Hi I have seen many 03/04 Passats with this problem, but I have only seen the front arches affected. Yours may be a different issue. Certainly, take it to an official VW garage or 2, but don't expect an easy road. It took me over 6 months, & a lot of effort to resolve my problem.....

Try martin.winterkorn&volkswagen.de. I should have updated my story so here goes....... I gave up on my dealer as they were clearly making up stories to get out of helping me, & mailed Mr Wintercorn to tell him I wasn't happy. I took the car to another main dealer, & they measured the thickness of the paint, & said it looked like a genuine warranty claim Due to my latest mail to Mr Wintercorn, I was then contacted by a very helpful lady from Customer Services, who followed up my claim with the 2nd garage. After a week she called back & said that unfortunately, it wasn't covered by the paint warranty as it was mechanical damage. I asked why this was, & it appeared she was reading from THIS WEB SITE, as she gave a couple of the excuses cited here, but eventually stated if was mechanical wear of the foam on the inside of the wing. Still as a gesture of good will, they offered to pay 40% of the repair charge (£600 I recall). I stated I wasn't happy in that my local dealer had clearly lied to me for over 6 months, & it had been a huge waste of time. I said I would think about their offer. I got a call back 5 minutes later offering to cover 95% of the cost!!!!!! I think they did this, as I had proof that my local dealer had lied, & I could follow this up legally if required. My experience was that Customer Services will always take the side of the dealer. In the first case, both the dealer & Customer Services effectively said I wasn't telling the truth. Only with a proper fresh inspection could I get a resolution. I think the first resolution - "the wings aren't original" helped me get my new wing. I now have mixed thoughts on VW, but was evemtually happy with the response from Customer Services, & delighted that they paid for the replacement in the end...

Hi My complaint to Dr Wintercorn got passed back to VW UK Customer support, so they came back to me with the same story & added that I hadn't had my car serviced with an authorised dealer. WHERE THE HELL DID THEY GET THAT FROM??????? ONLY my local VW dealer has touched the car. It really feels like they are making up stories at this point. I checked the undercoat on my wings with my neighbour's car who actually has on '04 version of the same car (same colour), & the undercoat on his wings is the same as mine. It is grey, however, I did notice that it can look very slightly blue when viewed with a white LED torch. Maybe this misled the dealer? Anyway, I am going to send VWUK documentary evidence to disprove all their points:- 1. The car was not new when I bought it - UNTRUE, I bought it as an import with 0 miles on the clock. 2. The car was not maintained by a VW Dealer - UNTRUE, I have all the service recored & warranty repair details. 3. The wings have blue undercoat - UNTRUE, I have pictures of the grey undercoat Over the past weeks I have seen many B5.5 estates with this problem (including my neighbour's), as many of the posts on this site will confirm. Heliosuk - Sorry, I didn't know how to PM you to take your advice further.....

Thanks for the hint heliosuk, & sorry for the delay in sending my THANKS. I mailed Martin Winterkorns, & got a response that this would be referred to VW UK. As long as I hear from a responsible person I will be happy. My dealer is still insisting that the Passat wings aren't original due to the blue coloured undercoat visible on the back of the wing. I looked at this myself yerterday & it's really more silver than blue, I am told it should be grey, so I am going to look at me neighbour's Passat (that actualy has the same issue) to see if it's the same. I'll let you know. Thanks again.

Hi This seems standard. VW simply won't pay out for corrosion work without a fight. My 7 yr old Passat has rusty front wings (like a lot of others of this age due to a manufacturing defect). I have owned it from new, & it has not been in any accidents & only maintained by my local dealer. The same dealer is claiming the wings aren't original. I took this up with VW "Customer Care" 0800 0833914, but they are standing by the dealer. HOW can the wings not be original????? My colleague took them to the small claims court & won after he was told he hadn't reported the corrosion early enough. What's the point of this damn warranty???? rusty, rust, corroding, corrosion passat wings