Pre-Delivery Inspection

Although your motorhome is a vehicle, the quantity built versus cars, trucks and SUVs is miniscule. As such they are assembled manually, not with robots. Motorhomes are very complex. They have 12 and 120 volt electrical systems, city water and onboard tanks, propane and heat pump heaters and electronics galore. It's a car and a house and the walls move in and out. And when you drive it, it is like an earthquake shaking your house. The PDI is needed to find out what works and what doesn't. The factory will check it, your dealer should check it, and you must check it.

Factory pickup with manufacturer PDI: With most motorhomes, you can have the option of picking it up at the factory.They will charge for this. With factory pickup, they know they must fix it before you take delivery. With dealer pickup, the manufacturer may leave small items for the dealer to fix. Therefore the theory is that with factory pickup they will be more careful to build it right. Is this true? We don't know. We were going to have a factory pickup but plans had to change and we picked up at our dealer.

Dealer PDI when picking up from dealer: Your dealer should do a PDI before you arrive. Our dealer did a good PDI and we found only minor imperfections that they fixed quickly.

Your own PDI: We found a very extensive PDI list on the Internet. It was our intention to spend days at the dealer and check everything. As it turned out, it rained heavily everyday we were there. We checked what we could from the inside and headed out. We stayed within 100 miles for a few days. Better to stay close to your dealer for a few days to a few weeks. We did not, but were totally willing to return (350 miles) for any repairs.

Understanding Warranties: This is tough, but read the warranty. Most manufacturers give you one year "bumper to bumper". After that you still have warranties on appliances, awnings, engine, transmission and other items (see your manuals).

Extended Warranties: We did not get one. We have never purchased extended warranties. If you think you want one, talk with others who have purchased them and see what their experience has been. We have heard good and bad, but can't help you here

Working with a Dealer

Finding a dealer: Refer to our List of Manufacturers to find dealers for the brand you might choose. Call the dealer. Ask about which models they have in stock and how many total. The shopping experience can be very fun, but not if you drive hundreds of miles only to find that the motorhome you want is not there. The longer you take, the better. We started visiting dealers almost a year before we bought. We learned so much about the motorhomes, the dealership and the integrity of the salespersons.

Verifying Service Capabilities: Before your first purchase, assessing the service capabilities of a dealer can be hard. Regardless of dealer or brand, you will have problems! The first salesperson we met was honest. He said "If you don't have a tool box and a sense of humor, don't buy a motorhome". These homes are complicated and things will go wrong. Go sit in the service waiting room. Talk to those waiting about their experience. Do this a few times and you will be able to discern those who give you the straight story versus the complainers or those who defend their purchase even when they should not. Find out the billing rates and minimum charges. We once paid $56.00 for a half hour minimum, only to have the technician replace a burnt out 12 volt bulb in a few seconds.

Get References: Ask your salesperson for references. This is the best way to buy anything. After you get the references, follow up and talk with them long enough to get the straight story.

Choosing Options: Get a "build sheet", a list of all the options on the motorhome you like, with the retail price of each option. Find out what the options are and choose what you want. It is very likely that you will get pressure to buy off the lot. But the available motorhome may have options you don't care about. Negotiate a price for the home without the options. We weren't willing to pay for some, so we ordered our motorhome and waited 12 weeks (05-2006) for it to be built. We got exactly what we wanted without paying for any extras. For us it was very exciting as our delivery date approached.

Buy new or used? Buy new and you will have to work through all the problems, but you are covered by a warranty, usually only one year. If you buy used, take an experienced motorhome owner with you to check out all systems. This can take hours, perhaps all day. We did not have such a friend so we bought new. We could help you now.

Negotiating a Deal: This can be easy with a good dealer, hard with others. We got a decent offer from our dealer on first request.Email us for further discussions about this tricky area.