Anti-Corrosion warranty.

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6RPotentialBuyer
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Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by 6RPotentialBuyer »

Hi Guys,

I noticed some small bubbling on the passenger side rear wheel arch. I assumed this would be covered by the 12 year anti-corrosion warranty offered by VW. I took the car into my local dealership who took some photos of the car and told me that they would have the car inspected. I was visited by a technician at my house who inspected the car and was then told that I would receive an email with details of the next step. 2-3 weeks later I received an email stating that VW will only offer to cover 50% of the cost, leaving me with the remaining 50% to pay at £271. I was not best pleased with this result and after doing some research I came across this website http://www.corroding-volkswagens.com/ Following their advice I emailed VW customer care and was then in contact with management. After they liaised with my dealership they concluded that they were happy with the goodwill gesture of 50% and will not be pursing the case any further.
It's shocking that a company the size of VW will not accept full liability for the corrosion on my vehicle. I am inclined now to take this to a small claims court just to prove that this is up to them to fix. I was told that it was not covered by the warranty as it is edge and fold corrosion which is only covered by the three year warranty. I am going to be taking the car to a few bodyshops to assess the corrosion and provide me with a case against VW.
I can't be the only person who has experienced this from VW, it seems that it is a common occurrence for a 50% goodwill gesture to be offered. I thought it might be worthwhile finding out what experiences others have had with VW's anti-corrosion warranty.
Willni
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by Willni »

Yep happened to me just go to different dealerships, more likely to find the best ones by look at mk5 front arch warranty as majority of people get offers of 50% then find a good dealer who does 100%. Took 2 dealers for my polo sill rust


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RUM4MO
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by RUM4MO »

Actually when VW moved from B5.5 Passat to B6 Passat, what they were doing was cheapening the Passat quite a bit as the Passat had only come into its own when it was relaunched as the B5 Passat, which was a huge improvement in quality of a car this size from Volkswagen - but it was only an improvement because the B5 Passat was just the B5 Audi A4 with a few chassis changes to increase the rear passenger space slightly, so accidentally VW had started to produce a car that was roughly an Audi! Now this massively improved the market appeal for this VW offering and its sales rocketed, but VW quickly noticed that the costs per unit were too high, so what to do, first offering was the B5.5 Passat which was a slightly improved car over the B5 but with areas cheapened down where possible, this kept things going until they modified the design of the later Golf and used its platform and quality/costs to come up with the B6 Passat which was the first true VW designed car in this area of the market since 1997. I owned a B5 Passat at that time and was never under any illusions that my Passat was "great" because it was a VW product, it was only "great" as it was some older Audi bits with a new set of clothes and at a suitable price! When this B6 Passat appeared on the market I immediately took a dislike to it as it was cheap cheap cheap, this way of thinking was unfortunately reinforced when my B5 Passat needed a new rear bumper after being shunted while in a stationary queue at traffic lights, the loan car provided was a B6 Passat, closing the boot was like closing a biscuit tin, electric handbrake was the early basic version so no hill hold or any other helper devices. I knew I would never own another Passat - which is what forced me across to Audi as while they are dropping standards like all marques, they do seem to still be okayish when compared with BMW and M-B who seem to have forgotten about customer care when the chips are down.

Replacing my wife's old 2002 106K miles VW Polo which was well enough rusting with another Polo was really down to my wife thinking that she would like "the same again" - I would have thought a Fiesta would have filled the bill a lot better but it is not my car, well it is but you know what I mean.

So, will that Polo rust like the previous one did for us, I'd expect it will though this time I might consider removing the wheel arch liners and rust proofing where that stuff is currently missing.

Final comment here, while my B5 Passat was a good car, but not because it was a VW, more because it was some older Audi designed bits plus a few new VW bits, my wife's old 9N Polo was a horrible car, or at least not the car VW tried to say it was as it was just a Skoda Fabia with a smarter set of clothes - how much of that nasty comment relates to the 6R/6C Polo I can't say as the 2002 9N Polo was 4.25 years old when it started to ask for lots of money - and that really annoyed me when it was a VW Polo!! For me, time will tell!
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6RPotentialBuyer
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by 6RPotentialBuyer »

Quick update, I received a call from a woman at VW HQ. She was very nice, however explained that VW will only offer a 50% goodwill contribution as it is edge and fold rust which is not covered under the 12 year anti-corrosion warranty but rather the 3 year warranty. I was having none of it and told her politely that I will be having the car independently checked, and ultimately will be pursuing this in a small claims court. She said that VW will only take the opinion of PVWI an independent body repair specialist. Having contacted them, they want £220 just to assess the car. That is absurd as the 50% repair cost is £271. Having done some more research I will take the car to three separate body shops and find out their opinion. I am not making an empty threat, if VW do not honour this warranty I will be pursuing legal action. It's absurd that a company this size is shying away from its duty to honour the warranty that they sell their cars with. It's misleading consumers and I am satisfied at all. Until VW admit liability and cover the repair costs fully I will continue to pursue this. They are refusing it on the basis of it being edge and fold corrosion. Sounds like utter bs to me. It'll be nice to see what the bodyshops have to say.

Pics below (Can be hard to see as it's a white car, but I tried my best!)
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SRGTD
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by SRGTD »

Sorry to hear the problems you’re having 6RPotentialBuyer.

So, did the lady at VW elaborate on what would cause edge and fold corrosion on a panel which (presumably) hasn’t been damaged and repaired in the past?

Presumably, at initial car build stage, the “edge and fold” is created when the rear quarter panel is pressed in the factory as part of the body assembly. My understanding would be (and I could be wrong as I’m certainly not a motor engineer), the edge of the panel is bent back on itself under the wheel arch and then sealed to prevent the subsequent ingress of road dirt and water. The body shell then goes through a chemical bath to clean it prior to being dipped in a zinc bath to galvanise the body shell against corrosion. Primer, base coat and clear coat are then applied.

So......if VW are saying the corrosion on your car’s wheel arch is “edge and fold” corrosion;
  • does this mean the edge and fold process isn’t a suitable process for creating the wheel arch edge in the rear quarter panel that will resist corrosion for the duration of the corrosion warranty?
  • is there an issue with VW’s process to apply the zinc layer to the body shell, so parts of the body shell may not get adequately galvanised against corrosion?
If so, could it be argued the corrosion on your car is the result of a manufacturing defect? And if a car has been produced with known defects, does this make it unfit for purpose and not of the expected quality?

I don’t know the answer to these questions, but if you’re going to seek legal advice, I’d be discussing these points with your legal advisor.
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by RUM4MO »

I think that the "manufacturing process issue" should cover that easily and the best thing that VW Group can do is to delete the paint warranty as it is not worth anything.

To the OP, are you an RAC or AA member, if so maybe force them to take interest though I'd doubt if they will move from their usual useless "talk to your dealer about this" - please note, AA and RAC technical support is as useful as VW Group paint work warranties.

So, AEX or good old Watchdog, they would love to help us while VW Group is still reeling from "smelly fuel gate".

Maybe remind us, how old is your car?

White I think is considered to be a "bad" colour as far as paint issues are concerned, but they have sold you a white car so need to make sure that all paints are as good as another. (I can't back up the "white" theory with any facts just motoring "facts")

Edit:- I must say that I'm surprised that VW UK or the brand in Germany do not take action to close down that VW rusting website, when "Uncle" Arnie Clark got wind of lots of naughty ungrateful buyers saying it as it was - he got the boys in to sort that website out.
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by joe6 »

Sorry about your problems 6Rpotentialbuyer. The edge and fold process is a cheap 1960's manufacturing process and frequently led to water ingress and rust as I found to my cost back then. Thought it had been discontinued by reputable manufacturers or at least resolved. Still, given the recent scandals about VW perhaps they are not so reputable and failing to honour a 12 year warranty just provides further evidence like the timing chain tensioner issues with the MK6 GTI.
Willni
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by Willni »

You do know their warranty is on their website just take a picture and present it that in no way or form does it mention fold and edge etc, as i said earlier if you go on the mk5 golf forum you’ll find the list of reputable dealerships that WILL fix it free of charge and those who will only do the 50%.




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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by 6RPotentialBuyer »

Quoted exactly from the VW UK website:
Body protection warranty

All current Volkswagen vehicles are fully protected during manufacture against through corrosion for 12 years from the date of first registration.

The only preconditions are:

-The defect must be reported to a member of the Volkswagen Authorised Repairer network as soon as it is discovered and within the warranty period.
-The perforation must not have been caused originally by damage, neglect, insufficient care or maintenance or by external corrosion (rusting).
-A member of the Volkswagen Authorised Repairer network must be advised about any rusting as soon as it is found.
-All body repairs will be carried out promptly in accordance with the manufacturer's specification and procedures, using only approved parts and materials, so the original level of anti-corrosion protection is maintained.

VW are claiming that my car is suffering from edge and fold corrosion, however I have visited 2 independent garages who have said it is through corrosion.
I reported the issue to my local dealer as soon as I became aware of it. VW technicians have inspected the car and did confirm that the area has not been previously repaired, so it is OEM. As far as I can see VW haven't a leg to stand on, I'm simply being pushed around because I won't accept their 50% goodwill gesture. I will now be taking this to the motor ombudsman, I will be gathering evidence from 3 independent bodyshops and presenting this to them. I am hopeful that they will vote in my favour. If this isn't the case then I will be taking this to small claims court. I am not going to be fobbed off by a 50% goodwill gesture when it should be 100% covered by their warranty. From all the advice I have gotten so far I should not be seeking a repair but rather a panel replacement, to ensure the rust does not return. I have previously said to VW that I would be happy with a repair (Which would be cheaper for them). Considering that they're putting me through all this unnecessary effort. I may as well claim for a panel replacement.
The flip side of this is that the Ombudsman votes in VW's favour and I take this to a small claims court where they also vote in VW's favour. In which case I lose the 50% goodwill gesture and I lose the money I spent taking them to court. I think that this is quite unlikely with the evidence I have gathered so far.
I love being stubborn :wink:
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by RUM4MO »

Could you remind me the age of that car, just out of curiosity as a 6R should not be in that condition yet, I've yet to see a 9N3 in that condition?

Where was that car manufactured - was it South Africa?

VW Group will not be getting away with this for long!

Everyone that owns a 6R/6C Polo should be concerned about this and its outcome should it influence your next car buying.
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by 6RPotentialBuyer »

The car is a 2010 however I'm not sure where it was manufactured and how to find this out.

I was thinking about upgrading to a Scirocco sometime next year but after all the messing around I've done so far I don't think I'll be buying a used VAG car unless they decide to get their act together.

I definitely did not expect this as the car is only 7 years old. It'll be interesting to see what the decision of the ombudsman is and how VW will react to this.
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by SRGTD »

You should be able to tell where your car was built from the VIN code. Information at the link below tells you how to decipher the VIN code - the 11th character in the VIN code is the relevant one for where the car was built.

http://www.clubvw.org.au/vwvin
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by RUM4MO »

In short, what is the 11th character in, for South Africa it will be U, don't bother about the first bit as these cars are all VW Germany, it is in which factory it was built that I was asking about.
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by SRGTD »

6RPotentialBuyer wrote: Fri Nov 24, 2017 12:37 pm The car is a 2010 however I'm not sure where it was manufactured and how to find this out.

I was thinking about upgrading to a Scirocco sometime next year but after all the messing around I've done so far I don't think I'll be buying a used VAG car unless they decide to get their act together.

I definitely did not expect this as the car is only 7 years old. It'll be interesting to see what the decision of the ombudsman is and how VW will react to this.
Any update 6RPotentialBuyer? Did you go to the ombudsman and what was the outcome?
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Re: Anti-Corrosion warranty.

Post by craigboardman »

Hey, my girlfriends 2010 polo sills are bubbling and after inspection I have found a small hole at the front and back of the sills at the bottom. This looks to be from the factory and would certainly let more water in from the front due to water spray coming up from behind the wheels (back end of sill is infront of wheel so would be less effect). I am going to contact a VW garage as sills should NOT have holes in them. I will try get photos / videos up if there is much response
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