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Things You Need to Check Out Before Leaving the Showroom with a New Car
You must have seen video’s where customers have complained about receiving faulty car from showroom. Whether it’s the first car in your family or a new addition to your garage, buying a new car is always an exhilarating process. The excitement of acquiring the keys of a new set of wheels often rushes buyers through the sign-off process. But, before leaving the showroom, it is important to thoroughly inspect your car for any damage.
Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI): What You Need to Know
Pre-delivery inspection (PDI) is a crucial step in the process of buying a new car from showroom. Its always best if you have a friend or relative in a showroom so you might get insights before booking. It is a duty performed by a dealership or a manufacturer to ensure that a vehicle is in good condition before it is delivered to a customer but unfortunately, customer has to bear the burden of executing all crucial step to protect himself from being duped. This blog covers the importance of PDI, the car PDI checklist, and what to look for during the PDI inspection.
Buying a new car involves a series of steps, its not easy as going to buy groceries, from the initial visit to the showroom to the moment you drive it home, you need to be on high alert not to get fooled. However, throughout this process, there’s a risk of being misled or tricked by showroom dealers. For instance, some dealers might conceal vital information about a car’s faults especially hiding manufacturing date of cars in bid to clear old stock, enticing customers with glossy brochures and heavy discount which actually never exists. Despite apparent assurances, unsuspecting buyers might later discover these faults, leading to dissatisfaction and inconvenience. In some unfortunate incidents in cities like Delhi, Haryana, Mumbai such incidents are consistently taking place in big numbers as you can see them on youtube as well, individuals have been tricked into purchasing faulty cars, only to face numerous issues shortly after taking ownership. This underscores the importance of thorough research, cautious decision-making, and seeking expert advice to avoid falling prey to deceptive practices in the car-buying process.
What is PDI Pre-delivery inspection?
Pre-delivery inspection is the inspection of your booked car done before delivering vehicles to customers. The PDI should conducted by both showroom dealers and buyers at showroom. The purpose of a pre-delivery inspection is to identify or verify any defects or issues with a car which need to be addressed before the vehicle is delivered to a customer. The showroom owner or auto dealers working in showroom should examine the exterior and interior of the vehicle when, as well as its mechanical and electrical systems, to ensure that everything is in good working order. Such inspection should be conducted by customer too before taking over the delivery of booked car.
Checklist Before Leaving the Showroom:
- Prior Registration: Visit the dealership stockyard if you can, showroom in India will hardly allow you to visit their stocks before registration and check the month and year of manufacturing. Once the car gets registered in your name, there is nothing much that you can do.
- Form 22: Do not hesitate to ask your car dealer for Form 22 issued by the manufacturer. It has all the details about the engine, chassis, manufacturing, etc. Many dealerships overcharge their customers for various taxes, pay only mandatory tax for new car mentioned by state.
- Preparation: When you check car, confirm the date of delivery and ask the dealership if your car is ready before visiting the dealership. Plan to visit the showroom in broad daylight to inspect your car as the night may conceal certain defects such as scratches, symmetry. It is a good idea to ask local mechanic to accompany you for their observations and suggestions. Better to pay few rupees than to suffer for years.
- At the Showroom: While at the showroom, always take your time, dealers wish you to take the delivery as soon as possible but thoroughly examine the car for any signs of damage. Begin with the exteriors and look for any dents, dimples, overpaint or scrapes. Check for any re-paint or repair job that has been carried out while transporting cars to showroom. Look out for the interiors, check out the dashboard, seats, door pads, buttons, switch, drawers and the overall finish. Check for floor carpets, seat belts, and various dashboard controls. Start the engine and check the air conditioner for its cooling, do not forget the heater. See if all the lights like headlights, smog lights, indicators etc are operating fine. Look out for the tread of tires, they should be adequate without any signs of wear.
- Final Inspection: Once you have inspected the car thoroughly and all seems ok, ask the salesperson to give you a demonstration of different features of the car. Take your car for a test drive and check its steering and maneuverability. Drive over different surfaces to identify any engineering fault. Accelerate hard to test the pickup and check the braking. Visit the service department and get familiarized with service center facilities.
Why Should You Conduct a PDI?
Performing a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) is a critical aspect of the vehicle buying process, offering several key benefits:
- Ensures Vehicle Condition: PDI enables you to assess the condition of the vehicle before taking it under your responsibility, allowing you to spot any potential issues that may need attention like faulty interior, exterior, unnecessary engine sound.
- Issue Identification: By conducting a thorough inspection, you can identify any defects or discrepancies in the vehicle, giving you the opportunity to address them before finalizing the purchase.
- Negotiation Leverage: In case of any issues discovered during the PDI, you can leverage them during negotiations with the seller to either have the problems rectified or negotiate for a better deal on the purchase price.
By performing a PDI, you can safeguard your interests and ensure that you’re getting a quality vehicle that meets your expectations.
Also follow the document checklist when conducting Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI):
| Documentation | Checklist |
|---|---|
| Read the paperwork! | Don’t take anybody’s word for anything, “jubaan ki koi kimmat nahi hoti”. Make sure all the blanks in the contract are filled in. |
| Invoice | Check that the Chassis and Engine number of the car matches with the Invoice and / or Challan. |
| All payment receipts | Check name of showroom is mentioned correctly |
| Registration book or temporary certificate | Some States: Is your name spelled correctly? Are the car chassis / engine number matching with the actual? |
| Insurance | Ensure that coverage is valid and active. |
| Original PUC certificate | This is valid for one year. |
| Owner’s Manual | Available by default, Make sure its available in sealed condition |
| Duplicate Keys | 2 Keys are provided by default, Make sure both keys are working |
| Original warranty with all relevant dealership stamps | Make sure it is signed by both parties (buyer and seller) |
| Extended Warranty (If opted for) | Document of all extended warranty |
| Warranty of third party items such as battery, tyres etc. | Make sure all papers are provided by dealership |
| Business cards of dealership and service personnel | To contact for any after services |
The checklist will help you to remember all points and taking necessary precautions will save you from fortune stress, you can ensure that your new car is in top-notch condition before driving it off the showroom floor. Happy driving!