New van - PDI

[gavin_5121842]

Picking up our first ever new van next week, a Swift Charisma 560. The dealer has to PDI the van before we pick it up. What exactly is involved in a PDI, and is there anything else i should look out for when i pick the new van up??,

Gavin.

 

[Robert_374242026]

Hi Gavin ,congratulations on the new van,just one thing we had to gripe about was that we had a caravan mover fitted and when we got it home i did not have the strenght to operate the wrench,after several phone calls and getting nowhere it was my Wife who solved it by saying let the tyres down ,which i did ,then upon checking the tyre pressures found out the dealer had over inflated them by 14psi.In these day's you will find nothing is gospel.

 

[GRAHAM_374234069]

If you can, pick the van up during the week, not the weekend.

This way you can have a longer check through the van with the dealer. If you notice anything the maintenance guys are also there to put it right

 

[gavin_5121842]

Thanks for the replies, i think the van should be ready to pick up on Wednesday or Thursday, and i intend to go through it with a fine toothed comb.Will let you know how it goes,

Gavin.

 

[MIB]

Hi,

Probably by now you have picked up your new van. If so I hope all is well and you are pleaed with it.

Most dealers respond favourably to an agreed return of van for any rectification work needed.

Don't rush into reporting minor faults because, from experience, the majority of new vans are prone to a certain degree of 'human induced defects'. Serious faults, or cetainly safety related items should obviously be addressed immediately.

My advice would be to document all 'snags' and then return to the dealer as agreed at the specified date with a detailed written list of faults giving the dealer space to add comments or record when an Item is complete.

I have adopted this process for many years and found the dealer to be appreciative of a well structured defect list rather than relying on word of mouth.

Happy Caravanning and good luck,

Mark

 

[Lol1]

This may be too late (and stating the obvious) but take a good long look down the flanks of the caravan. Do it at an angle so that it shows up any flaws easily. If there is anything amiss tell the handover guy immediately. You won't get it fixed there and then (probably on it's first service) but if you don't alert them, as soon as it's out of the yard you have no comeback.

I give ours a quick once over and thought all was well, it took my son to point out the small but none the less significant dent in the side wall at handover. Don't be rushed into signing on the dotted line, till you are good and ready.

 

[BigRoy]

Also have a good look at the four corners at the bottom, to make sure they haven't caught them whilst moving it around

 

[RayS]

Agree with all the others. it depends how far you want to (what they will call) nit-pick.

My experience over 5 new vans has been that the electrics can be a weak point - not one of the 5 had the TV booster connections made off correctly. Others had the wrong rated fuses in the 230v. services and appliances, Omnivent fans that only worked with the reading lights on, Truma space heater full of woodshavings which would have caught fire if the gas had lit up correctly - it didn't the igniter lead was disconnected.

Take a mains socket tester and check the incoming mains is correct polarity (particularly with a continental van); check the tyre pressure and that of the spare before you drive away - I've found pressures at least 40 % low.

Check all the window blinds including the Heki close, stay closed and retract correctly.

Sorry to sound a wet blanket on what should be a very enjoyable experience, but I've seen all this and more on 3 different makes of van.

The dificulty is, if the dealer has not done the PDI correclty, what confidence can you have that he will do so if you complain ?

 

[RayS]

Me again, always forgetting things these days. If your dealer is operating under any sort of a quality assurance scheme he should give you on request a schedule of what is involved in a PDI. If this is not forthcoming then be very vigilent.

If a schedule is forthcoming and you find items which clearly have not been checked, then complain loudly. If the dealer is a NCC?CC?C&CC Approved Workshop then take it up with them as well, although when I tried they had the quaint idea that PDI was "part of the sales process" and therefore excluded from the scheme which covers only "repairs and service".

I will leave you to ponder the logic of this.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Gavin,

Some excellent advise from gang above.

Hello Ray S,

Sadly the PDI (pre delivery inspection) is necessary because the manufacturers know that they do not do a proper build in the first place. Shortages or errors on production are expected to be fixed by the dealer, so the dealer at this stage of a sale is an extension of the production facility.

If manufactures did their job properly and completely built the caravan in the first place, then a PDI would not be necessary. However a Pre Delivery Preparation would still be required, to remove transit protection covers and to wash down the outside, but that is really all that should be needed - one day some one will realise that the current partial build methods are both unreliable and actually counter productive.

 

[popupJohn]

After checking the vans OK make certain the towing lights are all ok when hitched up to the car.

BEWARE of the dealer who runs through the checking of them by standing behind the van and shouting for the lights in sequence.

When we picked ours up he ran though the lights and then added.and now....... 'windscreen wipers'..my hand was halfway to the switch before i spotted the con.

I avoided the laughs of other staff around but was nearly caught out *blush*

 

[gavin_5121842]

Thanks for the tips folks. I picked up the van yesterday, a Swift Charisma 560, and the minor faults i spotted when viewing the van were all corrected. I took Grahams advice and picked it up on Friday rather than the weekend so the mechanic was there, which proved to be good advice as there were still a couple of things needing transferred.

The dealer was GNR Caravans (Edderton) The service was excellent and i got a great deal on the trade-in.

Thanks again,

Gavin.

 

[NorfolkMike]

Gavin,

Congrats ect. You and I are now connected by the thrill of the new van no matter how many times.

We picked up our Abbey gts 215 on Monday, My retirement present as I officialy retire (become 65) on the 23rd although I got rid of my Company and have been in training for the day, for two years.

ttfn

 

[gavin_5121842]

Nice one Mike. I'd love to be able to pack up the van at the drop of a hat and set off wherever the fancy took us. I'm very envious. I keep popping into the new van every so often just to get that 'new' smell! I've put all the gear into it and i cant get over the amount of extra storage space in comparison to the old van.

Anyway, i hope you enjoy your retirement when it officially comes,

Gavin.