Words for New Buyers

[socalhd]

Based on what I recently learned. If during your PDI, you find an issue requiring repair and they cannot immediately fix such issue. Do yourself a favor and advise the Dealer you will finalize the deal once that repair is done. I am referring to significant issues that will require parts ordering etc. Not Cosmetic things.
If you decide to go ahead with the deal at that point, get something in writing verifying the parts were ordered and a reasonable timeline these repairs will be made.

[cb1000rider]

Good advice...
Hope not learned from a bad experience.

[sourdough]

If there is a problematic issue with anything you are "buying" do not put down good money, sign a binding contract or anything else until the product YOU want is in your hands.....been there, done that.

[cb1000rider]

If there is a problematic issue with anything you are "buying" do not put down good money, sign a binding contract or anything else until the product YOU want is in your hands.....been there, done that.

At my dealer, it's a bit of a catch-22. They won't fully power the unit up until they have a deposit. After that deposit, they do "make ready" - there was a lot of pressure to do a "walk through" and immediately sign. Based on advice here and IRV2, I let them know that I'd be taking my time and inspecting things before I signed. They agreed, but had one of the techs hovering over me the whole time. And after about 2 hours, they put pressure on me to "move along" - so you'll need to expect it.

The output of my PDI was two minor issues, neither of which I considered blocking. I think they did a pretty good make-ready.

I'll do a full write up on my purchase experience later. There are good parts and not-great parts (assuming I'm allowed to post these). It went OK, but not like buying a car.

[JRTJH]

At my dealer,...

I'll do a full write up on my purchase experience later. There are good parts and not-great parts (assuming I'm allowed to post these). It went OK, but not like buying a car.

We welcome factual, accurate reports of the PDI and any problems you might have identified (complete with what the dealer did to fix them). Knowing what you found will help direct future buyers to what they should look for when doing their own PDI. The rub comes from the opinions about what Keystone or the dealer "should have done" and the speculation of "how they ought to build these things"...

The facts are most welcome, the "What I would have done" (unless it's a clear and distinct solution).... eh, not so much.

[Ken / Claudia]

Any one can pressure me to move along as they want and for my money for their product. I will go else where after I get the deposit back. Putting pressure on anyone buying anything is a BIG RED flag. If a salesman cannot take time to show you the product and how to make it work and answer questions why spend your money there. That goes with cell phones or RVs anything.

[GmaPaTime]

When we bought ours last year and just prior to delivery, I made up a model specific PDI check list, with the help of the one available here, and gave the dealer a copy. I then informed them that this was what I would be going over during my walkthrough prior to them going through the systems with me. I requested that I have a two hour window to complete prior to having thier tech available. This we found to work very well at our dealer. They were understanding and since I wasn't tying up their employee, they were ok with it. Fortunally, we only found some minor issues that were corrected. The tech made a comment that he has never had someone go through a pre-PDI in such detail but thought everyone should do it.

The PDI is what you make it, take advantage of it while you can.

Steve

[sourdough]

From the posts I've read it seems that the PDI experience varies greatly from dealer to dealer. I guess I've just got a great dealer (CW).

When I said I wanted to buy the trailer they said they would do their own inspection. They found lots of little things, many I probably would not have seen, corrected them and gave me a list. I sent the service manager an email with the PDI list from this forum and told him I would want to go thru that with their personnel. He said no problem. When I arrived to go thru the process (at that point we had signed an agreement to buy, no money down, with the stipulation that we could cancel if we were not satisfied) they gave me their best, lead, tech and told him/us to do what it took to make us happy. They were VERY accommodating. The tech stayed with us for about 3 hours, never rushed, never interrupted by anyone while we took notes and video. To me that's a good dealer.

[R&KFerguson]

Thanks, everyone! We will be doing this in 6-8 days.

[Pull Toy]

Best of luck!

[Western Traveler]

Our experience; We ordered our trailer at an RV Show in Pomona Ca in the Fall of 2013. The dealer was Mike Thompson of Fountain Valley. They asked for $1000 good faith money, I gave them around $200/300. We received word the trailer arrived the first week of December. I emailed a PDI from this site and said I would be up in a couple of weeks and would be using that list for the inspection.
They indicated they would do a pre-inspection as well.
I showed up with a ladder, screwdrivers, flashlight, a 2# box of See's Candy and mirror. On arrival they asked me to come into the office to sign the documents while they got it ready for delivery. I gave them another copy of the PDI and said it would be a few hours. I was working with the salesman TJ (I want to mention that during the sale I mentioned the Polar Plus package and he said, look this is a 3 season trailer, just know that). He said no problem let us know if you need a tech or anything during my inspection. The tech explained a number of things regarding the trailer, hooked up water, etc and helped me test systems. Six hours later I gave them a list of items needing attention, the two most significant was a gas line that was kinked in the undercarriage and some electric brake lines unsecured and rubbing on a wheel.
We arranged for an out of state delivery (Ca sales tax) for the day after inspection. The next day on arrival all on the list was handled. They went an extra step adding wrapping to the fresh repairs on the gas line and wires to avoid later issues. We went into the office and completed the sale. They said it was the longest pre-inspection they had had in quite some time as most people spend an hour at most, learning the systems and drive away.
Yesterday I received a call from the salesman TJ (18 months later). He wanted to know how everything was with the TT and if we were enjoying it. Talked about his new baby and our travel. Not one mention of an upgrade and though it could have been the reason for his call I was happy to hear from him. It was a nice touch.

[yocsr]

Thanks for all the great info!! We do our pdi on a new Hideout 38BHDS in the morning. After reading info here I called the dealer and told them I would be there 2 hrs. early to do my own inspection ahead of the meet with tech. I've got my ladder, tools, flashlights, and pdi list in the truck. They really tried to push extended warranty. That really didn't fit for us as we are permanently placing this at our lake property. We have '99 Lance 1130 and I've fixed the ac, put new board in frig., fixed electric jacks, repaired a water leak, so there's not much I can't do. This does make taking it off the lot right really important not to mention we are an hour and a half away from dealer. Thanks again as I think this will make for a better experience.

[Kojak]

Based on what I recently learned. If during your PDI, you find an issue requiring repair and they cannot immediately fix such issue. Do yourself a favor and advise the Dealer you will finalize the deal once that repair is done. I am referring to significant issues that will require parts ordering etc. Not Cosmetic things.
If you decide to go ahead with the deal at that point, get something in writing verifying the parts were ordered and a reasonable timeline these repairs will be made.

If I haven't finalized the deal and actually put a "stop payment" on the check can I still back out of the deal?