New van’s arrived ...... but!

[Wildcamper]

Thanks for all responses and helpful to get views. Discussions are ongoing but there is no way we are accepting to either them cutting up of door for repair or living with it and Van centre now consulting with customer care to look at resolution . They are, in no way I have to say, trying to wash hands of it but the whole saga has left us feeling a bit flat as now looking at van going off for repair.

Replacing the door and the sill are not difficult jobs, especially as the van center "should" know what they are doing. They need to get the parts, then contact you to book the van in for work. This should not take more than one day - tops. The only remaining item then is to ensure a good paint match.

 

[Perfectos]

Compensation, is not a word VW use.

“good will“ would be more apt when entering into discussion, and the mention of this forum. (No threats).

IMO the dealer may be given some leeway to offer a credit towards some accessories, tickets to sporting events etc. Circa £250

as Subthree says the stress may not be worth it ?

your strongest route is insit on rejection if the repairs are not fully completed to your satisfaction and that of an independent assessment (your choice of assessor)

you have thirty days from receipt of the vehicle to reject it, a time frame VW will be very aware of and may take full advantage to diminish that time frame to the point where your rights are subsequently curtailed!

 

[andyinluton]

Can we please see a picture of what is being talked about? & is it one of the front doors or the slider? Im envisaging being able to see a puckered spot under the paint - just like on a typical landrover.

The bumper is straightforward, I'm more struggling with the faulty weld to the door.


The Legal points, under the consumer rights act 2015:
1. You are entitled to reject the vehicle within 30 days if it is unsatisfactory.
2. You are not entitled to any compensation - VW may offer you something as goodwill.
3. The dealer has to give you all your money back.
4. If the dealer says "its normal" your legal remedy is to reject the van, you can't make him repair anything if he doesn't want to.( would be different if it was a mechanical failure)
5. If he does offer to repair he does not have to offer any sort of loan vehicle.
6. If the dealer refuses to accept the rejection & it ends up in court you take the risk that a judge would deal a minor blemish on a vehicle as insufficient grounds for rejection.

This isn't normally a problem & doesn't normally matter as the last thing a dealer wants is a van back, however a new Cali with a minor blemish may be worth more now than the dealer was selling it to you for & is immediately available, If you don't want it someone else out there may. This means unfortunately you are in a fairly weak negotiating position. Rejection should be easy, anything else & you may have a fight on your hands.

The other option you have for rejection - if you've not set foot in the dealers, The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 which gives you 14 days after delivery to return the goods. ( informally known as the distance selling regulations)


I have handy member of the legal team from a council / trading standards team, available for further advice this evening when he's back from court if you want to PM me.
Just need to be careful if there are any differences with Scottish law.'

 

[Footy69]

Difficult to get a still photo to show it and the video we sent to Van centre won’t upload (must be too big a file) unless you can give me some guidance ?

 

[Camperfamily]

Upload it to YouTube and share a link

 

[Doug Curran]

Having rebuilt my TR6 from the ground up, as well as seen numerous botched jobs on door frames and skins, any notion that a weld will simply realign the frame and alignment of a vehicle door is simply a crock. A misaligned doorskin will produce a twisted frame and no amount of sunlight or warm weather will rectify the problem. What wooly brain conjures such trash?

 

[Corradobrit]

I'd also be concerned that replacing the door will require fresh paint.

Being new there is less risk of a mis-match, but I'd highly recommend having someone (professional) who understands paint check things over when sprayed.

You will need special lighting to show any mis-match or imperfections. Ideally this cost must be covered by VW.

I have seen too many cars that have been resprayed only to highlight a mis-match when under certain lighting conditions.

This would be my only concern. Anyway to get the door painted at the factory and shipped to the bodyshop??

 

[paul_f]

I am sure they will be happy for you to reject, they will sell straight on without any discount to another owner.
I'd just want them to repair the door, I have visited many car factories and many cars have partial repaints whilst in the factory due to imperfections or damage.
I expect many more cars are repaired at dealers due to damage caused during shipping.

I guess it depends whether you want a California for this summer or not.

Try not to let it spoil your enjoyment of your fantastic new vehicle and just look forward to the adventures you will have once the country unlocks throughout the year

 

[pigstybob]

Having rebuilt my TR6 from the ground up, as well as seen numerous botched jobs on door frames and skins, any notion that a weld will simply realign the frame and alignment of a vehicle door is simply a crock. A misaligned doorskin will produce a twisted frame and no amount of sunlight or warm weather will rectify the problem. What wooly brain conjures such trash?

View attachment 74908

Wow that’s the best TR6 door alignment I’ve seen in my whole life and I’ve seen a few.

 

[Doug Curran]

Wow that’s the best TR6 door alignment I’ve seen in my whole life and I’ve seen a few.

Thank you, Pigstybob. I was lucky to have a hot rodder who does unibody cars (Mustangs, Camaros) work with me on the fitting up. We built a set of adjustable frames to tweak the alignmentwith the doors hung and then pushed the tub back and forth until the doors lined well and then welded on new inner and outersills with additional gussets and reinforcements. The car took Best-in-Class at the Vancouver All British Field Meet.

cheers, Doug