Eastern/Western Bodyshop , Broxburn , Edinburgh

[dmac1969]

Has anyone taken their GTI to this place to get the wheelarch rust asessed? Thats where I have to go to get the car inspected , just wondered if anyone has had to use them before , and do I have a good chance of them giving the OK for the job to be done? The only worry I have is that the rust is barely visible unless you are really close (its only just coming thru) , will they be able to photograph this , or would I be better waiting to report it when it gets a bit worse?

[gti_jim]

I didn't know that Eastern/Western could assess for warranty claims, are they affiliated with Inch VW - the VW dealer in Broxburn?

In case they are... Last week I checked on the VW website for dealers with bodyships and Inch VW (Broxburn) was the closest to Edinburgh, so I paid a visit after I found rust on my GTI which is just showing up on both front panels, spreading from the wheelarch.

At first they said that they hadn't seen front wheelarch rust on a GTI, and that it was the diesels that were common - strange given the number of people on here complaining of the front wheel arch rust.

Then they did lots of PDG readings which unfortunately proved that the paint on both front panels has been resprayed, and hence invalidate the corrosion warranty.

If you have to get it done at your own expense like me - I've got quotes between £340 and £450 to get both front panels done - happy to let you know further details

Jim

[dmac1969]

Cheers for the reply , about the bodyshop , all I know is its listed as Eastern/Western Accident Repair centre , on the East Mains Ind. Estate in Broxburn , and the guy in the VW Garage at the fort said I needed to take it there to be asessed.

[stu_no_1]

if the panel has been painted since factory or if u have not got a full vw service history u have no chance of getting it done thats what a guy i know who works at vw gorgie road said cos i have the rust on my r32 wings and i think they have been painted and i dont have vw history because the garage i bought the car from serviced it for me so im not even going to try getting it done under warranty ill just go into jrm coachworks at roseburn to get it repaired they done all the work on my last cars for me

[stu_no_1]

and if you do go to this bodyshop and they decline the warranty work id take it somewhere else cos my mate got quoted 500 quid to paint a bonnet on his bora by them the same colour as it already was

[gti_jim]

if the panel has been painted since factory or if u have not got a full vw service history u have no chance of getting it done thats what a guy i know who works at vw gorgie road said cos i have the rust on my r32 wings and i think they have been painted and i dont have vw history because the garage i bought the car from serviced it for me so im not even going to try getting it done under warranty ill just go into jrm coachworks at roseburn to get it repaired they done all the work on my last cars for me

JRM are my no#1 choice right now - £340 was their quote, let me know if you get quoted less!! I'll probably book the car in next week - they said they had a 3 week waiting list when I spoke to them last week

I also spoke to Colin who works in the Parts dept at VW Gorgie Rd - he said that the arch liner which apparently rubs against the panel has never been superseded by a new part and model number but the panel has been - possibly indicating that the panel was deemed to be the cause

Jim

[dmac1969]

By the panel , do you mean the wing itsself? TBH its a right faff on this , as I live in Berwick which means an hour drive up and another back home - I might just wait just now (its really not so bad at th moment) and get the place ive always took my cars to here to do it.

[gti_jim]

By the panel , do you mean the wing itsself? TBH its a right faff on this , as I live in Berwick which means an hour drive up and another back home - I might just wait just now (its really not so bad at th moment) and get the place ive always took my cars to here to do it.

Sorry - by panel I mean wing. It seems that you can buy a new wing for £100+, however that takes the total repair bill to c.£600. I'm part tempted to leave the rust on mine, too. My only worry is that because VW have outright refused the claim, if it gets so bad that I need new panels - then ignoring a £340 bill and being forced to spend £600 is a false economy.

I can only reiterate what others have said,
- If you don't have a full VW service history - they will refuse at first, often citing that the 'paint check' has not been performed by a VW mechanic at every service... despite nobody ever hearing of such a check being carried out!
- Quality of the work undertaken on others' cars by VW 'bodyshops' has sometimes been questionable, if you're travelling 1hr each way and have to take it back at least once - it's a right pain/expense

I don't want to advise you, but here's what I would have done if my panels hadn't been repainted, invalidating the paint warranty:
1. Visit a VW bodyshop - they're almost guaranteed to say no but it's worth a shot for the chance of saving yourself £300-400
2. If they say 'no' - I would be very tempted to get it done by a reputable local bodyshop which is more convenient, and who you trust. Added to that - their price will almost certainly be less than VW
3. Once done, I'd visit Citizens Advice and think about taking VW to the small claims court to try to recoup the costs, as they refused to cover a paint claim on a car which is allegedly covered under a 12 year paint warranty.

Let us know what you decide to do/how you get on :)

Jim

[dmac1969]

Thanks for your advice , my car has a full VWSH at Western VW Edinburgh , who were the supplying dealer , its got 41K on the clock and I bought it from them last september for over £10K! Its still under approved used warranty also (even though I know it doesnt cover bodywork)

[paul71]

I got western to look at same problem on both front wings. They took the photos at kinnaird park and sent them to vw.
Vw turned claim down saying it was paintwork issue,3 year warranty, not corrosion,12 year warranty even tho their was rust.
Emailed chris craft at vw and got quick response from customer services. They asked if I had bought at vw dealer etc. And came back with an offer to pay half of repair cost. I accepted but now wish I held out for more but I didn't know about wheelarch liner issue.
Broxburn did the work and to a good standard. In the end they repaired the original wing as corrosion wasn't 2 bad. My share of cost was about 160 quid.
Got courtesy car for week as well.
Definately worth getting in touch with vw if u initially turned down. I didn't buy car at vw dealer so your claim should be stronger.

[dmac1969]

I got western to look at same problem on both front wings. They took the photos at kinnaird park and sent them to vw.
Vw turned claim down saying it was paintwork issue,3 year warranty, not corrosion,12 year warranty even tho their was rust.
Emailed chris craft at vw and got quick response from customer services. They asked if I had bought at vw dealer etc. And came back with an offer to pay half of repair cost. I accepted but now wish I held out for more but I didn't know about wheelarch liner issue.
Broxburn did the work and to a good standard. In the end they repaired the original wing as corrosion wasn't 2 bad. My share of cost was about 160 quid.
Got courtesy car for week as well.
Definately worth getting in touch with vw if u initially turned down. I didn't buy car at vw dealer so your claim should be stronger.

Cheers Paul , aye , I think I will , they can only say no , and if so I will email Mr Craft to see what he can do for me.