Do dealers get paid from factory for PDI time?

[swburbguy]

I was out trying to make to make a deal on a 5th wheel and salesmen was trying to include a fee for the PDI. We didn't make the deal price was too high besides the PDI fee.

[run100]

We don't pay the assorted fees companies attempt to pad their bottom line with these days - - "shop fees" at the auto shops, "doc fees" at some electronic stores, etc. Overhead should already be built into the pricing structure, not tacked on at the end.

[myredracer]

mileshuff wrote:

bob_nestor wrote:
In my mind this is something that should have been done at the factory as part of the manufacturing process, especially if the company is claiming to be ISO9001 compliant.

What does 9001 have to do with PDI at the manufacture? 9001 is more about consistency in manufacturing. Say what you do and do what you say. Not how you do something, quality etc.

What RV manufacturer is ISO certified?

[martipr]

Oaklevel wrote:
Our dealer charges $0 for their inspection after arrival, $0 for my PDI with their mechanic, $0 for cleaning up the camper, $0 for paperwork the only add on was state sales tax & licence plates. They beat every dealers price for 400 miles and they also threw in installed roof vent covers and a lube plate. (Let them keep the cheap starter kit)

Yes they are a small dealer with low overhead costs.

Post his name!!

[martipr]

If a dealer does bad post his name, it might help to persuade him to be more honest, or at least let other members be aware of him.
Likewise if a dealer does good, post his name, he deserves the business.

[mileshuff]

bob_nestor wrote:
In my mind this is something that should have been done at the factory as part of the manufacturing process, especially if the company is claiming to be ISO9001 compliant.

What does 9001 have to do with PDI at the manufacture? 9001 is more about consistency in manufacturing. Say what you do and do what you say. Not how you do something, quality etc.

[jims1]

I don't care how they work their numbers. I ask for MSRP price, pull out my calculator and subtract 35% and that's what I'm willing to pay. They can move line items wherever they need to make a profit from the bank.

[Oaklevel]

Our dealer charges $0 for their inspection after arrival, $0 for my PDI with their mechanic, $0 for cleaning up the camper, $0 for paperwork the only add on was state sales tax & licence plates. They beat every dealers price for 400 miles and they also threw in installed roof vent covers and a lube plate. (Let them keep the cheap starter kit)

Yes they are a small dealer with low overhead costs.

[4X4Dodger]

I am sorry but I have to slightly disagree and agree with some of the posts.

It DOES matter that the dealers are trying to charge for PDI and EVERY customer needs to pushback on that practice and flatly refuse to pay it or negotiate over it. Otherwise it will metastasize. Businesses NEED to hear when their customers/potential customers are unhappy or will not pay for something.

Now I do agree that the best negotiating strategy is the bottom line price (in most cases) But the two things are really separate.

The Trailer is THEIR Product. It is THEIR RESPONSIBILITY to make sure it is right and all systems are functioning as intended before delivery. There are certain things no PDI is going to catch, like hidden structural flaws.

The ONLY case in which a dealer should not be held to a PDI is if the RV is on consignment.

[dspencer]

Back about 7 years ago the wife and I was looking casually at a new camper and the dealer starts to work numbers. They try and charge me 499 for PDI and 799 for cleaning it up. I laughed at them and walked out. We went to the dealer where we bought our first camper from and took delivery 3 days later and none of the above BS. We have since bought another new one from them again minus the typical games dealers play.

[Billinwoodland]

When I bought my A from a dealer, we settled on a price and shook hands. They then prepared the paperwork. After the negotiated price was a line item for the PDI. It was 1K. When I questioned it, they said it was a thorough all systems inspection fee, detailing, and guarantee that they will make any discovered issue "right". I paid it, yet also hired my own independent technician to inspect the coach. The sales guy early in the process kept telling me that their thorough inspection will take care of any issues discovered in the coach, but never came clean on the cost. I ended up doing 3 of my own PDIs as each time I discovered some issue was not rectified. They eventually fixed everything, and the coach felt "better than new" when we finally picked it up. When I add this cost to what I paid for the coach, I think I got a smokin deal. And the coach has been trouble free.

[wing_zealot]

Seems we have different definitions. Now that we have discovered that the service you mean by PDI and the service that I mean by PDI are different; all we have to do is find out what service the OP meant by PDI.

[beemerphile1]

PDI and the walk-thru are different things.

My dealer budgets 8 hours of a technician's time for the PDI on a TT.

The salesperson does the walk-thru with the customer.

Many, many, many times the complaints I read on here about quality problems on new RVs are things that should have been corrected in the PDI. Some dealers shortchange the customer by hoping nothing is wrong and figuring they will deal with it if/when the customer returns with complaints.

My dealer told me that no RVs leave their shop without at least one warranty issue found during the PDI and before delivery to the customer.

[wing_zealot]

bob_nestor wrote:
With the exception of things like filling the water and propane tanks the PDI seems to be nothing more than a final quality control check and inspection. In my mind this is something that should have been done at the factory as part of the manufacturing process, especially if the company is claiming to be ISO9001 compliant. A final PDI at the dealer to make sure nothing fell off or broke in the trip from the factory would seem to be a prudent move on the dealer's part, but also part of their job in making the sale and having a happy customer.

I have yet to figure out why there is a factory PDI charge on LTV RVs when one chooses the option of taking delivery of the unit at the factory.

In both cases when I bought a new trailer the PDI was much more than that. Quality control was 10% of the PDI. It was a demonstration of how all of the systems worked, how to winterize, where the valves were, how the hot water heater works, the proper way to use the slideout and power awnings, what to lube, with what, and how; how to hook-up and unhook, how to adjust the WDH, how to empty the tanks, how to use the black tank flush, what every switch is for and how to use them, how the propane auto switchover works and how to use it, what systems operate on 12V and what operate on 120V, what common mistakes others make and how to avoid them, and more.

It took over 3 hours the first time. The second time was only a couple of hours cause I already understood a lot of things; but I still had to learn about the power awning and other things that were new to me.

[beemerphile1]

Around here it seems all the dealers charge around $800 for the PDI. It probably varies by areas of the country.

All in all it really doesn't matter, I write one check for the total price, line items aren't important. Just compare the total price from dealer to dealer.