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Originally Posted by Vivek_ACM Congrats Sashi on your XL6. Ive booked XL6 white automatic Alpha variant. This thread was main deciding factor to choose XL6. I’ve shortlisted Ciaz and new Scross. But for the same price, XL6 seems to be more VFM option.
Inspired by this, I plan to visit the yard during PDI process. Can you tell me what are the important items in PDI that I should inspect in person? |
Congratulations on the XL6. It's indeed a great buy. Hope you are aware of the shortcomings and their solutions. The only shortcomings if you ask me are Dashboard rattles(fixed) and headlamps which can make you nervous(easily fixable with Projector Fogs). Regarding lights, it appears useless mostly because it has no focused beams as such. The light is diffused,
but you won't ever miss anything on road-That's for sure. This is typical of non projector LEDs. If you are used to projector lamps, you will be disappointed.
My intention for the above paragraph was not to demoralize you, but to ensure that you take an informed decision.
Regarding PDI, I'm trying to compile what all I will do:
1. Get the VIN first, and check Month of manufacture. I usually avoid cars which have been standing in the yard for anything more than a month. And with the sales MSIL cars have, you will surely get a fresh piece.
2. Visit the yard and make sure there are no distractions around. The salesmen may try to deviate your attention. I try to remain as focused as I can.
3. I always look for hints, which trigger my suspicion. Then it's a series of checks which I do. For example, while shopping for someone, I came across this car. The first thing which caught my attention was "Remains of polish" on the black trims. Notice those white marks? They shouldn't be there.
After this I started noticing that particular car closely and soon noticed this overspray:
On the A Pillar there was this paint overflow:
And by the time I reached the wheel arch, I spotted this:
It was pretty evident this car was damaged in transit or due to hail and was repaired. Looking at my craziness, the Salesman decided to save our time and brought out a list of damaged cars they had.
We avoided all those chassis numbers. Do note that while the dealership may or may not share this file with you, they all have such documents for internal records.
As soon as I was rejecting one car, I took pic of its VIN plate:
During my XL6 purchase, I had finalised one car, but rejected at the last moment when I saw these:
It meant there was some kind of repair/polish activity around. And truly, there was a cleverly concealed touchup nearby!
4. One easy way of avoiding this "Sherlock" act, is to look for "Assembly line marks". Notice the white scratch like marks on all panels? That's what I'm talking about.
If its missing, the car has been polished or something is wrong somewhere.
I'm not saying that all cars where marks are missing, are wrong. Dealers sometimes clean them before delivery. But their presence greatly simplifies the inspection.
5. Since it's a tall car, don't miss the roof.
6. Insist on cars where internal seat plastics have not been removed.
7.
Look for hints: If you notice anything which shouldn't be there, walk away!
8. I had taken my cheap paint depth gauge. Helps a lot in identifying repaired panels. This was my plan B if I had suspicion on a car, and wanted to be 100% sure.
9. Take pics of everything. Wheels, tyres, everything. I have more than 100 pics of the PDI day itself.
10. Do give extra attention to Engine bay. There may be rodent damage.
11. Don't expect showroom guys to deflate the tyres to correct pressure. Do it yourself!
12. Underbody checks can be done when they put the car on ramp/lift during their own PDI.
13. Start the car and let it idle for a minute or two. If anything is wrong, it should come up.
14. Be very polite and gentle, but at the same time be very vigilant inside.
Basically, just peel your eyes and ears, and be very attentive. A little bit of distraction can cost you dearly in the long run.
Regards,
Shashi