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-   -   PDI Process and its help in avoiding lemons! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/281319-pdi-process-its-help-avoiding-lemons-2.html)

Voted for did PDI, and found no issues. We went for the PDI for our Slavia, and did not find any issues. I did the PDI meticulously, with the Team BHP PDI checklist. All was well, and took delivery 1 month later. However for our Hyundai Santro xing, there was no PDI done, as my mom and dad were first time car buyers . We were handed over with a model, and had myriad of issues. From water seeping to hard steering , everything was there. They never acknowledged any issues, and SVC told these are normal:eek: From that time we had decided we wouldn't buy our new car without any inspection. Since Skoda also had their own checklist, provided with the booking booklet, they ensured that there was no issues with the car. Next car will probably be the Punch ev, and there we'll have to be even more meticulous with the the tech and features.

P.S. The Team BHP PDI checklist, though exhaustive in terms of mechanical and cosmetic issues,needs an update. With even the humble Maruti Alto coming with a touch screen infotainment system, the in car entertainment system section should be updated. It still mentions a CD player and Bluetooth connectivity, but tech has progressed a lot. It should include modern day infotainment systems, and their bugs, and whether we should reject the model due to these issues:thumbs up

I had conducted PDI on both the Brezza and the Grand Vitara.

In the latter's case, I had to travel some 20 kms with the sales advisor to check the car in person in the stockyard.

But in both cases, there were zero issues with the cars, though both Arena and Nexa acted extremely surprised and somewhat offended that I'd even think of checking the cars prior to complete payment.

I performed PDI for the 2023 Verna and found no issues.

However, my Jiju (sister’s husband) faced an issue during his 2023 Harrier facelift PDI.
The ac blower was blowing air only at one rate irrespective of the blower speed. When he pointed it out to the SA, he said it will be fixed in a couple of days. However, after 2-3 days SA called my jiju and says that it’s an electrical issue which they are unable to fix now and that they would do it at the time of 1st service.

Hearing this, my Jiju rejected the car and said that he’ll wait for the next allocation. He simply couldn’t digest spending 25L on a car and SA telling him that they are unable to fix the issue now. Who knows what other issues might come up in that car in future.

Later, he was allocated a different car which is running without any issues. Fingers crossed!

I learned it the hard way. I bought Fiat Punto back in 2014 without PDI and faced issues right from delivery so much that after delivery I had to drive it down to service centre same day before even going to temple. One of the nicest cars with worst ASS in India (at least in Pune- Sky Moto)

Next time I was wiser, when I bought Hector in 2021 and Spresso in 2022 I did thorough PDI. Infact for PDI of Spresso I drove down to Bhiwandi from Pune as dealer was in Mumbai for the Red colour Spresso. Both cars turned out to be great experience for us.

I have been deeply involved in the purchase of 3 cars, 1 of my brothers and 2 of my own. All Maruti-Suzuki.

1st Car: Swift. No PDI done; I didn't even know what PDI is or what needed to be done. Car was delivered. No issues with the car. However, at the time of selling, we realized that the registration had an incorrrect date of manufacturing. As per VIN it should the date of manufacturing was 4 months before what was being mentioned.

2nd Car: SX4. The sales executive took me for PDI; I still didn't know what a PDI was. He showed me mileage and checked for scratches with me. No issue with the car. Car is still with me and 18 years old.

3rd Car: Ertiga. I did a detailed PDI (had become a team-BHP member by now :D). No issues found. Car is still with me and is 8 years old.

I conducted PDI but facing some non-recurring non-frequent issues on my altroz:
1. Android auto doesn't work
2. Car thinks key is inside even though it's outside
3. Accelerator didn't respond (this has happened once)
4. Engine was shutting down with battery warning after starting (this also happened once)

Never did PDA of any new cars we (mainly dad) bought
Maruthi Omni (2000)
Tata Indica (2002/03)
Tata Indigo CS (2008/09)
Hyundai i20 Sport (2012) - This was a gift to Dad by me and Brother for his 60th birthday
Tata Nexon (2019)

Out of all these cars only car which gave trouble was Nexon where in we were cheated. They sold us an old car during booking in December specifically mentioned it should be the newer 5 star rated one but they cheated us by selling July made older 4 star. Only My dad was available when they delivered the car and he didn't have any clue. When my brother came a week after he found out but by then they had taken temp reg etc and our fights went to deaf ears. Not a single reply we got for numerous emails that was sent or our trips to TATA dealer. It was all dealers mistake and TATA removed them from dealership after an year or so. But our loss was never compensated. The car had multiple issues from start. Still living with it.

Rest all the other cars never had any issues and we were more than happy with all of them.

I only look for external damages and even then, I don't nitpick. And with regard to this question in particular, I think a PDI is irrelevant.

Honestly, how many of us truly believe that a PDI can help detect a lemon? Can you really ensure that a vehicle is mechanically sound by just conducting a PDI? I personally wouldn't be able to call out a repainted panel just by looking at it (if the dealer did a good job of it), let alone mechanical defects in the car.

Depends. In our case atleast we would have found out the car is 6 months old. Not the 5 star they advertised but an older 4 star vehicle.

Being diligent is always good. I do check the VIN number and other documentation to see if everything is in order; missed adding that to my earlier post.

But this isn't exactly a case of a lemon, is it? Lemons/Lemon laws are usually used in connection with defective cars, often with no satisfactory solution - at least that is my understanding. And in that context, I doubt a PDI would help.

We took delivery of a new vehicle recently and I went over it with a fine-tooth comb, even clicking pictures on the phone for good measure. Took a leisurely hour and didnt leave until I was satisfied that everything was in order.
Everything has been good so far (touch wood) and I would certainly conduct a PDI before I take delivery of any vehicle.

You are correct in that sense. Even tough we had many issues with the car we wouldn't have found out with a PDI. But the wishful thinking is if PDI was done we would not have taken that car and would have escaped from the defective one 🤷🏻*♂️

I bought TATA Nexon XZ Petrol in Sep 2021 from Adishakti Motors Hebbal, Bangalore and had asked for PDI before making 100% payment. However, the Sales Person did not show interest in this and seemed to be lethargic in executing PDI with customer. To which I also agreed and made 100% payment without seeing the car. (The warehouse of Adishakti TATA is at walkable distance from my home:p)
Luckily, I got a car without any niggle and is doing good.

However, I have seen many customers raising concerns about TATA, therefore I recommended PDI to one of my friend who recently purchased a TATA Altroz automatic from the same dealer where I bought Nexon.
Luckily the sales person aloted to my friend was cooperative enough to organize a PDI. My friend asked me to accompany him for PDI, and I carried Two Printouts of Team-Bhp PDI and thoroughly conducted PDI for one hour and found a minor scratch on the bonnet which seemed to be not very prominent therefore my friend accepted it.
The PDI was enjoyable and the Altroz car we inspected is going good.

Getting PDIed is our birth right :uncontrol, if that is the warning dealer displays then I'm never going to visit that dealer.

When we got our first car (I10) back in 2010, I'm naive and don't know what to check and luckily we never faced any issues with car and it served us well for 10 years. Fastforward to 2022 at the time of purchasing our second car Creta SX variant, I did detailed PDI taking check list from TeamBHP site. I'm very particular about the panel gaps, alignments, paint imperfections and not working of electronics. So, PDI is compulsory for me.