Doing a checklist on a new unit. - Montana Owners Club

campbud · 02-14-2005, 01:00 PM

Hello I was wondering how everyone did there checklist when picking up there new unit? I have read the checklist that I found here. Do you accept before repairs or done or wait for them to be done? So if repairs would take till the next day do you dry camp in the unit overnight? I know on the last fiver we purchased we got home and found so many things wrong(did not have a checklist!

So this time around if we get the Montana I would really like to be prepared. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..tips also!!

Charlie · 02-14-2005, 01:24 PM

I'm in the same boat as you....have a 3295RK on order and will be here in about three weeks. I have already informed the dealer of the PDI list and plan to use it. As far as repairs, someone posted today of a purchase and his walk thru was 5.5 hours with several repairs made at that time and a scratched shower door that has to be ordered and replaced later. I plan on them making as many repairs as possible before accepting delivery but I want to be optimistic and hope that I don't find a single thing wrong.

Glenn and Lorraine · 02-14-2005, 01:56 PM

Most problems can be corrected as you go and some will take a bit longer. I would strongly suggest spending at least one night to be absolutely sure everything works. Most dealers can supply you with water and electric and a few will even have a sewer hook up for your use.
Depending on the how serious the problem may be should dictate whether or not you finish the paperwork before or after the work is completed.

Quote:

quote:I want to be optimistic and hope that I don't find a single thing wrong.

Sorry Charlie but if you follow the PDI to the letter it is doubtful you will get that perfect unit. These 5ers are designed and assembled by humans and humans make mistakes.

richfaa · 02-14-2005, 03:21 PM

I would strongly recommend a extensive checklist on your new unit BEFORE signing the check. Having owned several units I have NEVER had one that came out of the factory with no flaws.The worst was a Coachman the best is the Terry we have now. Every, I say EVERY defect has been due to poor quality control and/or sloppy workmanship. Flip every switch, make sure every single thing works.Then do it again. Before you sign the check they will be happy to correct anything..once you leave the dealership it is a different story. The first place we look is in the fuse boxes and in the compartment behind the fridge. If we find ONE metal shaving anywhere around electrical units we just say "see you later, let us know when this unit is really ready for delivery" I must say that after a tour of the Montana factory we were impressed with the quality control. Checklist, checklist, checklist.

campbud · 02-14-2005, 04:13 PM

I agree with you on that! I think alot of things are so seen and just swept over. I hope this will be a different, and happy experience. We had a terry fiver and we really liked it well on the inside. The outside fit could of been a bit better. We had one of the legs on the landing gear failed while camping, luckily we were hooked up to the truck still. That and the screws hit on the slide out when retracting in and out. We had to take and replace all the screws. I will make sure I will check everything possible that I know! I will be making a list until it is time to go and pick up. This forum is great with all the advice!

Montana_2730 · 02-14-2005, 04:49 PM

We used the checklist to do a pre-buy on our 2005 2955. We also used all the information we could gather from this forum. We caught many problems which were fixed as we did the walk thru and crawl under. Have the dealer give you an auto creeper and crawl under your unit. You would be surprised what you learn.

Under no circumstances would I give a RV dealer my final signature on a $30-60K Fifth wheel without them fixing everything we found on the pre-buy. It is a simple financial principal " while the money is in your hands you have the power, if you give the dealer the money they have the power" To many people are too anxious to buy these second homes and give up their power!

It is in the dealer's best interest to close a deal and your best interest to say "wait a minute". There are many folks who trust what the salesman say when buying big purchases like these units. Dealers make most of their money on these people. Sales and service are two separate entities at a dealership. It is the sales departments responsibility to sell as many units as they can.

If they are a big dealer they will have a make ready department part of service) that can support the sales effort. If they are a small dealer their make ready and service personnel are one in the same. So you have to ask who is going to get serviced faster in the waiting line. The guy that already purchased his unit or the guy that is purchasing a new unit. Even though sales and service are two different entities service will respond faster to the salesman trying to make a sale.

The other thing I have found is Montana warranty parts take forever to get. The scratch door you mention in your post was mine. It took four weeks to get this door. The part was ordered during pre-buy. Curtains for back window took three weeks. Etc.......

I do most of my warranty work myself. I go down to the dealer and tell them my problem and they order the part. When the part comes in I install the new one and bring back the old so they can get their credit. I do this because I know I'll do a better job and I am not waiting in line. The TT I traded in on this one was at the dealership for six weeks waiting on a microwave recall and some new curtains.

My bottom line is make the dealer fix everything you find on pre-buy before you sign. If there are some minor issues you can fix, have fun. If your not handy get a time commitment from the dealer on the service time and lead time on parts. Comeback when the parts are in. I use my trailer as a mobile office, I cannot afford to have it at the dealers lot.

Montana_2785 · 02-14-2005, 05:02 PM

I have a real nice inspection checklist I used on our 2002 Monty before I made our offer. I'd post it here except for 2 things, 1) it is 26 pages long and 2) it is copyrighted.

I purchased it for 19.95 at http://www.rvsurvey.com/.

It is well laid out and reminds you to check a lot of things.

Eric

Glenn and Lorraine · 02-15-2005, 12:36 AM

No need to buy a check list. Here is one that is very thorough and leaves very little out.
PDI (PreDelivery Inspection) Checklist
Make 2 copies of this PDI. One for yourself and one for your dealer. Present the dealer his copy a few days before your scheduled pick up. At that time let him know that in a few days you will be doing your own inspection before finalizing any paperwork. This will give the dealer a few days head start. It will also tell you what kind of dealer you have. Seeing as how he had an advance warning and knows exactly what you are looking for there should be no problems found. If you still find problems than he didn't get the job done.

I know the excitement of getting a new rig but don't let that excitement fog your judgement. When you finalize that deal and pull your new toy of the dealers lot you want it ready to go. You don't want to be finding problems while it is sitting in your driveway or worse yet some campground miles away from home.

Bowie · 02-15-2005, 01:55 AM

We'll add our two cents worth as well. YES a good PDI is required. Yes, advise the dealer in advance by supplying him with copy and verify that they actually got it (one friend did this and dealer claimed it was never received and thus they hadn't known what he was looking for--red light red light--didn't buy there!). Be prepared for a long grueling day--get plenty of sleep the night before, eat a good breakfast and have a lunch in hand in case you don't want to break for it. If the walk through guy seems not to know what is going on (and our first one did NOT!) demand a different employee. If they say they can't provide one, smile nicely and say never mind we'll be back next weekend. THIS PRESUPPOSES THAT YOU HAVE LEFT EXTRA TIME IN YOUR SCHEDULE in case things need serious taking care of. Be prepared to stay over night and be sure that you have the appropriate gear in your truck to do so. Make it clear that you will stay as long as needed to get everything done BEFORE you sign off and depart with the 5er in tow. You will be amazed at how quickly they will accomplish all the little stuff that has been overlooked. Our dealer thought that we would be a two hour walk through. They were quite surprised when 5PM rolled round and they tried to hurry us out the door. We said it didn't look like we were finished and so would stay in the unit on the lot so we could wind it up the next day. The next day the service manager took over! Having said all this, a good dealer will work with you and your PDI though tiring will be a really great learning experience. BE SURE TO TAKE LOTS OF NOTES and if you have a videocam it could prove quite useful. Good luck and enjoy that Monty!

campbud · 02-15-2005, 02:23 AM

Thanks everyone for all your help on this. We decided last night that we would go with the Montana! I had initially set up a Saturday pick up but after reading all your post we have rescheduled for a Friday morning. This way we can spend the night and finish up on Saturday. I have copied the PDI's and have them ready to go and making notes galore! I will probably posting more questions too here on this forum!

I sure appreciate everyones help and I am so happy I found this group!

Glenn and Lorraine · 02-15-2005, 02:34 AM

One thing last note, If the dealer is the least bit hesitant about the PDI or tries to talk you out of the PDI be VERY VERY SUSPICIOUS. If he has done his job there is no reason that he should not welcome such an inspection.

campbud and Charlie, Good luck and be sure to let us know how things went.

richfaa · 02-15-2005, 12:47 PM

The post by traveling man & Glenn& Lorraine are right on.By letting the dealer know up front that you will be going over the unit inch by inch LOOKING for problems and you KNOW you will find many and when you do..nothing gets signed..That gives the dealer incentive.It is not that the dealer does not care it is that most buyers don't know. As Traveling man says..do not give up the power.....

RADHAZJOE · 02-21-2005, 12:12 AM

Thank you Glen and Lorraine for the PDI. We intend to use it and if we have any comments, will feed them back.

campbud · 02-21-2005, 06:47 AM

We went to the dealere on Saturday and did a pre-expection on the unit..we found a drawer that did not close right. They made a note of it and said it would be fixed when we do the PDI. I was happy that so far we did not find much wrong.

You may also like: