Does the R in R32 stand for RUST???!!!???

[cyberstoat]

Hi All-

Just giving the car a wax today and noticed that the roof panel is RUSTING

Its on both sides (one side worse) where the paint has 'split' along the groove that runs above the doors and there is corrosion forming inside. Also visible on one side is bubbles below the line so the rust is growing quickly.

Not sure how long it has been there. This is the first wash by me for about 5 weeks (its been done in the interim... dont worry!)

Anyone had any experience of this?

Will it be covered under warranty (2.5 years old)?

If yes, will i get a full respray or will they just try and to the roof and blend?

Have only owned the car (my first VW) for 3 months. Gutted.

I would upload a photo but cant see how- only wants me to give a URL

[h100vw]

I had the roof seams done on my A3 when it was 8+years old. That was done under the 10 year perforation warranty.
Assuming that it hasn't been previously repaired outside of a VW paintshop, I can't see that they would be able to avoid doing it. They'd not be painting the whole car though, I am sure. Only the affected panels. They will defo have the paint-thickness-o-meter out to see if it has had paint already.
TBH the approved bodyshop that did mine, made a fantastic job of blowing it in. They buffed the whole car and it looked really good.
Gavin

[thezoneR32]

Hi All-

Just giving the car a wax today and noticed that the roof panel is RUSTING

Its on both sides (one side worse) where the paint has 'split' along the groove that runs above the doors and there is corrosion forming inside. Also visible on one side is bubbles below the line so the rust is growing quickly.

Not sure how long it has been there. This is the first wash by me for about 5 weeks (its been done in the interim... dont worry!)

Anyone had any experience of this?

Will it be covered under warranty (2.5 years old)?

If yes, will i get a full respray or will they just try and to the roof and blend?

Have only owned the car (my first VW) for 3 months. Gutted.

I would upload a photo but cant see how- only wants me to give a URL

You need to upload your photos to a 3rd party host like photobucket (just google it and sign up its free) and drop in the url.

[barrenjoey owl]

Hi All-

Just giving the car a wax today and noticed that the roof panel is RUSTING

Its on both sides (one side worse) where the paint has 'split' along the groove that runs above the doors and there is corrosion forming inside. Also visible on one side is bubbles below the line so the rust is growing quickly.

Not sure how long it has been there. This is the first wash by me for about 5 weeks (its been done in the interim... dont worry!)

Anyone had any experience of this?

Will it be covered under warranty (2.5 years old)?

If yes, will i get a full respray or will they just try and to the roof and blend?

Have only owned the car (my first VW) for 3 months. Gutted.

I would upload a photo but cant see how- only wants me to give a URL

The vehicle is covered for the bodywork for 12 years. take it to a dealer for their advice.

[jessv3]

Where do you live? near the beach? Ive just moved house to a beach front property and my car usually sits on the front lawn. Ive noticed pretty much every morning the car has a layer of salt over it, im worried about the long term effects this will have on it but ive been assured that new vw's dont rust

The only other explanation could be previous accident damage but im sure you would know about that..

[cyberstoat]

Gutted

Got back from the dealer...

It has been written off and repaired (Hail). The F*%kwit who sold me it managed to get it written off in QLD even though it has never been registered there so did not show up on my revs check here or where it was sold as new in WA.

[noisuf]

Mate, I feel for you. I bought my R32 around the same time also from WA and transported back to VIC.

I would have thought write offs had to be registered against the state that the car is registered in. Or because he claimed insurance in QLD and goes automatically in the write off register?

Insurance jobs are usually covered under warranty through the insurer (some are lifetime) but not sure if the warranty is transferable between owners.

When they say new roof, are they saying they'll take the whole roof off and weld a new one on? If that's the case, I'd sand and respray mate.

Good on you for not selling and doing it to someone else!

Not being in Sydney can't recommend a good smash repairer there...but remember (and this is from experience), you want a great job at a reasonable price...cheap is not always best especially for something like this.

[jessv3]

I would go for the sand back option, with a reputable panel beater. At least its only body damage and nothing mechanical, a friend of mine bought a honda accord euro privately which had been involved in the Newcastle floods and completely written off, which the previous owner failed to mention. The gearbox ended up failing after a few months which required a full rebuild.

[cyberstoat]

Thanks guys...

[jessv3]

To be honest as a repairable write off the car will be very hard to sell for anything more then 30k. I would be looking at taking legal action against the previous seller. I would be either demanding my money back or at least a cash settlement.

[Mr_Bob]

sand and respray sounds appealing, however I don't think they usually straighten the roof, or bonnet, they replace or bog it.
if your roof has been repaired, they may have just bogged the whole car.

Would be worth getting someone to check the rest of the car before you decide if legal action is appropriate.

[Speed]

At least its only body damage and nothing mechanical

A cars value is in the body.

[QUOTE=cyberstoat;630612]And yes- the guy at the smash shop said take roof off and put new one on, which sounded a little extreme.
QUOTE]

Sounds to me like its rusting from the inside. Maybe it wasn't treated properly from the factory. If so, the whole roof needs to come off and be replaced, then be properly treated and painted.

To be honest as a repairable write off the car will be very hard to sell for anything more then 30k. I would be looking at taking legal action against the previous seller. I would be either demanding my money back or at least a cash settlement.

If youv'e signed a copy of the receipt saying that you bought it in "as is" condition, I don't believe that you can take any action against the previous owner.
Also if they bought the car that way, they may not need to disclose that it was in an accident. Is usually the seller that has it repaired or a dealer only that must disclose such information.

[jessv3]

If youv'e signed a copy of the receipt saying that you bought it in "as is" condition, I don't believe that you can take any action against the previous owner.

Also if they bought the car that way, they may not need to disclose that it was in an accident. Is usually the seller that has it repaired or a dealer only that must disclose such information.

I have bought a few cars privately and have never signed such a contract, in fact if a seller asked me to sign a contract which waived his responsibly of any existing damages I would be immediately suspicious. You would have to check with what the legislation says, i doubt that the op could claim any money back on the rust damage its self because it did not start rusting until he was in ownership of the car, but the fact that the car was recorded as a write off before the sale is definitely something worth arguing in a civil court. Its true you should have done your homework before buying the car but that doesn't mean you have no case, consumer law still applies in the sale of motor vehicles.

[peedman]

Man that sucks! Im in the opposite side to you, sold a car to an interstater only for them to find out it was previously written off in their state. Now when i bought the car i did a REVS check and it showed up nothing and I had no previous knowledge of the write off (would have never bought it in the first place).

I did a bit of research and for private sales the onus is up to the buyer to inspect/research about the car and whilst it may be dishonest for a seller to not reveal that it is a write off, it is not illegal. And if you think about it if the previous owner has little knowledge of the car's past history then it would be unfair to be able to claim money back from them. For car dealers however they must always reveal if a car has been written off.

I know this probably doesnt mean much to you now but from now on if I happen to buy a used car I will not only do a REVs check in NSW but also for all the other states just in case.

As for a good auto repairer Jade Auto is good just speak to Damien.

[Speed]

I have bought a few cars privately and have never signed such a contract, in fact if a seller asked me to sign a contract which waived his responsibly of any existing damages I would be immediately suspicious.

And at the same time he/she is selling a "used" car and obviously should not be held accountable as if it was a new car.
Sure if you bought it from the dealer that way, then yes they should sort it out.

You would have to check with what the legislation says, i doubt that the op could claim any money back on the rust damage its self because it did not start rusting until he was in ownership of the car, but the fact that the car was recorded as a write off before the sale is definitely something worth arguing in a civil court. Its true you should have done your homework before buying the car but that doesn't mean you have no case, consumer law still applies in the sale of motor vehicles.

Of course the OP has every right to check and see what they can do.

Re the write off, like I said previously, if the previous owner bought it that way (Repaired w/o), I don't believe that they have any legal obligation to pass that information on when they sell the car. What suprises me is that it didn't show up on the REVS check due to being interstate.

Legalities and ethics are two different things.

When parting with large sums of cash, buyers should always be aware.

Man that sucks! Im in the opposite side to you, sold a car to an interstater only for them to find out it was previously written off in their state. Now when i bought the car i did a REVS check and it showed up nothing and I had no previous knowledge of the write off (would have never bought it in the first place).

I did a bit of research and for private sales the onus is up to the buyer to inspect/research about the car and whilst it may be dishonest for a seller to not reveal that it is a write off, it is not illegal. And if you think about it if the previous owner has little knowledge of the car's past history then it would be unfair to be able to claim money back from them. For car dealers however they must always reveal if a car has been written off.

I know this probably doesnt mean much to you now but from now on if I happen to buy a used car I will not only do a REVs check in NSW but also for all the other states just in case.

Thats some good advice right there!