafayette, LA and after I had it less than two months I noticed a rust problem under the camper. That problem was there when I purchased it and no one told me about it. The camper was built on February 5, 2015, I bought it in April and noticed the problem in June while I was just looking under it, just piddling. The screws holding the propane outlet for the outdoor kitchen was rusted and broken and the outlet was hanging from the underbody. The adjusting bolt on the slideout was so rusted it was flaking. I contacted Southern and Prime Time. Southern took pictures and sent to Prime Time. First response was rust was not covered under warranty, denied. Second response was allow four hours, scrape the rust and spray rustoleum. I feel I deserve a replacement since this problem existed BEFORE I purchased the camper. Now, Prime Time is evaluating the situation and determining what part they will play in the repairs. I don't want it repaired, I want what I should have gotten in the first place, a camper in new condition. I am told the owner of Forest River monitors the forum. If so, I appeal to him to do what is ethically and morally right. Lesson: go over the ENTIRE camper before accepting and leaving with it.

[camping baba]

I do not think that anyone that buys a unit from a dealer out of the area cannot expect to get good service from their local dealer . Forest. River states in their brochure that the dealer that has not sold the unit can do warranty work on the one's they sold before the one's that they have not sold . I am very lucky up here in Western Mass that the area dealer is very good .any problems that I have had they get me in and out as soon as possible . Normally in a day or two . The dealer is Orchard Trailer .

[aceinspp]

Your living a dream world. Good luck hope it works. I also would rather pick up or maybe got something close to home. Later RJD

[mike.t]

Ya right! Sorry not going to work out that way. But the guys in service are going crazy

[magpi26]

If one were to complete this list, it would require a full live test of virtually all systems and I just do not think that is feasible. Having to check the length of screws, loading drawers to test if they open, filling the tanks for leak tests, checking all gas connections.....I just do not see it happening, but I would love to know how it turns out for you. Good luck.

[IronCobra]

Well, so far I'm pretty happy with their service. The unit was pulled off the predelivery lot, the quality manager did a full detailed inspection, my coworker and him spent 3 ours taking pictures and combing through the unit (the factory) putting together a list of items that need attention. It's going to get another look over tomorrow after the corrections have been made.

[mike.t]

Originally Posted by Rvdixie

With all due respect you are living in a fantasy world if you think the GM / Owner/ Sales Rep is going to repeat an inspection done by a technician. If you were to include a portion of the salaries of all these people in the price of the unit, you would be complaining that they are not competitive in pricing. From what I read on this forum, people will shop all over the country for the best price they can get, (which means that dealers will cut price to the bone) and expect to also get first class service. Just aint gonna happen my friend. Then to make matters worse, expect the local dealer who has not made a penny on the sale to perform the low paying warranty work when he has paying customers waiting for service or customers who have purchased from him. Unlike the auto business where dealers can actually turn a profit on warranty service this is not the case in the RV Industry. It will take a systematic change in the industry to accomplish that. Don't hold your breath.

Well put.

[Ke5rbd]

It doesn't matter how much they check everything. I can understand your concern of buying from such a long distance away. The last 2 new Forest River campers I bought were bought from local dealers. All I can say is there was so much stuff wrong with the first one I swore I would not buy another Forest River, but I did. Took over 3 months and a trip to the factory to get everything semi repaired. I had a list 3 pages long of problems. Had 5 holes about 1/2" long in rubber roof and had been there since it was delivered to the dealership and the wood under the leaks had turned black. It had 3 slide outs and the two in living area dragged on the carpet and permanently had creases. They were adjusted several times. Finally found that some brackets that support the lower slideout floor support were bent. Apparently had a blow out when being delivered is all I could figure. The hot water volume in the front bath room was very low. Had a pinched line where the slideout lower support was sitting on it. Took two years to get that fixed as it gradually got worse as it was crushed over time.
The 2nd camper is the one I currently have. The biggest problem with it was bad brakes. Pulled out of another dealership about 120 miles away and they shut the gate behind me and closed for the weekend. Brakes were almost non existent. I figured they were rusty and would work better soon. Pulled home and they got worse. Not my first rodeo on pulling trailers. Was planning to leave on 700 mile trip in about 2 weeks. I looked under and two of the tires had grease streaks on them. Took the wheels and drums off and the two with grease slinging had the seals caved in and then pumped full of grease. At least a pound of grease in them. All four had had the magnets greased where they contact the disk on the brake hub. Not good. Called dealership to see about getting fixed and they told me to bring it back and they would take care of it. They also said they were back logged about a month. I fixed it myself, new shoes and should have replaced the magnets as the grease had caused the insulation on one to go bad and it shorted out on the trip. I did contact Forest River and they told me the axles were delivered to them that way and I would have to contact there supplier. This same camper had bad diverter valve in bath tub which I didn't catch until setup in campground. Changed valve out myself. Had water fitting loose under kitchen sink and wet everything. The fitting where you hook up outside coiled water hose started leaking. The flat screen TV in living area was about to fall in floor after the trip. Had plastic bracket. The metal bracket that was suppose to be on it was in the box under the tv. It probably went to mount tv in back sleeping area. What I am saying is plan on doing a couple of shakedown cruises, before you take off on long trip. Carry your tools with you. Just because it is new don't take any thing for granted. If any thing looks like it isn't securely mounted like clothes hanging hooks it problem going to fall down. I have bought 3 new fifth wheel campers and all have had many issues. Bought one used fifthwheel and went camping, not the first issue. The former owner had fixed and modified every thing in it.

[IronCobra]

Originally Posted by Rvdixie

With all due respect you are living in a fantasy world if you think the GM / Owner/ Sales Rep is going to repeat an inspection done by a technician. If you were to include a portion of the salaries of all these people in the price of the unit, you would be complaining that they are not competitive in pricing. From what I read on this forum, people will shop all over the country for the best price they can get, (which means that dealers will cut price to the bone) and expect to also get first class service. Just aint gonna happen my friend. Then to make matters worse, expect the local dealer who has not made a penny on the sale to perform the low paying warranty work when he has paying customers waiting for service or customers who have purchased from him. Unlike the auto business where dealers can actually turn a profit on warranty service this is not the case in the RV Industry. It will take a systematic change in the industry to accomplish that. Don't hold your breath.

You seem very educated with regards to dealerships. Interestingly enough, people's expectations for virtually any product and/or service aren't much different. The industry of buying things is build around competitively lowering margins yet providing top notch service. It appears your outlook is to simply say "deal with bad service if you want good pricing". If that's the case, perhaps ihop should throw your pancakes at you instead of plate them. And you shouldn't complain when they do it, because their margin per pancake has been cut so low that you should expect that type of service. Your argument might be to say, food has a higher margin, yet RV dealership pay huge commissions to sales reps, and that commission model rolls all the way up the management. So, not only do the sales reps get paid on deals, but their boss and their boss also does.

[captainperry]

I'm sorry, you should be there.What incentive do they have for doing a proper PDI ??? They'll never see you again!! Why should you have to do any repairs at all after spending that much money...Build quality will never improve if customers keep taking brand new units that need repair

[Brentf]

Some of the items you listed are factory design decisions (screw sizes for example). Dealer is not going to get involved in that. I bought my 5'r from Jeff Couch and I have nothing but positive things to say. But you have to be realistic about what the PDI really is. They go over FR's inspection list and sign it and send it in to FR. It is an air pressure check on the plumbing not a wet test. They check appliances and electrical but it is not a weekend long burn in. They go over the mechanicals, inspect the roof, tires, underbelly. They install a battery, mount the tv and make sure the cable, stereo, DVD player all work. Then they run the awning in and out and that is about that.

I found exactly 1 missing screw on my trailer. But the auto level broke 4 hours after I left the dealer ( I ran it successfully during the PDI). That is the sum total of my problems. Anyway, I went to Ohio to take delivery and am glad I did. If you unit is damaged by the delivery driver it is between you and the delivery company, not the dealer. They are pretty clear on that. I was the most careful delivery driver I could have found. If you expect the delivery driver to do anything about issues on the PDI at time of delivery remember they are just the driver. They don't work for the dealer and wouldn't know how to fix it anyway.

Anyway enjoy your new trailer.

Btw, the oil bust is resulting in workers just walking off and leaving their trailers sitting in the parks up around Midland Odessa and the Permian Basin. Local PD is running out of storage space to hold them while they wait the 4 months required to declare them abandoned property. I imagine there might be some deals around there for used shoppers, not sure how the lenders dispose of them.

Getting an insider is nice perk. Otherwise I'd be up in Ohio. Yes I am $5k ahead on any repair work if I have local dealer issues. I worried about that until I read the reviews on my local dealer and figured out the 'special treatment' they give their customers is months long wait for repairs, shoddy workmanship and all that in return for parking your RV in a gravel field for 8-10 months with the slides out while they wait for you to come around and buy it. My trailer was built 11 days before I took delivery.

[IronCobra]

Great information Brent. I just figure I'll deal with any problems if there are any. I'm honestly not too worried about it anymore. If something broke while I'm bringing it down, the liability is all on me. If something breaks while the delivery company is driving it down, at least the liability is on them. It's not like I'm spending a $100k on it.

[OldCoot]

IMO, you should travel there and do the PDI and then let them deliver it and you do another inspection upon delivery.

Unless I missed it, you never mentioned on your list to inflate the tires to max cold pressure per tire sidewall or balance the tire/wheels.

[Flybob]

This is a major investment and not taking the time to go do the PDI yourself is sending the message that you are really not that concerned. Also many times during PDI issues are found ( Just do a search here). The dealers response is sign the papers and take it and we will repair it under warranty at a later date. Problem is once they have the money, they no longer have motivation to to do timely repairs. You will loose half a season or more. The dealer has set your expectation by telling you they are selling like hotcakes. Now you feel pressured to make compromises. If you lose the unit because you refuse to take it until repairs are made, that is no different than taking it and having it sit at the dealer for months waiting for repairs. Remember if the of the purchaser of the next unit they sell refuses to sign paperwork until repairs are made theirs will certainly be ahead of your paid for unit in the shop. Nothing personal just business in the RV world.