[gamingstein]

Good evening BHPians, we all know the importance of pre-delivery inspections (PDIs) when it comes to taking delivery of our beloved and esteemed prides (our rides); and yet, sometimes we forget or still end up buying a lemon.
While the horror stories of buying defective vehicles are posted all across the forum, I could not find a thread for the times where a member saved themselves by conducting a thorough PDI!
And that brought an interesting question to my mind - "How correlated the PDI process is to the chances of one buying a peaceful product or a lemon".
I tried searching the forum but all I could find were some stats like a post mentioning that of the ~3Million cars sold in an year in India, ~16% have some sort of defects/issues related to manufacturing or dealer abuse!

I created a poll to hear from all our members whether or not they conducted a thorough PDI before their deliveries and if that helped save them from buying a defective vehicle. Would be interested in hearing any such stories in detail too

[saikishor]

We bought a Honda Amaze in october 2023. Dealer did a PDI and I didn't ask them stringently for a PDI. I just told them I wanted to see the car before payment. Saw the car a day before delivery and I spotted a small scratch which they agreed to fix post delivery and they stuck to their words. No issues apart from that and the experience has been smooth so far.

[Sensible_Speed]

Didn't conduct PDIs on any vehicle bought yet. They work just fine. Manufacturing technology has come such a long way that getting stuck with a lemon is not the easiest thing to happen today. New cars come with warranty and that covers anything that may have gone wrong with a new car.
Of course, this all rests upon how the dealer handles the sale. If the dealer is not being transparent throughout the entire sale, cancel your booking and walk out. If you see additional charges, last minute shuffling of feet, you can still say no.
Finally, if you're buying from a brand that is known to have manufacturing level quality control issues, then this view stands moot. Hound your dealer and go get as thorough a PDI as you can get.

[GTO]

I won't even buy a pair of denims without trying them out first, or sunglasses before checking them inside out. So buying a car without a PDI is out of the question.

Plus, I really enjoy the PDI process . Going through every nook & cranny of the future machine is fun.

Did PDIs for all my cars. Luckily, no issues found till date. Manufacturing processes are state-of-the-art today and the odds of getting a bad car or one damaged in transit are "1 in 250" perhaps. The only thing is, I don't want to be that 1. My car is going to serve me for 10 years and I owe it that 2 hours to conduct a full PDI.

On the other hand, done PPIs (like PDIs) for many used cars and rejected a bunch of them.

[diwakarmuthu]

Thanks to TBHP checklist, I demanded that I will do a PDI. 14 years back, when I took delivery, the showroom guys were looking at me like an alien. But I stuck to my guns and identified a couple of cosmetic issues

1) The wiper and indicator stalk was not working properly. The ASC promised to address that on priority and it got address. Guess what, they upgraded to the top of the line indicator stalk without any charges

2) The scuff plates that were fixed as part of the accessories had scratched the door footboard and it was looking sore. It was fixed during first service without any charge.

Infact over the years, I have helped a few of my friends doing PDI and I absolutely love to go through every nook and corner before you pull the trigger.

It is important for us as customers to get a copy of the PDI that has been done from the dealer, that way you can confront them later if some issue occurs.

[GForceEnjoyer]

We're firm practitioners of PDI now, and gave our Superb a thorough once over before taking delivery. The assurance that nothing seemed wrong was great to put our minds at ease. That hunch has been proven right so far (touchwood) with no issues faced (except a sunroof rattle fixed free of cost).

However, back in 2006, we didn't perform a PDI for our Fiesta. The bumper of our car was repainted as we later found out, and there was a welding defect in the door frame.

Hence, this is proof that a thorough PDI always helps, and that not performing one can cause problems later.

[Col Mehta]

No way we would buy a car without a thorough PDI. Sharing an instance when we rejected a car:

Year - 2015.
Car - Hyundai Grand i10.

Went to see the car in person before sending it for registration and to our surprise, it wasnt a brand-new car (worn out tyres, had cheap quality seat covers which we never requested for and super dirty interiors). Most likely a TD vehicle - the ODO reading was in single digit though, but that's not a big deal for dealers to manipulate. Didn't even bother checking the VIN as it was too obvious that it wasn't a new car. Immediately rejected it. The showroom guys did their best to convince us (with further cash discounts), but we knew. Went to their nearby stockyard, selected one, did a thorough PDI and gave them a green signal for registration.

[revvharder]

Meanwhile at a Tata Dealership, shared by a reddit user

[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by gamingstein

And that brought an interesting question to my mind - "How correlated the PDI process is to the chances of one buying a peaceful product or a lemon".

For all my vehicles, whether it's a car or a bike, I always conduct a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI). It's good practice to check the item you're purchasing before you finalize the deal. Touchwood! I've never noticed any issues before or after delivery.

As GTO mentioned, whenever you purchase something, whether it's small or big, you do check it before deciding, right? If you go to the market to purchase a small item like a pen, you do check 2-3 pens before finalizing one, right? What do you check there? You just check if everything looks fine as it's supposed to.

So, why not check a vehicle before purchasing? I would say, irrespective of how much you understand about the mechanics or technical aspects of a car, you can do basic checks like scratches, panel gaps, missing parts, broken items, non-functional components, etc.

Having said all that, it's still possible that you might receive a lemon even after doing a PDI. But at least you know you checked the vehicle to eliminate basic issues and it might give you additional points to check for next time.

[PrasannaDhana]

PDI is a must for me. But I don't go very minute on it and won't nitpick. If everything is fine, I can ignore small issues like a minor paint chipping.

I have been doing PDI since 2012 on my new cars. I have taken delivery of 10 cars since then and none had become problematic.

I insist my relatives and friends to conduct PDI as well. And only then to release payment, even if it's a part payment. No instance have we allowed the dealership to armtwist us into paying for the car before doing pdi.

[hajaar]

I never did a PDI for any of the cars or two wheelers I have owned. IMO, it's a waste of time. If there is no issue, you will have unnecessarily spent time and money. If there are issues, it's very unlikely you are going to get it solved.

Btw, have bought a Santro, Fiesta, Civic, CRV, Fortuner and GLA this way. The fiesta is the only one that has problems and those were to do with the timing belts. I doubt we could have found it in a PDI. The CRV and Fortuner were delivered to my house in pouring rain (five years apart but it rained both times).

It might make sense for a brand known for issues like a Tata or a Mahindra, but then why are you buying it in the first place if you don't have trust in the brand.

[manu220194]

I got a PDI conducted last year via Zekardo. It was a good experience since I didn’t have the time to go to the dealers yard in Mira road (approx 40 km from Mumbai). The report gave me a green light + highlighted a few very minor observations which the dealership took care of. What also gave comfort (beyond the report) was Zekardo’s PDI person sharing videos of the inspection being done. Agree with GTO - we do a tests and trials of clothes we buy, cars are serious business. I personally highly recommend doing one.

[srh]

A PDI would generally be able to identify superficial and/ or cosmetic issues. Beyond that, a lemon cannot be identified by such an inspection. But that doesn't negate the need for PDI. However it is questionable whether one should pay a third party for it. The ease with which it can be conducted means that anyone can do it themself.

The need for a detailed third party inspection definitely arises for pre owned cars only. But then one needs a seriously good mechanic to do it. Otherwise it still remains a waste of effort.

[Maverick Avi]

Did a PDI for my Ford Aspire in 2018 and found that the dashboard had been waxed which usually never happens on a brand new car. On closer inspection realised that it was a demo car and denied getting it registered. Dealer insisted on taking delivery of this one and was ready to give discounts and even said that new one with same color is not available and might take more than a month. I waited and got the new one registered post a PDI.

Having bitten a bullet I would never purchase a car without PDI. If some dealer has a policy of no PDI by customer I am more than happy to skip it. If all dealers of a particular brand come up with the same policy I would have no issues skipping the brand all together.

[SaturdayRider]

PDI is must for me during the car buying process. While purchasing Brezza one of the dealer was not comfortable in allowing for PDI. Then I moved to 2nd dealer & they happily allow me to proceed.

Spent a good 2 hours in their yard and did pdi using TBhp check list. Only found a minimal scratch on front bumper.

Tough I am not completely aware about pdi process during Tiago purchase but checked the car before registration.