VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[adrian]

89th in the queue and Cannock are currently doing two per month!!

 

[David Eccles]

the latest from VW is that the parts supply issue has finally been resolved so come 2015 things should start to speed up for us all....we shall see!

 

[owen_h]

Mine was returned yesterday after being fixed by Heritage. The AA picked it up on Fri 10th and returned Wed 22nd so less than 2 weeks door to door. One of the constraints was the availability of a loan Cali but I was happy to have a car (Polo) for that time so they could do it earlier than anticipated.

 

[stewie]

Hi

I have a 57' plate California with paint bubbling on the panel above the windscreen where the elevating roof seal meets the panel. After reading the threads on this Forum I booked in to my nearest VW dealership - Heritage In Dorchester. They took pictures and took paint depth readings and said I would be contacted shortly but the queue was quite long for claims. I then received a message from their warranty department saying that there would be no point in them putting in the claim as my vehicle is older than 6 years!

I then contacted Breeze in Poole where I have taken the van in the past for servicing etc and they were helpful but came back with the same 6 year response. They said I could contact VW UK and I am considering trying this next.

I have read on this site that people with 07' plates have been successful with claims and I just wondered if anyone had any advice of what course of action I should take as I understand that in Germany the time period is 8 years rather than 6 in which case my van would qualify.

Any advice / suggestions would be most appreciated.

Many thanks

Piadro

hi,piadro
i have twice been rejected recently by vwcc after inspection by vw manchester for repair of front panel above w/screen ,roof appears o k . they told me it was,< 6year not 6>
vehicles that qualified for free repair,i was not to pleased to say the least, i intend to wait for the answers from vw put to them about 6> year vans by the recent meeting with members of this forum, especially since receiving a quote for the remedial work which i cannot afford to pay myself, i have no other option , like you i have heard of 2 or 3 vans that have been accepted for repair on 6> vans on this forum, what is going on, i live in hope some good news is forth coming from vw , hope this enlightens you in some way.

regards stewie

2006 reflex silver auto 2.5 tdi

 

[campandfly]

"Also, it sounds like Volkswagen has resolved the issue of paint bubbling on its aluminium roof section"

source
http://www.caravanguard.co.uk/news/volk ... class-6872

Is this true for new Cali's?
and if so where did the reviewer get the info?

 

[reserves]

"Also, it sounds like Volkswagen has resolved the issue of paint bubbling on its aluminium roof section"

source
http://www.caravanguard.co.uk/news/volk ... class-6872

Is this true for new Cali's?
and if so where did the reviewer get the info?

I wouldn't trust that info personally.

 

[reserves]

hi,piadro
i have twice been rejected recently by vwcc after inspection by vw manchester for repair of front panel above w/screen ,roof appears o k . they told me it was,< 6year not 6>
vehicles that qualified for free repair,i was not to pleased to say the least, i intend to wait for the answers from vw put to them about 6> year vans by the recent meeting with members of this forum, especially since receiving a quote for the remedial work which i cannot afford to pay myself, i have no other option , like you i have heard of 2 or 3 vans that have been accepted for repair on 6> vans on this forum, what is going on, i live in hope some good news is forth coming from vw , hope this enlightens you in some way.

regards stewie

2006 reflex silver auto 2.5 tdi

Do you mind sharing what the remedial quote was, and what parts they quoted for etc?

 

[777111]

"Also, it sounds like Volkswagen has resolved the issue of paint bubbling on its aluminium roof section"

source
http://www.caravanguard.co.uk/news/volk ... class-6872

Is this true for new Cali's?
and if so where did the reviewer get the info?

I would like to think that is correct but with so much speculation & still a great many unknowns I would need to hear it from VW together with what caused it, what vehicles were effected and what what remedial work was necessary.....

 

[stewie]

hi,piadro
i have twice been rejected recently by vwcc after inspection by vw manchester for repair of front panel above w/screen ,roof appears o k . they told me it was,< 6year not 6>
vehicles that qualified for free repair,i was not to pleased to say the least, i intend to wait for the answers from vw put to them about 6> year vans by the recent meeting with members of this forum, especially since receiving a quote for the remedial work which i cannot afford to pay myself, i have no other option , like you i have heard of 2 or 3 vans that have been accepted for repair on 6> vans on this forum, what is going on, i live in hope some good news is forth coming from vw , hope this enlightens you in some way.

regards stewie





























2006 reflex silver auto 2.5 td

Do you mind sharing what the remedial quote was, and what parts they quoted for etc?

sorry cannott divulge at present, could effect my forward plan in further pursuit of
financial costs. i intend to seek advice of a well known consumer organisation ,the answers i get will be displayed on the forum especially if beneficial to 6> calis . . .
regards stewie

 

[yanathem]

Do you mind sharing what the remedial quote was, and what parts they quoted for etc?[/quote]

I have had a estimate from benfields who are 'one of the four' £4500.00 inc vat.
They never gave me a list of parts that they were gonna use but the parts total i think was £2200.00 the rest was labour. One thing they never priced was the bellows because they recken its not required because it can be reused but it seems most on here who have had their front panel changed have had a new canvas so expect that price to be a lot more and that was May of this year, you would also have to factor in that the the price would probably rise every month as well.
Earlier posts by other forum members have had roughly the same estimate.
VW are having a laugh at our expense.

 

[Goldie]

Hmm...Just wondering what happens to me and a few others that have shipped their California off abroad. Mine is now in NZ with me and I've seen a couple of others in the Wellington region.

I had a deformed roof on mine (slight ripples down the sides) and had it replaced last November under warranty. It is now two years old, although no sign of any roof problems yet.

VW don't have any California expertise at all over here, so I'm wondering what they will do for us given it is a specialist repair.

Andy

 

[johnyboy]

Was this BBC Wales item about Calis?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/ ... campervans

 

[Stu]

Looks like it's episode 3 you need on iplayer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04lxbb2

I'm on the train so can view it yet.

 

[Chainline]

Can anyone confirm the nature of the repair. is it just a respray like the front panel or is it a complete replacement of the roof unit. I had my front panel resprayed/helitape fix during the 3 year warranty but have now noticed I have significant corrosion aroubd the rubber seal/ roof after a forum prompt to check, dealer has out claim in, so now just wait and see if accepted followed by estimated 18 month wait.

 

[snowy55]

Was this BBC Wales item about Calis?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/ ... campervans

It's about Fiat camper conversions with paint coming off.

 

[HeathWescom]

We have decided against buying a California now after reading this thread

 

[Goldie]

We have decided against buying a California now after reading this thread

Goodbye, good luck and good to see you got some value from this forum. Although many would disagree with your course of action, the Cali does cost a small fortune so I can understand why you may decide on other options.

There are many positive attributes discussed on other threads on here. It's good to see the problem has been acknowledged by VW and there is a solution. It would not have happened without the pressure of so many active members working together.

Andy

 

[dood]

Hi all - can anyone summarise this situation briefly to a potential purchaser?!! :?

 

[Martin]

Hi all - can anyone summarise this situation briefly to a potential purchaser?!! :?

Are you looking to buy new or used?

 

[jts46]

There are many positive attributes discussed on other threads on here. It's good to see the problem has been acknowledged by VW and there is a solution. It would not have happened without the pressure of so many active members working together.

Andy

No solution yet for anyone with a cali over 6 yrs old. We are all still waiting for VW Germany's response. If negative I think further action is required.

 

[dood]

Hi Martin - considering buying new. Thanks.

 

[Martin]

Front panel should be all sorted on any new Cali coming off the production line, however the main roof is still to be confirmed.

I would not let it put you off buying new though.

 

[Bizzycali]

Hi Martin. The VW dealer I bought my Cali from in May 14 said the roof problem had been sorted since late 2013. Now not sure what to expect. Maybe I just get rid!

 

[dood]

Hi Martin - thanks for the info mate.

 

[Nottledim]

We have just got ChArLIe back from Shorade in Cannock

There is a new front roof section and a resprayed elevating roof with new canvas and the van was valeted and polished and looking brilliant.

I am very happy with the work done inside and out.

While the van was being repaired we were lent another higher spec Cali but it was great to get ours back.

As I understand it the original VW 6 year warranty remains valid and I will monitor the roof but the obvious care and attention paid to the repair gives me confidence.

In spite of this paintwork glitch ChArLIe has been the best vehicle we have ever bought and we remain very very positive about the decision to buy.

Ann and Andrew (part of the GrannyJen fan club)