Leaking Roof Further to Repair HELP!

[Jamie B]

After a bit of advice.

We bought our 2010 California SE just over a year ago and were really pleased with it. Overall it was in really good condition and has only done 30k. The only slight issue was some early signs of roof corrosion. Upon advice, I took the van to SMG at Cowfold who submitted the warranty repair through to VW. This was later accepted and the van sent off to Claridges in Southport, where it stayed for around 8 weeks (over the new year). Upon return we have found staining and water ingress on the two A pillars and sometimes dripping from the centre roof control unit. This is definitely water and not a hydraulics issue.

The van was returned to SMG three times to try and resolve the repair. The second time they wrecked the below and damaged my front bumper which I wasn't overly chuffed about. Thankfully they agreed to repair immediately, but I was shocked that this could happen as if this was a car then you would be treated with a much higher level of service.

Anyway the saga continues as water is still coming in and the head lining is stained and appears to be shrinking or wearing making it look tatty.

We spent our life savings on this and now have a van that we can't sell (if we wanted to).

I have yet again informed SMG that they need to have it back to fix, but I have little faith in them being able to do this.

Any advice would be welcomed as we are completely heartbroken that our van has been trashed. I am willing to push this all the way, as this is shocking service.

Jamie

 

[Meoncoast]

I used them once many years ago as they were said on the forum by many to top notch on Cali service however I did not get on with their service and did not use them again. The drain tubes on the roof do block and cause water ingress issues there are post on here giving a good description on clearing - I would have expected a dealer to have already looked at this.

 

[Alan]

That’s terrible
Have you been onto customer care

Alan

 

[Meoncoast]

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/water-leak.26004/#post-297388

 

[briwy]

I feel for you Jamie as we had exactly the same experience with Claridges. Our van went back twice before the roof was sealed properly. We are now in dispute with VW as the first time it went back Claridges said that "someone" had previously done work on the roof and the seals around the hydraulic pipes were not to VW standard. We had to pay to get the van back and then it immediately leaked again, despite them saying it had been thoroughly tested. This time they claimed that one of the front drain pipes had been crushed because the dash had been out. Again we had to pay. We had the van from new, ex demo in the showroom, and we had definitely not had any work done on the roof or dash and the roof had never leaked. We seem to be getting nowhere but will keep at it. I wish we had never had the roof done, lot of aggro and seriously out of pocket.
Good luck.

Edit. I should add BTW that the warranty guy at our dealer was excellent and did his best to help but unfortunatley with no result.

 

[VW Guru]

Hi just a thought I’ve seen many Calis back from roof repairs with the drain tubes crushed by the A pillar trims when they are refitted. It would be worth popping your roof and pouring a little water near the front roof drain the water should drop out from your front wheel arches quite quickly, if the water pools by the drain then the pipe is either crushed or blocked and this has not been checked by your dealer.

 

[pjm-84]

I can't understand why a competent mechanic hasn't checked this. I had to do this on my Landrover with the added complication of having to remove and refit the main control fuse board.

@Meoncoast _ I have booked my van in SMG to have some works done so sad to see that your feedback hasn't been great. I'm becoming frustrated with Breeze and its very much a one-sided relationship so I thought I would try a different garage.

The conversation I had with Guildford VW was embarrassing telling me that I would need to have the pre-painted candy white spoiler painted by a paint shop afterwards and that the cambelt and water pump offer didn't actually include the water pump even though it stated it on their web page. I also still can't rule Breeze out for the damage (concealed by painting over) to my van.

 

[VW Guru]

I can't understand why a competent mechanic hasn't checked this. I had to do this on my Landrover with the added complication of having to remove and refit the main control fuse board.

@Meoncoast _ I have booked my van in SMG to have some works done so sad to see that your feedback hasn't been great. I'm becoming frustrated with Breeze and its very much a one-sided relationship so I thought I would try a different garage.

The conversation I had with Guildford VW was embarrassing telling me that I would need to have the pre-painted candy white spoiler painted by a paint shop afterwards and that the cambelt and water pump offer didn't actually include the water pump even though it stated it on their web page. I also still can't rule Breeze out for the damage (concealed by painting over) to my van.

Hi can I ask which breeze dealer you are having problems with and what the problems are? Please pm me if you do not wish to send this thread of on a tangent.

 

[Meoncoast]

I'm becoming frustrated with Breeze and its very much a one-sided relationship so I thought I would try a different garage.

I have been using Breeze Totton since 2012 and must say I can not fault them in service, repairs and communications. My visit to SMG was 2012.

 

[Bellcrew]

I have been using Breeze Totton since 2012 and must say I can not fault them in service, repairs and communications. My visit to SMG was 2012.

Do you know if Breeze Totton are up to speed on the roof check/minor repair and tape procedure?

 

[Meoncoast]

Do you know if Breeze Totton are up to speed on the roof check/minor repair and tape procedure?

They did mine. Took it in and as it needed very minor paint repair and they wanted it 2 days to allow drying etc returned it a few weeks later. Happy with their actions. At the start they said if need more than minor paint work they would have past to a VW approved body shop once VW had authorised.

 

[VW Guru]

All the breeze workshops are trained to carry out the California roof repairs. The vw ruling is that if the paint has bubbled above the line of the rubber seal then it must go to an approved body shop for a smart repair if it is below the line of the seal it must be repaired in the dealer workshops using zinc primer.

 

[pjm-84]

Still waiting for them to contact me when I asked for an update. When I spoke to them sometime ago I was told that they didn't have the "tape".

VW Guru - sent you a PM.

 

[Jamie B]

The latest update is that SMG have arranged for the van to be sent back to Claridges. They (Claridges) have emailed me today to say that they will be looking at the roof grommets and have a new approved method of sealing them. The van goes off next week (just before the half term!!!), if it gets fixed without any damage then I will be pleased; but if I'm honest I don't have much faith. Lets hope Im wrong. To be fair to SMG they appear to be just as frustrated as I am and to an extent have their hands tied by VW. I have asked for a courtesy CALI in the interim (lol), lets see what they offer.

 

[DavidofHook]

The latest update is that SMG have arranged for the van to be sent back to Claridges. They (Claridges) have emailed me today to say that they will be looking at the roof grommets and have a new approved method of sealing them. The van goes off next week (just before the half term!!!), if it gets fixed without any damage then I will be pleased; but if I'm honest I don't have much faith. Lets hope Im wrong. To be fair to SMG they appear to be just as frustrated as I am and to an extent have their hands tied by VW. I have asked for a courtesy CALI in the interim (lol), lets see what they offer.

I'm surprised you didn't get a courtesy vehicle. Our roof failed sometime ago and VW sent a low loader to collect our van and to deliver a nice new one while they had ours. It was done through SMG and a local firm did the repair