[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by venus1975

What I understand from my friend is that the car was brought to the showroom from the yard for the PD. The dealer, for whatever reason, didn't want to take him to the yard for inspection! I believe it should be the reason for the ~35 km on the odo.

Straight out of factory, the car wouldn't have moved more than 5km. Unless the stockyard is 30km away from the showroom, the 35 km does not add up. Your friend should be able to verify this information. If it does, it explains the ODO.

Still, a thorough PDI is warranted since it is 9mo old. I'd be a little iffy on accepting this car.

[jaysheth]

Originally Posted by ZittingCisticol

Just about to take delivery of a Honda Amaze, and did a PDI today. Sadly, things were out of my hand because my family went ahead and did full payment last week (just didn't pay for extra accessories). They also rushed through to registration because we needed the car soon. Today, when doing PDI, I found through the VIN that the car was manufactured in July. So that's 5 months. What would my options be here?

Is it bad to get a car that's 5 months old? It's got only 11kms on the odometer. There was rusting on the wheel discs.

As many have said here, and since you have already made the full payment, check the car thoroughly and don't be worried any further. My first car was also around 6 months old (That was year 2009 and I did not know the existence of Team-BHP then, and wasn't as educated generally about cars either). But it ran for 13 years almost like factory-fresh before we sold it, and the buyer would be most happy with it even today

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

9 months feels a bit too long for a vehicle to remain unsold. Another BHPian also highlighted getting a 5 months old Honda Amaze - not sure if this is a thing among Honda dealers. While 5 months is still okay, 9 months sounds strange. Furthermore, in your friend's case the ODO is 35km which is slightly on the higher side - I'd check what ODO, other cars from the same dealer stands at (doesn't have to be City, any car would do). Typically in a major city, the vehicle would arrive directly from factory and the ODO should not be more than 15-20km.

For reference, my car had an ODO of 4km when I did the stockyard PDI. If the car was brought to the dealership showroom, this could be in the 10-15km ballpark which is okay to accept. Unless your friend is looking at a car which is in a Tier 2 city, the ODO should not be as high as 35km - seems like it has been moved around a bit.

I agree with this advice and the ballpark numbers. Especially since you have paid only the booking amount, do not go ahead and ask for a newer model.

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Not sure if this is a thing among Honda dealers.

Not in my case at least, I was able to get hold of a July 2022 Honda Jazz CVT in Sept 2022 (in Pune). The odometer showed 3 kms. Even today it looks and runs like straight out of the factory!

[ZittingCisticol]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Well, think about it this way. Say you and your family were travelling to another country for 5 months and you’ll be back. Most likely you’d not want to sell your car, so it’ll stay unused for 5 months.

You’re unfortunately in a disadvantageous position but there is no need to get concerned in my opinion.

If it were me, I’d ask for another round of detailed inspection and check for any defects thoroughly. Make a detailed checklist, using all the features thats available in your variant etc. If the ODO is 11km, it hasn’t really moved much from the factory which is a good sign. New cars will be in this ballpark ODO only.

The obvious problems could be any panel repainted, dents, scratches etc. or there could be issues with battery etc. Start the car and see if it cranks properly.

If everything checks out, you can very well go ahead with it. You currently don’t have much leverage against the dealer because they’d have ensured the registration is done, but be positive. Use your existing position to do a thorough check so that you can accept the car tension free. 99% cases, it will be fine and minor issues can be sorted out.

Originally Posted by Gargee

I would not be too worried about a 5 months old car as long as the other PDI checks pass. Rust particles on wheel discs may appear due to rainy season and the car being parked for a long time.

Recently when my son bought a Kiger, the showroom manager said the car just arrived at their yard from the manufacturer before doing car registration and the sales executives promised that it was a "fresh" car. When we checked the VIN, it was manufactured 4 months back! We googled on when a VIN is assigned to a car and found that it is generally assigned before the actual production of the car. Considering production time, quality checks, paper work, transportation to dealer yard, anything less than 6 months should be acceptable (assuming other PDI checks are ok)

The inconsistencies in what they are claiming may be due to various standpoints (manufacturing date, yard arrival date, etc). You can sure use this to ask for discounts but do not think there is any risk or problem in taking delivery of this car. Wishing you many amazing miles in your Amaze.

Originally Posted by jaysheth

As many have said here, and since you have already made the full payment, check the car thoroughly and don't be worried any further. My first car was also around 6 months old (That was year 2009 and I did not know the existence of Team-BHP then, and wasn't as educated generally about cars either). But it ran for 13 years almost like factory-fresh before we sold it, and the buyer would be most happy with it even today

Thank you, all of you, for your help and guidance! I took delivery of the Amaze last week. I did as thorough of a PDI as I could, and everything seemed okay. She seemed to be in pristine condition, despite the age. If it was indeed stored outside for a few months, they made sure to clean it up well before giving it to me. I drove her for around 250Kms last week, in the city and highway, and it's pretty smooth. Fingers crossed that it's going to be smooth going ahead.

I was disappointed in the dealership though. They were very professional right up till this hiccup. I think they weren't expecting a lay person to know when the vehicle was made, and that age is an issue. They made inane arguments, all of which I shot down. We had to still pay the accessories bill, and they said they would make some adjustments there, but ultimately did nothing. Didn't even throw in some freebies. So the delivery day itself was a bit sour. I'm hoping that the time ahead with her will rewrite that memory.

Once again, thanks dear BHPians! I'll try to be more active here and pass on what I learn...

[rich_heart]

Is there a PDI for motorcycles in India? Please direct me to the thread/document.

[haridsv]

> 6. Original PUC certificate. This is valid for one year.

This is probably outdated, now new cars are coming with a factory certification and just a sticker.

[Chewbecca]

Hey Bhpians,
Wanted to let you guys know of a new service that has started in Delhi NCR for doing PDI called PDI Boss ..got it done for my new Carens and super satisfied. They are quite professional and do this using paint thickness testers, temperature tests, OBD scanners etc. the only downside is that dealers get quite nervous (did I say downside , I meant upside .. and sometimes pushback.. As a fellow car enthusiast, it gives me a fair degree of confidence which is quite important in today’s world

PS: Not affiliated in any way with the PDI Boss team and not solicited for this. Just thought it’s a good thing for ensuring peace of mind for other Bhpians

[skyrider1]

I wanted to share my recent experience of taking delivery of a new Maruti Brezza.
I went for a PDI after the car arrived at the dealer. I tried to follow the PDI checklist shared here and it was very useful. I was happy to not find any issues, and went ahead with payment.

Then on delivery day, I noticed the car wasnt very clean on the outside, as a car out of the showroom should look. I went through the checklist again, and didnt find any issues, except on the interior, I noticed some black marks on the roofliner above the rear seat, looked to be grease like material. I asked the sales person to get the car cleaned, and also pointed to the marks on the roofliner. He said he hadnt seen that, and will get it cleaned. Since there were no major issues, I went inside and signed the papers. After I came out, the car was cleaner, but still not up to the mark. The sales person said very casually, "Sir you didnt take the coating package, otherwise it would be shining". And then I was surprised to see that, in attempt to clean the black marks on the roofliner, they had damaged the roofliner fabric around it, and the marks were still there. The sales person again said, "Sir it would look like this anyways as it gets older !". I got annoyed and told him this is not acceptable, and he should get it fixed. He said it cannot be done right now at the showroom, but can be fixed at service center on next visit. I did not want to ruin the delivery experience over this, so I decided to let go for then, took delivery and went home.

There is no other issue in the car, and I am enjoying to drive it. But everytime I look at the spots on the roofliner, I feel bad.
I recently went to the service center, and they couldnt get the spots out from roofliner either.

I am wondering what I could have done differently. This also poses a question, how do you deal with minor issues like this when taking delivery of the car, as they arent a deal breaker and something to ruin the delivery experience ? Would you escalate issues like this or let go and move on ?

[Uprasenjit]

Hi, is there any separate PDI list for EVs ? I am about to get a new EV delivered, but unlike in India I cant check the car beforehand here in UK. So I will only see the car on the day its delivered.