# Questions about rust warranty...



## Eugene0607 (Apr 8, 2015)

So today I was looking around at possibly buying a new fender for my 2008 Jetta S because the paint had literally peeled off right above the wheel. It has to be at least 5 inches wide and about an inch tall. Now it shows rust and metal and its disgusting to look at. When I was reading online I found out about the rust warranty. A lot of posts I read online say that VW hooked them up and didn't have a problem, but I have also read that VW was being difficult in some cases. Most people seem to be having the biggest rusting issues on their front fenders and the trunk lid right above the license plate. I read one guys post that said VW paid for his trunk lid, hood, and both of his fenders to be painted. I am assuming it all has to do with what region you are dealing with.

I live in North East Ohio where they use salt, so I am afraid VW might turn down my claim. I was looking at getting my Front passenger fender replaced, the trunk lid, the hood has bubbling on the very front of it (so thats a slight possibilty, but I've read people getting it replaced/repainted), and on my driver side door there is bubbling, but it has not broken through yet.

I was just wondering if anyone has dealt with VW in North East Ohio with the rust warranty and also how to go about this process. I feel that collision centers would handle it better than going to an actual VW dealer.

I'm just looking for advice.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## PSU (May 15, 2004)

Take it to your dealer and see what they say.

Most they can say is no.


----------



## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

The warranty is for rust thru to the structure from the inside. Obviously they can't cover rust that started from the exterior surface or from a poorly done repair.


----------



## PDTDI (Feb 8, 2006)

I just had the passenger side front fender replaced on my '04 Golf TDI by VW rust warranty.

No problems. Took it to the VW dealer, they took picture of rust through, submitted it to VW, got the OK a few weeks later and they replaced the fender and did a pretty close match on the Reflex Silver paint.

The TDI's had a problem with the right front fender 'cause VW put a chunk of Styrofoam in the fender to kill noise from the diesel... and that is what rusted out the fenders...

12yr rust through can't be beat. In my case anyway.


----------



## slats (Oct 30, 2008)

PSU said:


> Take it to your dealer and see what they say.
> 
> Most they can say is no.


If they say no just ask to meet with the VW District Service Rep and discuss it with him/her. Chances are you will have no problem with your Dealer. GL!


----------



## Eugene0607 (Apr 8, 2015)

Thank you guys for the input


----------



## ribbit (Jun 4, 2012)

It will be handled under 10yr perforation warranty. They do the same in Canada which is even worse than NE OH. I don't for the life of me understand why they have a 10yr rust warranty because almost every car from Ontario has a rust problem . 7mos a yr of salt on the roads is impossible to deal with.


----------



## 21Rouge (Mar 19, 2015)

ribbit said:


> It will be handled under 10yr perforation warranty. They do the same in Canada which is even worse than NE OH. I don't for the life of me understand why they have a 10yr rust warranty because almost every car from Ontario has a rust problem . 7mos a yr of salt on the roads is impossible to deal with.


And that is why (as a resident of Ontario) my first trip on the way home from the dealership next month after picking up our 2015 GSW, will be a trip to KROWN Rust Control.


----------



## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

21Rouge said:


> And that is why (as a resident of Ontario) my first trip on the way home from the dealership next month after picking up our 2015 GSW, will be a trip to KROWN Rust Control.


Which will likely do more harm than good. The modern VW is protected beyond anything that is ever needed.


----------



## Meedz (Mar 24, 2015)

I had my 2 front fenders and trunk lid replaced here in Canada - VW Canada knows about the issue - I would assume it's the same for you in the USA. 

They're picky in the sense that they measure the thickness of your paint to make sure it wasn't repainted in the past, and that it's the original product from when the vehicle was manufactured. But you should have no problems at all, they're definitely aware of it.


----------



## spinnaker78 (Apr 25, 2015)

*I'm in Halifax and had stuff replaced under warrenty*

Hi have a 07 rabbit. Had the tailgate replaced once, and painted once before that. I had both front fenders replaced. I had the hood replaced as well. They will not replace the doors or the back fenders. This is because of cost so anything you find there better have no scratches anywhere near the rust "bubbles" or they will claim it's from proliferation that caused the rusting to occur...Ie the door sill. You need to look in places like under the hood for bubbling paint. If you have that they shouldn't have a leg to stand on. I'm constantly looking for that in the places on my door as it's rusting in both bottom corners "where snow is building up and proliferating the paint" apparently. F'n stupid warranty is a joke. I had to fight with them to do the right fender because they said my car was in an accident therefore they were not replacing that, but the accident didn't touch the fender. I probably called VW Canada 100x as well as my dealership. Avoid Hillcrest in Halifax IMO!!! 

Also, for the rear panels, they wouldn't replace it all because that's the roof too and all the welds would be broken. A new car is cheaper at that point I'm sure lol. I now Rust Proof my car yearly and I will with a new one going forward

Also, it's 11yr rust warranty so don't stop looking for issues (until 2018 in my case)

One more thing after reading another post. This is a known issue. Not enough nickle in the steal I believe is the problem they had with the metal and if one dealer won't submit the claim, try another. And if you get in an accident and the work is not done by a certified body shop of VW, I don't think any warranty exist any longer. In fact any damage to a part that is painted I think voids that part. Keep that in mind.


----------



## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

spinnaker78 said:


> ....One more thing after reading another post. This is a known issue. Not enough nickle in the steal I believe is the problem they had with the metal and if one dealer won't submit the claim, try another. And if you get in an accident and the work is not done by a certified body shop of VW, I don't think any warranty exist any longer. In fact any damage to a part that is painted I think voids that part. Keep that in mind.


You know nothing about it. All VW bodies are double sided galvanized steel. That is zinc plated on both sides.


----------



## 21Rouge (Mar 19, 2015)

spinnaker78 said:


> I probably called VW Canada 100x as well as my dealership.
> 
> I now Rust Proof my car yearly and I will with a new one going forward


I am soon to take delivery of a 2015 GSW and I have been debating getting yearly rust proofing (as I do my other cars) from Krown (Canada). 

Of course drilling holes will for sure void the VW rust protection warranty but with Krown there will be no rust.


----------



## spinnaker78 (Apr 25, 2015)

Sorry, didn't read all the posts so maybe someone responded with a similar answer/info. I had rust spots showing up on the hood, front fenders, and tailgate. VW replaced my hood, front fenders and tailgate. It took a lot of bitching and calling VW Canada (because I had a fender bender and they were claiming the fender on the side of the damage wasn't being replaced; even though it had no accident damage), but they replaced all those parts under warranty. You have to look for a paint bubble in a place where no rock chips could be the cause. They find any excuse to void or not replace parts under warranty. The rear quarter panels, hood (and most likely the doors) will never get replaced due to the costs and body welds. Look under the hood, inside of the doors/fenders for paint bubbles for your best chance at replacement parts.


----------



## GLIguy2006 (Mar 16, 2010)

*Did the usual stuff, hit wall at VWOA, denied rust through warranty ...*

.... So took off the fenders, right there the nice 'L' shaped foam, tucked right into the wheel flare - caused rust through like I knew. Got the multi month dealership runaround 'sorry for not getting back to you', 'oh, I am so sorry I did not see your email', 'sorry for not returning your call' -- two meetings in person with warranty person at dealership - she tells me 'too bad you touched up the rust, that might hurt your claim' ....

... yawn, zzzzzz > in the end it was a better use of time and energy to pull both front fenders, do them myself in a 2 stage, cut, buff, swirl remover > and mount. Cleaned up underneath too, reinstalled the sound deadening, but only after trimming it back from where it would catch moisture (butted against angled steel).

Aftermarket steel fenders were under $50.00 each. Omni pint was $21.00, for basecoat. Used some of my supply of Nason clear urethane from my shelf. Fitting the new ones was easy, so anyone that warns you off this job due to 'gaps' is puffing something. Gaps have multiple adjustment points, total no brainer. Biggest problem was getting the T27's (IIRC; could be T30) screwsoff the bottom of the fender mount - VW designed these poorly, so there is a sheet metal bracket welded (barely) to the unibody -- that has 2 welded nuts on each side. Got the 2 T27 off one side with lots of penetrating oil, then had to do the old vice grip thing. The other side, had to drill out both -- but got all 4 out without messing up threads at all and be sure to support the mounting bracket (sure to be rusty too so needs cleaning up, recoating) - when you drill out as it bends easily and I could see it breaking off.

Paint matches perfectly, cannot tell that they were replaced -- from what I heard VW folks will send your bodywork out to low quality low buck shop -- better to make sure to fix, treat any rust -- in the places you won't see when the body man gives you back your car (with the often bad paint match and gloss sure to fade in 3 months because they had to rush your job out and did not allow the urethane to harden long enough).


----------



## GLIguy2006 (Mar 16, 2010)

*Did the usual stuff, hit wall at VWOA, denied rust through warranty ...*

.... So took off the fenders, right there the nice 'L' shaped foam, tucked right into the wheel flare - caused rust through like I knew. Got the multi month dealership runaround 'sorry for not getting back to you', 'oh, I am so sorry I did not see your email', 'sorry for not returning your call' -- two meetings in person with warranty person at dealership - she tells me 'too bad you touched up the rust, that might hurt your claim' ....

... yawn, zzzzzz > in the end it was a better use of time and energy to pull both front fenders, do them myself in a 2 stage, cut, buff, swirl remover > and mount. Cleaned up underneath too, reinstalled the sound deadening, but only after trimming it back from where it would catch moisture (butted against angled steel).

Aftermarket steel fenders were under $50.00 each. Omni pint was $21.00, for basecoat. Used some of my supply of Nason clear urethane from my shelf. Fitting the new ones was easy, so anyone that warns you off this job due to 'gaps' is puffing something. Gaps have multiple adjustment points, total no brainer. Biggest problem was getting the T27's (IIRC; could be T30) screwsoff the bottom of the fender mount - VW designed these poorly, so there is a sheet metal bracket welded (barely) to the unibody -- that has 2 welded nuts on each side. Got the 2 T27 off one side with lots of penetrating oil, then had to do the old vice grip thing. The other side, had to drill out both -- but got all 4 out without messing up threads at all and be sure to support the mounting bracket (sure to be rusty too so needs cleaning up, recoating) - when you drill out as it bends easily and I could see it breaking off.

Paint matches perfectly, cannot tell that they were replaced -- from what I heard VW folks will send your bodywork out to low quality low buck shop -- better to make sure to fix, treat any rust -- in the places you won't see when the body man gives you back your car (with the often bad paint match and gloss sure to fade in 3 months because they had to rush your job out and did not allow the urethane to harden long enough -- or watch a blend haze up and crack if they just 'fix' your damage and not recoat entire fender).


----------

