Roof Repair - Warranty Question

[dex14]

Hi

Could I ask all those owners who have had the roof repair completed, how long were you told the repair was under warranty for? Who told you (VW or Repairer)? Did you receive any written documentation or other confirmation?

I will update you with full story in due course but any responses will be gratefully received.

Thanks

Martin

 

[Cwoods1405]

I was told a year by westbury when I collected mine. Rubbish really!

 

[dex14]

Thanks for the reply. So hopefully to get a few more responses I will update you with the story. I was a bit short of time when I posted the original question and this might take a while. Apologies in advance!

I had my roof repaired in December 2014. On the return of the vehicle the job looked fine. Over the next 15 months I didn't use my vehicle very much as I was using public transport to get to work rather than driving my Cali as normal.

I can't remember exactly when, but during early 2015 I noticed a creak had developed in the roof. It appeared to be coming from the front roof panel above the drivers head. As I wasn't using the van it was not a big problem but I thought it needed further investigation. No problem I thought, I have 2 years to sort it out. I was so busy at work the rest of the year that I simply didn't have time to get this matter sorted out, although it was driving me mad by the end of my 2-week holiday in September.

Skip forward to February 2016 and I started to use the van daily for work again. The roads on my commute are not great in parts and the creaking was really noticeable.

By April, I had a separate fight on my hands over the failure of a second Control Panel that was 10 months out of the 2-year warranty period. Thankfully, after a few discussions VW Customer Services agreed to replace it under warranty. I also mentioned the roof issue and they stated it would have to go in to be inspected. Whilst it was in having the Control Panel replaced, I had my van centre check the roof. They couldn't find anything wrong and said the noise was simply the body flexing. The problem is I have had the van since 2009 and knew that it never made that noise until the roof was taken off and put back.

In September, after a second holiday being driven crazy, I sent the van in for another inspection. This time, they agreed there was a problem and told me to go back to the repairer. I was not charged for this inspection. I was happy with this as all I wanted them to do was document the fault.

So armed with this information I spoke to VW Customer Services. They looked into the matter and this is when I was shocked to be told unfortunately the repair was only covered by a 12 month warranty. They also told me that for Shorade to check the van, I would have to drive to their garage and I would have to pay for the inspection and they couldn't tell me how much it would cost.

I was fuming. I told the person handling my case that I thought I had been told the roof had a 2 year warranty. Long story short but this was looked into and I was later told that there was no evidence of me ever being told that it had a 2 year warranty. They also accepted that they never told me it was 1 year either. I pointed out that their website states all repairs are are covered by a 2-year warranty, to which they just apologised and said there was nothing else they can do.

I am now left with a dilemma. Firstly, the roof works fine, just creaks when going over uneven roads or around some corners. My options appear to be pay for Shorade to inspect the roof and then even if they accept the repair was not done correctly, VW cannot guarantee they will pay for the repair; take it to an independent approved repairer (There is now one within 10 miles of where I live) and get a report and then fight VW to get the work done; or simply turn the stereo up and ignore it.

The simple thing is to ignore it because life is too short and I now have a car for commuting and only use the Cali for pleasure. So I thought I would try and get the views of our forum firstly on how long you believed the warranty was on the roof repair and what you think I should do next?

All help and views will be gratefully received.

Thanks

 

[Ewan]

I think VW changed their tune on this in early 2014 so this might be an interesting test case .. if you want to pursue it.

Some owners whose Calis were repaired at the start of the process in 2014 were told that a 3-year warranty would apply to the repairs carried out. Indeed, a letter to the California Club from VW Customer Services in early 2014 confirms this:

“Anyone who presents this issue to their local Van Centre before the vehicle is six years old will have their vehicle repaired under warranty, even if the vehicle is actually repaired after this time. As with any bodywork repair within our Paint and Body Network, the workmanship is guaranteed for three years”. (See page 41 and page 119 of the Forum thread).

However, by the time my van was repaired in May 2015 the line from VW Customer Services had changed.
By then, they would only say that the repairs came with a 12 month workmanship warranty from the repair centres, offered “as a gesture of goodwill”. I phoned VWCS three times to speak to different people and got the same message, and others have been told the same thing. However, given that the 3-year warranty has been widely shared on the VW California Club Forum from a legal perspective it is difficult to see that this would not apply.

Further info here: https://wildaboutscotland.com/2015/12/07/vw-california-roof-corrosion-key-facts/

 

[CannellWalker]

+1 for what Ewan said above. Initially was led to believe 3 years, but never had it in writing. Then when our roof was done in late 2015 VWCS said 1 year. Currently waiting for it to go back to Shorade as there is more corrosion on the elevating roof edge and the white under frame.

 

[snowy55]

+1 for what Ewan said above. Initially was led to believe 3 years, but never had it in writing. Then when our roof was done in late 2015 VWCS said 1 year. Currently waiting for it to go back to Shorade as there is more corrosion on the elevating roof edge and the white under frame.

We had our roof repainted (for the second time) at the end of July this year at Shorade and it is bubbling again and there is also paint flaking off the white under frame.
We are currently in discussion with VW Leicester.

 

[dex14]

Thanks for the reply guys. I think from reading up on the links Ewan highlighted, I am basically screwed. If I have read things correctly, they only appear to have offered a 12-month workmanship warranty. Ultimately I think this is probably the issue rather than it being a paintwork problem. I have decided to simply turn up the stereo for now and learn to live with the noise. It could be much worse reading snowy's post above.