Pulling the trigger. Need advice on PDI timing

Well, after spending the last 2 yrs trying to "figger it out", I'm excited to say we've finally put a deposit on a 2017 Road Warrior 427 that's on an out of state dealer's lot. They are purportedly the #1 RW dealer in the country 3 years running for # of units sold, & I must say they have great pricing, but reading the online reviews of this dealer's service after the sale I must say they are far less than stellar & I'm not expecting much from them after the sale. I'm a real estate broker by profession & have many years experience of dealing with contracts for home purchases & the home inspections that are a normal part of that process. However, this is our first major purchase of a coach from a dealer, so am totally at a loss re: timing of "signing the papers", turning over the check, & the PDI. I've researched this forum for ideas/comments on the PDI, & I'm impressed with the wealth of knowledge that has been shared. A BIG thanks to Oregon_Camper for the excellent PDI list that I've printed & will be taking with us next week when we head to the dealer to finalize the deal. My question to the forum is "what has been your experience & what would you suggest for timing of the PDI vs. signing papers & turning over the $ ?" I'm expecting some push back from dealer if I suggest we go through a 4-8 hr PDI with all systems "charged" before signing the paperwork. Is it too out of line to ask dealer to put a clause in the purchase agreement that the deal will fund after PDI items are repaired? I'm not at all excited about the prospect of finalizing the deal, turning over the $, then doing a PDI & perhaps waiting ????weeks for the dealer to get inspection issues fixed, if at all. I'm sure their motivation for getting PDI items fixed is much higher before they have the $. Your thoughts, suggestions, experiences much appreciated.

Glad you found the PDI document helpful....always nice to hear that.

We drove from Oregon to Michigan to purchase a trailer (not our current Bighorn) and purchased it from Lakeshore. They knew we were coming from Oregon and had the trailer ready for us...power..sewer...cable...water...and even a few cold soda's in the refrigerator, which I thought was a nice touch for my family to enjoy.

I asked if we could spend the night on their lot and they said "of course, we have an RV pad just for that". This allowed us to get over the NEW TRAILER!! feeling and get down to really going over the RV. Kids had a blast and my wife and I finished the inspection. We were first in line the next morning to get repairs done.

So, I would suggest you tell the dealer your PDI will be ~4 hours...might even be helpful to send them a copy ahead of time, so they know your plans and they might run over some of the stuff themselves.

It is YOUR money...so asking them to do things for you is not out of the question. Just be polite, but firm. Don't expect them to be able to solve 100% of your issues...they might have to order parts. You can have them shipped to your house or a local dealer for the repairs. If you find something that need parts to repair, get that in writing from the dealer that the parts are on order. Heartland is GREAT to work with, you will not get burned.

Hope this helped...

Thanks for the quick reply, Oregon_Camper. Was your night on the pad & PDI prior to or after turning the $ over? I've read good things about Lakeshore. Unfortunately they don't have what we want on their lot, & the dealer in TX has one set up pretty much as we would have ordered it. Our plan is to head to Alaska with it approx. June 01 of this year (hopefully I'm not being too optimistic in my planning), so would like to do all I can to get PDI items repaired ASAP so we have time to use it & work out other bugs before heading north.

SteamboatSailor said:

Thanks for the quick reply, Oregon_Camper. Was your night on the pad & PDI prior to or after turning the $ over? I've read good things about Lakeshore. Unfortunately they don't have what we want on their lot, & the dealer in TX has one set up pretty much as we would have ordered it. Our plan is to head to Alaska with it approx. June 01 of this year (hopefully I'm not being too optimistic in my planning), so would like to do all I can to get PDI items repaired ASAP so we have time to use it & work out other bugs before heading north.

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Our night on their RV pad was before we signed the paperwork, however they had my $5k deposit.

Leaving by June 1st seems VERY realistic. I don't think you'll have any problems hitting that schedule. Remember, you have a 1 year warranty, so even if you find more issues during your trip to Alaska, you can get them fixed once you get back (at your local Heartland approved RV shop).

Be polite, but DO the PDI 1st, then once everything is to YOUR satisfaction, do final paperwork/handing over final payment. Also, ask about if they allow the PDI to be videotaped for your reference.

Great. Thx for taking the time for advice.

We traveled to Indiana to pick up our trailer - I purchased it off the net. My opinion is that you need to go pick up your trailer with the thought that you are not married to it yet. The PDI is the acceptance condition; when completed will allow you to feel more comfortable about purchasing the trailer. We got permission to start the PDI before the dealer stepped in - we did all physical inspections (i'e' drawers, cabinets), electrical outlet checks and anything I thought we cold do without the dealers assistance. We then spent a few hours going over the different systems in the trailer. If you are not 100% satisfied, you can walk away if need be. Hopefully any money deposited with the dealer was done with a credit card. You have more leverage that way. Any problems that cannot be fixed should part of the negotiation with the dealer. Also your trailer is about to become 1 year old; April 1st is the start of the new model year. That can work in your favor too. Either price or merchandise can be used to convince you to purchase the trailer if you choose. Any warranty work, if pre-approved, is paid for by Heartland. So long as the work is pre-approved, the manufacturer does not limit you on who can work on your trailer. I have used two different RVIA/RVDA certified techs in the Denver area. One of the techs did pre-approved warranty work for us. Once I bought my trailer (from the dealer almost 3 years ago), I have yet to take my trailer to a dealer for work.

I know exactly how you are feeling - we went through the same process. You are excited and terrified about your first purchase... Check out the rallies. Hope to see your trailer at one.

Great info, Brianlajoie. Hopefully nothing major shows up on the PDI. In another lifetime (47 yrs ago) I worked in quality control for Holiday Rambler at a plant in Elkhart just down the road from one of the Heartland plants (of course, Heartland wasn't around 47 years ago). It definitely makes a difference in the quality of work whether it's Monday morn when everyone is still recovering from the weekend partying vs Weds/Thurs when everyone is sober & cruising. It's reassuring to know we're not tied to the dealer for service after the sale.

Do you have a copy of the PDI check sheet mentioned earlier? We ordered our RW427 and expect delivery next month. Lots of good advice here.

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John.h.davis said:

Do you have a copy of the PDI check sheet mentioned earlier? We ordered our RW427 and expect delivery next month. Lots of good advice here.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

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Check post #4 of this thread. At the end of Oregon Campers signature is a link to their PDI checklist.

Peace
Dave

Soooo, that didn't work out so well! The dealer in TX turned out to be a real PITA to work with! Salesman says one thing, business office says something entirely different. So we're going in another direction. We just ordered a new 427 from RVWholesalers in Ohio. They've been a pleasure to work with, plus a few hundred $ less & getting a Mor/Ryde pin box. Steve Jacobs, the Heartland rep has been very responsive with answers to questions ( told dealer to give me Steve's cell # in case we have questions going forward); plus there's a chance we'll be able to time a factory tour to see our coach on the line.
Thanks for all the advice from the forum; this dealer is on the same game page with process for the PDI.
They're saying mid/late April delivery (will be built as a 2018), so we may make Alaska this summer after all.
Oregon_Camper, I tried to make contact with Lakeshore to get a quote from them. Left 2 emails & 3 voicemails for the sales dept & never got a return. His assistant said they were selling so many coaches he just didn't have time to follow up with everyone. Must be all of us boomers heading out to enjoy retirement.