PDI Charge on a New RV Question

[DebbieA]

I'm in the process of researching and buying a new Mercedes Sprinter Chassis RV and have moved from online research to hitting the dealers. (this will be my second RV, I previously had a small travel trailer, but was not really involved in the purchase process) One dealer I went to mentioned PDI, I wasn't sure what it was so looked it up online when I got home. Well you can imagine my shock when I discovered what it was he wanted to charge me an additional $3,995 for! I consider myself a savvy buyer, I know what the range of the markup on a new RV usually is, and have my bottom line out the door figure already calculated. So I'm not necessarily concerned about what ever they "call PDI", but has anyone actually had a dealer try to add PDI for that much??? In my opinion it should be part of the dealership's overhead etc and I'm sure I'll pay something for it in the final figure I pay, but I've never heard of someone trying to charge that much. I can't imagine what they would actually do for $3995.

[x96mnn]

What people really need to be not "caught up into" and the OP mentioned it, anything other then the final price out the door. I don't care if the charge 5k for the unit and 55k for the PDI on paper if 60k is a great price I am buying.

For the comment of not be taken for a ride on PDI, agree with most of what you said, most manufacturers pay a PDI to the dealer, it is part of their quality checks in their process that 90% of the time we all know to fail miserably. The customer PDI is the best PDI! So the PDI gets completed 9 months ago when the unit is dropped off, should there not be another PDI when purchased to make sure everything is Ok?

Lastly, why do shops need to show the PDI on the paper or make sure it is there. Simple business is the answer, especially for larger shops. You have a Sales Manager and a Service Manager, both have their own profit and loss centre to higher, pay, bonus and make improvements. In order to get the Service manager to send one of his guys out to inspect, wash and prep that new RV the sales manager has to send some coin from the sale his way. In some cases the two sides are actually run and reported out as two separate companies. 90% of business that can do it this way will, car dealers to eye doctors.

[wolfe10]

STRONG SUGGESTION: Make sure you use an independent inspector. It is not reasonable to use the dealer's personnel who is selling the unit to do an indepth inspection.

How long do you think a tech would last at the selling dealership if he blew a deal because he found major issues or even identified a couple of hundred dollars of needed work on each coach he inspected???

[Hemi_RT]

wildtoad wrote:
One thing I have run into is what dealers call a doc fee which varies by dealer, and some dealers choose not to charge it. They say it's to cover the costs of doing the paperwork! Not sure what that really means if I write them a check and register the mh myself, so that may be the next point of contention.

. Lot pack and doc fees are the same thing, if you pay it you are paying them to sell you the vehicle. Not right no matter how you look at it

[Hemi_RT]

navegator wrote:
Guys you need to understand what PDI really is:

Pre Delivery Inspection.

This is what the dealer has to do before the unit is placed on the lot, I worked for Volvo, Saab, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche as a mechanic no vehicle could be placed on the lot until it was thoroughly inspected in a PDI form.

Any dealer that wants to charge for this is a rip off, they are trying to get money for something that is already included in the purchase price, do not get suckered in with salesman BS, on a trailer or motorhome they will show you that everything is working, that is not a PDI same as a Merlcedes-Benz car you show the client what all the levers are for and all the buttons and knobs, no dealer is going to charge for that and only a fool would pay.

Do not get taken for a ride.

navegator

. Actually it is the same, every thing on the RV is inspected and made sure it is working properly, all accessories that the dealer wants installed is also done at this time. Maybe not every thing is exactly the same as on a car but the principal is exactly the same. I am a licensed automotive mechanic and a licensed RV mechanic or technician if you prefer

[wildtoad]

One thing I have run into is what dealers call a doc fee which varies by dealer, and some dealers choose not to charge it. They say it's to cover the costs of doing the paperwork! Not sure what that really means if I write them a check and register the mh myself, so that may be the next point of contention.

[navegator]

Guys you need to understand what PDI really is:

Pre Delivery Inspection.

This is what the dealer has to do before the unit is placed on the lot, I worked for Volvo, Saab, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche as a mechanic no vehicle could be placed on the lot until it was thoroughly inspected in a PDI form.

Any dealer that wants to charge for this is a rip off, they are trying to get money for something that is already included in the purchase price, do not get suckered in with salesman BS, on a trailer or motorhome they will show you that everything is working, that is not a PDI same as a Merlcedes-Benz car you show the client what all the levers are for and all the buttons and knobs, no dealer is going to charge for that and only a fool would pay.

Do not get taken for a ride.

navegator

[Hemi_RT]

Sltx wrote:
I just ran into this too. They called it a "make ready" charge for $599 at a reputable dealer in the Houston area. This was for a $60k used Class C unit. I was able to have them reduce the selling price by that amount, but they still wanted to show the charge on the invoice to pay the service department. When I questioned the charge, I got the "every dealer does this" type answer. I wonder if they charge also based on a percentage of purchase price?

. This sounds more like a lot pack, some dealerships have a charge for financing, keeping it clean on the lot, and in some cases a charge for even writing up the deal. Any time I run into this I tell them i'm not paying them to sell the vehicle to me. It is just another way to increase their selling price.

[wildtoad]

FWIW - I just ordered a new Newmar from the factory going through Camping World. The final offer from them included the delivery charge, full fuel which could be 80 gallons, full propane, full PDI which I will compare to Newmar's, staying in their campground for checking out the unit. Also includes 3 years in CW's elite club whatever that means. I could have opted to pick it up myself at the factory for around $3,500 but chose not to. Newmar assigns a tech to you for up to five days to address any and all issues that you may find.

I'd check elsewhere before agreeing to that much money for something they are supposed to do anyway.

[kohai]

DebbieA wrote:
Well he did come back and offer to cut the PDI charge down to $2,000 to get closer to my bottom line price. I told him thanks, but no thanks. 🙂

Yeah, that's ridiculous.

[DebbieA]

Well he did come back and offer to cut the PDI charge down to $2,000 to get closer to my bottom line price. I told him thanks, but no thanks. 🙂

[Hemi_RT]

Usually the charge for a PDI is built into the selling price. Some manufacturers actually will pay the dealer for doing a PDI at a fixed rate. Being a RV tech, a PDI should not take any more than 3 hours, it may or may not include the sewer hose, plug adapter, in some cases a bottle of sewer chemical and maybe a few other small items but the charge you quoted is excessive

[gbopp]

I would ask the dealer for a list of what they do during a PDI for $3995.

[Sltx]

I just ran into this too. They called it a "make ready" charge for $599 at a reputable dealer in the Houston area. This was for a $60k used Class C unit. I was able to have them reduce the selling price by that amount, but they still wanted to show the charge on the invoice to pay the service department. When I questioned the charge, I got the "every dealer does this" type answer. I wonder if they charge also based on a percentage of purchase price?