How are your B6's doing with corrosion?

RoyalBoob

RoyalBoob

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Hello all,

I'm not on here that often but I thought I'd throw up a post and see how your cars are doing..
I have an 04 S line 190 Quattro. It's starting to look a bit tatty due to the corrosion on the arches and roofline.
Does anyone suffer similar? I see a few B6's around and many older or of similar age don't have these problems.
Love the car, but it's been a blight all the way through my 4 years of ownership.
I should bite the bullet and get it sorted but even an independent body shop is going to cost a fair whack...
My budget tends to go on the mechanics rather than the cosmetics!

Anyone know of a decent body shop in the Guildford area too?

Thanks!
 
I have the same '04 S-Line Quattro and I had the roof done by Audi as a 70-30% split and got the arches done by a local friend of a friend bodyshop that does Campers and Beetles so they're good with rust

Other than that no other problems with rot
 
I just had the front right wheel arch and the two strips on the roof done. There is still a grape sized blob of rust over the windscreen, but the windscreen needs to be removed to repair it, so its been temporarily covered over until the windscreen gets cracked or damaged on its own.
 
Mine has started to go on the o/s front arch but as I want the tailgate done I am thinking of a same colour re spray just got to get quotes.

I can give you the number of a guy by Ash train station. Send me a pm if interested.
 
I'm starting to regret not taking Audi Camberley up on the 70% they offered me a few years ago. I thought they should honour the warranty they sold the cars with and cover the total cost. Where was your roofline rust ? Mine started rear drivers side door on the edge that meets the roof and has spread forward - no broken paint though. My front arches are both pretty dismal and would need replacing. Will PM you matty.
 
Iv'e just changed both front wings on my 2002 Avant...they were shockingly rusty round the wheel arch... I bought painted new ones off eBay... £180 for the pair and they went on very well and the match is spot on ... obviously not OEM quality in thickness of metal etc but i'm more than pleased with them..as for the rest of the car all is good apart from the odd battle scar but thats to be expected from a 13 year old daily driver that spends half its life on the motorway
 
All arches are rusted etc one that I repaired and painted but chips all over and stratches etc looks crap tbh
 
666markyboy said:
Iv'e just changed both front wings on my 2002 Avant...they were shockingly rusty round the wheel arch... I bought painted new ones off eBay... £180 for the pair and they went on very well and the match is spot on ... obviously not OEM quality in thickness of metal etc but i'm more than pleased with them..as for the rest of the car all is good apart from the odd battle scar but thats to be expected from a 13 year old daily driver that spends half its life on the motorway
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Any idea who you bought them from? I've seen a couple of sellers who do pre-sprayed arches. Did you fit them yourself? if so was it a relatively straightforward job? Are there any guides about to fit? I'd probably have a crack if it wasn't too complicated.
 
my 03 has slight bubbling on the passenger side and the drivers front arch the paint has started to come away leaving rusty brown patches . I had the car up at my local audi dealership early last year and was offered the 30/70 split which was still going to cost me just short of £300 for the 2 wings .Yet a friend with the same age vw passat got his wings done FOC for the same problems
 
I think I've read on other forums that the Passat and maybe Skoda Octavia had the same problems due to the shared platform and manufacture techniques and they did fix similar corrosion spots fully under the warranty. For Audi to not is pretty poor.

70% seems to be the best anyone has been offered.
 
I have recently had a go at sorting the front arches on my avant . I took the wheel arch liners out and give both arches a good jet washing up inside the arch around the suspension strut there was patches of rust so I scraped and sanded away the bubbling paint and gave the area two coats of kurerust then two coats of silver hammerite then a scraped the arch lips the same treatment scraped and sanded then kurerust and hammerite my car is akoya silver so not a massive difference in the colour plus its under the arch . will it work I don't know but it got rid of a boring sunday. only time will tell
 
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RoyalBoob said:
Any idea who you bought them from? I've seen a couple of sellers who do pre-sprayed arches. Did you fit them yourself? if so was it a relatively straightforward job? Are there any guides about to fit? I'd probably have a crack if it wasn't too complicated.
Click to expand...

Yup it was this chap http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-new...n-Grey-LX7Z-/231655113114?hash=item35efb8819a I'll tell you the full story, and I'm in no way affiliated with him but credit where its due imo... I messaged him on eBay enquiring about 2 wings and he got back to me saying if I wanted them a little cheaper then we could just do it via text and paypal that way he could knock off his eBay sellers fee... think i paid £170 for the pair delivered, however when they arrived one of the wings was damaged...obviously in transit... he had packed them very well all wrapped in cotton wool and bubble wrap but the box although quite big was relativly lightweight so i think it had perhaps been thrown in the back of the delivery van and this had caused one of the wings to get slightly buckled on a corner, perhaps he should invest in some of that FRAGILE tape to stop them getting thrown around, he was using Interlink and said he had never had a problem with them in 5 years and then sudenly all in the space of a week he had 3 people , me included who received damged parts... i text him back and told him about the damage and said if he was ok with it I would have a go at fixing it myself ( im an aircraft fitter by trade ) but that if i made it worse i didnt want him saying it was all my fault... anyway I couldn't get it perfect so text him back and he agreed to replace it free of charge... I thought this was good as it wasn't his fault and it was clearly going to put him out of pocket...to try and help him out a bit I offered to go and pickup the replacement and take the damaged one back to him as he's only 30 miles away from me...that saved more post cost's and ensured my replacement didn't also get damaged... anyway they sat in my garage a couple of weeks ... I waxoiled the back of them and then some stonechip on top of that and when that was all dry I fitted them ... not hard at all... you have to take out your headlight and undo the front half of the skirt on the sill just gain access to some bolts... remove the inner arch and a few more bolts and thats it... they went on dead easy and they can be moved around a bit till you get your shut lines sorted... as I said , for the money i'm more than happy
 
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Sounds like a pretty good lead Mark. Thanks for the heads up!
New wings would go some way to making her look clean again. Coming up 160k and I figure I might as well hang on to it and see if it can hit 200k.
It's a nice spec 190 - could do with a remap and a milltek exhaust when I've had the cambelt changed though.
 
My 03 is just the drivers front door, rest is fine luckily
 
RoyalBoob said:
Sounds like a pretty good lead Mark. Thanks for the heads up!
New wings would go some way to making her look clean again. Coming up 160k and I figure I might as well hang on to it and see if it can hit 200k.
It's a nice spec 190 - could do with a remap and a milltek exhaust when I've had the cambelt changed though.
Click to expand...

that was my point of view...I did the cambelt ,waterpump and tensioner a couple of years ago I had the clutch and flywheel done 18 months ago and I did all the front suspension 6 months ago with a Myle HD kit so it drives great but with that money invested in it I may aswell keep it as I wouldn't recoupe that money
 
My 03 S4 avant had pretty rotten front wings when I bought it. I replaced them both.
All the lugs holding the door blades on we're pretty crusty, so these have all been sanded down, treated with kurust and repainted.

Next on the list is the terrible paint bubbling with rust under the roof bars and surrounding panel. It's going to be pricey as the whole side usually has to be painted for a good paint match..
 
Tiny bit of bubbling on the bonnet right by the edge where it meets the front wing.

Stones chips at the centre of the bonnet......now thats where my blood boils. Some are pot hole deep!
 
666markyboy said:
that was my point of view...I did the cambelt ,waterpump and tensioner a couple of years ago I had the clutch and flywheel done 18 months ago and I did all the front suspension 6 months ago with a Myle HD kit so it drives great but with that money invested in it I may aswell keep it as I wouldn't recoupe that money
Click to expand...

I might as well hold onto my B6 until it's not able to keep going. Most B6s and B7s in Ireland don't have many extras, so I could just swap most of my interior into a newer B7 when the time comes and part out the rest of it.
 
JamieOS said:
I might as well hold onto my B6 until it's not able to keep going. Most B6s and B7s in Ireland don't have many extras, so I could just swap most of my interior into a newer B7 when the time comes and part out the rest of it.
Click to expand...


You never know what comes up I guess. The V6's seem to be higher spec as standard. I see most 03-04 B6's having similar spec. Mine has electric seats, full optical pack, colour DIS and a Sat nav module which I never use because the iPhone has replaced it. Would've liked electric windows in the back but I never sit there so no problem!
When I was looking to buy one I did see an A4 with the solar panelled sunroof. Never seen one since.
Can you even cram all the options in? I thought there was only so many spaces in the fuse box.
 
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I have a 04 1.8t quattro Avant and had the wings done by Audi about two years ago now as they had rusted like a lot of others. Just need the tailgate done which is another place they rust.lol
 
Did they cover the full cost? I heard the arches are a nightmare for getting replaced on under the warranty. To be honest I would've been happy to sort them myself if they had taken care of the roofline. They shouldn't be corroded anyway but you just get used to the notion that Audi will be anything but helpful in these circumstances. Doesn't the area where the roofbars attach corrode too on the Avant?
 
Just noticed rust on my o/s front arch and not happy at all!

How long does the paint warranty run for?

Mines had paint on a fair bit of the car now so does that invalidate the warranty?

How much are OE front wings from Audi/TPS?

Does anyone know of any good body shops around the Oldham/Manchester area?

Ryan
 
I've replaced both front wings and I have a 2" patch of bubbling rust on the boot which has been there since I bought the car, other than that no rust issues at all.
 
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RoyalBoob said:
Did they cover the full cost? I heard the arches are a nightmare for getting replaced on under the warranty. To be honest I would've been happy to sort them myself if they had taken care of the roofline. They shouldn't be corroded anyway but you just get used to the notion that Audi will be anything but helpful in these circumstances. Doesn't the area where the roofbars attach corrode too on the Avant?
Click to expand...

Yes they did in my case,one of the luck few. Audi UK 70% and dealer 30% and they did the bonnet and bumper aswell. Haven't heard the roof bars being a problem area tbh but could be wrong.

RyanJonS4 said:
Just noticed rust on my o/s front arch and not happy at all!

How long does the paint warranty run for?

Mines had paint on a fair bit of the car now so does that invalidate the warranty?

How much are OE front wings from Audi/TPS?

Ryan
Click to expand...

From memory it's 12yrs against rust and yes if the wings have been sprayed that will Invalidate it, not sure if rest of car makes a difference. They check with a paint thickest gauge that tells them if it's been resparyed.
 
Greeny233 said:
I've replaced both front wings and I have a 2" patch of bubbling rust on the boot which has been there since I bought the car, other than that no rust issues at all.
Click to expand...

And still the best looking car on here IMO! It's a Avant and in the best colour aswell.lol
 
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I'm off work for a couple of weeks. Perhaps I'll go down to my Audi dealer and present them the shocking state of my arches and see what ******** excuse they come up with to dance out of it. I'm still in the warranty period so who knows. When you're expecting a kick in the nuts, anything less is a nice surprise!

WelshQuattro, how did you manage that? I've never heard of anyone here or on the other Audi forums getting 100% costs covered - and how did it work that the dealer covered some and Audi UK covered the rest? Was it the same dealer that sold the car?
 
Audi can be very awkward when it comes to their corrosion warranty... we went through it all with our 1999 A3 Quattro... they are notorious for rusting at the bttm of the doors and along a seem on the roof... we took ours in and were basically told to get a full refund you need to have been the only owner of the car, have a full Audi service history, never have been painted before unless by Audi and any rust has to be shown to be coming through the paint rather than started by something like a dent or stonechip.... looking back it also seemed to depend on which dealer you went to... some were more willing than others to help than others
 
There was a tread on here about it a few years ago so thought why not give it a try,nothing to lose. The car came from Shrewsbury Audi and I got it off company in Cheltenham(after 18months looking for the right one)Had full Audi service history and all the bills with it,turn's out it's first owner was a Audi mechanic. The dealers I took it to also own the VW dealers opposite which is where the body shop is,that might be why they did it. I do have it serviced there as well once a year(it's never had a long life service) so that helped aswell I think.They have modified the inner arches as that's what make the wing rust( same as they do with passat's) and have silicon sealed them aswell. Like markyboy above has said some dealers are more willing than other but still a battle. Not sure how they worked it but invoice total is £0.00 and they did my front bumper and bonnet aswell while they had it.
 
It's so inconsistent. Staggering for such a brand. I recall seeing a thread where the full Audi dealer service history was disputed under some trading standards and monopolies and fair competition law. I don't think this clause is mentioned in the warranty but if it were, it would be illegal under UK law because Audi is forcing the consumer into doing business with only them.
It's also unreasonable of them to stipulate that every car will remain under one owner for the 12 year duration - surely under their approved used Audi scheme, this would void it.
To be fed such nonsense by patronising dealer staff, I can see why customers get really wound up.
 
My nsf wing is not great, rust on the lip & inner. The osf is in a terrible state, bubbles all over the outside. I've been saying to myself as soon as the paint goes & rust is showing, I'll replace both.

Other than that, I've just got a tiny bit on door leading edge - where it is catching on the wing. So looking to respray the whole front end, doors forward in next 12 months.

My pal owns a body shop & says he'll do me it for £80 a panel
 
I can understand the wheel arches rusting but the roof, and low and behold my 2004 Avant has bubbles along the sides of the roof rails at the rear, started to rub them down and treat them with rust cure before painting and also the inside of the front wheel archesbut overall not bad the a 2004 car, cheers from Colin, P.S I am not the original owner and if Audi are funny about being the original owner the sod it D.I.Y
 
I'm genuinely surprised the bleed'n roof is rusting. I know the wings are a sore point (welcome to the B5 club), but it's isolated. I get the occasional bubble near the screen, but nothing compared to you guys. The door lugs rust, but that's down to the the design. Remove the lower trim and treat. The wings, then I reckon you're going to be treating them, every 2-3 years if I'm honest.

If your attempting this yourself, wait until the spring, strip off the trim, (completely), and apply more zinc primer than a tug in dry dock. The top coat is important, but the undercoat is key.

Doing the arches, strip out the plastic liner, treat the inside, especially the rolled edge. To be frank it's a losing battle.
 
spartacus68 said:
I'm genuinely surprised the bleed'n roof is rusting. I know the wings are a sore point (welcome to the B5 club), but it's isolated. I get the occasional bubble near the screen, but nothing compared to you guys. The door lugs rust, but that's down to the the design. Remove the lower trim and treat. The wings, then I reckon you're going to be treating them, every 2-3 years if I'm honest.

If your attempting this yourself, wait until the spring, strip off the trim, (completely), and apply more zinc primer than a tug in dry dock. The top coat is important, but the undercoat is key.

Doing the arches, strip out the plastic liner, treat the inside, especially the rolled edge. To be frank it's a losing battle.
Click to expand...
I agree wait until spring then get stuck in but the roof along the outer edge at the back is a surprise to me but it is there nerver the less and it must be treated so stop it from going ant further and get down to it properly in the spring, rust is like gout if you don't treat it, it gets worse , the body maintainance is harder than the mechanical side give me a spanner anyday cheers from Colin
 
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Colin Anderton3 said:
I agree wait until spring then get stuck in but the roof along the outer edge at the back is a surprise to me but it is there nerver the less and it must be treated so stop it from going ant further and get down to it properly in the spring, rust is like gout if you don't treat it, it gets worse , the body maintainance is harder than the mechanical side give me a spanner anyday cheers from Colin
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I used this company for the paint. http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk (not 2k paint).

Audi only sell the 150ml rattle cans which is about enough to do a wing mirror! Colour was spot-on, and because it's shipped in 400ml cans, there's plenty to do a wing. I used Jenolite to treat the rust, then acid etch primer, then zinc primer, then top coat and 5-6 coats of bodyshop lacquer to finish.
 
Autopaints Brighton is literally round the corner from me. I've not used them as a pal of mine owns a local(ish) body shop.

If any Sussex locals are interested in details, pm me. He'll likely spray you a panel for £100 - better job than you'll do at home with a can!
 
Mothy69 said:
Autopaints Brighton is literally round the corner from me. I've not used them as a pal of mine owns a local(ish) body shop.

If any Sussex locals are interested in details, pm me. He'll likely spray you a panel for £100 - better job than you'll do at home with a can!
Click to expand...

spartacus 68 said:
I used this company for the paint. http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk (not 2k paint).

Audi only sell the 150ml rattle cans which is about enough to do a wing mirror! Colour was spot-on, and because it's shipped in 400ml cans, there's plenty to do a wing. I used Jenolite to treat the rust, then acid etch primer, then zinc primer, then top coat and 5-6 coats of bodyshop lacquer to finish.
Click to expand...
you are lucky to have then near by, If I have major repairs beyond me I take the car to this independent Audi garage they are called Unit 20 they specialize in RS4's and RS6's two excellent guys as for the what you could call the local Audi dealeship ok if you are buying a new car but for everything else I give them a miss. As for the bodywork I do buy a online spray but I do use a rust treatment once the metalwork is clean, I do watch Ed CHina in wheeler dealers on the telly and you get some good ideas off him, the weather is not too bad today it was sunny a while ago but now it has clouded over again we shall see anyway, alway nice to talk to Audi owners cheers from Colin
 
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