VW rust warranty - anyone with experience

[GT.....O?]

Has anyone had to deal with VW and their 12 year rust warranty for vehicles from 2011-2018?

Our golf sportswagon had the hatch start to rust about a year ago, (Very common) 2 months ago we started the process with VW and finally got in to get an estimate.

We are still waiting for the approval from VW so see what will all be covered, but there are about 12 places with rust that need fixing, across 8 different panels. (mostly rockers and fenders).
It was quoted around $15,000 to get everything fixed up, assuming VW approves all of this, does anyone have any experience with getting this all fixed, or has anyone been able to get a dealership credit in place of fixing the rust?

We paid 13 grand for the car 3 years ago, and with upcoming maintenance and the potential for more rust issues my thought is to surrender the car, take a credit at the dealership and get a newer vehicle.

To me, it would make sense for them to take the car and give us a credit, but not sure if that a possibility.

Either they shell out ~15,000 grand to fix the rust and we take the car and immediately sell it, or they give us a credit for 13-14,000, and sell the car with or without repairs to re-coup the costs... thoughts? TIA

Edit: VW has said they will at least fix most of it, but havent said whether it will be fully covered or not.

[Team_Mclaren]

I think you are optimistic to think VW will fix it or give you credit for it. Usually rust coverage has to obtain proof that it's material defect and not environmental damage.

you paid 13k for the car 3 years ago and wants 14k back for it? WUT>

[ThePenIsMightier]

They're a nightmare and tend to delay you with completely nonsense, BS examples of what "could have" caused the rust in the hopes that you give up.

[R-Audi]

In the past with Audi dealings, the rust warranty is only valid with perforation.. that is a hole through the panel.

[ShermanEF9]

No way they cover it. They will tell you its due to environment and not due to defect. That warranty is a joke. I'm shocked they even entertained it.

[ExtraSlow]

Was this part of some addition to the standard factory warranty? Was this an extra add-on from the dealership itself? What does the paperwork say?

[kenny]

I had SCVW fix the rust on our Passat. Replaced both fenders and the rear quarters. There was a bit of rust on the door but that wasn't covered.

They initially said they would only cover it if it was perforated, but after I asked them to check they said that they would fix anything that wasn't caused externally (rock chip or door ding, etc).

If you have surface rust only, they will not fix it (unless you want to cover that portion yourself).

[Team_Mclaren]

I mean come on, it's a 11 year old car in Calgary. You cant really put the blame on the manufacturer can you?

[ExtraSlow]

If someone is stupid enough to warranty that, then I'd be stupid enough to put in a warranty claim.

[kenny]

VW has since reduced their corrosion warranty to 7 years but hey if you have a vehicle on the 12 year coverage you'd be stupid not to put in a claim.

[BavarianBeast]

If anyone fixes the rust for you, post the name of the business here. I have a tiny bit of rust on my 89’ VW bus that id like to get fixed but nobody seems to repair rust anymore.

[GT.....O?]

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VW has since reduced their corrosion warranty to 7 years but hey if you have a vehicle on the 12 year coverage you'd be stupid not to put in a claim.

you'd be stupid not to put in a claim

my thoughts as well, worth a try.

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If anyone fixes the rust for you, post the name of the business here. I have a tiny bit of rust on my 89’ VW bus that id like to get fixed but nobody seems to repair rust anymore.

Its through the dealership

We are dumping the car either way, might as well get as much money for it as we can. If they fix it, good for us, if not we've burned 1 hr of driving to and from the appointment...? Dont know why anyone would turn down the potential....

[Team_Mclaren]

I dont disagree that one should make a claim. But you make it sounds like they'll may you 15k for your 11year old rust bucket.

[ExtraSlow]

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I dont disagree that one should make a claim. But you make it sounds like they'll may you 15k for your 11year old rust bucket.

Crazier things have happened. Let's watch how this plays out.

[GT.....O?]

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I dont disagree that one should make a claim. But you make it sounds like they'll may you 15k for your 11year old rust bucket.

From the dealers perspective, what we spent on the car is irrelevant.

I agree, i would rather them not fix it. It will probably show up as a warranty claim, and its likely to start rusting again within the next 2 years. But in terms of sunk cost, they have options and i want to see if they would play ball to save themselves and us some money. They dont care about the car, they care how much money its going to cost.

I never said they will, im asking if anyone has gone through the process. I liken this to collision damage, why pay more than the car is worth in repairs.

[Shlade]

From my experience, theyre shit to deal with. I just decided to sell the car instead.

My brother is in the process right now and theyre dragging it out hard.

[bjstare]

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If anyone fixes the rust for you, post the name of the business here. I have a tiny bit of rust on my 89’ VW bus that id like to get fixed but nobody seems to repair rust anymore.

Have you called screamin paintworks? They did rust repair for me a few years back, and quality/price was awesome.

[BavarianBeast]

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Have you called screamin paintworks? They did rust repair for me a few years back, and quality/price was awesome.

I was referred to them previously but they told me they didn’t do it anymore. Not worth the time for auto body shops these days I guess. Kind of frustrating but I am sure I’ll find somebody eventually.

[M.alex]

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I was referred to them previously but they told me they didn’t do it anymore. Not worth the time for auto body shops these days I guess. Kind of frustrating but I am sure I’ll find somebody eventually.

Once you have rust you can't win - i've tried to repair my 04 cobra's rear quarters 3 times and each time failed (one time didn't even make it 10 days before it re-appeared). Panel replacement is the only way ... most people are idiots and will probably blame the shop for doing a bad repair, so I don't blame most shops for not taking on a rust job

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Once you have rust you can't win - i've tried to repair my 04 cobra's rear quarters 3 times and each time failed (one time didn't even make it 10 days before it re-appeared). Panel replacement is the only way ... most people are idiots and will probably blame the shop for doing a bad repair, so I don't blame most shops for not taking on a rust job

There are specialist craftsman that have been dealing with VW Bus rust since the 60's, otherwise there wouldn't be any of those things left.
BB's looks like a Type-3 which puts it around 30 years old, already.