Roof Corrosion Nightmare

[BagmanJim]

I'm so sorry for you. VW should be ashamed of themselves. I thought when you bought VW you were buying quality.You might expect this sort of thing from more "economy" brands but VW!?

 

[Andy]

If you go down the route of getting independent quotes I would suggest at least one should be from one of the 5 original repair paintshop. These people know how to do it properly & what is involved. My cali was done by shorade in cannock who did a good job.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Michael Westby]

Well after waiting 4 years my 2010 pride and joy went in for the repair 6 weeks ago.
The bodyshop who have been excellent stripped it down and said it was the worst front panel corrosion they'd seen, and that the roof itself below the seals was bad.
They refused to put the panel cover on given the condition of it when stripped down and sought permission from VW to do the replacement that was planned for it originally when reported in December 2013.
VW are refusing and telling the bodyshop to put a cover on it.

I'm absolutely appalled at VW. This was a once in a lifetime purchase for me and I don't want a patched up van that is basically rusted away beneath a panel.

I've emailed VW customer care and told them I do not accept their proposed repair and am awaiting a response. Has anyone else been in this situation and do you have any advice for me on how to proceed?
I have copies of 4 years worth of communication with VW telling them how bad the roof is.

Many thanks for any advice - am at my wit's end.

Matt

 

[Michael Westby]

Well after waiting 4 years my 2010 pride and joy went in for the repair 6 weeks ago.
The bodyshop who have been excellent stripped it down and said it was the worst front panel corrosion they'd seen, and that the roof itself below the seals was bad.
They refused to put the panel cover on given the condition of it when stripped down and sought permission from VW to do the replacement that was planned for it originally when reported in December 2013.
VW are refusing and telling the bodyshop to put a cover on it.

I'm absolutely appalled at VW. This was a once in a lifetime purchase for me and I don't want a patched up van that is basically rusted away beneath a panel.

I've emailed VW customer care and told them I do not accept their proposed repair and am awaiting a response. Has anyone else been in this situation and do you have any advice for me on how to proceed?
I have copies of 4 years worth of communication with VW telling them how bad the roof is.

Many thanks for any advice - am at my wit's end.

Matt

You are most unfortunate in your Cali's roof corrosion but fortunate in a Bodyshop prepared to liase with you and attempt to provoke VW into action.
After two years pressure VW took my van from South Devon to a Kent Bodyshop. VW were uncooperative, evasive and unable to answer email and letters. VW appear to have a policy of not committing to anything in writing. After seven weeks my van was returned soiled, missing parts, with damaged rear view camera and bodywork.VW have failed to remove visible corrosion and of course one has no idea what is still concealed beneath their plastic cap.
After nine weeks VW have failed to provide any description or guarantee of the works.i have had four Customer Care managers who know nothing about Californias.
The promised courtesy california never materialised, instead the VW agent would have provided a Caddy van with a £500 excess.

Michael

 

[Jabberwocky]

Thanks all for your support and assistance. Where would we be without this forum? I emailed my case to Honest John at the Telegraph. Amazing service and got the reply below in an hour! He's also added my comments to the review of the Cali T5 on his website.
Latest situation is that VW customer care reviewing my case. I am holding out for a proper repair....

This hasn't come up before so it's an addition to the entry at: https://vans.honestjohn.co.uk/van-reviews/volkswagen/california-2010/?section=good /
Because the problem is evidently a build fault, in my opinion Clegg v Olle Andersson (trading as Nordic Marine) House of Lords 2003 applies and you can either reject the vehicle entirely, forcing the dealer to buy it back at current market value, or you can demand a full correctional repair. To do this you need to get three quotations from professional bodyshops (preferably motorcaravan body shops). You then send these to the supplying dealer (with copies to VW Customer Care) and tell him that if he does not fix the problem with the modified roof section insulated against galvanic corrosion, you will take your case to the County Court. Send these with with a detailed account of your complaint by Post Office Special Delivery giving the dealer 14 days to agree or face court action, keep copies and staple to them the certificates of posting so they become matters of record. If these get you nowhere then you have to decide whether to restrict your claim solely to the roof panel, keeping it within the £10,000 Small Claims limit, or go to the full County Court seeking current market value for the van, which will be more than that making it a much more expensive case.

Just read this whole thread. My heart goes out to you. Utterly disgraceful behaviour on the part of VW. Oh how the mighty have fallen! The advice from HJ is just what you need and I hope VW will come to their senses and begin to see things from a point of view which should be the most important to them i.e. the customer.
I just pulled up the VW Group's web site - https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/group.html and found this on their front page!!

It says opposite this little glimpse of VW "TOGETHER – Strategy 2025" future program......" Maybe only the Marketing people know this!!!!

All the very best with your quest.

 

[Andreas]

Just read this post - very informative for me! I've got a VW California 180 SE DSG from 2010 - and I reported corrosion on my roof to my VW dealer in 2016... and they did nothing about it! Fortunately I kept some paperwork, and reminded them this year when my Cali when back in for its 2 year service. 3 more months have gone by, and still nothing. I was thinking of upgrading to a new Cali next year, or the Grand California when it becomes available.... but now having second thoughts. The appalling customer care from VW Commercial throughout the original buying process and during 8 years of ownership is proving to be a real show stopper for me. What a shame, because I just love my Cali!

 

[WelshGas]

You are most unfortunate in your Cali's roof corrosion but fortunate in a Bodyshop prepared to liase with you and attempt to provoke VW into action.
After two years pressure VW took my van from South Devon to a Kent Bodyshop. VW were uncooperative, evasive and unable to answer email and letters. VW appear to have a policy of not committing to anything in writing. After seven weeks my van was returned soiled, missing parts, with damaged rear view camera and bodywork.VW have failed to remove visible corrosion and of course one has no idea what is still concealed beneath their plastic cap.
After nine weeks VW have failed to provide any description or guarantee of the works.i have had four Customer Care managers who know nothing about Californias.
The promised courtesy california never materialised, instead the VW agent would have provided a Caddy van with a £500 excess.

Michael

Are you any further forward?

 

[DelB53]

Just found this thread. Hope you've finally got some satisfaction. Wow. The corrosion looks terrible; far worse than my case. I've been waiting 4.5 years after having it photigraphed and agreed by my local dealer in Cardiff. I knew there would be a delay (they were talking 18 months- 2 years!!!). As it didn't affect driving and I wasn't planning to sell I haven't pushed it as hard as I should, but was told a while ago that there were some problems with the body shop doing the repairs, then a year ago I was told (fobbed off?) that they were working through the backlog and had finished all the 2011 models ( mine is April 2012). Still no progress but I'm booked in for an MOT today and have been told that they need to take more photos and then get approval, which will take @6 weeks before the job can be done. This sounds to me like they've lost all my details and I've been lost off their radar. I've also been told that I can have a loan vehicle but not a California - has anyone else been fobbed off with this? I'm keeping my finger' crossed.

 

[ArunAlec]

Just found this thread. Hope you've finally got some satisfaction. Wow. The corrosion looks terrible; far worse than my case. I've been waiting 4.5 years after having it photigraphed and agreed by my local dealer in Cardiff. I knew there would be a delay (they were talking 18 months- 2 years!!!). As it didn't affect driving and I wasn't planning to sell I haven't pushed it as hard as I should, but was told a while ago that there were some problems with the body shop doing the repairs, then a year ago I was told (fobbed off?) that they were working through the backlog and had finished all the 2011 models ( mine is April 2012). Still no progress but I'm booked in for an MOT today and have been told that they need to take more photos and then get approval, which will take @6 weeks before the job can be done. This sounds to me like they've lost all my details and I've been lost off their radar. I've also been told that I can have a loan vehicle but not a California - has anyone else been fobbed off with this? I'm keeping my finger' crossed.

There were similar cases a year or so back, where the dealers seemed to loose the records and had to start the process again.
One positive aspect of the long delay is that the further down the list you are the better the chances are that the body shops will have perfected the repair process.....maybe!

 

[DelB53]

There were similar cases a year or so back, where the dealers seemed to loose the records and had to start the process again.
One positive aspect of the long delay is that the further down the list you are the better the chances are that the body shops will have perfected the repair process.....maybe!

Thanks for the info. Keeping my fingers' crossed re: the fix. Couldn't get to see the service manager, but I received a message that he had no recollection of a conversation with the lady who books the service/MOTs etc. despite her assuring me that she'd spoken to him. When I collected Cali I was told that photos had been taken and would be sent to VW. Asked when I could expect a response, but no-one could tell me. Not very happy with response, but I'll reserve judgement and give them a few weeks before chasing it up again. They also re-stated that they would only supply a courtesy car (probably a Caddy) not a VW California. I explained that the deal was always that you had a replacement Cali (I was told the fix would take 3-4 weeks!!!, but I use the Cali most weeks) and it wasn't my fault that they had taken so long to deal with this, but all they could suggest was that I contact VW. Disappointing visit - just expecting more delay and frustration, but hope I'm wrong.

 

[Bluetrees]

Well that was an interesting and scary read. I can’t believe that VW have got away with this issue for so long. I’ve just purchased a 2010 Cali and notice 2 or 3 areas where rust has formed so intended getting in touch with VW as I assumed it was just a standard procedure to book it in. How wrong was I
Has anyone just gone ahead and had repairs carried out independently to save all the grief or is it something that has to be carried out by VW?
I’m in Edinburgh too so I’m a bit scared to start, what seems to be a saga that gets drawn out for years!
P.S. Matt Alright on watchdog has a Cali, maybe he’d be interested in this problem

 

[WelshGas]

Well that was an interesting and scary read. I can’t believe that VW have got away with this issue for so long. I’ve just purchased a 2010 Cali and notice 2 or 3 areas where rust has formed so intended getting in touch with VW as I assumed it was just a standard procedure to book it in. How wrong was I
Has anyone just gone ahead and had repairs carried out independently to save all the grief or is it something that has to be carried out by VW?
I’m in Edinburgh too so I’m a bit scared to start, what seems to be a saga that gets drawn out for years!
P.S. Matt Alright on watchdog has a Cali, maybe he’d be interested in this problem

Unfortunately your vehicle is too old for the Free VW repair. The “ rust “ you mentioned is not in fact rust, but Galvanic Corrosion a chemical electrical reaction between 2 metals in the presence of water. In this case aluminium and steel. The section above the windscreen is an aluminium alloy.
The best way forward is to find a good body shop that specialise in repairing aluminium body panels, vintage cars or bespoke paint jobs, not a body shop that just deals with insurance accident body repairs. Such a business should be able to sort this out , treat it and respray for a roundabout £500 or so. This repair should have a warranty from the body shop and could last many years before needing to be done again..
The VW version of this repair costs £4000 +.

See post 3907. The owner did the above and very happy with the result and lives in Edinburgh.

VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

Your Cali has definitely had the corrosion repair, the whole front section of the roof is basically a plastic cap they bonded over the original roof section to cover up where they cut away the corroded section. We had the exact same issue, the bonding fails over time and you get water ingress...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Bluetrees]

Unfortunately your vehicle is too old for the Free VW repair. The “ rust “ you mentioned is not in fact rust, but Galvanic Corrosion a chemical electrical reaction between 2 metals in the presence of water. In this case aluminium and steel. The section above the windscreen is an aluminium alloy.
The best way forward is to find a good body shop that specialise in repairing aluminium body panels, vintage cars or bespoke paint jobs, not a body shop that just deals with insurance accident body repairs. Such a business should be able to sort this out , treat it and respray for a roundabout £500 or so. This repair should have a warranty from the body shop and could last many years before needing to be done again..
The VW version of this repair costs £4000 +.

See post 3907. The owner did the above and very happy with the result and lives in Edinburgh.

VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

Your Cali has definitely had the corrosion repair, the whole front section of the roof is basically a plastic cap they bonded over the original roof section to cover up where they cut away the corroded section. We had the exact same issue, the bonding fails over time and you get water ingress...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

I thought it was 12yrs so thanks for that info. I tried 3907 in the search box but it just brought me back to this thread. Sorry just joined so if you can guide me to the thread, I’d be grateful

 

[WelshGas]

I thought it was 12yrs so thanks for that info. I tried 3907 in the search box but it just brought me back to this thread. Sorry just joined so if you can guide me to the thread, I’d be grateful

The 12 years is the Perforation Warranty. Rust from inside out. This is not that I’m afraid. Aluminium doesn’t “ rust “.
VW offered an extension to 6 years of the 3 yr Paint Warranty on all VW California’s from 2010.

Click on the link I posted and scroll down to Post 3907.

Each post has a number in the Top R hand corner. This one is Post #39

 

[Hulky]

Hi not sure if it's already been asked.
But does anyone know how long the roof corosion repare warenty is ?

 

[Hulky]

Hi
Does anyone know how long vw roof repaire warenty is after having the roof done ?
Mine was done just under 2 years ago and it's back also panel at front is opening up where seal is.
Letting in water.
I've contacted PwC and awaiting response.
The work was carried out at Marshals in Hull

Thanks