VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[777111]

Nottledim - that's a good report. I would certainly be confident about Shorade and they seem to have been extremely thorough.

Lets just hope everyone gets treated similarly and without waiting a ridiculous amount of time.

And some answers from VW would be nice.....

 

[snowy55]

When you ring Shorrade and are put on hold one of the adverts says that Porsche repairs are guaranteed for life. Why can't VW do the same?

 

[Nottledim]

I think you need to be realistic.

I have never seen a lifetime guarantee or warranty for Audi, BMW Jaguar, General Motors brands, Ford, Citroen, Renault, Kia, Hyundai and the rest.

We remain very positive about our VW Cali and the amazing journeys and places we have been able to visit.

Andrew

 

[stewie]

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)

hi,
as the remedial work,come with a guarantee either from vw or shorade.

good to hear from another satisfied customer continue to enjoy.
regards stewie

 

[Nottledim]

Stewie
I was advised that the original 6 year VW paint warranty remains on the vehicle. There is no additional warranty from Shorade as they are acting as agents for VW. There is no extension to the 6 years from the date of the repair. If there is a problem in the future I will go back to VW.

That is what I expected.

Andrew

 

[jts46]

It has gone very quiet regarding this topic, has anybody any news from VW Germany?

John

 

[snowy55]

Roof corrosion on my Jan 2014 Cali has been accepted by VW.
105th in the queue at 2 per month that's 52.5 months or 4years and 4months so that is Feb 2018!
This means I will have less than 2 years warranty left of the 6years on the repainted roof.
Totally unacceptable.

 

[robo]

How do you know you are 105th in the queue. I cannot get this info out of VWCS.

rob

 

[scraynes]

It's the rate 2 per month per repairer, so that would make it 8 total per month in UK. Also I would think that the waiting list is by repairer not nationally, are you not allocated your nearest repairer rather than next on national list? So it all rather depends on how many Calis there are in your 'quarter' of the country that need repairing.

 

[snowy55]

How do you know you are 105th in the queue. I cannot get this info out of VWCS.

rob

Spoke with the nominated bodyshop.

 

[snowy55]

It's the rate 2 per month per repairer, so that would make it 8 total per month in UK. Also I would think that the waiting list is by repairer not nationally, are you not allocated your nearest repairer rather than next on national list? So it all rather depends on how many Calis there are in your 'quarter' of the country that need repairing.

It's my understanding that all 4 body shops have very long waiting times.
Even if it is 2years that is far too long a wait, allowing the corrosion to become deeper and well established.

 

[owen_h]

I thought the rate was 4 per mth per repairer. Each van takes 2 weeks to do and they can cope with 2 vans in at the same time.
Having said that mine was 'done' (new front panel & re-spray main roof edge) recently and would have been on site at the bodyshop for a week so that would equate to 8 a month per repairer.
What wont help is that I'm complaining about how my roof was re-fitted, gap and bolts missing so it might have to go back to get sorted.

 

[robo]

Sorry to hear that Owen. What snags did they leave behind?
rob

 

[777111]

I thought the rate was 4 per mth per repairer. Each van takes 2 weeks to do and they can cope with 2 vans in at the same time.
Having said that mine was 'done' (new front panel & re-spray main roof edge) recently and would have been on site at the bodyshop for a week so that would equate to 8 a month per repairer.
What wont help is that I'm complaining about how my roof was re-fitted, gap and bolts missing so it might have to go back to get sorted.

That's rather disappointing and doubtless very inconvenient.

Who did the work?

 

[campandfly]

Roof corrosion on my Jan 2014 Cali has been accepted by VW.
105th in the queue at 2 per month that's 52.5 months or 4years and 4months so that is Feb 2018!
This means I will have less than 2 years warranty left of the 6years on the repainted roof.
Totally unacceptable.

A Jan 14 Cali with corrosion already that's disgraceful.

When ordering my Cali last week I was assured by the salesman :evil: that the blistering had been sorted. I thought I would ask just for the hell of it.
We will see.

 

[Ambler]

Which part of the roof is corroded?
Is it the front panel or the main roof?
I understood that the front panel problem had been fixed on all cali's from July 13 onwards.

My Jan 14 main roof problem was fixed in 3 weeks by the local dealer and a local body shop.
If it is the main roof problem I am surprised they are sending you to one of the 4 approved bodyshops as they are overwhelmed.

 

[snowy55]

Which part of the roof is corroded?
Is it the front panel or the main roof?
I understood that the front panel problem had been fixed on all cali's from July 13 onwards.

My Jan 14 main roof problem was fixed in 3 weeks by the local dealer and a local body shop.
If it is the main roof problem I am surprised they are sending you to one of the 4 approved bodyshops as they are overwhelmed.

It is the elevating section of the roof that has paint bubbling under the seal.

The dealership I got the Cali from who registered the claim can't do aluminium paintwork, so it is booked in with one of the "special four" all of whom as you say have been overwhelmed.

 

[owen_h]

Sorry to hear that Owen. What snags did they leave behind?
rob

The roof is not closing completely at the rear nearside corner leaving a gap between the rubber seal and bodywork. The missing bolts are from the scissor hinge, there should be 4 per side to attach the hinge to the roof but on one side there are 2 and on the other side 3. :x
The bolts I could fit myself in 10 mins (assuming the thread is not stripped) given the parts & torque settings but I've no idea how to adjust he roof fit.
I won't name and shame quite yet as due a call from VWCS tomorrow which will hopefully involve how they are going to get it all sorted. Will make the point that this sort of thing needs to be checked and signed off before returning the vehicles. The body shop needs to have the opportunity to rectify first.

 

[Ambler]

As I understand it the elevating roof problem is not being fixed by the Fab Four.
I would go back to the dealer and why he has not used his usual bodyshop.
At all stages VWCS were involved and I was contacted twice per week until it was all sorted.
I will check it again in the spring.
In the meantime we are enjoying the van very much.

 

[fordyski100]

Finally had my roof repair carried out (1 ½ years after originally reporting it).

I would like to say what a great job AB CRUSH have done . The standard of there work is A1 and the vehicle was handed back to me pristine.

Hopefully this is now the end of this saga for me and i can now get back to enjoying the Cali.

(A quick tip for anyone waiting for the repair to be carried out…………..If you can manage without your vehicle for approximately 1 week ,(thats how long mine took) and you do not need the loan vehicle , then speak to your allocated repairer about seeing if they can fit you in sooner. The biggest problem for the repairers at the moment is that they only have 1 Loan California each , which quite clearly limits the quantity of repairs they can carry out.
I was originally advised that my repair would not be until mid 2015 initially , but when i advised i would not need a vehicle AB CRUSH were really helpful and were able to get my vehicle in for the full roof repair last week ). Fantastic .

 

[Chilly Cali]

What a mighty foul up.
Just been on to VW CS to find out why I hadn't heard from them in a very long time. Case has been closed because 'no report has been filed'.
Despite having had the 'paint expert' examine (photograph) the blisters back in July. 4 months now has gone by and apparently I am going to be 4 months later in the queue to get the problem resolved!
I first reported the problem over a year ago and to date... one customer service centre has played off another.

Can anyone tell me how long is it typically taking from having the report filed by a dealer to getting the van into one of the 'big 4 centres'? I'm really concerned that I'll end up with the summer holidays being dictated to me by VW... not the freedom I was hoping for when I parted with good dollars.

 

[Kirk]

We had the same problem, our repair was accepted and then never heard anything only to find out it had been lost in the system

When your claim is accepted you will receive a letter in the post to confirm everything, so if you have not got a letter I suggest you call VW ASAP as you also need this letter if you want sell your van on and pass the paintwork repair to the new owner.

 

[shambly]

I was originally advised that my repair would not be until mid 2015 initially , but when i advised i would not need a vehicle AB CRUSH were really helpful and were able to get my vehicle in for the full roof repair last week ). Fantastic .

Seems like AB Crush are getting the lions share of the parts from VW....

Heritage have managed about 6 vans in the last 4 months due to lack of part availability to them....

 

[shambly]

What a mighty foul up.

Can anyone tell me how long is it typically taking from having the report filed by a dealer to getting the van into one of the 'big 4 centres'? I'm really concerned that I'll end up with the summer holidays being dictated to me by VW... not the freedom I was hoping for when I parted with good dollars.

I wouldn't worry about your 2015 plans.... think 2016. Once the parts are available for 'your' van they'll stay with it (and not get used for someones else's) and they will book it in to fit around your plans....

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

I have had a nice steady flow of vehicles going to ABCrush, working out nicely at the moment.

Cheers