Question about PDI

[annie1983]

Hello,

I am in Ontario. Purchased a new camper on April 9th. We paid 1400$ for PDI as stated in our contract. We then have a 'camper checklist' that has no checkmark besides PDI to confirm it was performed and also the date it was done. My spouse showed up on April 13th to pick up our camper and was told the 'service guy' was off sick on that day. The camper was dirty, had a dent in the bumper, empty propane tanks. My spouse was rushed out of their office. We live out of town over 4 hours away so he had no choice but to take the camper home in such a condition. It is now May 27th and we took the camper out for the first time and it is leaking. We are beyond upset at this point with the dealership and starting to ask questions. If we paid 1400$ for a PDI, should we have been provided with a report? When my spouse showed up to get the camper - should it not have been cleaned and inspected and should he had not gotten a walk-through to ensure it was in new selling condition. We purchased this camper new to avoid those types of headaches. And here we are, dealing with a bunch of headaches on a brand new camper. Please advise! What can we do? What are our rights? TIA!

 

[lynnmor]

They probably had you sign a paper that the camper was in an acceptable condition and now you are hosed.  Sadly what you are discovering is all too common.  I don't know what is leaking but water damage can be terminal, you need to find any and all current damage and have it repaired.  Since you had the camper in your possession for a month and a half, why didn't you work on it during that time?  If you think that a camper can be parked away from home and just picked up and used without inspection, maintenance and repairs, you would be wrong.  These things are basically junk and need a lot of attention.

 

[Larry N.]

I don't know anything about Canadian law in this area, but apparently you paid them for the trailer sight unseen, which is very unfortunate, since many dealers don't want to see you again after they have their money. As a result, most of us don't finalize payment until we've seen, inspected and approved the unit ourselves. I realize these statements aren't helping you much now, but they might in the future.

Perhaps some Canadian folks can step in here and help, but it might be that there would be some legal recourse for "new" merchandise delivered as defective. Sorry I can't be of real help, but welcome to the forum, and hopefully someone has some help.

 

[mel s]

Hello,

I am in Ontario. Purchased a new camper on April 9th. We paid 1400$ for PDI as stated in our contract. We then have a 'camper checklist' that has no checkmark besides PDI to confirm it was performed and also the date it was done. My spouse showed up on April 13th to pick up our camper and was told the 'service guy' was off sick on that day. The camper was dirty, had a dent in the bumper, empty propane tanks. My spouse was rushed out of their office. We live out of town over 4 hours away so he had no choice but to take the camper home in such a condition. It is now May 27th and we took the camper out for the first time and it is leaking. We are beyond upset at this point with the dealership and starting to ask questions. If we paid 1400$ for a PDI, should we have been provided with a report? When my spouse showed up to get the camper - should it not have been cleaned and inspected and should he had not gotten a walk-through to ensure it was in new selling condition. We purchased this camper new to avoid those types of headaches. And here we are, dealing with a bunch of headaches on a brand new camper. Please advise! What can we do? What are our rights? TIA!

annie1983
IMO a better question is this:
Why did your spouse PAY FOR and EXCEPT a camper without a "walk through" and without getting the PDI report that you had paid $1400 extra for......(and which is UN-exceptable to you in so many other ways)?

 

[annie1983]

Ouch. Tough crowd on here lol. Thanks for your input. We just noticed the leak yesterday and have been on it as soon as we noticed it leaking. We are aware of the maintenance a trailer required and very much prepared to do what it takes to maintain it to avoid these types of problems. We also got the extended warranty on it for these reasons. We never signed anything stating that the camper was in working order. This is my question: if the dealership charges for a PDI inspection - must they not provide a report showing that the camper was inspected and is in new condition and was PDI'd? If they were not able to perform adequate inspections and have the camper in ready/selling condition and if their service guy was off sick - should they not have informed us prior to us driving 4 hours to pick it up? I'm in the process of figuring this out with the dealership - simply trying to inform myself as much as I can to help with the negotiations.

 

[annie1983]

...he was rushed out and we are new to this. We are a young family. This is our first camper. No need to be rude. If you can't be helpful - don't respond. No need to make harsh judgements and assumptions. Thank you for providing me with constructive feedback. If you can't do that, keep your oppinions to yourself. Thanks! 

 

[mel s]

...he was rushed out and we are new to this. We are a young family. This is our first camper. No need to be rude. If you can't be helpful - don't respond. No need to make harsh judgements and assumptions. Thank you for providing me with constructive feedback. If you can't do that, keep your oppinions to yourself. Thanks! 

Sorry you feel that way, but methinks accepting an unacceptable camper is unacceptable, (and often vary expensive).

 

[lynnmor]

Yes, we can be rather course at times, probably because we saw way too much of this sort of thing over the years.  I think that I can speak for all on this forum saying that we wish you the best.  Young families camping is a pleasure to see, but we know that there are too many cases of disappointment like you outlined.

You were taken advantage of because of inexperience and maybe all you can do is confront the bum to see if he will make it right.  Legal action is nothing we can discuss and probably would be useless.

When you said how much you paid for essentially nothing, and then being sold a useless extended warranty, tells me that you were hosed badly.  We hate to hear these all to common reports.

 

[Gizmo100]

Welcome to the RV Forum annie1983

It makes a lot of us mad when someone gets taken advantage of when buying a RV. And sadly it seems to be happening everywhere.

You may have to find some local advise regarding any legal recourse. Any information stated on this forum may not be based on your own local laws. I would take LOTS of pictures to prove your claim(s). You may also want to contact the manufacture of the RV to let them know of your experience with this retailer. It a long shot but you never know.

Meanwhile make use of the forum to learn as much as possible to avoid future problems.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You were extremely naive and were taken advantage of.  There isn't a lot that can be done to help as far as the crappy and unethical dealer is concerned. Try your provincial consumer agencies, attorney-general, etc.  Those are the people who can help you with whatever rights Canadian and provincial law provides.  Assuming the RV is new, you should also  complain to the RV manufacturer that no PDI was performed, but don't expect much help from that quarter.

The PDI is normally included in the selling price of the RV - the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price includes it.  You were given a discount and then part of that discount was taken back in the form of a fee for the PDI, and perhaps other fees as well. That's not illegal, but charging for it and not performing it is fraud. However, they can say they forgot to check the boxes and provide you with an updated sheet, nicely checked, and then what do you do?
In any case, if the RV is new, isn't it under warranty?  You should immediately demand repairs for the leak and anything else defective.