Accident repair warranty

[eugopnosaj 0]

Good morning all!

 

So in 2012 my car was hit in the side in the company car park. It was repaired (after a 2nd hand door sourced because the insurance wanted to write the car off) by Frosts Accident Repairs Body shop in Milton Keynes, who are a Volkswagen approved repair shop.

 

 

Due to the fact the door was 2nd hand, and sourced by myself, they said they wouldn't guarantee the paintwork on the door for rust, as they couldn't guarantee the soundness of the door...BS I say as they should have still prepped it as if it was a standard door etc but hey, it was the only way to get the car back on the road. As usual they blended in the wing and rear quarter however when they pulled off the rubber trim they didn't do a very good job at either, cleaning the residue, or preparing the wing, as 4 years on the area around the trim on the wing has flaked away and bubbled up.

 

My question is do I have some kind of come back against the garage to rectify the paintwork on the wing? I will post some images later. Just need a bit of advice before I go shouting my mouth off.

 

Thanks.

[g0ldf1ng3r 15]

unfortunately paint shops can be a PIA - especially accident repair ones - they make a job look good when it is first done but they cut corners & the finish doesnt last

 

i paid quite a for notes for work on the VR not long after getting it & 18 months later the bonnet was a night sky of micro blisters

 

this time i am hunting for a proper restoration body shop & also one that guarantee's their work if possible

[robrado974 1]

First off , in my opinion and it's only my opinion, these repair places don't give a monkeys. It's all crash bang wallop, time is money , get it out quick . Do you have it in writing that they would not guarantee the work ?. I would speak to trading standards, they are excellent with advice and knowledge. They know the law inside out .

[eugopnosaj 0]

I will have to go back through the paper work and see what I've got, pretty sure I kept it all. They're supposedly VW approved and have won awards/competitions etc so I'd like to have thought they were good at what they do! The paint match wasn't great either.

[Dox 23]

Well I find its always better to reason with people face to face in a calm rather than "Shout my head off"

 

I bought my mk4 Golf estate at auction without any history at 6 / 7 years old. NSF wing was rusting at the 12 0clock position, I bought a used one in the correct colour and when I swapped it the rust had come through the panel from the inside out (common issue for the last 20 years on VWs) - I pushed my finger straight through it.

 

These cars are part galvanised, the point I'm making is that the wing could have rusted without their intervention?

 

By all means take it back and try for a resolution (maybe something else needs a touch up and you can agree a deal whilst the paint is mixed and in the gun etc).

 

FWIW I don't think you get a life times warranty on body work on a 25 year old car?

 

Good luck with it :)

[eugopnosaj 0]

I wouldn't actually shout at anyone :lol: more just a figure of speech.

 

The wing hasn't rusted, the flakes of paint that have come off show the original paint underneath!!!! Water/air/dirt has then got in and cause it to peel away from the original paint - clearly not prepped properly

 

The guarantee was only for the door as it was second hand, the wing is the one that was on the car and undamaged, they just blended the paint.

 

It'll be clearer once I upload some pictures.

[eugopnosaj 0]

So as you can see from the photos the paint is chipping away and the original paint is still find underneath!

 

What should I do?

 

 

[seanl82 23]

I can understand your frustration and you're right, that is down to poor prep. Problem is that 4 years is quite a long time, so unless they're feeling particularly generous or you go down the legal route, I can't see that they'd do much to help you out without you paying for it - which judging by the first lot of work I'd imagine you'd prefer to go elsewhere.

The legal route is a posibility, however what are the paintwork guarantees on modern cars these days? 2-5 years I think, so even then you may well be fighting a losing battle and have to stump up for legal costs. FWIW, I'd speak to them first, but probably just bite the bullet and get it done elsewhere out of your own pocket. As its a local repair, it shouldn't cost too much anyway.

[robrado974 1]

Go back to see them and see what they have to say . If they don't want to know , ring trading standards, they love stuff like this .Ive learnt a lot the past few months dealing with my TSI problems.

Edited September 25, 2016 by robrado974

[SR_Neale 10]

Usually if there is a warranty its ten years. That's what they offer at the place I work. It's supposed to be a "lifetime" of the car. That's pretty standard for the bigger body shops.

[robrado974 1]

I know it's a completely different job but, it shows you the way trading standards work . I was talking to a mechanic about my TSI problems. I'm not sure what car it was , but he replaced some seals on a car . Nineteen months later they failed (these were engine seals). The customer complained to trading standards. He had to do the job again for free .

[eugopnosaj 0]

Ok thanks guys, I will take it up there and speak to them, if not I'll go to trading standards as you suggested.

[eugopnosaj 0]

Usually if there is a warranty its ten years. That's what they offer at the place I work. It's supposed to be a "lifetime" of the car. That's pretty standard for the bigger body shops.

 

I'd have liked to think because it is also a VW approved garage they would have a good warranty on the paint

[SR_Neale 10]

I'd have liked to think because it is also a VW approved garage they would have a good warranty on the paint

 

Spoke to our paint man today. He thinks the paint has shrunk that's why it has gone like that. My guess is they didn't bother to remove the rub strip. Which has allowed dirt under the paint followed by water. Do you know if they used 2k base or water base? Also did you choose the garage or the insurance company? If it was the insurance company maybe you might get somewhere there. We do reworks all the time and nobody batters an eye lid so you might be surprised. From what I can see it looks like it will need the paint to be taken right back to almost bare metal with the strip removed. Then blend the door again with strip off.

[eugopnosaj 0]

From what I can tell they 'could' have removed the rub strip but it looks like it pulled away at the paint leaving it uneven to begin with, I don't think they cleaned the adhesive properly, or let some apprentice do the prep work, it being an insurance repair job they didn't care about it.

 

The insurance company dealt with selecting the garage, to be honest I wasn't 100% happy with the work they'd done but I didn't have time to give the car back to them and sort out getting a hire car etc. I don't know what paint they used.