1999 . 2000 S3 Ming Blue - Rust Removal, Painting and New Door Blades Fitting

[ste.B]

Hey Audi Sport Enthusiasts

it's been a while since I posted on here but I thought I would give this a shot...

About this time last year, I had one side of my Ming blue s3 painted to repair a vandal scratch. I also requested the bodyshop repair a minor dot of rust where the bottom of the driver side door meets the plastic exterior door blade.

The vandal scratch was on all three panels down the one side - front wing, door and rear quarter. The guy charged me £600 which I was led to believe was fairly competitive - feel free to suggest otherwise.


Initially, I was fairly pleased with the results. I say fairly pleased because:

• I couldn't see any rust
• I couldn't see the vandal scratch at all
• The treated side didn't look a different shade of Blue to the rest of the car

BUT the guys at the bodyshop couldn't get my door blade back on completely, leaving it hanging off towards the rear of the door. They cited the plastic nylon bit, which runs up the middle of the inside of the blade and clips the trim to the door, as being the problem - saying it was corroded beyond repair.


I have been searching for second hand door blades for the best part of the last year - with no success.

I eventually gave in and treat myself to a set from the stealers for Christmas (£419 + VAT for two!!!) - although the hit was somewhat minimised because I have a friend who works at the Leeds Audi workshop

So I've got two FRESH door blades brand new from the dealer ready to go on BUT the dot of rust initially repaired has started to resurface!

I therefore have two questions:

1. Would you take it back to the same place and ask for a quote to fit the blades and repair the rust they repaired last year? Should they repair the rust I paid them to fix last year for free?

2. Can anyone recommend anywhere in Leeds / West Yorkshire who would be interested in quoting for this job?


Many thanks in advance for taking the time to read / respond

Steve

 

[kwistof]

Hi Steve,

I've had similar issue with my S3 tbh.

I had a nightmare when I changed just the drivers side door blade which I managed to source last year second hand.

Fair play though- you must really love your car to spend a few hundred quid on plastic door blades.

It should be a doddle to fit the new door blades yourself, however the difficulty may come with removing them - I ended up using an angle grinder because all 4 screws were siezed

In terms of the rust that has reappeared- I would most definitely take the car back to the place who repaired it last time and see what they have to say about it. Down here it's usually £100-£150 a panel for a repair, so to me £600 is a bit overpriced for just 1 wing, 1 door and 1 quarter panel to be sprayed. If it was both sides of the car then it would be an alright price.

Chris

 

[Lavis89]

i had the same problem when i had my roof resprayed (audi arranged the work as well) had it done about 18 months ago and the paint has already bubbled up around the rails in the exact same place it was before, half assed job! and the bodyshop quoted audi just over £1000 just for the roof to be sprayed!

 

[Westy]

TBH guys once rust has set in, it's so difficult to get rid of and keep it gone.

My S3 had the roof rails done and the rust returned in 3 months. I've left it for around 4 years now and it's not got any worse.