VW Corrosion Warranty

[waggerlad]

hi

sorry got it wrong, well if that is the fact then i think its wrong the paint warrenty should be put into force and your repairs should be upheld to the letter of the warrenty. infact we did not know of the warrenty, and the golf was parked up in the garage of our home, not used, i only noticed the bubbling on the wheel arch and the bottom of the wings when i took it out for its clean and service. we have not had the trouble you had, but if i had i would of took court action to the hilt, on the principal of the twelve year warrenty give with the car.

i hope it get resolved, to your satisfaction, please update this to the site either way, kindest regards steve

[heliosuk]

Hi,

 

It doesnt matter if you car is 2nd, 3rd of 4th hand. The warranty remains within 12 years bodywork warranty of the manufacter date. Their reply to rejection is that it hasnt been reported early enough. Well it was reported when we spotted it and has been going on for a year so it has got worse. Sure this is a technicality get out for them.

 

I'm glad you have your problem sorted, however I think my battle will be ongoing for some time!

 

Gemma,

Actually it does! And here's why. Statistically the car will fall outside of the VW dealer network after about 2 1/2 years and this is where the problem lies. It's true the 12 year warranty transfers with the change of ownership but so do the the terms and conditions of said warranty. Now unlike the mechanical warranty with the car you actually do have to have a full history of body checks carried out by a VW dealer. The mechanical warranty however is valid provided that parts used for servicing are of an equivalent standard to those of the original OEM. Theoretically then you can own a VW from new and have it serviced in this fashion throughout it's warranty life and VW should honour the warranty and any goodwill claims for mechanical and trim problems.

 

The body warranty is very specific and falls outside of the statutory guidelines. This annual inspection must be carried out by a VW dealer/approved bodyshop.

 

Now the next hurdle is this. The warranty only covers rusting from the inside out. I have a problem with this as for the man in the street it is very difficult to prove and the only real way of doing this is to get examples of other complaints such as the Passat issue on the wings. From a photo it is though possible to determine if it is external damage or an original fault in the e coating of the car.

 

So you need to post and research on the VW forums if there are any other complaints in exactly the same area that you have the problem with on exactly the same car.

 

If you could post a picture of the area concerned on here there are some of us who can determine if it is indeed a fault that falls within the warranty, provided it is valid, or if it can be determined that it is external damage.

Edited May 27, 2011 by heliosuk
Repetition of word

[waggerlad]

hi all

took our golf into rmb motors for its repairs they are a vw authourised paint body repairs shop, was met by christine on reception, took all my details, to see if it was correct by her paperwork from vw.

met a very nice man to show him the damage and he assured my it was correct, then given a brandnew toyota car, till my golf was repaired, fantastic service, could not of asked for better service.

will keep you all updated, kindest regards one happy bunny,

 

hi all

just a update, got a phone call today to say our golf needs a new wing on the drivers side, the body shop needs, to get intouch with vw to get there permission to renew it. will keep you informed on the outcome regards

 

hi all

well got another phone call from rmb motors in yarm to say my golf was ready to pick it up, got to rmb motors there she was standing in the car park, shining like a brandnew car on show. looked all around her two new wings, inside of wings all coated with anticorrosion, fantastic job.

went into reception, gave the toyota back again met by christine, asked me if id seen the car, yes delighted with it, all can say from start to finish excellent service from chris wallace the paint warrenty from lookers in darlington, he started this job off, and rmb motors in yarm, who finished it to a very high standard.

and as for vw well done on your paint warrenty service. we are overjoyed with this service, and will no doubt buy another vw, kindest regards steve

[lotusbranch]

Hi - Quick update from my earlier comments of 5/4/11 @ 1804.

Following no joy at all with local VW dealers (VW Northampton) I spoke direct with VAG customer services (the very helpful and courteous Rachel Coleman) and after a few calls, a trip to another dealer, a few more calls and some negotiation, VAG have agreed to pay 75% of the full cost of 2 new wings (includes blowing in/matching etc). This equates to about £250 i pay / £750 VAG pay.

Whilst I accept the warranty is for 12 years, for a car that is now 11 years old and has covered 80,000 miles (albeit one private owner and very well cared for) - I think VAG have been pretty reasonable here. It is booked in for repair in August and I will also get a free courtesy car. I would have preferred the deal secured by mwee (6/4/11 @ 10.43) but I dont think I've done too badly.

[lailacait]

I have today taken my 04 mk5 Golf to VW at Chelmsford with a rusty wing and they are submitting a warranty claim for me. The guy there said he had seen a few Golf's with the same problem. He also said he had one claim pending and they had just replaced both front wings on another so fingers crossed.

[Igorius]

Has anyone had experience of fighting VW in this area ?

 

My 9 yr old Passat which I owned from new, has a 12 year Corrosion warranty - against panels rusting through from the inside and the car is supposed to be galvanised too.

Hence when I saw two bubbles on the bonnet I took it to a VW bodyshop who idientified it as rust from underneath. However the claim process has to be started by a VW dealer who despite being shown the rust did not even photograph or mention it to VW. VW decided it was poor paint adhesion cauased by my having the car repainted which I have not.

They still maintain this position and despite my visiting two other dealers unofficially and a second bodyshop all of whom say rust.

I am considering taking them to the small claim court (a new bonnet is £1000) but would welcome any experience of getting them to uphold the warranty ?

 

Before bringing them to the small claim track, I think it might be worth trying Ombudsman Services since it will cost you nothing.

[VWPoloMk6]

2008 VW Polo - Just over 4 years old. My mechanic noticed rust bubbles on the seam (where top skin of bonnet folds over and is welded to under skin) at the leading edge of the bonnet.

Apparently he has seen this in almost every Mk6 VW Polo (2005 - 2009) he has seen. It is caused by the windscreen washer pipes (cheap moulded plastic, not rubber) leaking slightly. These pipes are sandwiched between the upper and bottom skins of the bonnet - how stupid is that? So when they leak, the wates runs inside the bonnet . It does not drain out, but remains trappe dinthere because the drainage holes are HIGHER than the lowest point inside the bonnet causing pooling inside the leading edge of the bonnet, eventually causing corrosion.

A second point where corrsion has started is inside the the front door hinges. When it rains, water is channelled and falls directly on top of the front door hinges.

How stupid is that?

Any chance do you think of getting VW to honour the 12 year corrosion warranty?

[b11avm]

Whether it's the bonnet or front wings, it makes no difference. If you read the post the OP has had the car from new.

 

Whilst the manufactuer has a warranty budget they still have to meet legal obligations. As you are obviously aware being a red hot warranty administrator, there is no longer the requirement for the vehicle to be looked after within the dealer network and these regulations will be further strenghtend over the next year.

 

The thing about this thread is that the dealer has jumped the gun and automatically refused when they know full well that all corrosion claims have to be pre authorised by head office. This is because it's an easy one for dealers to blag and secondly the information is fed back to product development engineers in the R & D centres to find ways of limiting their exposure to warranty.

 

 

Hi,

I write to you because, I am in the same boat as other in this forum, I have a 2007 on a 07 Reg, VW Passat SE 2.0 TDI and I have noticed the paint on the drivers rear side wheel arch bubbling up from the inside.

I need some advice on how to get in touch with VW in Milton Keynes and to whom I can write to, I don’t want to write to customer care because like others have said, they will read out from a script and will be waste of time, please advice.

 

Please have a look at the images and advice.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]56278[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]56279[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]56280[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]56281[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]56282[/ATTACH]

 

Your help is much appreciated.

KR

/Bhav

[heliosuk]

Two things wrong here. Evidence of poor maintenance of the bodywork and potential evidence of previous repair/accident damage (cable tie holding bumper cover on).On face value, if you presented this as it is to a VW engineer or assessor it would be rejected for those reasons.

Main contacts at VW in Germany and UK along with e mail addresses can usually be found in the VW annual report (last one published last week I think).

[b11avm]

Hi Heliosuk,

 

Many thanks for your response, however I can prove that the vehicle has not been in any accident or had any accident damage as well as the cable tie, must be done by VW as the vehicle is always been serviced by VW. Any advice on how I should put my case forward and also when you say potential evidence of poor maintenance of the bodywork, how and what makes you say that? As the vehicle to my knowledge is been looked after by myself to its best as I could, it’s been regularly washed, cleaned and polished, what more can I do to make and protect the vehicle?

 

Your advice is much appreciated.

 

KR

/Bhav

[Conniff]

Besides the cable tie, which could give you some problems, you might be a bit late in that those bubbles aren't exactly recent, they must have been there some time to be that size.

[heliosuk]

Clean the wheel arches !! VW will see this and use as root cause therefore denying liability.

 

 

Hi Heliosuk,

 

Many thanks for your response, however I can prove that the vehicle has not been in any accident or had any accident damage as well as the cable tie, must be done by VW as the vehicle is always been serviced by VW. Any advice on how I should put my case forward and also when you say potential evidence of poor maintenance of the bodywork, how and what makes you say that? As the vehicle to my knowledge is been looked after by myself to its best as I could, it’s been regularly washed, cleaned and polished, what more can I do to make and protect the vehicle?

 

Your advice is much appreciated.

 

KR

/Bhav

[b11avm]

Besides the cable tie, which could give you some problems, you might be a bit late in that those bubbles aren't exactly recent, they must have been there some time to be that size.

 

Hi,

 

Many thanks for your input, I will take that on board. BTW. Does the bubbles need to be recent? As the VW Warranty is for up to 12 Years, when you make the claim should technically not matter right as long as it's within the Warranty years

 

Hi Heliosuk,

Many thanks for your advice, Once again, just being dumb here, but is there any suggestion on what kind of cleaning products I should use or just a shampoo wash and clean should to the trick?

KR

 

/Bhav

 

Hi Heliosuk,

Please advice if there is any special way to clean the wheel arch, currently I have cleaned with water and shampoo. I have taken some images but can’t seem to attach them as the blog is complaining that I need to have more than 10 posts, I cannot even link them as once again it complaints about more than 10 posts. If there is other means then please let me know. Maybe you can PM me and I can send the newly taken images that way, I don’t know.

KR

/Bhav

[Conniff]

I was just thinking out loud of ways these companies could come up with to not uphold an agreement they made. It could be said that it was a lack of maintenance and if you had taken it in there sooner when if first appeared, then it could have been solved without cost.

 

 

It's pm's you can't do until you've reached 10 posts not adding an img, you should be able to do that.

[b11avm]

I was just thinking out loud of ways these companies could come up with to not uphold an agreement they made. It could be said that it was a lack of maintenance and if you had taken it in there sooner when if first appeared, then it could have been solved without cost.

 

 

It's pm's you can't do until you've reached 10 posts not adding an img, you should be able to do that.

 

Hi Conniff,

 

Many thanks once again for your advice, I know what you mean when it comes to VW and their thinking, it's really a same I can not upload img's until 10 posts, like you say it's pm's. let me try again, hope it will allow me to add.

 

woo hoo... it worked to attach images.... I hope these images are representable and good as I cleaned the wheel arch.

 

 

 

 

KR

/Bhav

[heliosuk]

What sort of VW service history do you have, full dealer and on time, partial dealer etc etc.

[b11avm]

What sort of VW service history do you have, full dealer and on time, partial dealer etc etc.

 

 

Hi Heliosuk,

The up keeping and service has always been on time every year or every 10K miles whichever comes first and apart from last two services all have been through VW Main dealer and last two were carried out by approved VW Specialist Signed and Stamped.

 

KR

/Bhav

[king12345]

Reading with interest.

I owned most of car brands and found that they all rust under the wheel arches.

With my "latest" 1998 Passat (bought second hand 5 years ago) I made sure that it was washed at least once a month, especially in winter when grit from the road sticks under the arches.

Before taking it to the car wash I take a bucket of warm water and a sponge and remove all dirt from the wheel arches.

Then the car is washed and if I really want to go the extra mile, I spray some silicone under the arches rim.

No rust on my 17 year old Passat, except where there are dents.

For that I have recently touched up with hammerite.

Don't need colour coded paint as those scratches and dents are underneath and not visible.

Happy motoring

[Conniff]

Unfortunately, not a lot of us others have the time or inclination to do it.

 

 

Back in my dads day when they did their own general maintenance, the drained engine oil was used to paint the bottom and springs, and it worked a treat.

[max_gain]

I wash my cars by hand using only quality products on a very regular basis,

so I was shocked to discover the corrosion around the tailgate lights.

 

 

Then when I looked into it further,

I discovered I was not alone and that they corrode around the door seams also.

 

 

I have had three of the doors and tailgate repaired so far.

 

 

The problem in the doors has been put down to a reaction by the sealer according the VW body shop.

But you have a fight on your hands just to get them to repair your car at no cost to yourself.

 

 

They will try every dirt trick in the book on you and deceive you as much as possible as I have found out to my cause.

And when they do honour it, it’s out of "Factory Good Will" and nothing to do with the warranty as such.

 

I love the car as its comfortable and practical for our every needs, so this is not me VW bashing as this is my 4th VAG product.

But the reliability on B6 Passat’s you couldn’t make up. The corrosion is just the latest issue I have had to deal with.

[Conniff]

Don't feel too sad, they are all know for it and Mercedes are famous for rust.

[king12345]

Don't feel too sad, they are all know for it and Mercedes are famous for rust.

 

This is so true.

I see many Mercedes around my area with buckets of rust on them!

[citizenB]

max gain.

 

I can understand that you wish to help, however we are unable to carry your private email or link.

If the OP wants to upload the images of the damage to his vehicle, he is more than welcome to post them on CAG.

[dx100uk]

cag is about keep things on thread

not taking things elsewhere.

 

 

please as advise in post 53

don't post private details without permission.

 

 

dx

Edited April 26, 2015 by caro

[max_gain]

Rusty's wall of shame is up and running.

 

 

If ANYONE out there is struggling to get VW to take responsibility for their corroding VW, I will willing publish images of your corrosion, just to add a little more leverage to your claims process that’s all.

 

Stu

Edited May 12, 2015 by max_gain