Mis-shaped body panel on new Golf
 

Hi,

just bought a brand new Golf GT TDi. Great to drive when compare to my old scooby.

Just gave it the first wash this afternoon and noticed that profile down the side of the car seems a bit out of shape under the driver side mirror -kinda raised out and not flush in line with the front wing. Closer inspect reveals that the top part to the panel is a couple of mil out... really odd but doesn't look like its been bent.

My only worry is how the dealer is going to remediate this? - can they bend it back safely... I certainly don't want a new door because it'll never match will it!?

What colour is it?

If you`re not happy take it back.

Even if you can live with it, have it sorted anyway, when it is time to trade in you can bet your life it will stand out like a sore thumb then making the car look like it has been invloved in an accident, if they repair it and it does not match then demand a new car :)

diamond black is the colour.

don't want any re-spray, not on a new car... I'm a hawk eye for body work and I know you can never make it look the same.

I'm just hoping they can seamlessly bend it back some how or maybe something on the inner side of the door is causing it to stick out.

good point about the re-sale issue - anyone might think i'd had a bump and had a bodge repair.

Maybe its just the door hinges needing a slight adjustment?

Here you go folks.... i've put up some pics, what do you think?

http://www.limegreen.wanadoo.co.uk/IMG_1620.jpg

http://www.limegreen.wanadoo.co.uk/IMG_1624.jpg

the "following" panel is nearly always recessed a little to stop wind noise

ie the door should be "behind" the front wing a little

wonder if it has had either a door or wing as an end of line repair before it left the factory, they do happen, i have seen them painting up brand new cars before they leave the end of the production line :eek:

is the other side the same?

FWIW IMO

best course of action might be to get a local "smart repair man/paintless door bloke" to try and bend out the wing a little bit without cracking the paint

that's if you do not want the local dealership to start replacing wings/doors,paint etc etc

it could also be that somewhere along the line somebody has leaned a little on the front wing and pushed it in a touch without realising?

Other side is inline and spot on... that’s what made me scrutinise it so much. maybe it has been repaired at the factory but the paint finish is what i'd consider perfect.

I'll buzz the dealer tomorrow, no way I want any paint repairs if they suggest it on a new car with less than 200miles and worth 18 grand. It should have been right from day 1.

After seeing the pics,you can disregard my post about hinges,that panel is deffo bent.Take it back and take none of their nonsense,after all, their quick enough at taking our cash. Hope you get it resolved amicably.

Reject it. It was damaged at some point and you'ld be surprised how many "new" cars are repaired before delivery

That looks more like a fault with the door panel than the wing.

Take it back. Ask to speak to the dealer principal. Ask him for his opinion.

As soon as he says fault/flaw/ whatever, advise him you are rejecting the car. back it up in writing, confirming the reason you are rejecting it is because he has confirmed there is a flaw.

Have a witness with you if possible.

Its a shame you didn't see it when you picked it up. It is unfortunately typical of VW agents that this wasn't picked up in a PDI.

I wish you better luck than I had with my Golf GT TDI :( Mine was delivered to me with damage on the door and also a few basic things not working, like a handbrake warning light! :eek: I dont think mine even went through a PDI!

I let the dealer repair the door, and they got a perfect match on the paintwork you would never even know it had been done!

Although after a lot more issues with my car over the last 15 months, 24,600 miles, i have finally got rid of mine.

I loved the engine, and the way that it drove! Just my local VW dealer has left a very sour taste in my mouth for any VAG car now!

dealer are taking it in to their body shop. they reckon the door is a skin and is held on by some screw on the rear (i have seen what they mean). they hope simply making adjustments here will solve the problem.

fingers crossed hey.

Hello again,

well, got the car back today after the 3rd attempt to straighten it out. What do you think? This is what it looks like now. The door is out of shape as someone pointed out - I agree with that. You can tell this from examing the profile of the door against the join.

http://www.limegreen.wanadoo.co.uk/_IMG_2038.jpg

http://www.limegreen.wanadoo.co.uk/_IMG_2048.jpg

http://www.limegreen.wanadoo.co.uk/_IMG_2050.jpg

Deffo looks out of line.....time to take it back again...and demand a new car!

PDi = pull off all the protective polythene and give a wash.

Well maybe a new door anyway.

I've got a black mark 5 Golf sitting outside at the moment, if you want me to post any pictures give me a shout and i'll dig out my camera/batteries/charger.

that is shocking
 

I can't believe that, both your dealer and vw should be shot....3 attempts to fix and still no result....demand they take the car back now!

You should get a car that is spot on when you buy it, but I can understand how the odd problem could slip through the PDi due to human error. In reality most likely shoddy or no checking on the PDI rather than human error but thats another discussion.

To have to take the car back for 3 attempts to fix a problem like this is unacceptable. They must have known after the first attempt that it was not right and should not have given you the car back.

I would be looking for compensation (i.e free services etc) and would start to drop hints that I am considering rejecting the car unless fixed within a reasonable timeframe.

Additionally, hopefully there are giving you a decent car to drive round in.

Good luck getting it sorted. This kind of thing takes the edge of getting a new car and highlights the poor service received almost everywhere nowadays.

Instead of dealing with the dealer, give customer services a ring. After speaking with an adviser, offer to email your photograph's for their inspection/comments. You'll find that dealing with customer services will get you a satisfactory conclusion, rather than your local dealer.
Inform customer services that if it's not rectified to your satisfaction, then you will reject the car and take your business to another manufacturer.

Good luck.

Not good :(

I would certainly be speaking to VW Customer Service directly now, and when I had my Golf and was speaking with them they certainly were very good at getting things resolved, i am sure they will happily step in and help out in this situation.

Reject it, if you still can. It'll niggle you and spoil the ownership experience. Don't be afraid of being "a bastid" - they're trying it on with you. I wouldn't want a new door - whoever buys the car from you may well notice the work that's been done.

oh my god, I got the car back today and the bloomin bodyshop have resprayed my door and front wing in an effort to fix the issue. Yes they've sorted out the alignment but it's all ripply and little pits in the paint!

what am I going to do - just over one month old, 1030miles on the clock. Ruined my pride and joy!:confused:

And all they can say is, its fixed satisfactorily.

Simple, ring vw customer service, demand a refund or a new car.

They can't get out of this one m8. But do it first thing tomorrow, not in a week or so. Also, take an hour or so and write an official letter of complaint and send it to vw head office. State how much time and money you have lost trying to fix a problem which 'they' should have spotted. Also, lost value come re-sale time due to partial re-spray. If you can tell the difference in paint, expect any new buyer to aswell.

VW Customer service in my experience are pretty good. Stuff the dealer, go straight to someone who can make a decision.

Chris

Hi Chris,

I spoke to VW and they fobbed me off saying it needs to be down to the dealer principle to sort me out. The dealer has already fobbed me off saying its suitably fixed... but they fecking ruined it (at least to me!) and lied dispite writing to them to make sure they wouldn't respray it!

To be honest, after all these hassles I just want the money back now. They are so out of order doing this to me.

Get in touch with the Motoring section of papers.
The Sun, Mirror and Star all have motoring sections on Fridays.
They sometimes help people out. They make run your story and contact VW for you. They've more leverage than you alone.

Trading standards?
Solicitor?

Trading Standards said reject and put it to the dealer.

They've made a 'major' boo boo by doing this.