Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience and can advise. Sorry about War and Peace but the background may be useful.
I bought the van from Cordwalis Heathrow in May 2019 and paid for delivery up to Glasgow. It's a September 2017 Kombi.
There is rust on the bottom left hand edge of the tailgate.
It looks to have been caused by the tailgate lightly brushing against the plastic bumper protector when it opens and closes. The paint has worn away over time eventually leading to rust. I spotted the rust about 6 months ago when the tailgate was opened and I was walking back to the van but it's getting worse now and you can see it when the tailgate is closed.
I eventually managed to get it into VW in Glasgow around July (due to Covid restrictions etc) and they did a bit of digging. They said the bumper protector was bought in April 2018 (by the previous owner) and as that was over 2 years ago, it's out of warranty and even if it was in warranty, they are not liable for any claim as they didn't sell me the van! To be honest, I couldn't give a stuff who pays for the repair, I bought a used van from VW with almost 18 months manufacturers warranty and Das Welt and I didn't think I'd have to check everything on the van to see if it was fitted after the factory or had a limited warranty.
Cue a call to Cordwalis, who said if I could bring it in, they'd get it sorted in good faith as I had bought the van from them with the bumper protector in place (I have the original video they took before purchase to prove it) I explained that an 820 mile round trip wasn't possible (or indeed acceptible if buying from VW and I should be able to take it anywhere) and I was told to VW contact customer services as they couldn't authorise another van centre to do a repair?
Customer services have today told me that no-one at Cordwalis remembers the conversation about fixing the tailgate (yes, I know I should have got it in writing at the time) and that there is nothing more they can do.
They did state (in writing now!) "In addition, after speaking with Heathrow Van Centre Service department they have concluded if the rusting was caused by the boot covering it would not appear two years later and would be sooner rather than later. As they have not physically seen the vehicle they are unable to comment further on the matter"
So they can't comment further as they haven't seen the vehicle but they can conclude the rust wasn't caused by the boot covering! Brilliant.
Anyway, if you are still awake (thank you!), I'm going to fire the email from VW off to my solicitor in the morning and let him deal with it. Every single warranty claim (EGR cooler and the usual suspects) have been a complete pain with VW trying to wriggle out of doing anything and I feel the legal route is the only way of getting this fixed. If you look at one of my previous posts you will see that the van was delivered from London with under rated tyres so I'm less than impressed with VW.
Does anyone have any suggestions outwith the legal route?
Thanks
I bought the van from Cordwalis Heathrow in May 2019 and paid for delivery up to Glasgow. It's a September 2017 Kombi.
There is rust on the bottom left hand edge of the tailgate.
It looks to have been caused by the tailgate lightly brushing against the plastic bumper protector when it opens and closes. The paint has worn away over time eventually leading to rust. I spotted the rust about 6 months ago when the tailgate was opened and I was walking back to the van but it's getting worse now and you can see it when the tailgate is closed.
I eventually managed to get it into VW in Glasgow around July (due to Covid restrictions etc) and they did a bit of digging. They said the bumper protector was bought in April 2018 (by the previous owner) and as that was over 2 years ago, it's out of warranty and even if it was in warranty, they are not liable for any claim as they didn't sell me the van! To be honest, I couldn't give a stuff who pays for the repair, I bought a used van from VW with almost 18 months manufacturers warranty and Das Welt and I didn't think I'd have to check everything on the van to see if it was fitted after the factory or had a limited warranty.
Cue a call to Cordwalis, who said if I could bring it in, they'd get it sorted in good faith as I had bought the van from them with the bumper protector in place (I have the original video they took before purchase to prove it) I explained that an 820 mile round trip wasn't possible (or indeed acceptible if buying from VW and I should be able to take it anywhere) and I was told to VW contact customer services as they couldn't authorise another van centre to do a repair?
Customer services have today told me that no-one at Cordwalis remembers the conversation about fixing the tailgate (yes, I know I should have got it in writing at the time) and that there is nothing more they can do.
They did state (in writing now!) "In addition, after speaking with Heathrow Van Centre Service department they have concluded if the rusting was caused by the boot covering it would not appear two years later and would be sooner rather than later. As they have not physically seen the vehicle they are unable to comment further on the matter"
So they can't comment further as they haven't seen the vehicle but they can conclude the rust wasn't caused by the boot covering! Brilliant.
Anyway, if you are still awake (thank you!), I'm going to fire the email from VW off to my solicitor in the morning and let him deal with it. Every single warranty claim (EGR cooler and the usual suspects) have been a complete pain with VW trying to wriggle out of doing anything and I feel the legal route is the only way of getting this fixed. If you look at one of my previous posts you will see that the van was delivered from London with under rated tyres so I'm less than impressed with VW.
Does anyone have any suggestions outwith the legal route?
Thanks
