Underustimated

I am having real difficulty in getting Volkswagen to honour its corrosion warranty on a second-hand Polo. They have passed me round various different departments, and I have had a number of telephone calls. I have never been given a sensible reason why the claim has been rejected. My local body repair shop tells me that the problem results from faulty manufacture of the panel that has been affected. Could I ask for your help with this? I bought my 2003/53 reg Polo from Inchcape in Oswestry, Shropshire in August 2008. When I cleaned it recently, I noticed that paint was peeling off the front wheel arch. Since Inchcape in Oswestry has subsequently gone out of business, I rang Inchcape Shrewsbury with a view to claiming under VW’s corrosion warranty and I took the car in for them to inspect it. They photographed the rusty area and subsequently informed me that the claim had been rejected. I then contacted the Volkswagen customer service department, who also rejected the claim.

Asked on 17 July 2010 by CL, via email

Answered by Honest John
This is probably not VW's problem. As you wrote, you bought the car 2nd hand in 2008 when it was already 4 - 5 years old. So it could have been damaged and repaired during the previous ownership. There was no guarantee when you bought the car that any repairs to its body have been carried out in accordance with VW's 3-year paint warranty and much longer 'no perforation' warranty. You might have a case against the supplying dealer. But you would need to prove that the problem was developing before you bought the car.
Your consumer rights are here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights
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