Has a pre-delivery inspection saved you from buying a lemon?

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.

BHPian gamingstein recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

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.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

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.

Here's what BHPian diwakarmuthu had to say on the matter:

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

• 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
• 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.

Here's what BHPian GForceEnjoyer had to say on the matter:

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.

Here's what BHPian Col_Mehta had to say on the matter;

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.

Here's what BHPian PrassannaDhana had to say on the matter:

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.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.