VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[AlanC]

Our Cali roof was repaired in February 2015 at Heritage Wesbury's body shop.
They applied a very tidy fillet of black mastic along the front edge of the cowl which worked perfectly.

Up until we sold our van last year there had been no leak or a reoccurrence of the corrosion.

Alan

 

[Ozzy Pete]

I’ve had a quote from a specialist bodyshop to do just this i.e. repair and repaint the front cowl in situ. He also suggested running a bead of sealer along the front edge of the roof to prevent water ingress. Any views on doing this?

Can I ask how much you were quoted?

 

[Elmo3]

Can I ask how much you were quoted?

£530 inc VAT. Happy with that as there’s a fair bit of work to do. They do lots of aluminium work and full classic restorations etc so have confidence in them (said they’ve done them before).

 

[Elmo3]

All booked in, earliest they can do it is mid December, which I see as a good thing. Will take some before and after pics.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

All booked in, earliest they can do it is mid December, which I see as a good thing. Will take some before and after pics.

It would be great to see some pics as not sure how much work you need to get done. Is the aluminium perforated at all? Or just corroded.?

 

[Elmo3]

It would be great to see some pics as not sure how much work you need to get done. Is the aluminium perforated at all? Or just corroded.?

This is the worst of it. A bit sunny for pics but you get the idea.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

This is the worst of it. A bit sunny for pics but you get the idea.

View attachment 98418View attachment 98419View attachment 98420View attachment 98421

Thanks for the pictures. It looks quite corroded but until they strip it there’s no telling if it’s actually eaten through the aluminium or just surface corrosion. I take it they quoted you for the worst scenario?
Have they worked on California front panels before?

 

[Elmo3]

Thanks for the pictures. It looks quite corroded but until they strip it there’s no telling if it’s actually eaten through the aluminium or just surface corrosion. I take it they quoted you for the worst scenario?
Have they worked on California front panels before?

They‘ve had a good look at it and quoted to remove corrosion, repair and repaint. They’ve done them before. Can’t really do any more than that until they get into it.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

They‘ve had a good look at it and quoted to remove corrosion, repair and repaint. They’ve done them before. Can’t really do any more than that until they get into it.

That’s better than letting VW get their hands on it. I’m sure you get a first class job done.

 

[Elmo3]

That’s better than letting VW get their hands on it. I’m sure you get a first class job done.

Looking at the lovely stuff in their workshop and the recommendation from another classic car restorer who didn’t have the workshop height, I have confidence. I wouldn’t let VW anywhere near my van full stop!

 

[Poppins]

Our Cali roof was repaired in February 2015 at Heritage Wesbury's body shop.
They applied a very tidy fillet of black mastic along the front edge of the cowl which worked perfectly.

Up until we sold our van last year there had been no leak or a reoccurrence of the corrosion.

Alan

That sounds good; 6 years without a problem. Can I ask what sort of repair was done and to what? I'm out of warranty and therefore paying for it myself. Fortunately the damage is limited to the front cowl, not the main roof. Marshalls near Reading are proposing the VW fix of cutting out the aluminium and bonding a plastic composite cowl in place of it. So, the warranty fix but at my own expense. What did Westbury's Heritage do?

 

[Poppins]

They‘ve had a good look at it and quoted to remove corrosion, repair and repaint. They’ve done them before. Can’t really do any more than that until they get into it.

Those pics look similar to mine. Can you send a link to their website please?

 

[AlanC]

That sounds good; 6 years without a problem. Can I ask what sort of repair was done and to what? I'm out of warranty and therefore paying for it myself. Fortunately the damage is limited to the front cowl, not the main roof. Marshalls near Reading are proposing the VW fix of cutting out the aluminium and bonding a plastic composite cowl in place of it. So, the warranty fix but at my own expense. What did Westbury's Heritage do?

Our repair was the original one done back in 2015 when VW Head Office had authorised and trained staff from just 4 repair shops across the country.

At that time the whole front cowl was replaced with a new one which had been hand-sprayed both on the top and underneath. The pop-top roof was checked and resprayed or replaced as required and the canvas was also replaced if needed.
Our van had the pop-top roof resprayed and the bellows replaced. The top flexible light was also replaced but I think that was Heritage being generous and was not part of the official deal.

My advice would be to get the cowl replaced and properly sprayed and resealed if you are paying for it. That does mean the interior headlining will need to be removed to access the cowl mounting.
The current method appears to be an unsatisfactory cheap option.

Alan

 

[Lambeth Cali]

That sounds good; 6 years without a problem. Can I ask what sort of repair was done and to what? I'm out of warranty and therefore paying for it myself. Fortunately the damage is limited to the front cowl, not the main roof. Marshalls near Reading are proposing the VW fix of cutting out the aluminium and bonding a plastic composite cowl in place of it. So, the warranty fix but at my own expense. What did Westbury's Heritage do?

I hope you think very carefully before letting a VW garage lose on it. As you can see there seem at least as many unhappy customers as happy ones. Some seem to make it worse. Some seem to accidentally break the roof mechanism in the process. The roof mechanism is under the cowl. Amazingly VW seem capable of not remembering that.

Best of luck. Hope you get it sorted.

 

[Poppins]

Our repair was the original one done back in 2015 when VW Head Office had authorised and trained staff from just 4 repair shops across the country.

At that time the whole front cowl was replaced with a new one which had been hand-sprayed both on the top and underneath. The pop-top roof was checked and resprayed or replaced as required and the canvas was also replaced if needed.
Our van had the pop-top roof resprayed and the bellows replaced. The top flexible light was also replaced but I think that was Heritage being generous and was not part of the official deal.

My advice would be to get the cowl replaced and properly sprayed and resealed if you are paying for it. That does mean the interior headlining will need to be removed to access the cowl mounting.
The current method appears to be an unsatisfactory cheap option.

Alan

thanks Alan; detail is helpful. Steve

 

[clarinetbcn]

That sounds good; 6 years without a problem. Can I ask what sort of repair was done and to what? I'm out of warranty and therefore paying for it myself. Fortunately the damage is limited to the front cowl, not the main roof. Marshalls near Reading are proposing the VW fix of cutting out the aluminium and bonding a plastic composite cowl in place of it. So, the warranty fix but at my own expense. What did Westbury's Heritage do?

Cutting…don’t do it! I had it done under warranty. Increased wind noise, and when the sealant dries out it will leak. I had mine done in 2018, had to be resealed in 2019, and is beginning to leak again. Get a body shop experienced in aluminum to scrape it and paint it. You’ll have to do it again in 6 years, but the structural integrity won’t be compromised.
Do not allow VW to touch it! Your desire for VW to take responsibility doesn’t stand a chance against VW’s corporate philosophy to be cheap, no matter how much it damages its customers.

 

[Elmo3]

This is the worst of it. A bit sunny for pics but you get the idea.

View attachment 98418View attachment 98419View attachment 98420View attachment 98421

They’ve done a brilliant job. Difficult to fully appreciate because of the rain but it’s good as new (probably better as the front lip is sealed).

 

[aclowes]

Ive followed this with interest. It looks good. Was it done by Westbury's Heritage ? Ive tried to persuade a couple of local specialist aluminium/ restorers in Lancashire to do this but they are very reluctant and I have not been able to source the plastic repair cowl. I did bring this up with VW but they said I had missed the 6 year cut off for non structural parts. Confusing since this part is listed as a strengthening panel

 

[Elmo3]

Work carried out by a local specialist. Recommended without hesitation. I‘m going to ask them to revitalise the actual roof paintwork as it’s gone a bit flat.

TW Brotherton - Car Body Repair Specialists based in the Cotswolds

TW Brotherton Car Body Repair Specialists based in the North Cotswolds on the borders of Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. Services cover small scratches and dents to full body repairs and resprays.

www.twbrotherton.co.uk

 

[Elmo3]

Those pics look similar to mine. Can you send a link to their website please?

Apologies, missed your message. Details on my above post. They’ve done a fab job.

 

[AlisonM]

I too got the job done by a local specialist body shop, not a fancy insurance car repair shop , a good old fashioned one. They were recommended by our VW dealer. The body shop did a great job and we have applied a layer of Lanoguard (as used by boat owners in areas where 2 different metals meet) in the gap between roof cowl and main body above windscreen. No leaks, no damaged bellows, just a lovely roof!

 

[Bjohnson]

After two repairs under VW warranty I’m dissappointed and highly frustrated to report that my Cali roof is once again peppered with corrosion. It now seems worse than its ever been, but also in a new location.

I’ve owned and cherished our Cali from new and owned it for 10 years. Vw has previously repaired/replaced and addressed corrosion to the front panel and the perimeter of the raising roof (bubbling paintwork to the rubber seal areas). The first repair had to be re-done when the corrosion returned and when the black ‘mastic’ VW applied to seal the front panel, cracked and failed.

washing the Cali today i note that the main raising roof panel has corrosion bubbles across its entirety - a new location not previously addressed, but nontheless incredibly disappointing. Corrosion bubbles are also evident once again around the perimeter and just above the roof seals.

i note others on here have resorted to undertaking their own repairs. VW has clearly mass produced a vehicle that is simply not fit for purpose.

I think this is the beginning of the end of my Cali ownership. I will attempt contact with customer services to effect yet another repair and i am also considering taking legal advice on the matter.

 

[SusiBus]

I think this is the beginning of the end of my Cali ownership. I will attempt contact with customer services to effect yet another repair and i am also considering taking legal advice on the matter.
[/QUOTE]
Your Cali must be a 2012, one of the ones that originally had the front cowl that was made of an inferior aluminium. This should of been completed replaced with one made of a superior alloy if you had it fixed, say before 2017/18, or before VW resorted to the plastic cowl bodge. So it is disappointing it is corroding again.
With regard to taking legal advice, my none legal advice is, don't bother. Just find a good repair shop, and leave VW out of it.

 

[andyinluton]

If you had a 10 year old Nissan Navarra you would have real corrosion problems with chassis snapping in half.

A bit of surface corrosion on a none structural panel is insignificant in comparison.

Whilst it’s disappointing that there is corrosion at 10 years old, at that age there’s going to be something that fails first, if it’s something that can be fixed relatively cheaply outside the vw network that’s a pretty reasonable result.

 

[Meoncoast]

Going back to the original VW repair this article may be of interest to those who were not aware of the original repair.