Rusting front wing help

[TornadoRik]

Hey Guys

Can you help me decide what to do about fixing my rusting front wings please?

- Both my front wings have rust perforating from the inside around the front wheel arches
- I've made a warrantee claim with VW who will only pay for half the cost of replacing the front wings out of good will(£406 payable by me) and that doesn't include any blending. To have them blended will be another 300 putting me about £700 out of pocket.

1) Would blending make a difference (I paid £6k for her so don't really want to pay out 700 quid...)
2) Is £406 quid good for Painted and fitted VW wings?

I've had a look on ebay and it seems i can pick up a pair of front wings painted for about 280, but i'm not sure if they will fit as well as OEM parts or look as good. My car is an 05 plate and i can't see the difference between exposed paint so not sure how much it will have really faded?

The company that gave me the quote via VW was SL Restoration in Crawley who look great (forecourt full of GT3 Porches etc), but I think even with the discount they might be overpriced.

I basically don't want to get ripped off or end up making a bad panel choice and having two front wings that stand out as obviously having been replaced.

Any pointers or guidance is much appreciated.

Cheers, Rik 

[zayd]

This is a known common fault with the MK5 Golfs and is documented by VW themselves in a PDF, which can be obtained from some members on here.  You are covered under the 12 year anti corrosion warranty and should not have to pay a penny for this work.  Don't accept their crap, you are not liable for any costs mate.  That's why I hate dealers!!!

[Scottymon]

Is it really covered under the corrosion guarantee?  I thought VW wriggled out of that, putting it down to a design fault.

Usually the split was 50% VW UK and 50% Dealer, a good will... but I think either the dealers or VW UK aren't awarding these anymore, and ppl are "most recently" at least, being told 0% or 50% max... at 50% it's still very expensive, something in the region of £350+VAT per wing... which when you consider you can get a brand new wing painted to code on your doorstep for less than £140, it's probably worth DIYing.

I've got 1 very bad wing, other starting with signs on both sills and around the rear badge (which has also corroded, like the wheel caps and the f*cking wheels too).

I wish someone would take them to court over it... as yes it is a design flaw, but it's still their design and it has corroded, so should come under the corrosion warranty; it's not like it's a consumer fault and we've been running them on the dakar rally FFS.

[aarondsg]

get a after market insurance approved wing from 40-80 each and a good body shop to fit it you will never tell the difference
certain colours can get away without blending what colour is your car ?

[zayd]

Can someone just confirm that with the replacement wing arch liners, do they have any different fixings.

I've only bought my car a few days ago and I'm trying to ascertain whether the arches and liners have been replaced.  The arch liner has a screw fixing it to the wing right in the centre.

[aarondsg]

Most of the time they are the exact same with same location and fixings

[candyman]

VW will pay for 100% of the repair/paint work as it is all covered the 12 year anti corrosion rubbish. I had both my wings replaced last year with a poor paint match and after much falling out the VW paint shop ended up painting the bonnet and bumper, because VW cannot match paint let alone blend into side doors.

Any paint job outside of the factory will be sub standard.....you just take the risk and inspect well in all light conditions and from all angles.

Don't pay any money.....It's all down to VW
 

[Scottymon]

VW will pay for 100% of the repair/paint work as it is all covered the 12 year anti corrosion rubbish. I had both my wings replaced last year with a poor paint match and after much falling out the VW paint shop ended up painting the bonnet and bumper, because VW cannot match paint let alone blend into side doors.

Any paint job outside of the factory will be sub standard.....you just take the risk and inspect well in all light conditions and from all angles.

Don't pay any money.....It's all down to VW
 

This is interesting.. so it's just mearly a factor of keeping on at them until they pay?  Read A LOT of threads of peeps being told they won't cover it under the corrosion warranty.

[winrya]

VW will pay for 100% of the repair/paint work as it is all covered the 12 year anti corrosion rubbish. I had both my wings replaced last year with a poor paint match and after much falling out the VW paint shop ended up painting the bonnet and bumper, because VW cannot match paint let alone blend into side doors.

Any paint job outside of the factory will be sub standard.....you just take the risk and inspect well in all light conditions and from all angles.

Don't pay any money.....It's all down to VW
 

VW changed the policy in June this year, they now only cover 50% of cost so you're looking at £450ish for 2 wings and another £300 if you want them blending correctly

[Scottymon]

 

[edd666999]

Contact Vw uk and complain. Robert.hazelwood@volkswagen.co.uk is Vw uk director.

They searched local dealers for me and looked into car history, one of the dealers said they would do it for free because they can still make money off Vw with their 50%.

[xjay1337]

I don't know where some of the information is coming from here however I recently went through the process with Ridgeway VW - You can read about it on my build thread on uk-mkivs - uk-mkivs.net/forums/t/520487/3642237.aspx

Basically long story short I would have had to pay £380 for the replacement and painting of 2 front wings.
This INCLUDES BLENDING ONTO THE DOORS - Not the bonnet

If your bodyshop does not do that then you should report that to VW.

Buy 2 genuine wings from TPS and have all the work done at a good local bodyshop. Probably cost you £500 all in and rather give that money to someone decent than VW.

VW really are a shambles with this, what Candyman says is true HOWEVER try actually getting them to do it. Unless you bought the car from VW and it had a full VW service history expect the 50%.
I had to barter by paying £460+ to get the bonnet and bumper resprayed for them to replace the wings for free.

The finish in the paint itself was good aside from one small paint run.
The attitude of the staff however was dreadful.

[Scottymon]

Body protection warranty

All current Volkswagen vehicles are fully protected during manufacture against through corrosion for 12 years from the date of first registration.

The only preconditions are:

    The defect must be reported to a member of the Volkswagen Authorised Network as soon as it is discovered and within the warranty period.
    The perforation must not have been caused originally by damage, neglect, insufficient care or maintenance or by external rusting.
    A member of the Volkswagen Authorised Network must be advised about any rusting as soon as it is found.
    All body repairs will be carried out promptly in accordance with the manufacturer's specification and procedures, using only approved parts and materials, so the original level of anti-corrosion protection is maintained.

[xjay1337]

I'd like to think everyone knows that.
After all it is in the handbook.

However like I said try getting the VW dealership to honour it.

[sootpig]

Ive had both wings done at my own expense. I  cut the arch liners to avoid any contact with the inner wing and also ripped out the foam sponge which doesn't seem to do anything except act as a sponge