Paint bubbling/corrosion on edge of roof

Ok... Got mine back from Parklands yesterday. They have been good as gold to be honest and there have been no dramas leading up to getting the paint done. However... on closer inspection there are a few issues....

I was told that the whole roof would be painted and that they would replace all bits that came off with new ones (rain channel bits etc). I asked if they would remove the aerial rather than mask around it and they told me they would...

Anyway, I am not convinced they have done the whole roof... there are scratches and marks on the roof (which look a little like stone chips) which if they had sprayed the whole roof then I wouldn't expect to see and there is a scratch on one of rain channel inserts that I haven't noticed before which again if they had replaced with new as suggested shouldn't be there.

I am gonna give them a call today to sort this out. If they haven't sprayed the whole roof then fair enough, I haven't had the car long enough to notice all the marks they came with it but hoping they will be cool with it all.

<tuffty/>
 
I took my A4T avant to Audi Cardiff for the rust in the roof gutter.They said that,after checking the thickness of the paint,they determined that the roof had already been repainted.So no warranty job.I asked them to quote me for cash and I
have never heard from them since.Must be very busy!.My mate has a sprayshop and I helped repaint the roof.It had be repainted four times!.
There is a design fault in the assembly of the roof panel,it is not fully painted during manufacture,hence the rust forming in the gutter.
You will at best,repair the cosmetic appearence,but the rust will return at some point
as you will never stop it once it starts.Cheerful huh?
 
Been in touch with them over the paint job and they didn't do the whole roof apparently, just the rain gutter in question... on closer inspection there appears to be a dark line running parrallel with the gutter where they must have 'blended' it in. Not that happy to be honest but I am booked in to see the body shop guy on Tuesday to have a chat as this 'scum' line is an issue.

:(

<tuffty/>
 
On further inspection, there appears to be a couple of patches where rust looks like its coming back through and there is some cutting polish type stuff that's under the lacquer. I have also noticed the 'filler' job on the bubbling that started this all off is pitted and not a good finish and some dodgy bits in the door shut that just look awful tbh...

Dunno if I am expecting too much out of this but I was kinda hoping it would at least not be that noticeable...

Hopefully get it all sorted out Tuesday..

<tuffty/>
 
I stripped off the roof bars(not the easiest job),pulled out the gutter trims and seals(be careful) they're made of ally and bend too easy!The whole roof needs to be painted.
You can't just blend the edges.The problem is in the gutter.Grind out as much
tin-worm as you can,then use a the best rust killer you can find.Prime and paint.Like I said before,you can improve the appearence,but in the end,rust will win.Chances are,they used a smart repairer to improve the look,but they are just a quick fix.
Find a decent paint-shop and get them to advise.
Don't waste anymore hard earned on franchise.
 
just tool et everyone know, i went into Glasgow Audi last week, they took the usual pics, checked the paint and said theyd get back to me. 3days later it was booked in and dropped it off today for a week and a half to get the roof and doors done as there is rust forming at the bottom of them.

Really happy with their service so will let you guys know the results when i get it back...and im veryyy picky with my paint work so il be getting the inspection lamp out to give it a good check haha

Andy
 
not getting anywhere with my claim due to Audi UK harping on about only a 10yrs warrenty
am looking to take the matter further with Audi UK though so will let you know the out come.
 
Hey i'm having a bit of trouble with rust starting to come through. i went to Wayside Audi in Milton Keynes, but they won't do anything because it's had some untraceable paintwork done previously. Has anyone had any successful paint claims even though there's been some previous work done on your car? if so, are there any dealers near milton keynes that could help me?!

Cheers
 
Have this issue.

My local dealership (Audi Central Coast in West Gosford) has agreed that it is a fault, they know of others, and they will do it under the 12 year anti-corrison warranty that comes with the car.

I can't rate this dealership highly enough. Excellent customer service even though I neither bought the car nor get it serviced through them
 
Audi_Alex said:
Hey i'm having a bit of trouble with rust starting to come through. i went to Wayside Audi in Milton Keynes, but they won't do anything because it's had some untraceable paintwork done previously. Has anyone had any successful paint claims even though there's been some previous work done on your car? if so, are there any dealers near milton keynes that could help me?!

Cheers
Click to expand...

I must have been lucky, when I had the warranty repair done, I told them one side of my car had been resprayed, so I would understand if it was refused. They repaired it for me and resprayed the whole n/s rear quarter for me also haha. :)
 
Leicester never asked any questions, or tested the paint.
They just looked at it, and took a photo to send to Audi for approval.

All sorted now, roof and rear quarters fully resprayed.
 
jojo said:
I must have been lucky, when I had the warranty repair done, I told them one side of my car had been resprayed, so I would understand if it was refused. They repaired it for me and resprayed the whole n/s rear quarter for me also haha. :)
Click to expand...



Hi i was just looking at this thread and i was surprised, because i have some paint bubbling on my roof, ive taken it to audi and they've inspected it and taken photos, and the guy told me he will send a report off, il keep you posted on how it goes!!!, Dan, (I have an A3 Quattro (baby S3) lol
 
I got a Fiesta from the garage that had it in. It's them that dealt with everything from initial audi inspection.
You should get one no probs.
 
Waited 2 months and didnt hear anything, i expected they would mug me off and didnt have to time/effort to persue. But they called me last wed and its just gone in today to have the work done.

Got an A4 avant courtsey car, very nice car but thought it would be better. Gearbox seems a bit shoddy for a 3k miles car. Shifts pretty well tho

Hopefully get my motor back in a couple of days. How long did it take for you guys?

PS no paint depth tests were done on mine.
 
2 months is a long time!
They will have it atleast a week mate! I think mine was 2 altogether, from drop off to pick up.
 
cheers for the advice... gutted it may take that long. They said at least a couple of days to me. Hope its done sooner as its booked in to have cruise fitted on friday, may have to cancel.

BTW had to drop the A4 off as the brake(dis), handbrake(flashing), ESP, and ABS lights all came on today and didnt stop. wierd.

Got a new A3 tdi now tho, vnice
 
Hello,
I've been reading the forums now for a while, and just had to register, when i saw this thread yesterday.
I imported my s3 from Sweden a few months ago, and when i jumped out from the car after i drove it on the ferry, i noticed the paint bubbling on the the drivers side quarter panel and on the right side of the roof.
I was like "great, it's obviously been in an accident", but couldn't have loved it more now that i see this thread, and that it's a common problem.

So the first thing i did today was taking her to Audi, where she got inspected and taken pics of (still talking about the car :blow:). Now i will just have to wait and see what happens.


Greetings from Finland, i'm off to go have some more quattro-fun :salute:
 
btw, i think it took a week to here back from audi for the approval.
The garage was also doing my drivers door too, which i guess adds a bit o time.
 
Hi Guys :salute:

I have an A3 1.8T in Merlin Purple that had the same bubbling at the rear roof rail. I spoke to Lister Audi (Coventry) about it and they told me to visit their bodyshop. I was looked after by a guy called John (Warranty Manager), great guy, he checked paint depth, took photos and told me to wait for a call for authorisation. He called me back 2 days later and it was booked to go in for repair on 15/12/08. All the way throughout, he would give me a progress update on what was being done and keep my mind at ease.

I got the call yesterday to say all was done and collected the car. They have done a fantastic job, even repaired a little scratch on the rear quarter panel for me and as I had organised with Autoglass to change my front screen at the same time, they went along on monday morning, took the screen out and refited the new one yesterday morning after it had been painted.

The car has been cleaned thoroughly inside and out, I can't see any holograms in the lacquer and the whole car shines as opposed to just the panels that were painted. I'm happy with the results!:applaus:


Imteyaz.
 
I've just spent 4 hours cleaning and polishing to find I have a tiny bit of bubbling on the outside of the roof rail on the passenger side. I'll head over to Hatfield Audi on Monday to see if I get anywhere with them. I'll let you know.
 
Wow this is brilliant news!!! I found the bubbling on the roof a few months ago, and figured that Audi wouldnt be interested....but I know now where I am heading tomorrow or monday morning!
Would be nice if they did the whole car as I had a terrible job done by chipsaway on my door after some little 'swear' keyed it...will be taking that up with them after seeing Audi!

Fingers crossed!!
 
They wont do the whole car. I think someone said they had to theirs but a lot of people are saying they dont even do the whole roof.

Bit rubbish really id expect the whole roof to be done for a decent job.

Hopefully get mine back on monday. I love the new a3 they gave me but nowt like driving your own car.
 
Oh well, never mind.....was a nice thought! Even attempting the roof will be a bonus!
 
Has anyone who's had a respray done over a year ago experienced any problems with recurring rust? Unless Audi are fixing the initial problem and are doing more than simply respraying, this problem is going to return again and again. Rust is very hard to keep at bay once its there.
 
From what i have read above it will keep returning. Just depends on how good job they do to repair it as to how long you have before it comes back
 
DiscoPanda said:
Has anyone who's had a respray done over a year ago experienced any problems with recurring rust? Unless Audi are fixing the initial problem and are doing more than simply respraying, this problem is going to return again and again. Rust is very hard to keep at bay once its there.
Click to expand...

When I had mine done the affected areas were given an acid bath, I assume to return it back to bare metal before respraying it.

Have we ever established if the problem is caused by poorly galvanised metalwork or if not enough paint was applied at the factory?
 
Isn't the problem because there is a drainage channel that runs along the roof where the bubbling occurs, and due to a design flaw water doesn't drain properly and stays in the drainage channel?

I need to get mine in to Audi too. Has everyone affected had this happen on both sides of the car?

I've only got the bubbling on one side, I'm guessing they won't replace the drainage channel parts are respray on the other side until bubbling occurs?
 
I was told by the service dept that the drainage channel made of aluminium has seals, over time these seals perish and let water in it will sit there and thats where the problem occurs.

Only happened on one side of mine.

They are apparently replacing the drainage channels on mine but im not sure if they are doing both.
 
Got mine back pretty happy with the work. It was free afterall.
 
looks like it. definatly done the seals anyway (one side channel insert doesnt sit completly flush but not overly bothered tbh, looks good anyway)

Cant really tell though as its not that clean but cant see any stone chips over the roof

Just need to get a new front bumper and my front wing painted and im ready to go
 
mine had about 1-2 inches of bubbling on one side only, in the roof rail.
They painted the whole roof and both rear quarters.
 
just had mine back today from Poole audi, whole roof and quarters resprayed new gutters (both sides rusted), mustn't grumble but..... not happy as the bottom of the door i had a bit of rust bubble which i knew about but wasn't too bad and they've picked the paint off. not happy about that, going to ring tmw.
 
You cant fit a roof rack to the roof channels. I dont actually know why they have aluminum strips.

Doubt you would get them to fill the gutters as it would be an expensive job to get it right...
 
Ok guys i checked my roof and found bubbles. Took it to Tonbridge Audi who were great and put it straight through.

However! Just got a call and they said it looks like it may have been evident for some time and if their are any holes audi wont replace any panels. The warranty guy said he would have put it through.

Im thinking about making a fuss - has anyone else been in this position??
 
is there another local audi dealer you can take it to, and see what they say about it?.

The bubbling on the roof of my a3 was quite severe on both sides and strectched for about 300mm, the claim went through straight away and the next day they called to book an appointment for it. they gave me a courtesy car and within a week it hd all been sorted, if i were u id maybe try a different dealer cuz it will probably depend on how stubbon the chap is that puts your car through for a claim.
 
audi upgrades
hi thanks for reply. Their is another dealer however the dealer is actually being nice. They asked me to take some photos to send to an inspector at audi to save him coming out.

He's the one thats causing the problem from afar. I wondered if i ould have some examples of other people that had gone through with the claim and had metal repaired o replaced i could push them.

I do not want any holes filled in!

mrr_1990 - did they jsut fill in any holes, or did they actually repair and make good the metal work. If just filled rust will come back through eventually.
 
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