Paint bubbling/corrosion on edge of roof

faaaaast said:
Can you expect this to happen on literally every A3, if it's a defective seal design, or is it only a few unlucky people affected?

Please could someone post a pic, or describe in detail what/where to look for when looking over a second-hand A3, so that I can spot the problem if it's there and either get the owner to do the warranty claim/repair before I buy it, or walk away?
Cheers :thumbsup:
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Well, my '97 A3 is afflicted with the rusty doors sills, but I haven't noticed any corrosion around the roof seams (last time I look anyway!).

If you're looking to buy, make sure to have a good look at the roof seams/gutters and the bottom edges of the doors, just above the black strip (on an A3) or the side skirt (on an S3). Another place worth checking is around the rear wheel arches. As with any car, also look out for overspray on rubber trim etc. - accident damage repair can make later corrosion more likely.
 
I had my first s3 done at west london audi and now they are doing my second.
 
just found some paint bubbling on my roof:puke2:,so what is the best thing to say, e.g my car has corrosion on the roof this should be covered by audi will you do it under the 12 year paint warranty etc,sound ok
 
Just go in and say i have something that appears to be rust on the roof can you have a look at it.
 
Guys,

Thanks for those responses, very helpful. TBH it's put me right off an A3. I'm going to stick with my 80 V6 and spend some money making her nice again!

Cheers,
James:salute:
 
Would love to know exactly what causes this.

So far mine has no rust but it is on 21k miles and I would like to keep it that way.
 
My car is finally booked in for the warranty work! (Some months later...)

Going in on the 10th Sept for approx. a week.

Areas with corrosion:
- roof rails
- lower drivers/passenger door
- rear 1/4 arches
- tiny bit on front two wings

the likes of the front wings, would the whole panel be resprayed, or would they purely work on and around the affected area?

The same with the doors, am I likely to have whole respray on the doors and above panels? If this were the case, it's a shame not to have the bonnet/bumpers done at the same time!! Pay for this out my own pocket I think.

I'm sticking with Audi to get the courtesy car, is it likely I'll have another Audi? Or will they have a fleet of Corsa's/Punto's for people to run around in?
 
Could be wrong but I think its the approved body shop that supplies the courtesy car, my friend had a little Polo when her TT went in
 
Jimmeh said:
My car is finally booked in for the warranty work! (Some months later...)

Going in on the 10th Sept for approx. a week.

Areas with corrosion:
- roof rails
- lower drivers/passenger door
- rear 1/4 arches
- tiny bit on front two wings

the likes of the front wings, would the whole panel be resprayed, or would they purely work on and around the affected area?

The same with the doors, am I likely to have whole respray on the doors and above panels? If this were the case, it's a shame not to have the bonnet/bumpers done at the same time!! Pay for this out my own pocket I think.

I'm sticking with Audi to get the courtesy car, is it likely I'll have another Audi? Or will they have a fleet of Corsa's/Punto's for people to run around in?
Click to expand...

When mine went in for the work they would only repair and paint the affected area, yours being metallic may be a different matter.

I had a 1.0L polo as a courtesy car, was no better than my s3 on fuel lol
 
I had a new Skoda Fabia diesel for a week, which I managed to average 50mpg twice what I get in the S3, but it was so dull to drive.
 
See I questioned about the bodyshops loan car policy, stated that I'd have to add it to my own insurance but "if I wanted, to go through with Audi as it would be covered". I'm currently in talks with my contact.

I noticed a couple of banged up Polos at the bodyshop, heh. Atleast then upon the Audi's return I will once again appreciate the power!
 
just send my car into an audi approved bodyshop for the warranty claim on the roof raills and got a 1.2 2008 polo......! at least it's new!
 
i just had mine inspected at parklands in gloucester, hopefully they will spprove the roof, rear quarters, part of the boot and both doors. if not i will try and get in touch witht he approved bodyshop to have a once over. would be nice to get this car looking like it should... maybe i will keep it longer and do some more things to her...
 
My S3 has not been long out of the garage for some of the corrosion work.. they did the roofrails fine, however they didn't want to do the lower doors, rear sills etc.. Nightmare. It's only going to be booked back in at a later date.

Also, don't let the dealer 'valet' the car for you afterwards. I wish I had never bothered!

(bearing in mind my car was 95% defect/swirl free...)

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I was mortified. How can someone make such a mess from one wash/polish!? I couldn’t believe it.

Buffer trials all over the place, massive swirling and several areas where it looks as though it’s been scrubbed (with something like a brillopad) Sad

My ‘quick wash’ on Sunday turned into a Lime Prime polishing frenzy. I was so frustrated. I have removed some 80% of the marks.. It will require machining fully to remove all marks.
 
That sucks mate!!!

Ive just spent £160 on a detail so ill be leaving a note inside my car stating "DO NOT WASH" next time it goes in for a service!
 
I feel for you Jimmeh. Mine came out of the bodyshop after having the N/S roof rails sorted and it looked like they'd polished the rear quarter panel with a brillo pad. Luckily I wasn't too bothered as I had a full paint correction booked in for a few weeks later, otherwise I would have kicked off!

I'll see if I can dig out the pics.
 
having read this thread,took a good look all over my car as i was going to Audi in Slough,to get some ARB bushes today.
noticed some paint bubbling on my roof so thought id pop the question.
as i pulled up the salesman jumped on me with pound signs in his eyes asking if he could help.
yes i said im after a set of ARB bushes and while inm at it " can someone look at my rails as they seem to be rusting"
the pound signs soon disappeared and his reply was " i dont think they will cover that"
i said,id rather speak to someone in the know in the bodyshop.
2 coffees later and the bloke come out armed with a paint gauge etc.
said hed never seen the problem before ha ha!!!!!!!
took pictures,went over the whole car with the gauge,hoping to find it had been resprayed at sometime,but unfortunatley he couldnt,ha ha!!!!!!!!!
told me Audi would cover it and get back to me to book it in,within 48hrs and that i would need to produce my drivers liecence for the courtersey car they are going to supply me :icon_thumright:
going to look over the car before they collect to see if i can find any other corrosion.
where should i be looking?do they cover laquer peel or just corrosion etc?
 
oh and i think ill tell them not to valet it after.
what do they use brilo pads:gun2:

by the way apparently Slough Audi send there cars to Metcalfs in Chertsey
anyone had any body work done there?
good or bad?
also once the works done do you get a warrenty on the work eg 2yrs or somethinthing?
 
afcjay said:
oh and i think ill tell them not to valet it after.
what do they use brilo pads:gun2:
quote]


I had this on mine after having the roof done, they machine buff the surrounding areas to make it all look like its been sprayed! so they say!, there saying my doors have been painted but i know they havnt its the laquer from when they did the roof! mines really nasty under the trims so looks like going to be paying out myself for it!:keule:
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hello guys, took my 1996 a3 too plymouth audi on the last day of the warranty (3rd sept 08) for the O/S roof rail rust/ bubbles. warranty bloke took some pictures and sent them away. 2- 3 days later had a phone call sayin they had approved the claim. no paint respray tests done at all which is lucky as the prev owner had the whole of the N/S resprayed eariler in the year. took the car in today and got a KIA Picanto in Orange brown from the approved body shop. hoping it comes back looking good after some of the stories i have been reading. will let you know how it goes.
 
afcjay said:
having read this thread,took a good look all over my car as i was going to Audi in Slough,to get some ARB bushes today.
noticed some paint bubbling on my roof so thought id pop the question.
as i pulled up the salesman jumped on me with pound signs in his eyes asking if he could help.
yes i said im after a set of ARB bushes and while inm at it " can someone look at my rails as they seem to be rusting"
the pound signs soon disappeared and his reply was " i dont think they will cover that"
i said,id rather speak to someone in the know in the bodyshop.
2 coffees later and the bloke come out armed with a paint gauge etc.
said hed never seen the problem before ha ha!!!!!!!
took pictures,went over the whole car with the gauge,hoping to find it had been resprayed at sometime,but unfortunatley he couldnt,ha ha!!!!!!!!!
told me Audi would cover it and get back to me to book it in,within 48hrs and that i would need to produce my drivers liecence for the courtersey car they are going to supply me :icon_thumright:
going to look over the car before they collect to see if i can find any other corrosion.
where should i be looking?do they cover laquer peel or just corrosion etc?
Click to expand...

Update on my claim NOT HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

first of all,had no call back from Audi within 48hrs as stated by them,so i called them yesterday
bloke says sorry we didnt get back to you,you need to come back in so we can take some more pics as the ones the took before didnt show up very well.
i said,no problem ill come in today.just as im leaving to go,i get another call
bloke says hes just had a email from head office saying because mine is a pre facelift,it only has a 10yr warrenty so its not covered!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i said,so why did you tell me it was covered when i came in the first time!!!
why did you take pics? go over the whole car with a paint depth gauge etc?
are they trying to pull a fast one?
what should i do next? i aint leaving it?
would it be worth geetting onto Audi UK on this matter?
 
any advice?
is it worth taking it further?
 
Check your manual - does it state a 10 or 12 year warranty? If you've got it in writing it's a 12 year warranty, they shouldn't be able to refuse.
 
mine was registered on sept 4th 1997, i took it to audi southwet (plymouth) sept 3rd 2008 and they approved all the work. 12 years for me.
 
going to have to check my manual but shouldnt the warrentys all be the same?
thanks Mike,i think they may be trying to pull a fast one? what colour is yours?
i was thinking they may have changed there mind as mines Volcano Black (metalic) so i think they would have to do the whole roof as its basecoat and laquer as far as i know so they couldnt just do the affected areas?
 
mine is red, was booked in on monday i shud be gettin it back tommorow. they are only fixing the rust patch then re-spray the area and blend it in. why they dont do the whole roof i dont know. i saw the quote for the repair costs they are billing to audi, 480 quid of parts and laybor and 115 of paint, just to fix about 1- 1.5 inches2 of rust.
also funny thing is the audi dealer get paid for these kind of warranty claims, my mrs' sister is the head of service in plymouth audi and she was sayin they love these kind of claims because they get paid aswell. strange why so many people are having such bad customer service.
 
cant see what the problem is really then?
think ill get on to customer care and go from there
 
audi upgrades
its 12 years, id phone head office and have a right go. 10 years MY ****.
 
i emailed Audi UK today so waiting for their reply
 
hello people, just a quick update on the car, after a whole week without the car iv got it back in one peice. when i booked it in with the bodyshop they said all they would do is cut out the rust and paint that area and blend it in. i got it back today and guess what..... the whole roof has been reprayed. RESULT. i had a couple of spots of rust developing on the front of the sunroof wher some random stone chips had damaged the paint and a couple of other scratches. i am very pleased as the paint work is stunning as far as i could see in the light tonite. i will look more closly at the colour match tomra when the sun is up. what i did notice tho is the huge amount of swirl marks on the sides of the car between the rear window and boot. oh well, jst have to crack out the polish.
 
ok, sun was shining today, rinsed and dryed the roof to check the quality of the respray, not good. its got a little bit of orange peal on the passenger front corner which isnt good and also lots and lots of silicone contamination. there is about 20- 30 dimples all over the roof, mostly in 2 areas. rang the bodyshop and they have inspected it, its booked in for next thursday. joy. im not sure how to post photos up else i would have showed you all the results.
 
When mine is back on the road, i am taking it for an inspection, it is ming blue which is metallic, does this mean, any spraying has to be done in whole panels? My car is a '51 s3, my sisters 98 a3 has the exact same problem. Has anyone been to Truro audi for the claim???
 
Had mine done at Guildford Audi a couple of months back, bit of fun and games but the end result was good.

First time I took it in the guy said that he sees loads of them, took a couple of photos, said he'd send it all off to Audi and would call me to book it in. Sure enough, get the call, booked in, for some reason it was going to a bodyshop in Chertsey though.

Turn up on the day and they refuse to take it as the brake pad light had just come on (was booked in for service a week or so later), which was annoying as I'd removed the Le Mans stickers especially, plus they were intending to give me a brand new 8P 1.8T to play with.

After the service phoned up to book it in again only to be told the bloke's no longer there and they can't find the file so can I take it in again! This time dealing with the aftersales manager, takes a couple more photos and books it in with the VW bodyshop next door.

Apart from suffering a 1.2 Polo for a week, I really can't fault the job or the willingness to get it resolved - at no time was there any mention the warranty might not cover it.

I can't help thinking the first guy I delt with was sending them all to a mates bodyshop miles away and getting a back hander hence his sudden disappearance, especially when there's a massive VAG approved bodyshop next door owned by the VW dealer over the road!!!
 
is there any choice of where it will go? i know somone who owns an insurance approved body shop and was thinking along the lines of a few quid extra to get a load of bits painted, chipped bonnet etc....

Or will they insist on choosing a sprayer?
 
James333 said:
is there any choice of where it will go? i know somone who owns an insurance approved body shop and was thinking along the lines of a few quid extra to get a load of bits painted, chipped bonnet etc....

Or will they insist on choosing a sprayer?
Click to expand...

Most dealers either own their own bodyshop or have a preferred bodyshop where all their work goes. The important thing is that they are are Audi-approved to ensure your anti-corrosion warranty is retained.
 
I finally got around to looking into this... i took it into bradford audi... the fella was really nice but he was staying well clear picking parts all over the car to say its probably had work on it.... recommended i go to another dealer as they dont have the gear (paint depth measure) to test it all....

What they dont have the tools? can this be correct? i believe they have a bodyshop on site.

Anyway im not going all over to different dealers to get one to deal with me so i called audi customer services. Apparently going to call back tomorow...
 
themanthatcan said:
Most dealers either own their own bodyshop or have a preferred bodyshop where all their work goes. The important thing is that they are are Audi-approved to ensure your anti-corrosion warranty is retained.
Click to expand...

Does the anti corrosion warranty on the new paint only last as long as the 12 years from date of registration? I cant see them giving the new painted parts another 12 years??
 
James333 said:
Does the anti corrosion warranty on the new paint only last as long as the 12 years from date of registration? I cant see them giving the new painted parts another 12 years??
Click to expand...

Yes you only get 12 years in total. The last thing you want though is to find yourself with another area of the car needing warranty paintwork only for Audi to refuse it as you've had non-approved work carried out.
 
still waiting to hear back from Audi uk head office on mine.its over a week now since i emailed head office.seems like its just going round in circles.
my claim has gone from the main dealer to head office and now being sent back to the main dealer :gun2:
its around 3 or 4 weeks since i went into the dealers with the claim and they went over the car and took pics etc
not happy!!
 
Aye i first went in on monday and i think my experience will be the same as you... good luck with it though
 
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