Things to look for when taking delivery of the new car from the dealer?

[vernonator]

The big thing is to look for physical damage that they could blame on you after you pull off the lot. Paint scratches, dings, etc. All the other things (panel fitment, rattles, etc) can be fixed on follow up visits. Just my $0.02 worth

Sponsored

 

[Mr. Met]

I know a guy who pays to have the car inspected just like you would a used car. It cost him about $150 but he says it has been worth while. Gets the slights thing that could be wrong with it documented before he even sees that car. Just another idea.

 

[The_Phantom]

In my case, the dealer scratched the passenger side headlight lens during detail. I had them repair it as it is a $1,000 headlight assembly. Then, while parking the car for delivery, their detail guy was not paying attention and opened the driver's door into a blue concrete pole, busting up the paint on the door handle.

I had them replace the handle...they wanted to paint it, but I insisted on a replacement. So just do a thorough walk around and make sure it is up to YOUR standards. This same thing happened to my Mom's '18 Orange Fury EcoBoost on delivery at a different dealer. I'm pretty picky...what is an issue for me may not be for someone else. You'll be fine. Enjoy the new car!

 

[Fly2High]

Make sure you get the right owner's manuals. They misplaced the originals and had to order the PP2 ones for me. Byt he way, I do like the additional storage spot in the glove box for them. Keeps them out of the way (see yellow button)

 

[Zathras]

Due to a bad experience with a new car years ago (more on this later)--I always take a towel/rag/whatever and wipe off the excess tire dressing the dealer applied. I do this because when I bought a new, white Z28 in 1995, the dealer lathered on a lot of tire dressing, and when I drove it home the excess goop on the tires kind of slung off and coated the lower body of the car, leaving a brownish-yellow stain on the new paint that was a bitch to remove. (It absorbed into the paint.)

 

[3star2nr]

I'll be taking delivery of my GT Premium Fastback PP2 car Saturday. (I'm very excited!) What should I keep an eye out for before I take delivery from the dealer?

Are there any Mustang-specific things to look out for?

There are numerous guides about general things to check like: inspect the exterior for scratches, dents, etc. Make sure the VIN matches the paperwork, Odometer mileage, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Is it supposed to come with a full tank of gas?


At the test drive, I noticed the plastic battery cover was in the back seat. Salesman said that means they probably had to jump start it at some point. Should I ask them to test the battery?

I've heard I should check for the correct wheels. This guy got three front wheels.

Well the big thing for me is the paint. The paint on these cars is extremely thin and fragile and getting that warrantied after you Take delivery is a nightmare.

I'd also check the alignment my car wasn't dead center new. It wasnt terrible but the steering was slightly cocked.

To be honest I was so excited to drive the car home I didn't notice these issues till weeks after and all i got from the dealer was "sorry man, here's a number for the bodyshop we use" "oh yeah sure we can schedule you for an alignment... It's 200.00"

I also noticed my window sticker had features on it my car didnt have. Like its supposed to have BLIS but my car definitely does not have that. I probably should have bitched about it but I was over fucking with them. The car has been great the last 3 year going into year 4 and ford has done a great job honoring their warranties and taking care of me when repair work was needed so overall I've been happy with them and would buy another s550

 

[3star2nr]

I recommend looking I,to ceramic coating the body I regret not doing that on mine. Now I have rock chips door dings, chops on the hood and roof.

 

[green97probe]

Keep in mind that until you take delivery of the vehicle, the contract can be torn up and you can walk away.

I wish I would've known this 6 years ago.

 

[Norm Peterson]

I'd also check the alignment my car wasn't dead center new. It wasnt terrible but the steering was slightly cocked.

This ^^^

I'd also put a digital angle finder up against all four tires to check where the cambers really were. Two of the last three cars we've bought had cambers that either weren't near the factory preferred numbers themselves or the difference between them (aka cross-camber) was way off.


Norm

 

[NoVaGT]

Pretty much all that you’ve listed, if it’s not clean make them detail it.....

I can't argue against this enough. Don't let the hacks at any dealership touch your new car.

When I picked up my 2019, they insisted on washing and cleaning it. I walked outside and into the area they were getting ready to wash the car at. They were about to use a friggin' push-broom soaked in sudsy water to scrub my new car. I stopped them and had to tell them to use a hand-towel to wash the car down. Then I stood there and made sure they weren't about to do anything even stupider. Most of the people that do such work are......not into cars, know nothing about washing or detailing them.

Just look for obvious scratches, take it home, and detail it yourself. Don't let the retards at the dealership wash it. Or ask if you can wash/detail it yourself, at the dealership. Bring your own towels/washing stuff.

 

[kent0464]

I can't argue against this enough. Don't let the hacks at any dealership touch your new car.

When I picked up my 2019, they insisted on washing and cleaning it. I walked outside and into the area they were getting ready to wash the car at. They were about to use a friggin' push-broom soaked in sudsy water to scrub my new car. I stopped them and had to tell them to use a hand-towel to wash the car down. Then I stood there and made sure they weren't about to do anything even stupider. Most of the people that do such work are......not into cars, know nothing about washing or detailing them.

Just look for obvious scratches, take it home, and detail it yourself. Don't let the retards at the dealership wash it. Or ask if you can wash/detail it yourself, at the dealership. Bring your own towels/washing stuff.

Wow! Never seen that! The dealer I use has a professional detailer on tap, he charges them absurdly low prices because he picks up so many customers there.

 

[Biggus Dickus]

No wash
No Plate
Take car straight home and wash and detail
Don't take car anywhere until you take it to installer and have it clear-bra'd ("Xpel'd") over the whole front, rockers, etc. - expect to pay $2500 for good paint protection.

Enjoy!

 

[2019ShadowGT]

Re detailing.i tell them DON'T clean the car,they won't do it right,towels will be dirty etc.so just drive it home,dirty if it is,and clean it yourself.should be scratch free.
Also I wanted to be there when they unloaded the car,just to make sure it wasn't damaged in transit.

This. Just took delivery of my 2019 GT and found a huge chip below the driver's side mirror AFTER the detail guys got done with it. I asked if they hand washed it and they said they did but someone obviously hit it with a bracelet or something hard. Made the dealer paint fix it. Only to have them then burn the paint with the buffer!! Unreal! The guy felt so bad he stopped me off with-at my behest-premium fuel. Mind you, this is shadow black paint...

 

[13razorbackfan]

I had to have some panels adjusted because my gaps weren’t great. There is a clip on the side of the back bumper where it meets the quarter panel that is notorious for breaking, so just look to make sure everything lines up like it should. I’m anal about the exhaust lining up properly as well so I always check to see if it needs to be adjusted.

As far as a full tank goes, I believe that is up to dealership on whether they will fill it up or not. Some do, some don’t.

Yep...that panel on mine was sticking out about an 1/8" so I just popped it back in. When I picked mine up it had 5 tiny little chip marks 2 of which by the spoiler they are covering under warranty. I will add that where the spoiler meets decklid to really inspect that area for chipped paint

 

[13razorbackfan]

Don’t take delivery at night out in the dealer lot.

Take delivery during the day in sunlight so you can see and view the entire car for ANY blems at all... body, glass, interior etc.

IF delivery has to be done at night - tell them you want it pulled into one of their brightly lit bays so you can take your time and go over the whole car in and out.

DON’T let them rush you into signing docs to move you along - TAKE YOIR TIME making sure you don’t miss anything when looking over the car.

Don’t sign off on ANYTHING until you are happy with yourself that you don’t see any problems.

IF there are ANY issues that you want addressed, tell the Salesman you want them written up on an “IOU” form (and everything is to be documented in detail) to what needs to be addressed. It’s important to get the IOUs documented, this way there’s no denying what issues needed to be addressed and so that any issues are fixed to your satisfaction.

IF by chance you find a blem on the exterior or interior when you get the car home - you only have 7 days from taking delivery to go back to the Dealership to make them aware of the blem so it can be corrected (this is in and per the Ford Dealership Warranty Policy Manual). If it’s brought up after 7-days, it will be your word against theirs and extremely harder to get the blem corrected.

Yep and take pics too. That's what I did. Took pics to show the chip marks especially with the Ruby red since it was a $500 option.

Also take a very critical 3rd party to inspect the outside with you. One major fault of mine is being emotionally invested when buying a new vehicle I like only to notice little things after the fact. The negotiations usually go my way but when inspecting I almost wear rose colored glasses.

Sponsored