Undercarriage damage - deal breaker on used TDI?

Hello everyone,

Still new to TDI's as I arrived in California from Canada to inspect and pick up my 2012 red TDI and discovered the car has some uncarriage damage. We don't have the red colour here in Canada so since I was already headed down to California on vacation I looked around and thought I had found a good deal but I am now concerned about the damage.

It looks like either the car was driven over a curb or damaged on a lift as only the lower panel under the passenger door is damaged and there is no damage I can find elsewhere. No damage on the car fax and a visit to the original dealership confirmed the carfax. You can see the damage in the following photo.

https://automanager.blob.core.windo...104f464e43af8052daa02fc475/ad09e02cfa_640.jpg

Anyhow it was getting dark at the dealership so I'm returning in three days to further inspect the car but I'm wondering if should even bother. I'll have to get the damage repaired, which concerns me with the salt here in Canada.

It's the version we wanted with red/beige and keyless start so I'm willing to consider a reduction in price but does anyone have any thoughts on the damage?

That is the rocker panel having been bent. Not an inexpensive fix. My car has a dented in rocker also. The body shop said it was more than just pulling the rocker out. You should get an estimate on the repair prior to purchasing the car, to use those facts in your decision.

Thanks tactdi,

does look to be a cost that I'll have to work out with the dealership. Sorry you have similar damage but also relieved that it's not an uncommon occurrence.

Not uncommon, but that one got bashed pretty good. I'd want a significant discount for that. Or just find a better one.

droptiks said:

Thanks tactdi,

does look to be a cost that I'll have to work out with the dealership. Sorry you have similar damage but also relieved that it's not an uncommon occurrence.

Click to expand...

I drove over a curb in the dark when raining. One of those nights where the rain made it very hard to see what was on the road.
I was sitting at a light at the end of an off ramp going to turn left.
Then decided to turn right (there was no traffic) when trying to find a motel, did not know there was a triangle shaped piece of concrete to separate the left and right turn lanes on my right. Drove right over that with the right rear, scrapped and bent the rocker in, hit the right rear wheel, causing a puncture of the tire, which I did not see until the next morning leaving the motel.
Luckily the Jetta had a full size spare. We were in Lafayette, IN and had to drive to VA that day.

Mannnnnnnn. That's terrible. I know how happy you were for this car. I would get several quotes from local to you body shops to repair and ask for the dealership to give you a reduction in price comparable to that, plus extra for your time and trouble... and for not mentioning this to you during the presale conversations.

Hope you get it all figured out, great color combo!

There are a few red 2012 Sportwagens for sale here in Las Vegas. One is a really nice cpo at the vw dealer next to me. Same place I just bought my 2011.

The one at the dealer is a cpo 2014 with 28,000 miles for $12,900.
Interior is black though.
Cpo means it also comes with 2 year bumper to bumper warranty.
Not sure how warranty would work out in Canada.

We have almost identical damage on our 2009. I would not worry about it long term. Just get them to take some dollars off the price.

I got to fully inspect the car on Friday and the car does look like it was damaged during transport. I'm guessing someone drove it off the ramp. I'm appreciative of the feedback on whether it would be a long term issue.

Since the car was in great shape otherwise we've asked the dealership to repair it and drop the price with final purchase being upon our satisfaction of repair. I also wrangled out some extra service to change the DSG fluid, replace the tires with M&S tires, and a break on shipping. I don't recall if I mentioned but I called the previous dealership who serviced the car before the buyback and they verified the service and ownership history so I am feel pretty comfortable with the rest of the car.

I've found a good number of the red/black interiors (the LV one sounds nice) and while I actually prefer the red/black combo but my daughter and wife get car sick so we stick with light interiors. The Pano sunroof will be wonderful.

I did look at a few CPO cars and the warranty doesn't transfer unfortunately. The warranty is still valid in the US and it could work for some minor issues that don't disable the car but we're pretty much out of luck for any repairs that require a tow.

Hopefully the repair goes well as we've already invested quite a bit of time into the import process!

tactdi said:

I drove over a curb in the dark when raining. One of those nights where the rain made it very hard to see what was on the road.
I was sitting at a light at the end of an off ramp going to turn left.
Then decided to turn right (there was no traffic) when trying to find a motel, did not know there was a triangle shaped piece of concrete to separate the left and right turn lanes on my right. Drove right over that with the right rear, scrapped and bent the rocker in, hit the right rear wheel, causing a puncture of the tire, which I did not see until the next morning leaving the motel.
Luckily the Jetta had a full size spare. We were in Lafayette, IN and had to drive to VA that day.

Click to expand...

OUCH! That had to be painful!

droptiks said:

I've found a good number of the red/black interiors (the LV one sounds nice) and while I actually prefer the red/black combo but my daughter and wife get car sick so we stick with light interiors.

Click to expand...

What does a light interior do for car sickness? Does it make it less likely they get sick at all or is it easier to clean up after the fact?

My wife gets car sick whenever she tries to read. Well, she doesn't try to read but whenever I ask her to grab the map and give me directions or reply to an email she says she's about to get sick.

bizzle said:

Does it make it less likely they get sick at all or is it easier to clean up after the fact?

Click to expand...

Clean up doesn't happen too much. LOL!

I don't get car sick but what they tell me is that light interiors seem to help them feel less closed in and able to focus on the distance. Anyone wanting to test it out this out in their cars?

Yep, I'm pretty much on my own with maps or any other reading/texting assistance while I'm driving.

Our GSW has black interior and the Touareg has saddle so I'm going to ask her if she feels differently while we're driving in each.

Nice, try front and back with and without sunroof open.

droptiks said:

Hello everyone,

Still new to TDI's as I arrived in California from Canada to inspect and pick up my 2012 red TDI and discovered the car has some uncarriage damage. We don't have the red colour here in Canada so since I was already headed down to California on vacation I looked around and thought I had found a good deal but I am now concerned about the damage.

It looks like either the car was driven over a curb or damaged on a lift as only the lower panel under the passenger door is damaged and there is no damage I can find elsewhere. No damage on the car fax and a visit to the original dealership confirmed the carfax. You can see the damage in the following photo.

https://automanager.blob.core.windo...104f464e43af8052daa02fc475/ad09e02cfa_640.jpg

Anyhow it was getting dark at the dealership so I'm returning in three days to further inspect the car but I'm wondering if should even bother. I'll have to get the damage repaired, which concerns me with the salt here in Canada.

It's the version we wanted with red/beige and keyless start so I'm willing to consider a reduction in price but does anyone have any thoughts on the damage?

Click to expand...

I hope this will help you. I recently had something very similar but on my car. I called few body shops in the area and they all said same thing. At least 3 days in shop + 1000 worth of repairs.

Until i found a place here that does paintless dent repair or PDR. They were able to remove the dent the very same day and only for $350. No, they didn't paint and carfax was not reported.

Their website is this https://www.arsdentrepair.com but i don't think they have any franchises in California. I found them via Google.

Again hope this little information will help you.

droptiks said:

Hello everyone,

Still new to TDI's as I arrived in California from Canada to inspect and pick up my 2012 red TDI and discovered the car has some uncarriage damage. We don't have the red colour here in Canada so since I was already headed down to California on vacation I looked around and thought I had found a good deal but I am now concerned about the damage.

It looks like either the car was driven over a curb or damaged on a lift as only the lower panel under the passenger door is damaged and there is no damage I can find elsewhere. No damage on the car fax and a visit to the original dealership confirmed the carfax. You can see the damage in the following photo.

https://automanager.blob.core.windo...104f464e43af8052daa02fc475/ad09e02cfa_640.jpg

Anyhow it was getting dark at the dealership so I'm returning in three days to further inspect the car but I'm wondering if should even bother. I'll have to get the damage repaired, which concerns me with the salt here in Canada.

It's the version we wanted with red/beige and keyless start so I'm willing to consider a reduction in price but does anyone have any thoughts on the damage?

Click to expand...

I had very similar damage on my TDI. I took to a few local body shops and they all said same 1000+ dollars worth of damage and at least 3 days at shop.
Then with help of Google i found a local paintless dent repair company that repaired this dent without paint.
They were fast, the same day and cost me $350 only. Their website is https://www.arsdentrepair.com. Not sure if they have a similar place in California but it's worth of checking.
Hope it helps

damage repair

got to inspect the damage repair and they did a pretty good job (especially since we are considering adding a minor body kit) so looks like I can finally arrange shipping and join the TDI group. Yay!

here are few photos

before

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xota5uj115cm3gj/396c1e1e32_640.jpg?dl=0

after

https://www.dropbox.com/s/crpqbfznxkxxvh9/d76f7c3b-a2ff-4338-af67-568ae6c441e4.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzbg8mgffo9vngc/6b254a31-9587-4223-b29c-71f1599b1d15.jpg?dl=0

droptiks said:

got to inspect the damage repair and they did a pretty good job (especially since we are considering adding a minor body kit) so looks like I can finally arrange shipping and join the TDI group. Yay!
here's are few photos
before
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xota5uj115cm3gj/396c1e1e32_640.jpg?dl=0
after
https://www.dropbox.com/s/crpqbfznxkxxvh9/d76f7c3b-a2ff-4338-af67-568ae6c441e4.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzbg8mgffo9vngc/6b254a31-9587-4223-b29c-71f1599b1d15.jpg?dl=0

Click to expand...

Wow! Did they repaint rocker panel all it was done with PDR ?

droptiks said:

Clean up doesn't happen too much. LOL!
I don't get car sick but what they tell me is that light interiors seem to help them feel less closed in and able to focus on the distance. Anyone wanting to test it out this out in their cars?
Yep, I'm pretty much on my own with maps or any other reading/texting assistance while I'm driving.

Click to expand...

I'm the one who gets car sick. Interior color has nothing to do with whether or not I'm prone to be ill. I have a Corrado with black leather, I have a MkIV Wagon with black cloth interior, we have an 06 Jetta with beige leatherette. If you ask me to take my focus off the surroundings and forward facing horizon and focus on a paper book, my phone, a map, or to face backward out of the car for anything more than a brief moment or two, I'm going to get motion sick.

For those who don't understand the underlying cause of the illness, it's a disconnect between the vision and the inner ear sense of motion. I can personally drive through winding mountain roads for hours without a problem. If you put me in the passenger seat or the back seat and ask me to close my eyes, or read something, my lunch will be paying us a second visit. I tolerate commercial airline travel, to varying degrees, if I have a window seat where I can keep an eye on the horizon at a distance. If we hit turbulence and I'm watching a chase scene from Fast and Furious, I'm much better off than if I was attempting to read something on my laptop or phone. If you put me on a virtual reality roller coaster, I can tell you whether the video is properly timed to the mechanical motion of the ride. I tolerate boating on the open Atlantic Ocean, if we don't spend much time bobbing at anchor, and if you don't ask me to retrieve the anchor (meaning I would have to take my eyes off the horizon and disconnect the visual from the inner ear sense of motion). If I'm running the boat, I'm much better off than if I'm a passenger on the back deck of a commercial dive boat breathing diesel exhaust fumes & carbon monoxide. I grew up boating, so I have had plenty of time to put the pieces together from this puzzle. Having grown up at a time when you could "toss the kids in the back of the station wagon", and having had an uncle with the station wagon with the third row rear facing seat, I can assure you that putting a child who gets motion sick facing rearward on winding rural country roads is a bad idea for your interior, even if I wasn't required to be buckled in and could just toss my cookies out the back window.

Now about that rocker damage, if the deflection is just the rounded area and hasn't deformed the body seam under the car where the jack goes, then it's mostly cosmetic in nature. I'm working on a MkV right now, and I could post photos of what that hollow cavity looks like leading forward from the rear wheel well.

where2 said:

If you ask me to take my focus off the surroundings and forward facing horizon and focus on a paper book, my phone, a map, or to face backward out of the car for anything more than a brief moment or two, I'm going to get motion sick.

Now about that rocker damage, if the deflection is just the rounded area and hasn't deformed the body seam under the car where the jack goes, then it's mostly cosmetic in nature. I'm working on a MkV right now, and I could post photos of what that hollow cavity looks like leading forward from the rear wheel well.

Click to expand...

Yes, that's exactly the story in my family. As someone that doesn't experience motion sickness I can't fully appreciate the difficulties they have but I've learned to modify how I drive and warn my family when I might brake hard or enter a curve or something else that can create an imbalance in perception. Often I just let my wife drive on particularly curvy roads. Since it is about focus my family just finds the light interiors help keep their eyes on the surroundings. A cure it is not. I know that suspension settings, shift aggressiveness, braking, visibility have far greater impact.

For the rocker damage, just turned out it was just damage to the outer panel and the crease did not touch the body seam. Dealers body shop quickly pulled it out and repainted.

Where2, would be good to post some photos of the cavity if you have them. I didn't get a chance to on mine.

Hi all, finally got my 2012 Tornado Red Jetta delivered and imported into British Columbia. Overall the price came out to be on par with what I found locally (including all the service I needed to perform to import the car and taxes) but...

the car wasn't quite the bargain it started out to be as the car didn't pass the BC safety inspection. The inspector didn't pass the brake rotors claiming they were rusted beyond service. He also didn't pass the tires which considering they did need replacing before the winter (the JSW had a set of summer nanking tires on it) wasn't so bad but I couldn't believe he didn't pass the rotors. I specifically went south for a rust free car to bring north and the inspector claimed the minor grooving on the rotors was pitted beyond service! I posted a picture of the worst of the rotors below.



I can see some grooving but rusted beyond service and needing a full rotor and calliper service on all four wheels! Talk about a money grab for the repair shop. I was further outraged when I pulled the wheels off and the brake pads had only 10% wear on them and the callipers showed nearly identical thickness and the replacements.

Anyhow, the way BC inspections works is once an inspector fails the car you have to go through an appeals process or prove to the original inspector that the needed repairs were completed. Considering that I was paying a surcharge for temporary license permits and insurance I figured it was less expensive in the end to put on a new set of rotors and repay the inspection fee than wait for the appeals! However, I did take the opportunity to do a low cost mod and paint the callipers red. Thoughts?



So all's good in BC. Anyone in Vancouver wanting to buy a set of "rusted" ;-) OEM rotors?

My thoughts are those rotors needed to be replaced from the grooves alone without even measuring the tolerances of them. Someone replaced the pads without replacing the rotors and the fact those pads aren't worn doesn't mean the rotors were the same age.

That rotor is definitely grooved, but doesn't look all that bad. Hard to tell from a photo though. The new one sure looks nice. Painting the calipers is a good idea, rusty cast iron calipers look terrible.

Yes, that was the worst of the set but I feel a little bit better that someone else thinks the replacement wasn't a complete loss of money.

And yes, getting some protection on the callipers will likely pay off in the winter.