The day is quickly approaching when I will get the call to pick up my new car.
I know people have created check-lists for things to look for when you actually go to fill out the final paperwork and take possesion of your vehicle. I've done several searches on the site with no luck. If someone knows what to look for please point me in the right direction. :worship:

Also, I am a little nervous about the whole drop-ship thing. To date, I have dealt exclusivly with my family's dealer in Michigan. The car is set to be drop-shipped to a dealer in LA. I am worried the drop-ship dealer will not be as attentive to me as a customer as they might be if I actually purchased the car through them. They are still getting $450 to take delivery and prep the car and they obviously agreed to do it. Has anyone had a similar experience? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!!!

 

They will probably bag your car, but all dealerships do that. Minimum wage lot boys, disgruntled techs... kind of unfortunate.

 

What does that mean?

 

Personally- especially if you know the dealer they might oblige- ask for minimal prep- they can peel the tape off the wing/doorhandles, wash it off(it will be filthy from the hauler), look it over, thats it. I got mine like this with 2 miles on the odometer, no gas, and plastic still on the interior- I know prep is 'paid for' but do you REALLY want someone driving it around/putting gas in it...I was totally paranoid of unknown lot guys taking the long way to the gas station if ya know what I mean A few miles of fun in a new gt?

most dealers are pretty careful, but as you will very soon find out- that right pedal just begs pushing...tell them youre obsessive/compulsive and want to enjoy the unwrapping/first drive yourself- my dealer understood that was the case with me from all the bugging I did

As far as looking over, look under for hauler rash, of course paint scratches/stone chips(glass too- hauler has a lot of wheels...) document any minor flaws so they cant say it was fine when it left...these guys usually look them over pretty well, as they dont want to get stuck with undocumented hauler rash either, but still- double check. Theyre supposed to go over all the features with you, but I got mine on a saturday morning after an 1100 mile drive home from florida, and missed a lot...the little magnetic strap is for the seatbelt, stuff like that...oh well, good luck with yours!

suggestion- michigan huh? I'm in Ohio, biggest regret Ive got was not going straight home and looking underneath- perhaps you might even ask deler to pop it on the rack so you can look underneath- if you find some missed areas they could smear some sealer on real quick, and the first salt exposure will stay on the outside where its supposed to...mine had a bunch of gaps in the seam sealer under drivers rear/trunk floor area, so I already got some salt in mine...rinsed it out and in the process of seam sealing now, but wish I woulda seen it before putting 300 miles on it and driving it once in the rain. I put a thread in the 'issues' section with pics of areas you might want to look at (called thread 'might want to look under your car'). I dont intend on driving much in the winter at all, but like here today its nice out/rain washed away most of the salt from the roads, i really want to go! I got the car still up in the air sealing everything I can, maybe tonight/tomorrow will have it done enough to hold me over to warm weather this summerwhen I can really tear into it. I'm just trying to seal tops of all spotwelded flanges to keep crap from rinsing down between welds, pouring POR-15 paint into all the lower pinchwelds till it seep out the bottom(using syringe/tubing to shoot way back in...figure if the 'vee' formed at the pinchwelds is filled/sealed it should not rust from inevitable dirt thaty will get inside...just cant block any drains). It wont last forever, but I really dont want rust to be its demise, and thats usually the case with salt exposed unibody cars...doing what I can to slow its inevitable beginning- but parking it for three months is too much...these cars a just a blast to drive. an absolute blast.

 

Check out this old thread.
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=18196
It not only has a generic checklist someone made up, but there's also a pdf of what the dealer will (or at least is supposed to) use.
It's a PDI (pre-delivery inspection) checklist.

I PDI'd mine myself, but that's because I bypassed any dealers and had it shipped straight to me at work. (we work on new Ford trucks so we have a Ford drop-ship code) It's a very simple list. Take a look at it and you'll probably feel comfortable telling the dealer not to touch it at all.

 

They should still fill it up like any other delivery. I have my own cars PDI'd(pre delivery inspection) and cleaned before I take it, I'm not exactly sure of the obsession of having it with the tape on it. If its hiding damage and you take it home, you're SOL. Basically just check it completely for cosmetic damage. If the car has any mechanical issue, that's covered by warranty at any dealer. Because it's a courtesy delivery maybe a salesman may not care, but the shop still gets its PDI/Inspection/cleaning money just like any other car would so it makes no difference to everyone at a dealer involved after a contract is signed just like any other car, they get the ticket and do it.

 

I really appreciate everyone's responses. I'll post again after the big day and add anything new to the list.

 

On a courtesy delivery I would not expect it to be filled up.

 

I just drove my GT home today after having it drop shipped from Michigan to Pennsylvania. We ran into a few problems in how the different states deal with temporary plates & the reciprocal state tax agreements but everything worked out just fine.

I, too, worried that the PA dealer might not treat me the same as a "paying" customer but they were great. Gave me the guided tour of the service dept & introduced me to the service manager with whom I had a frank discussion about their perspective on modifications to the car. Total cost of the drop ship after dealer prep, State inspection, Emissions inspection, vehicle registration & 10 gallons of gas came to $358.22

PS When I picked up the car it only had 1.8 miles on it. I don't think you have to worry too much about your car being abused if your dealer has any kind of reputation to maintain.