Visit our Popular Forums

ROBERT CROSS · 01-29-2019, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

That form is NOT to be filled out by the dealer or any of their agents or employees.
That form is to be filled out, notes taken, and brief instructions written on them by the end consumer, during the walk-through. If you were provided this form at any time before the walk-through began, it is nobody's fault but your own if it is blank.

I think though that the dealer should have checked all that's on the list.

>>>>>.

OV63...why not post a copy of what technician is required to fill out for the PDI. Dealers are compensated are they not?

Cheese and crackers got all muddy, our dealer didn't even open the binder.🥺
And I did the PDI before our first trip.😂

Bob
🇺🇸

StuartsDad · 01-29-2019, 09:20 PM

Our PDI tech had a printed checklist on a clipboard he was following. When finished, he went over the checklist with us to confirm we were in agreement each item had been covered, then we signed off on it. During the process, DW took notes on a pad. Now, we had a second, tech in training, during our PDI, so maybe it was more thorough and by the book than usual. When I read this thread, I looked, and I do have the untouched checklist this discussion is about, but I think we accomplished the same without it. When we sell, I'll use it as a guide for the buyer.

theOrca · 02-03-2019, 09:32 AM

Having had 4 different trailers, and now owning a 23D Airstream, it is evident that the axiom of ALL RVs being a POS is true. (Some are just slightly better pieces than others.)
I am so tired of having to reconstruct and/or repair new trailers. Maybe someday the Japanese or Koreans will decide to enter the RV industry. If they do, an era of "quality assurance" will be the first thing they bring to the table.

turk123 · 02-03-2019, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theOrca

I am so tired of having to reconstruct and/or repair new trailers. Maybe someday the Japanese or Koreans will decide to enter the RV industry. If they do, an era of "quality assurance" will be the first thing they bring to the table.

I think they better work on their airbags!

Toldfield · 02-03-2019, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theOrca

Having had 4 different trailers, and now owning a 23D Airstream, it is evident that the axiom of ALL RVs being a POS is true. (Some are just slightly better pieces than others.)
I am so tired of having to reconstruct and/or repair new trailers. Maybe someday the Japanese or Koreans will decide to enter the RV industry. If they do, an era of "quality assurance" will be the first thing they bring to the table.

Well said. My plan is to never buy new. I intend to buy a used unit and a new mattress.

Gene · 02-03-2019, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theOrca

Having had 4 different trailers, and now owning a 23D Airstream, it is evident that the axiom of ALL RVs being a POS is true. (Some are just slightly better pieces than others.)
I am so tired of having to reconstruct and/or repair new trailers. Maybe someday the Japanese or Koreans will decide to enter the RV industry. If they do, an era of "quality assurance" will be the first thing they bring to the table.

We've been waiting for that for decades. Unfortunately the industry is consolidating here and price competition is getting more intense resulting in lower and lower quality. One major company (Forest River) with scores of brands delays paying dealers for warranty work so long that most local dealers refuse to work on their brands. We found the Nash we bought to have far fewer defects and sloppy work than the "premium" Airstream we bought new in 2007, but still workmanship was sometimes weak and materials very cheap. Thor is well known for mediocre or worse workmanship and cost cutting—Airstream is their premium brand, but starting from sub-mediocre just makes average look premium.

Michigander · 02-04-2019, 06:48 AM

"It is a rare and precious find! So precious, so precious . . ."

I'm not sure what I'm missing here, and with all due respect, what is the value of this paperwork? What makes it precious?

turk123 · 02-04-2019, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michigander

"It is a rare and precious find! So precious, so precious . . ."

I'm not sure what I'm missing here, and with all due respect, what is the value of this paperwork? What makes it precious?

I'm being a bit tongue in cheek. This paperwork has seldom made it into the Airstream suitcase. The Airstream we bought in 2017 did not have this paperwork and dealers had little to follow when giving new customers a run through of their new purchase. There is no excuse for this and dealers should create a checklist on their own.

It now appears as if Airstream has created such a list for the customer and dealer to use. It is unfortunate that dealers still do not use it. The reason for this may be that the dealers did not expect to have such a document and they probably do not know that it exists.

I created my own list for the run-through, but this one would have been very helpful, if I knew it existed.

Gene · 02-04-2019, 09:26 AM

turk,

The reason many dealers don't use or share the check list is because too many don't care. Because there are so few Airstream dealers, they are fairly sure you'll be back for warranty repairs. If they anger you, so what? Where are you going to go? We bought our Airstream from a really bad dealer. We didn't know any better. They were difficult to work with, didn't argue for us when there was a warranty issue, perhaps hoping we would pay them more than Airstream would pay and then put a hole in the rear of the trailer and dented the side when they were backing it into their shop.

After they fixed the hole, we never went back. We took the trailer to the factory service center in Ohio and then took some trips from there. Nonetheless, it was an extra 1,400 miles, but the work was done right in Ohio. I eventually got the dealer to pay a lot for the dent. I reported our experience to Airstream, but nothing happened so far as I knew.

Some people make a video of their walkthrough because there is too much to remember. Because I had been on the Forum for a while and had read some books about RV's, I knew a lot of questions to ask. You have to go to a walk prepared and you still will forget stuff before you drive off the lot.

spotted_dog · 02-04-2019, 06:00 PM

Like the others here, we too bought a new 2019 Classic 33 and didn't find the checklist (still in virgin state and untouched) in our paperwork. Our dealer never mentioned it and certainly never covered even a third of those items. Our dealer too put a ridiculously short timeframe on the walk through. We found items that we an issue and they promised they fixed them before we left that day with the trailer but they didn't fix any of them. I guess it's partially our fault for not double checking and trusting the dealership.