bugger!! gti boot prang - damage thoughts please?

[geeza]

Hi All,

I've found a replacment boot from a white GTI - has anyone done a boot swap?

I can see a couple of bolts to undo:



and i presume the rear washer is through here :



is there anything else i need to be aware of?

Cheers in advance

Gary

[99_FGT]

There will also be wiring for the boot latch and any lights in true tailgate.
Al..

[Tom87]

What did the PDR mob say?


Simply replacing the hatch might work but it isn't always just a matter of undoing some nuts and bolts. Firstly, undoing the hinges will damage the paint on the hinges and on a white car this will stand out particularly if they start to get a bit of surface rust afterwards. Touchup paint will help but the more you apply the worse it looks. Secondly, you'll probably find the paint colour will be ever so slightly different even if it is the same code. BTW this probably won't become apparent until the new hatch is actually installed. Thirdly, and possibly the most significant for me, the hatch from another golf may fit but many of them would get tweaked during assembly to properly fit the specific car they're fitted to (usually twisting/bending). So there's a possibility a replacement hatch won't quite get that factory fit and finish like the original unless you take it to a panel beater afterwards.

[geeza]

Well, the PDR guy's i've emailed pictuers too - all have said its too big a job for them to do, i might have to revisit that though....

thanks for the heads up on the tweaking of the boot fitment - that does makes sense

to be honest it a good price so i might just do the swap and see how it is (its also a white GTI boot)

Gary

What did the PDR mob say?


Simply replacing the hatch might work but it isn't always just a matter of undoing some nuts and bolts. Firstly, undoing the hinges will damage the paint on the hinges and on a white car this will stand out particularly if they start to get a bit of surface rust afterwards. Touchup paint will help but the more you apply the worse it looks. Secondly, you'll probably find the paint colour will be ever so slightly different even if it is the same code. BTW this probably won't become apparent until the new hatch is actually installed. Thirdly, and possibly the most significant for me, the hatch from another golf may fit but many of them would get tweaked during assembly to properly fit the specific car they're fitted to (usually twisting/bending). So there's a possibility a replacement hatch won't quite get that factory fit and finish like the original unless you take it to a panel beater afterwards.

[mythik]

Ok so,

A family friend backed her car into a low hanging duct in a carpark and broke the rear window / bent the hell out of the rear boot.

Solution? Found a new rear boot (car was black, fortunately) and fit it up. I used brand new bolts (unpainted new parts) to hold the new boot on with (looks like the ones in the front doors when not painted, blends in fine.)

How did it fit first up? Not well. I had to loosen and tweak the whole thing; lock mech and strike plate to get it to latch properly.

Did it work? Yes. The wiring was the biggest PITA.

How long did it take? I spent 5 hours screwing around with it.

Would I do it again? Yep. It's not ideal on a black car. But! Deal with the black screws and move on.