Paint peeling on 2013 VW Transporter

[paulba]

Hi there

I have a 2013 VW Transporter that has peeling paint in the channels. The paint adherence between the primer the colour (white) is apparently not very good. I have peeling paint in the channels on the roof all the way along. Big issues with the top coat coming off when i took off my rhino roof racks. All issues exposing primer and beginning to rust. One image attached and can send more if needed.

I have been trying to get VW to fix this issue under their responsibilities under consumer law - no luck, they reckon the roof racks are to blame which makes no sense to me. I've had advice from fair trading in both Qld and NSW that i have a good case on the basis the paint issue is a manufacturing issue. A friend's dad visiting from Germany that has worked in automotive paint for the big companies in Europe said straight away it looked like it was not cleaned properly or bad paint in the manufacturing process.

I'm now preparing my case to go to the tribunal and have requested quotes for resprays so that i know how much to ask for. I think it would help my case to have a statement from a certified or recognised expert in AU that the problem is manufacturing fault.

It would be really helpful to hear any advice or other experiences in similar situations as well as any contacts for people that are something like 'certified auto paint experts' (vehicle is in Brisbane).

thanks
Paul

[Sunny43.5]

I would call BS on VWs statement as there are no marks to indicate pressure of the drip check that is applied at factory along those seams .Is it like that all the way or only certain places . I checked our 2012 model and you can see the edge of the drip check showing at the outer edges through the paint so ours could be starting to come away . On my 2005 model there is some fine rust on one side above the pass door but nowhere else , but its a different sealant method for some reason not the wrinkled finish on the later ones.

[David 62]

Hi Paul how did you go getting your van fixed our 2012 multivan that we had since new has the same problem as yours. This is definitely a manufacturer’s paint process fault to me.will Volkswagen do anything above fixing this .

[paulba]

TLDR: I tried hard to make the “big guys” pay, got the ****s pretty early in the process in the scheme of things, got the roof sprayed and haven’t thought about it since.


hey guys

sorry i’m not really good at following these threads somehow. I can tell you a sad story of a lot of wasted time and basically an industry that is bullied into making it difficult for retail consumers to get a result.

Anyone you need to help you is either very expensive (think multiples of the cost of the fix) or contracting or working for the car manufacturers and is then not prepared to put their business on the line by providing evidence or statements.

The story goes like this:

I worked out the best outcome i could possibly achieve was a partial repair given the age of the vehicle. But i was still gunning for a full respray as a proper enduring fix.

VW did thickness testing but refused to give the results to me.

I couldn’t get any auto paint place (tried about 5 or 6) to evaluate and make any sort of written statement against VW (even if i drafted it). One paint shop owner said he made a statement in one case and spent a huge amount of time getting called in for evidence and other things so he wasn’t prepared to do anything like that again.

In brisbane i couldn’t find an auto paint inspector/specialist. I found someone in Melbourne but honestly i wasn’t going to drive down there and they were more expensive than the fix. There was a group here in brisbane or gold coast and they could do the paint thickness testing but they were also very expensive and didn’t know the standard to test against (think science grade quality but practically not very helpful in my situation).

At this point i had a quote to respray the roof and channels for $1500 or something like that and for the sake of putting it in the past and not spending any more time I caved. At the same time I was under a lot of pressure at work and so I chose to make the money back by focusing on work rather than putting more unpaid time into a david and goliath fight and at risk of throwing more money at something where the outcome was very far from guaranteed - pay money get roof resprayed became the most attractive path forward

It’s very disappointing all round. VW lied to my face about the cause and refused to share impartial 3rd party data from a consultant they hired for the thickness testing or give me the details of that professional. All up just disregarding Australian Consumer Law.

For me this was the right thing to do and so after a lot of frustration trying to make the big guys pay and then deciding to put new paint on the roof I haven’t thought about it since.

I’m guessing there are also too few of us for this to be a viable class action. I really encourage anyone with the time, passion and risk appetite to follow through and take it to tribunal. Selling a product with an expected useful life of 20years that has these problems within 5yrs is plainly in breach of ACL.

[aarongregory]

I am going to be taking VW to fair trade as the same thing has happened in various spots all around my van as well as the roof being very similar to yours.

To support my case, it would be great if anyone else that has this issue can please supply me photos as well as the vehicle make, model for me to add to the case.

[paulba]

I am going to be taking VW to fair trade as the same thing has happened in various spots all around my van as well as the roof being very similar to yours.

To support my case, it would be great if anyone else that has this issue can please supply me photos as well as the vehicle make, model for me to add to the case.

Yep i understand the pain.

Photos:
JPG – Google Drive

Record of actions I took:
Van Roof Record - Google Docs

2013 Transporter

If there is any way we can be joint claimants I'd be interested in having a chat about if/how that could work. I just don't have a lot more time.

[aarongregory]

Yep i understand the pain.

Photos:
JPG – Google Drive

Record of actions I took:
Van Roof Record - Google Docs

2013 Transporter

If there is any way we can be joint claimants I'd be interested in having a chat about if/how that could work. I just don't have a lot more time.

How can we get in touch about this in an easier way? Possible phone, email or facebook? I need to get your contact details, van details etc to add with the claim. I am also happy to put up the claim on a link that you can view and also use the information I have gathered to GET THIS SORTED!

[paulba]

How can we get in touch about this in an easier way? Possible phone, email or facebook? I need to get your contact details, van details etc to add with the claim. I am also happy to put up the claim on a link that you can view and also use the information I have gathered to GET THIS SORTED!

sent you a PM