C8 Purchase & PDI Checklists To Review Before We Drive Away

[Cobra502]

Does anyone know of a good checklist to take with with you when you pick up your new C8? Is there not a couple of lists that were put together when purchasing our Corvettes?

A first list for what we should check on our car before signing anything, and a second, signed PDI form we should receive?

[John]

I think it best for us to create our own list here, one that will be invaluable for all of us as we pick up our Corvettes.

1) Take lots and lots of time, wear old clothes (for reasons listed below).

2) To me, another key is always to bring a super-knowledgeable, super fussy Corvette friend with me, both he and I with our flashlights and for both of us to take lots of time. Why bring a friend? Because even though we new owners might “present” ourselves outwardly as calm and methodical, seeing your beauty (Corvette or not) for the first time is a super powerful feeling.

3) The highest probability for finding “shipping damage,” is to inspect the lower outside corners of your car, the insides of your tires/wheels (not just their outsides), and the underside of your muffler tips.

4). Each of you and your friend should have, IMO, a mini-pad or your cell phone to list what you are finding as your are finding it (memories are not perfect after you have worked yourself around the outside and the insides of your car).

5) Thanks to our “rfong,” we have his earlier created list, as follows:

Inspection Check List:

Interior trim –
Upper dash to door alignment, continuous stitching line
Door sills in place
Seat emblem on both seats
Inside of glass hatch, rubber seal continuous and undisturbed
Hatch hard to shut
Dash cluster – goes black because illumination and dimming with light sensor
Instruments operational – electric short causes jittery behavior
Bad pixels on screens
AC working properly
Brake pedal attachment
Steering Wheel- pinched wiring causes electronic glitches
Radio jumps stations, same with Iphone music/ Audio off message?

Mechanical –
Oil in deferential - check
Brake fluid leak

Check window sticker with actual equipment

Wheel gap – Acceptable range
front: 1.75”/ 27.25” from ground
rear: 2.75” / 29.25 from ground

Orange Peel Paint

Body Panel Gaps (front and rear bumpers)

Let’s pleased collectively add to this thread below.

[John]

Your delivery dealership (local one or a NCM Museum Delivery) is required by GM to do a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI), and in turn they are reimbursed in full by GM for providing that service.


Here is the latest PDI form we have — though it will be significantly changed for the ME.

Long before your vehicle has been delivered to your dealer, what I personally do is to “make friends” with the Service Department. This is especially critical if you are doing a courtesy delivery or have never taken your previous vehicle(s) in to that dealer for servicing. I make an appointment in advance, bring a box of donuts and sit down with the Service Manager. I let them know of all my expectations, and what in turn I will do for them. I make them aware that I know that after the car has been delivered to me by them, that GM is going to directly send me an evaluation form, and that I want to give them the absolute top rating the forum allows. Part of my evaluatation of their dealership will include whether they do all of the following, however I start out by letting them know that I want to be supportive of their service department. In turn, I want them to:

1) Allow me to be the one who washes my car;
2) I expect, when they are done with the PDI process itself, to have them give me a copy of the PDI signed by the Technician;
3) I want the SM to introduce me to their Parts Manager, as I intend to spend after delivery money buying many of my accessory parts from them.

Of course, I approach the SM with courtesy and respect, and candidly have made friends with every SM of every dealership I have bought from (and where they have done an outstanding job on servicing my Corvette, I have followed up and referred friends of mine to them — most of which have become additional customers to them.

[Busa Dave]

Very good information above! Always keep in mind that if you decide to buy a car and THEN have it shipped to your location or local dealer it is yours when you pay for it BEFORE it ships. Shipping damage is on you and always keep in mind that if you do find anything the original Dealer will have every reason to claim it was done during transport and they are off the hook "vehicle was perfect when it left here".

[John]

Dave’s point is absolutely correct, that if you third party ship, you could have contentious issues later if any vehicular shipping damage.

To be safe, I always activate my car insurance the day I sign and fax the papers to my originating dealership. We are talking about 1 1/2% chance of delivery damage (again that stat is consistent among different OEM’s including Ferraria) — though I sure do not want to take that chance.

A courtesy delivery, however, is different from your buying from a non-local dealership and then your separately paying for a third party shipper (you pay for). In a courtesy delivery, specified on the original car’s order form, GM transport’s your car from BGA to your courtesy delivery dealer; it is part of the official GM shipping process (done by their authorized shipping companies).

Let me give a specific example of what happened on my 2015 Z06 courtesy delivery. It left the plant in excellent condition, and outwardly arrived in that same condition. I washed my car at the dealership and it looked terrific. I drove it into the PDI bay and waited while my superb Tech did the PDI. He later invited me to the car and said, “I found one issue, a moderately-sized white stain on your hood liner, but before you see it, I want to let you know my Parts Manager has already ordered a new one under your warranty”. He then lifted up the hood and we looked at the while stain on the hood liner (above the alternator). “We are guessing that something washed up from underneath on its train ride across the country.” [The C7’s white traveling, protective suit, does not have any underside component.] My Tech and I again throughly inspected the engine compartment and everything else was pristine. He took it out on his PDI check-out ride and gave me the thumbs up on his return.

I paid them the agreed up courtesy delivery fee and drove my car directly to my body shop for hood stripe painting and more. Two weeks later I got a call from my friend who owns the body shop, saying look at this as he too opened the hood and pointed to the alternator.



I took this picture sent it to my Service Manager. He called his Regional Warranty Approval (RWA) Supervisor, then called me back twenty minutes later, saying “a new alternator is coming to our dealership — again covered by warrranty.” He added what the RWA and I “think happened, is that some corrosive washed up from underneath the car and while it was on the train, something that first showed up on the liner at the PDI, ibut then took a few weeks for that corrosive to eat at your alternator.” My SM added that this was the first time in his 30 years that a new alternator was approved on warranty without having electrical testing done on it, confirming its failure.

[Busa Dave]

There you go! Being informed of your options is the key to a successful and painless transaction. As John pointed out above make Sure you know what kind of delivery you are taking. Personally, I never write the check until I go over everything with a fine tooth comb as they say....

[JB]

Wow..great info...

in forty years of just buying new cars ive never done any of this. I usually just roll in and rollout, do a quick walk around the body for dents and scratches.... Throw the saleman a tip for a nice dinner for him and his wife and book.

i never thought to be so serious with an inspection as described here..

i dont ever remember having a problem but that alternator story opened my eyes...

thats certainly bizarre and a good reason to do a better inspection in the future..

was the alternator the only item to have that corrosive state.

[Boomer]

Personally, I never write the check until I go over everything with a fine tooth comb as they say....

They also don't get the check till after I've taken it for a test drive.

[ltomn]

Wow..great info...

in forty years of just buying new cars ive never done any of this. I usually just roll in and rollout, do a quick walk around the body for dents and scratches.... Throw the saleman a tip for a nice dinner for him and his wife and book.

i never thought to be so serious with an inspection as described here..

i dont ever remember having a problem but that alternator story opened my eyes...

thats certainly bizarre and a good reason to do a better inspection in the future..

That is me in a nutshell!! I have never gone over my new vehicles like mentioned. The most glaring thing I noticed was "bring a friend" to help with the inspection. This sounds like excellent advice. Four eyes are twice as good as two.

Since joining these forums, I have read about numerous problems with various cars and I cannot help but wonder is some of the problems could have been avoided with a proper and detailed inspection at delivery. Things can happen over time when they are left to fester. I, for one, will heed this advice and watch this thread for further suggestions.

[LightningBolt]

I too really like the advice, "bring a friend". But I also want to bring my wife and only two of us are going to fit in the car.

I'm considering the NCM delivery, but Criswell Chevrolet is near my old stomping grounds and I have a deposit with Mike Furman's, so either way I go, I'm taking delivery out of town. These are fun problems to work out!

[John]

If your wife is a car aficionado, problem solved. Or if not, have your friend drives in his/her own car, for a second or third set of eyes is very helpful!

Every car forum I have been involved in, has at least a couple of stories of...

I got my car a few weeks ago, been driving it and I just noticed this or that, e.g.,often something like a wheel scuff that could have been caused by the new owner in that first two weeks of ownership. Though every time the poster swears it was not him/her. The person takes the car back to the dealer and while often the problem is most often mutually resolved, sometimes with a not receptive dealership, there are differences. And what if there is an issue of the sill plate having a scratch or a driver’s bolster scuff which is not found until four weeks after ownership?

Hence, why I never rush a new car pickup and I always bring a knowledgeable friend. While most dealers will work with you on some issues, what if one is doing a courtesy delivery and that dealership will not, or what if your dealer is not your friend two weeks to a month after you drive away with it.

I may be nuts, but the last two cars I picked up, what was one of the things on my pre-dealership-visit check off list? Change the batteries on the flashlights that my friend and are are bringing to the dealership.

Better to be methodical and meticulous before you drive away, than sorry afterward.

[duckvett]

I am soaking up all this great knowledge like a sponge. When our 2019 Grand Sport Convertible arrives, it will be the first new Corvette we have ever purchased. I know I will be "hyper-excited", but I also know I must approach the inspection with a methodical mindset. My plan at this time is to start with the exterior, looking at paint, fit & finish, glass, weatherstrip and checking for any transport damage or issues. I will then move to the interior, looking for any flaws, staining, loose carpets, etc. Next is under the hood, checking fluid levels, making sure fasteners are all tight, drive belt tension and overall appearance. Now I want to go back inside and start checking functions - convertible top operation, touchscreen operation (no nav), heating, cooling, memory functions, radio, lights, etc. If I can see or touch it, it will be checked.

[John]

Great looking car heading your way!

[Shadow]

That is a beauty. Can’t wait to see it on next year’s National Corvette Caravan if not sooner.

[rvb1331]

Just in case you wanted the newest pdi form here ya go.....i noticed your a few years old