I have found RUST! HELP!!!!!

[ajmoir36]

If they find its been sorry to say it (accident repaired) there will be no warranty and you will be on your own.  Seems odd both front wings go the same.  You should be able to confirm this by looking at A the wing bolts under bonnet to see if they have ever been tampered with (i.e. Paint missing) or signs of over spray, i.e. check for rough feeling paint in the joins by the front doors and under the bonnet.  Do the gaps between the panels seem ok, bonnet to wings, doors to wings, front bumper fit ok.  Any overspray on the plastic parts of the bumper, fog lights, headlights e.t.c.  It is 5 years old and there are very few cars that haven't be dinged at some point or other.  Even if they fixed it I am sure they wont admit it.

[p3asa]

Bet the bast**ds come back with '' you should have had the car inspected by a main dealer every year sir'' for your car to be covered by the body work warranty''.

Yeah that's very true. With most anti perforation warranty's, the car should be serviced every year by a main dealer so they can do a body work check.

Personally I would have approached the garage to see what they say first rather than threaten them with legal action if they don't help you. That will just get their goat up!!!

[Davstylee]

Bet the bast**ds come back with '' you should have had the car inspected by a main dealer every year sir'' for your car to be covered by the body work warranty''.

Yeah that's very true. With most anti perforation warranty's, the car should be serviced every year by a main dealer so they can do a body work check.

Personally I would have approached the garage to see what they say first rather than threaten them with legal action if they don't help you. That will just get their goat up!!!

I have spoken to the salesman and he has come back with this

"With regards to the rust you are correct that new Golfs come with a 12 year body protection warranty which is there to cover you for manufacturing defects with rust and I hope the Sevenoaks body shop deal with this quickly and efficiently.  If your paint issues are not covered by this I would recommend taking up this with Volkswagen head office as this warranty is with them"

The car came with 1 years extended warranty when I brought it, could I maybe get it fixed under that if the 12 year body warranty doesn't cover it?

As for any accidents, I did ask that question before I brought the car and the salesman said no, and produced a clean HPI form thing.

The car has been regularly serviced by a VW main dealer so fingers crossed that helps with the whole 12 year body warranty thing.

Your probably right with the threatening legal action thing, but it proper p!sses me off that I have only had the car 6 months and it is now rusting away.

[sambo]

I'd start reading the small print of your warranty to see if it's covered. I have a feeling this will not be covered. I would suggest keeping the garage you bought it off on your side, rather than get abusive and threaten them. You may be lucky and find that someone offers you a 'good will gesture' towards some of the bill.

It is a sh!tter mate, but unfortunatly it is a used car. Its also another reason I dont pay forecourt price's on used car's as generally, warranties ain't worth the paper there written on.

Hope it works out OK.

Sam 

[coleman]

Mate, the best thing you can do is write a letter/email to the ceo of vw. May seem a bit far fetched but google it and you will find the details along with writing to the head office. you will  get a positive response for it.

[Birksy]

I get involved in rectifying paint defects for main dealers.

In my experience, you'll get a lot of umming and ahhing and some sympathetic stares from the after-sales manager, but VW (it is up to VW, not the dealer) won't pay out on this.

From the photos I can't tell the root cause of the problem, but I would suggest that the arches have either been chipped/rubbed or even polished through at some point which has allowed water to get into the steel (galvanised or not, steel will rust if the water can penetrate it). Either that, or the bonnet/wings have been refinished at some point - which is very common within 5 years on a performance car - and it may have been a Friday afternoon job.

The rust appears to be pretty set into the panel I'd say its been there for a while. Repairing it would more than likely mean it would reappear at some point in the future. So unless you're planning on selling the car, you'd be better off replacing the panels. The good news is that wings are dirt cheap to replace. Your costs will be in getting them refinished, but it shouldn't be astronomical. Use someone you trust and see if the dealer will at least contribute towards it.

Sorry if its not what you wanted to hear but I hope its of some help.

[moutains]

basically has to rust from the inside out but i would still approach v.w

[Hartside]

If it has been repaired at some point and you can get them to admit to this, provided it was done by a VW approved repairer then surely you would be covered for rectification. Failing that, have a go with VW as others have said as you have nowt to lose

[Davstylee]

I get involved in rectifying paint defects for main dealers.

In my experience, you'll get a lot of umming and ahhing and some sympathetic stares from the after-sales manager, but VW (it is up to VW, not the dealer) won't pay out on this.

From the photos I can't tell the root cause of the problem, but I would suggest that the arches have either been chipped/rubbed or even polished through at some point which has allowed water to get into the steel (galvanised or not, steel will rust if the water can penetrate it). Either that, or the bonnet/wings have been refinished at some point - which is very common within 5 years on a performance car - and it may have been a Friday afternoon job.

The rust appears to be pretty set into the panel I'd say its been there for a while. Repairing it would more than likely mean it would reappear at some point in the future. So unless you're planning on selling the car, you'd be better off replacing the panels. The good news is that wings are dirt cheap to replace. Your costs will be in getting them refinished, but it shouldn't be astronomical. Use someone you trust and see if the dealer will at least contribute towards it.

Sorry if its not what you wanted to hear but I hope its of some help.

Hey man thanks for your post, always good to get a professional opinion.

If it does come down to getting new panels fitted and sprayed, does anyone know where to get the panels, and a good place to get them painted in the Southeast area? I live in Belvedere post code DA17.

[Lyons]

Ive just been given a link to this thread from another GTi forum.

My car is an 07 model and ive just found 2 small bubble of rust on the rear arch. Not broken from the surface, but bubbling from below.

Ill be keen to hear how you get on.