When you've just picked up your new motor do you all give it a good once over before leaving the dealership ?

If so what do you look for ?

Check it for sure.

Check everything - paint, interior, documentation, wheels.

Check Tyre Pressure at first opportunity as when I picked mine up I had different pressures on all 4 tyres (not by a few psi) they ranged from 42 in f/o/s to 28 in r/n/s and every where in between.

Check all tyre pressure mine like Taff2003 were way out. Also check all in the boot. and that you have the correct spare wheel.

Check it for sure.

Check everything - paint, interior, documentation, wheels.

Has anyone ever compiled a checklist? I did a search but couldn't find one.

It would perhaps make a good Sticky thread if we came up with a good list - alternatively there may a good one on t'internet somewhere?

For instance:

Documentation, Keys etc.

• Manual present?
  
• Radio Code?
  
• Key Code?
  
• Second Key
  
• etc.
  

Electrics

• Electric mirrors both move?
  
• Electric windows both go up and down, and one-touch works
  
• Heater fan works on all speeds
  
• etc.
  

mine did have a check list but didnt for like sport kick plates which were missing.

Basically check the car over for scratches and dents including the alloys.

Look under the car for any under body damage or leaks.

Check engine bay and see if the engine cover states the engine (fsi, VRS) and matches the type you have bought.

Check the boot, the tyre is there, multi disc player is and the covers for where m/d (hatchback) and floor cover is there and in place. Also check spare wheel and tools in there.

Inside the car check the interior fabric/leather for any faults, dirt (like a dirty finger mark on ceiling which i wished i had spotted when i got it). All the lights work, no warning lights on dashboard already on and the mileage (yes even on new cars). Check it has a tax disc and is correct with correct reg number.

Put fans on and make sure no crap comes flying through, allseat belts work, brakes (foot and hand) clutch feels alright all doors shut correctly and no gaps anywhere in them (or the seals). Make sure its clean and no scratches in the interior and its all the correct colour.

If the dealer gets funny, then he either has something to hide or he isnt worth his weight in gold, either way just remind him who the customer is and who is paying his wages

Check all door edges for damage where it may have been banged at some point.

I speak from personal experience

Also, get the car out in the open under natural light, don't let the handover take place under cover and under artificial (or no) lights.

Check for swirls/holograms in the paint where it might have been polished badly (read Marwoods thread). The paintwork should be 100% PERFECT!

Check all wheelnuts are intact and check for locking wheel nuts and the corresponding key which should be stashed in the spare wheel tool kit.

If you opted for the light assist option (as part of the rain sensor and auto-dimming mirror package) make sure its there - this seems to be missing fairly often.

The dealer will have a checklist of sorts, which you are required to sign. It will say things like the spec is correct, no damage to the car etc... Your supposed to inspect the car with the dealer....or if the dealer is anything like mine, they'll get you to sign it inside at the sales desk before seeing the car :thumbdwn:

I think that skoda dealerships should supply a detailed check list with every car that they sell, new and used, and also when cars are left with them for an inspection report, the customer should be handed an electronic printout of every item that has been checked by the mechanic and ticked by him in each box with the results of the vehicle inspection, which I take it has been checked by his electronic aids, as things are at present with the dealership that I use for all I know the car could be left in the corner, and the bill prepared, and I would be no wiser as to whether it was ever looked at! I used to own back in the 70s a VW 411LE which when it went in for a service it was wired up to a computer terminal at the dealership, this gave a printout of every aspect of the car even to the wheel alignment/camber , battery capacity etc and this was checked and signed by the mechanic carrying out the tests, who then discussed the report with you, and they tell us they are more advanced now, as far as the prices they are!

Check the locking wheel key is with the car. Some years ago my step-farther drove a new Golf back from a dealer in Scotland to his home in Hertfordshire, suffered a puncture within a couple of weeks and had to have the rescue service out to take his car into a VW dealership to remove the wheel.

Ever since then its the first thing I check!

I would just check it cosmetically. no dents etc - meanly it being clean like a new car should!

Go for a big drive that day - as im sure you would and any problems, take it straight back that day! - sure it will be fine!

You can always take it back for warranty work.

A slightly wierd one maybe, but check your glass for scratches. Mine had a scratch on the rear n/s 1/4 light that was spotted 2 days later and the dealer wasn't interested - which is fair enough as I could have done it - although I didn't!

Also check that they have registered your warranty and that there is some fuel!

Lastly, if the dealership is one of those that plonks their logo sticker or name on the actual paintwork of your new car, demand your money back, curl one down on the showroom floor, stamp your feet and in a major huff go somewhere else. We must stamp out this awful vandalism to new cars everywhere! If I want my car sign-written I'll have it sign written with my name not theirs. :soapbox: B*st*rds.

A slightly wierd one maybe, but check your glass for scratches. Mine had a scratch on the rear n/s 1/4 light that was spotted 2 days later and the dealer wasn't interested - which is fair enough as I could have done it - although I didn't!

Also check that they have registered your warranty and that there is some fuel!

Lastly, if the dealership is one of those that plonks their logo sticker or name on the actual paintwork of your new car, demand your money back, curl one down on the showroom floor, stamp your feet and in a major huff go somewhere else. We must stamp out this awful vandalism to new cars everywhere! If I want my car sign-written I'll have it sign written with my name not theirs. :soapbox: B*st*rds.

Never had this happen to me yet but I would certaintly walk before accepting a new car with the dealers badge. Sticker in back window. OK. Name on Plates. OK. Tacky plastic badge stuck on rear door. Not OK !

I'm taking by the post that this happened to you ? What did you do ?

Not with my VRS but with a Clio Williams 2 I bought. Picked it up and there was the dealers name, stuck on the paintwork on the boot lid. Told him to remove it and that if there was a mark or any visible sign it had ever be there then he could forget the deal. He removed it. There was no mark. Probably the best 2 years of very hard motoring I ever had - fantastic car that will never be equalled. Just a shame that the interior falls apart and the gauges pack up and the locking was a bit flaky and that you have to deal with Renault dealerships.

This is a habit imported from the USA. Over there most cars have the dealers details on the boot lid. It's not something I would put up with.

Not quite sure how you protect against this, but my dealer put petrol in my 2.0 TDI. Not happy - the dealer had to replace the filter, pump and injectors. You could check the fuel reciept if the dealer fuelled it. Les.

I picked my car up from Horton and Son Skoda dealer in Lincoln and DID receive a Pre-Delivery inspection list,very comrihensive. Signed by the Technician, Quality controller and the salesman.Not only that but had it explained to me .

One up for Hortom Lincoln VERY pleased

Sounds great Darnell. Agrees with my experience with Ford that getting work done in Scunthorpe is treated a lot more seriously than in SE London where getting the wheel bolts tightened seemed too much to ask.

I noticed that the Skoda literature that comes with the car has proper PDI and handover documents included - unfortunately most of mine are blank. As you say big up for Horton Lincoln, and professional dealers in general.