58 plate Octy - bodywork issues

[Chrispy]

Evening all,

Was waxing the car last week when I was less than impressed to discover some rust on my tailgate, along the seam that runs above the numberplate and under the badges:

Here:

Zooming in, it looks like this:

On the back of it, on the boot facaing side the paint has cracked too as it's clearly expanded. The same is starting on the N/S too although it's nowhere near as advanced.

Took it to the local dealer last Monday and am waiting on the warranty response. It had better be positive otherwise it's small claims court time as there's supposed to be a 10 (or is it 12?) year anti perforation warranty on these things. God knows how as the boot is clearly not galvanised.

Then, was washing the car again today and noticed this on the roof seams - what appears to be cracking paint:

Has anyone else experienced either of these issues, and more importantly had a positive outcome from the dealer? I had some rust repaired on the Fabia boot lid when I had that under anti-perforation warranty and there were no issues (car was 4 years old at the time), but this car is even younger so I'd expect the same treatment if not better.

Had no response from dealer yet re boot lid so will be calling tomorrow to chase, and add the roof issue into the mix. :(

Chris.

[allan1888]

I had this with my 56 plate octy and after 2 failed repairs they agreed to replace the boot lid. They will take paint thickness readings and pictures then send them to skoda uk for a decision usually they will try a repair.

[Chrispy]

Hmm, here's hoping then. I get the feeling its a weak point so ultimately will need a new boot lid as you say but I'll have to let them try a repair first. Overall I'm disappointed though as I thought bodywork wise these cars were sound. Clearly not.

Also the paint quality is poor with the cracking on the roof and clear visibility of areas they haven't bothered to paint properly like the inside of the bumper on the rear arches.

Not to mention the fact these things stone chip like an utter bitch. My BMWs paint was more rubbery and thus tougher and more resilient against stone chips and I'd have thought VAG would have adopted a similar approach.

[skippy41]

My paint is just falling off in places like the door sills and the sills as its no longer covered I just cover it up with touch up

[allan1888]

It really comes down to how good your local dealer is with warranty claims. On my boot lid it was the sealant like stuff that cracked first then allowed moisture in which caused the rust and the crack. Make sure it goes to a VW/Skoda approved body shop too to keep the anti-perforation warranty intact.

[Aspman]

Depending on how generous SUK are feeling you might get problems.

Anti-perforation warranty doesn't normally cover surface rust. It means corrosion that comes from the inside and breaks through to the surface i.e. Not possibly caused by damage to the paint . I had friend that had a battle with Ford over this issue on a 3yr old car and she lost.

Edited 26 April, 2011 by Aspman

[onmeheadson]

The same thing is happening to my boot lid, in exactly the same place. My car is just over 4 years old so no chance of a warranty claim i would assume.

I've also noticed recently that there's a bit of a shoddy paint job on the door sills as well. My car is black and the sills are fading quite badly. Its as if there hasn't been enough base colour put on.

Has anyone else noticed this?

[Chrispy]

For paint defects it's 3 years according to my book but the anti perforation warranty is supposed to be at least 10 and that's rust coming from the inside out from what I can gather. Mine appears to be suffering from both but as it's 2.5 years old it'd better be covered.

I've also had problems with one of my alloys (front N/S) where the paint was flaking off as it appeared to be too thin. Like I say, shoddy and disappointing. Cost cutting well and truly in motion.

[allan1888]

It's a known fault and the rust is coming from behind the paint.Apparently it's to do with the way the boot lid is manufactured that causes the problem. But as I said it depends on how good your dealer is with warranty work.

[Chrispy]

Well I chased today and they have agreed to fix it under warranty. Warned them about the roof too which they can look at whilst its in and get that reported too. Booked in for a week on Monday.

[franek]

Same thing happened to me one year ago (car was 4y old then).

For those who want to check pics>>

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/4592/dsc07369t.jpg

http://img863.imageshack.us/img863/5910/dsc07372z.jpg

Gone to the dealer, claimed warranty. Dealer measured the paint thickness to verify its original, took some pictures and in a few days I got positive answer to my claim.

Job was done really perfectly. By looking at the paint you cannot say its not original or that any tampering has been done. I am really satisfied.

Also there is enough time until anticorosion warranty ends for any not-quality work results to popup, like rust to repeat.

And yes, the reason, as already said, is because the metal body used for tailgate is too flexibel and during openinig/closing of tailgate it cracks along perforation on both sides, then moisture comes in...and so on...

[onmeheadson]

Same thing happened to me one year ago (car was 4y old then).

For those who want to check pics>>

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/4592/dsc07369t.jpg

http://img863.imageshack.us/img863/5910/dsc07372z.jpg

Gone to the dealer, claimed warranty. Dealer measured the paint thickness to verify its original, took some pictures and in a few days I got positive answer to my claim.

Job was done really perfectly. By looking at the paint you cannot say its not original or that any tampering has been done. I am really satisfied.

Also there is enough time until anticorosion warranty ends for any not-quality work results to popup, like rust to repeat.

And yes, the reason, as already said, is because the metal body used for tailgate is too flexibel and during openinig/closing of tailgate it cracks along perforation on both sides, then moisture comes in...and so on...

Thats interesting. My car is just over 4 years old and has this exact same issue on both sides. I didn't buy from a main dealer but am i within my rights to go to my local Skoda garage and ask them to repair under warranty?

If not, maybe i should contact Skoda UK. Or if im fighting a losing battle there's always Chips away i guess?

[Chrispy]

The anti perforation warranty is for about 10 years so you should still be covered. I had rust repaired on my 4 year old Fabia boot lid under warranty so there's no harm in asking.

[onmeheadson]

The anti perforation warranty is for about 10 years so you should still be covered. I had rust repaired on my 4 year old Fabia boot lid under warranty so there's no harm in asking.

Ok thanks i'll give it try.

Although its pretty poor i can see how the tailgate thing occurs, but the cracked paint on the roof is a bit odd. It will be interesting to see what Skoda say about that.

[onmeheadson]

Here are a couple of pics of the damage on my 56 plate Octavia.

http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m568/onmeheadson/Octavia%20Paintwork/DSC05682.jpg

http://s1132.photobucket.com/albums/m568/onmeheadson/Octavia%20Paintwork/?action=view&current=DSC05675.jpg

[swil00]

I have to say its disappointing to see this on modern cars, especially when they're not that old.

I remember an apprentice from work years ago saying that felicias were bad for going along that seam too, so looks like they've not learned here.

I've got several stone chips picked up over the winter that are bubbling, probably due to the amount of salt on the car until the jet washes thawed !

Mine is 6 years old now mind you, but still not all that impressed seeing as it gets plenty TLC throughout the fairer weather months.

Currently looking into getting chips away and other bodyshops to quote me on repair, but most panels are affected. :-(

[Chrispy]

So it would appear the boot thing is extremely common. Considering these are relatively expensive cars its very disappointing to say the least. I know my wifes Fabia (which used to be mine) is starting to look worse for wear now with a couple of marks on the boot that are rising like little mole hills. Again a body panel I thought was galvanised. :-(

Do Audi and VW suffer from the same issues? If not this is evidence of poorer workmanship and /or cost cutting to me.

[Pud]

Evening all,

Was waxing the car last week when I was less than impressed to discover some rust on my tailgate, along the seam that runs above the numberplate and under the badges:

Here:

Zooming in, it looks like this:

On the back of it, on the boot facaing side the paint has cracked too as it's clearly expanded. The same is starting on the N/S too although it's nowhere near as advanced.

Took it to the local dealer last Monday and am waiting on the warranty response. It had better be positive otherwise it's small claims court time as there's supposed to be a 10 (or is it 12?) year anti perforation warranty on these things. God knows how as the boot is clearly not galvanised.

Then, was washing the car again today and noticed this on the roof seams - what appears to be cracking paint:

Has anyone else experienced either of these issues, and more importantly had a positive outcome from the dealer? I had some rust repaired on the Fabia boot lid when I had that under anti-perforation warranty and there were no issues (car was 4 years old at the time), but this car is even younger so I'd expect the same treatment if not better.

Had no response from dealer yet re boot lid so will be calling tomorrow to chase, and add the roof issue into the mix. :(

Chris.

[Pud]

Nowadays Skoda only galvanise the 'vital' areas of the car, saves money and weight!

[vwcabriolet1971]

Where the zinc plated steel body panels are press formed and stretched then the zinc coat will also stretch and thin out . If the press tooling has any "dings" or surface imperfections then the zinc coat may become perforated and expose the raw steel surface underneath. The old zinc "dip" process was much better in this respect than the electroplated panels used today as the zinc was deposited after the forming and panel/body welding processes had been completed.

I often wonder to what extent are the VAG/SKODA bodies zinc plated. I asked both VW & SKODA customer services this question but never got any answer. VW used to advertise in all their brochures about the advantages of their complete zinc coating anti-corrosion benefits but no longer do so. What does this mean ? Are all panels zinc coated or only some of them ? If only some of the panels are zinc protected why will VAG / SKODA not tell us ? Is there any difference between the VAG different badge makes ? I would willingly pay a little extra to have the complete zinc coating as I tend to hang on to my cars for quite a few years.

Edited 27 April, 2011 by vwcabriolet1971

[onmeheadson]

I find this quite dissapointing from a VAG car. My previous car was an 03 Golf GT TDI 130 with 190k on the clock. I cant remember ever seeing a rust spot or paint defect like the ones we have an our Octavia's. It had loads of stone chips as you'd expect but no rusting or paint bubbling.

I love the Skoda but i dont think they are manufactured to the same standard as VW's, not in my experience anyway.

It would be interesting to know if any VW or Audi owners have suffered similar problems.

[swil00]

This makes for some interesting reading... These days I've just presumed that all car bodies are fully galvanised,

but perhaps that is not the case !

It would also make sense as to why small stone chips on my doors and boot lid (don't ask :-( ) are starting to bubble

with what Chrispy described as mole hills, but at the same time my bonnet is showing no signs of corrostion at all.

As much as I like my Skoda, this is the second VAG car (last was a 1999 passat) I've had to start looking tired after

5-6 years.

[peanut18]

It's not just the Octavia i'm afraid. My father has a Golf V with a tailgate that is starting to rust around the bottom lower edge. I don't think the Octavia is out-of-the-ordinary, it would appear that the reason for the tailgate rust on the estate is the poor design and amount of flex that allows the paint to crack - I will be keeping a close eye on mine from now.

[onmeheadson]

It's not just the Octavia i'm afraid. My father has a Golf V with a tailgate that is starting to rust around the bottom lower edge. I don't think the Octavia is out-of-the-ordinary, it would appear that the reason for the tailgate rust on the estate is the poor design and amount of flex that allows the paint to crack - I will be keeping a close eye on mine from now.

It's not just the estate thats affected, my car is a hatchback and i think th OP's is as well but i could be wrong.

Interesting about the Golf V. Maybe VAG are cost cutting across the board then?

I'm going to try and get mine repaired under warranty. Fingers crossed.

[_Kenny_]

Evening all,

Was waxing the car last week when I was less than impressed to discover some rust on my tailgate, along the seam that runs above the numberplate and under the badges:

Here:

Zooming in, it looks like this:

My 57 plate VRS hatch has got exactly the same. Emailed Skoda Customer Service via the website and got a polite voicemail today advising me to book the car in to my local Skoda retailer who will investigate and take some photos. I'll let you know how I get on....