First PID--New Owner Dealer WARNING!

[borninblue]

So I had my PID yesterday at my local dealer. I was told prior to it "you can take all day if you want." The day of I could tell the service techs were overloaded with work. My tech was going over procedures very fast, although he was initially helpful with my follow-up questions.

When I took at my clipboard with the PID form from this forum I could tell he was not pleased. Everything was generally in order with a few minor things (velco for seat coushins missaligned. They have to order new velco, so I told them forget it I'll fix that myself. Next the bathroom stopper was missing. OK i'll deal with that. Now to the outside kitchen. Whoever installed the bottom drain put it in crooked and lopsided. Tech said now that it is set with plumbers putty not much they can do (didn't feel like arguing this as I can also fix myself).

Now the big problem I found. I requested the AC to be turned on and the tech said "OK but I tested everything and it is all operational." AC kicked on and it was cold. I proceeded to check the air flow in each of the ducts. I noticed by bunks and kitchen it was blowing hard out the ducts. By the couch and master bedroom there was hardly nothing coming out. I stated that it did not seem right. Tech replied "That's because the AC is farthest away from the bedroom." I asked why was the one duct with 2 feet of the AC to right not blowing hard, but to the left it was? He replied, well they are all like that, which is why some people buy an AC for the bedrooom. I told him I believed the duct was blocked to one half of the trailer and he disagreed. I told him I was not signing anything until it was inspected further. He got the service manager and they took apart the main AC unit. Once the AC was opened up you could tell one section of the AC ducting WAS NOT CONNECTED! I was told someone atvthe factory must have forgot! Once this was connected all air flow was great in all areas. After that was complete the service tech patted me on the back and said "good catch."

The moral of the story i unfortunately you CANNOT trust what anyone says during the PID. You must be willing to stand your ground anf ultimately walk away if they are unwilling to fix problems. Some things for me were small and to be honest I think I would do a better job fixing them myself after I saw them in action.

All in all I am very satisfied with my purchase. Still believe it is a good value for what I paid. Some stuff will need touching up like sealing and some minor cosmetic stuff. You can tell they throw these together fast.

I have to say I am very greatfull for finding this forum. To everyone that has answered my questions thus far thank you! I hope to repay the favors when I become a more experienced camper. My family is so excited about our first camper. I think this is going to bring us much closer as a family.

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[Seann45]

"Tech said now that it is set with plumbers putty not much they can do (didn't feel like arguing this as I can also fix myself). " HORSE FEATHERS this tech should be fired or the dealership avoided.. when they lie about little things like this it makes me wonder

[ALJO]

When you take things apart then you really know how sloppy they make RV's.
That's for the newer units but also the 2005's. I am dealing with that on the moment.
And mistakes are covered up and leaves the factory. Its all in the name of profit!
Once I am done with mine I know I will have a reliable unit on the road, which also will handle the Canadian winters. There is the saying; "If you want to do things right, you have to do it yourself". If you can't do it yourself, well pay someone else the big bucks and you're in the same boat as it leaves the mfg. plant.

[Jm9301]

Originally Posted by ALJO

When you take things apart then you really know how sloppy they make RV's.
That's for the newer units but also the 2005's. I am dealing with that on the moment.
And mistakes are covered up and leaves the factory. Its all in the name of profit!
Once I am done with mine I know I will have a reliable unit on the road, which also will handle the Canadian winters. There is the saying; "If you want to do things right, you have to do it yourself". If you can't do it yourself, well pay someone else the big bucks and you're in the same boat as it leaves the mfg. plant.

I wish i had been a little more diligent on my PDI with the dealer, the guy showing it to us "had been there for 40 years and knew every trailer in that low head to toe". In reality the first thing we looked at was the outside tv mount, and i had to explain to him what it was, he thought it was a garbage bag holder....... Good on you for taking the sheet from the forum here and being dilligent in it.

As for the build quality, i am finding it very very disappointing to be honest. i posted in a different thread about my blinds not working already and we haven't even camped in it yet. I climbed underneath it on the weekend and there is wiring just hanging loose waiting to catch on anything and everything. The bathroom "wall" the one corner is not glued together etc etc etc. So far its all small things that are easily fixed at home, but if i bought a new car for this price there is no way this kind of stuff would fly. They really do seem to be rather relaxed with build quality at the factory.

[MIFL19H]

Originally Posted by borninblue

Next the bathroom stopper was missing. OK i'll deal with that.

If you have not yet check in the Blue Jayco bag all the manuals should have come in, I thought ours was missing too and asked the dealer to get me one, which they have not yet so far, but when I got home and went to read the manuals I found it in the bag.

[borninblue]

I checked the bag while at the PDI. No stopper, they took care of it and got me one.

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[RedHorse1]

I think many of the techs come and go like the seasons. Some are experienced and will be helpful, others not so much.
"Fix it yourself" is a great plan if it's something you can handle. Those with plenty of $$$$$ can afford to have it fixed if they want. Those who choose and are able to DIY can cover most if not all issues. Those in between are probably the ones who decide trailering isn't for them.
If you DIY you will KNOW if it's done right or wrong.

[BCK]

It definitely pays to have done your homework and at least have some knowledge of the unit before the PDI. On ours the walkthrough lasted all of about 15 min and the guy really didn't know much.

Then I noticed one of the tires was flat and ended up changing it myself in their lot by swapping the tire with an unsold unit. The techs were already gone for the day and the sales guy was going to jack it under the axle.

I got a new Reese WDH thrown in as part of the deal that they set up on my truck while we waited. They put on 600lbs round bars when the dry TW was 800lbs - and the trailer hitch is on the bottom of the frame and so it was supposed to have the appropriate trunnion bars. The guy insisted it was right. With the drop under the head from the round bars and then the chains having to reach the snap brackets on top of the 6" TT frame the chains were on the last link and would barely go on at that.

Turns out the guy from the parts dept had set it up with help from our salesman. In the end I ended up setting it up myself with their tools. They got the trunnion bars that were supposed to come with it and we left. Probably wouldn't have had the same adventure if one of their techs had done it the first time.

The dealer we bought from is on the mainland. We had the warranty items this spring done at the local dealer near where we live and they have been excellent.

[trashman]

What a great looking unit. Is the camper a 2017? Do you have interior photos? Thanks for letting us know how your PDI went. Congratulations!

[borninblue]

It is a 2016 unit, sorry I didn't take any interior photos. I have itbin storage now. I will take some next time out.

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[SkyBound]

This is the kind of crap I have ran into at many different stores and dealerships, RVs just being one type. Most of the salesmen and techs will try to tell you whatever they can to make you let go of your concern and be on your way so they can get on to their next sale. Vehicles, home appliances, anything really.

Many times I will let the salesman/tech/whatever talk on and listen intently to their BS pretending I am learning from them when in fact I know far more than they do about the product or issue. This is a great way to determine if you can trust the person and it's quite amusing to let them get their garbage unload over with and then hit them with the facts.

Well done for sticking to your guns and not letting them push you around. Best of all, now you know what that place is all about and now that place knows what you are all about.

[Fairenatic]

You should be proud of yourself.

You did your homework and stuck to your guns. A PDI is very important and it needs to be done right.

It is not a good way to start a relationship when you have to fight with the tech or the service manager to just get through the list provided on this forum.

My service manager tried to bill me $300 dollars for the time I took for my PDI. I told him no, told the tech to unhitch the trailer from my truck, and that I was leaving and he could talk to my lawyers.

He came crawling back as I was pulling out of the service bay.

Just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. They do not like an educated client but it is in your best interest, as you discovered, to do your homework and not get emotionally attached to the new RV.

Bravo to you sir.

[Dreamgolfer]

Borninblue, can you tell me where you found the PDI form, please and thank you

[BeenCamping40+Years]

When we called for our PDI appointment we told our salesman that we had a lengthy list. No problem he said. We got there with the list from this site and clipboard in hand. The saleman & tech explained the things they had prepped and tested and asked if we had any questions. They told us to stay as long as we needed to go over our list and stopped in about every 30 minutes to see if there were any concerns that they needed to take care of. We were able to take our time and check off the list without feeling rushed at all. When we were finished with the PDI we signed the papers, gave them a check, made an appointment for delivery (we are on a seasonal site and don't have a vehicle to tow the trailer) and headed home. We were at the dealers for about 5 hours from start to finish, spent over 3 hours doing PDI.

On delivery day the driver called and let us know he would be a little later than expected because of traffic. Arrived at the campground, dropped the new trailer, pulled the trade in off the site and put the new one on the site exactly where we wanted it. He made sure the trailer was level, put the jacks down, made sure everything was ok inside and we were satisfied before he hooked up to the trade in again and started the 2+ hour trip back to the dealer.

We were very pleased with the whole process.

[ecksdude]

My PDI last fall was a mixed bag. They didn't try to rush me, but I didn't follow the list as closely as I should have. Thankfully, there wasn't much to worry about at the time anyway.

I did manage to catch 1 big thing: the furnace didn't work. Not sure how they missed that in their own pre-inspection, but I had them replace it while I waited.

I only wish I had personally been more thorough, it would have saved me a bit of frustration on the water heater repairs I've done this year, although the bad circuit board didn't go bad until it had been used for a couple of weeks. I'm sure they would have covered it under warranty, but I didn't want to wait. I figure from this point out, the problem will have to be pretty huge for me to bother with trying to get a warranty repair done.

Honestly, though, given some of the horror stories I've read, I think I got one of the better units.

[Fairenatic]

Originally Posted by Dreamgolfer

Borninblue, can you tell me where you found the PDI form, please and thank you

Its a sticky in the Tech Talk section. Great document. I used it back in March. The dealers dont like it but you will be glad you used it.

[tuckerdog1]

deleted. question already answered