UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi All. I've had my Polo since March, and noticed a month or so ago that the rubber seal around the aerial base had split/torn and was coming away.

I took it to the dealer for them to look at, and they've come back to me and said it can't be fixed under warranty as the cause is "outside influence"

Have any of you had this problem, or do any of you know what VW's warranty says about rubber seals etc?

What 'outside influence' did they give?
It's suggests they're saying it's something you're doing, like putting it through carwashes with the aerial still fitted?
It seems very petty of them though.

They havent given me a specific answer yet. The guy at the dealer did ask if i had put it through any car washes, and the answer was "nope, it came with a load of hand washing stuff so I've been using that"

Poor service from them to not be specific.
And petty of them not to honour the replacement anyway.

moley wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2019 1:29 pm They havent given me a specific answer yet. The guy at the dealer did ask if i had put it through any car washes, and the answer was "nope, it came with a load of hand washing stuff so I've been using that"

Complete b*******s from the dealers again - can you try a different dealership group? Sounds like yours won't even ask VW to authorise. I can't see how a modern car wash could cause cracks in a gasket/seal if it was that (which it isn't). Sounds more like breakdown under UV - accelerated ageing due to the rubber being defective (lack of stabilising agents).

Well, I've got a case opened with VW customer service.
They themselves say: "Items where the lifetime of the component is or can be influenced by driving style and external factors will only be considered under the terms of the warranty for a period of six months or 6,500 miles (whichever is soonest)...."

The dealer did suggest "maybe birds have been pecking at it" which seems like a bit of a stretch - I've never seen birds pecking at a car aerial base!

hopefully I'll get somewhere - I'd rather not pay £110 to the dealer for what should be a warranty issue, but I don't want water damage to the inside of the car!

moley wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2019 1:46 pm Well, I've got a case opened with VW customer service.
They themselves say: "Items where the lifetime of the component is or can be influenced by driving style and external factors will only be considered under the terms of the warranty for a period of six months or 6,500 miles (whichever is soonest)...."

The dealer did suggest "maybe birds have been pecking at it" which seems like a bit of a stretch - I've never seen birds pecking at a car aerial base!

hopefully I'll get somewhere - I'd rather not pay £110 to the dealer for what should be a warranty issue, but I don't want water damage to the inside of the car!

If it's just cracks then they can't say birds might've pecked at it.

What next? "We've rescinded your 12 year anti perforation warranty on the bodywork because it's highly likely a bird once sh@t on you car".

The only external natural factor that could influence that rubber seal is UV and an external car part should be able to resist UV for years, if not the lifetime of the car. Does it look like someone could have pulled at it after cutting the rubber? If there are no clean/straight gouges looking like cuts then I'd say no.

If they can't demonstrate misuse or fair wear and tear (yours is not a wear and tear item) then they've got to give the benefit of the doubt and fix.

Is this a tougher VW stance or just dealerships avoiding risk of not being reimbursed, or being so busy in their workshops that they can turn away £40 an hour warranty work in preference for £90 an hour customer funded work with what they consider to be a plausible excuse?

monkeyhanger wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2019 5:53 pm or being so busy in their workshops that they can turn away £40 an hour warranty work in preference for £90 an hour customer funded work

This.

Well, I got a response from VW - they are standing by "a bird did it"

Only things I can think to do now are:
Get another dealer to look & see if they will do it under warranty
Submit a case to the ombudsman

Anything else anyone can think I could do to get them to do it under warranty? I was thinking about asking the dealership about rejection - might focus their minds slightly?

Did you provide photos to VW UK? I'm not presuming in any way that it would make a difference.

How bad is the damage? Is the rubber gasket fully split?

Can you post a pic here?

If birds were attacking these, mine would be gone already as I live opposite a park (lots of songbirds) on the coast (lots of seagulls).

If an animal has done it, I'd be more inclined to blame a neighbour's cat clawing at it, and even then I'd expect to see claw/teeth marks in the adjacent bodywork and/or gloss black housing of the aerial itself.

A neighbour's cat had a habit of hiding under our Golf R and then pulling itself out by sinking its claws into the soft painted surface of the painted sill extensions, and crapping in our garden. It all stopped when the local fox mauled it. Maybe you need to change your car for a VW Fox?

Escalate it to VW GmbH and VWUK (written is always better than some idiot in a call centre ignoring half the salient facts, but do include photos if they demonstrate the official line of a hungry and unfussy bird pecking at it is complete b*******s. Again, you will probably get nowhere, but at least you can say you tried.

If this was an issue, thei dealership's used stock would be all pecked too.

Still waiting to hear back from my escalation about my tailgate impacting the rear bumper and chipping the tailgate's paint and rubbing the bumper's paint. They were supposed to call back yesterday, and haven't.

These "customer service" centres certainly seem to work on the 'if we ignore it they'll go away' ethic.
I seriously wonder if they record an owner giving up as 'problem resolved'

Andy Beats wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 3:14 pm These "customer service" centres certainly seem to work on the 'if we ignore it they'll go away' ethic.
I seriously wonder if they record an owner giving up as 'problem resolved'

Yes they do. When my 2 week old Golf got clattered by a bus and the abysmal repair and 4 re-repairs followed, I had expressed at an early stage to get remedials done elsewhere after the first balls-up.

My insurance company washed their hands of the claim because I'd gone with the VW legal cover thingy (VW Ensurance - it still exists now for a solicitor company to provide an extortionately priced hire car at the other side's expense). VW UK said no. I went to the insurance ombudsman who wouldn't help because they considered a claims management company to be a private entity. I raised a complaint with VWUK and took it as high as I could.

All they did was strong arm the bodyshop to offer me a free valet at my time of choosing.

Put my car back in the hands of the idiots that left oily handprints on the headlining, left metal filings in the car from the rear quarter panel they cut in and stole/lost items from the boot. I told them no. They said I had to accept to close the case. I still said no. I'm sure it got quietly closed 30 days later as customer satisfied with outcome.

Absolute sheisters.

Write a letter to Watchdog or find another way to shame them publicly.

monkeyhanger wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 3:27 pm

Yes they do.

I thought so.
Jesus, it's like the samaritans assuming they've helped everyone just because they don't call back......

no teeth/claw/beak marks on the plastic fart of the base, and no scratch marks on the paintwork on the roof from claws either.
I took it to the dealer, & they took photos and sent them to vw.
It lives in a garage overnight, so theres not even much of a chance for birds to be pecking at it!

moley wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 5:57 pm no teeth/claw/beak marks on the plastic fart of the base, and no scratch marks on the paintwork on the roof from claws either.
I took it to the dealer, & they took photos and sent them to vw.
It lives in a garage overnight, so theres not even much of a chance for birds to be pecking at it!

aerial base.jpg

If that rubber gasket/base is under a lot of pressure (which it probably is, to keep the rain out), it would only take a hairline nick or crack at the factory to propagate over time.to the split you have now.

The dealership taking a stab in the dark at rubber pecking birds is ridiculous, more so as you garage your car.

The VW UK goons tried to call me back today. I have only ever given them my mobile and yet they have rang my landline which I never use and never gave them (if I didn't need it for broadband, I wouldn't have a landline).

Will have to call them tomorrow to receive their (probably poor) verdict.