Warranty Fender replacement in the GTA?

Hey all,

I have been waiting until spring to get my fenders done under warranty, until a big chunk of paint fell off the driver's side and now looks like crap.

Has anyone had theirs done at a GTA VW retailer under warranty and:

1) Was pleased with the results (paint quality, fitment etc).
2) Wasn't given a huge runaround as to if it would be covered under the 10 year corrosion perforation warranty?

I can speak "warranty" and can likely get it covered anywhere, but I would rather get it done at a dealer where I don't have to twist their arm to cover it.

I had the same issue and took mine to Yorkdale VW, the took pictures and made an appointment for me to come in when I had time. Very friendly service.
They had the car back to me in a few days and the quality and fit are perfect. The only thing not done was the "Clear Bra" I had on the olkd fenders was not replaced . I guess since I got that put on aftermarket, I'll have to replace that later.

MrVermin

Let me tell you one dealer that you should avoid for bodywork = Owasco.

I'm in the same boat. Waiting until this spring to get my fender done under warranty. Although, rust/bubbling is only showing on one side. Will they replace the other one if it doesn't show any rust yet?

Qreus George said:

I'm in the same boat. Waiting until this spring to get my fender done under warranty. Although, rust/bubbling is only showing on one side. Will they replace the other one if it doesn't show any rust yet?

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I had my two fenders done at Don Valley VW.
My driver side fender rusted and looked very bad, but passenger side just had a little under the trim and not that obviously. I talked to the estimator and told him that the passenger side would going worse in the future and I had to come back again, so they replaced both without any problem.

Both my fenders, the rears and the trunk have rust. I wonder if I could get the entire car painted? lol

Does this recall involve Golf also?

CmdrData said:

Does this recall involve Golf also?

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Yup, not a recall but a TSB that you have to ask the stealership for.

Looks like I'll have to look into this in the spring as well. My fenders were bubbling a little, but now the paint totally came off on one side. I guess I'll lose the clear bra. Better that then have the car rusting.

GD said:

Yup, not a recall but a TSB that you have to ask the stealership for.

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Good to know, thx!

I would highly recommend, Pfaff's body shop. Don't know how tight they are going to be regarding the warranty work. However, the actual work performed by their staff is of high caliber.

Link977 said:

I had my two fenders done at Don Valley VW.
My driver side fender rusted and looked very bad, but passenger side just had a little under the trim and not that obviously. I talked to the estimator and told him that the passenger side would going worse in the future and I had to come back again, so they replaced both without any problem.

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Cheers - thx for the ref. I'll give them a call once this winter nonsense is close to over. Hope my luck is as good as yours.

I've had mine done at the Queensway dealership. Got nothing bad to say about it. I showed them the rust on both fenders. They took the car away for a few days and that was it. Came back with brand new fenders.

I had my fender on the Black 2000 Jetta Done by Collision Plus here in Cambridge. Cambridge VW contracts out to Collision Plus, great work they pre-ordered the fender (OEM) and pre-painted it for when I showed up they had it installed in about 15 minutes.

Well, I stopped by Don Valley VW today and had them look at the fenders.

The Body-shop guy came out, took some pictures (of both sides) and asked me "are you looking to get this covered under warranty?

"yes"


"oh. I'll have to run this by the district rep, given the age and mileage of the car"


"Uh- I've gone through the owners manual, and the rust-through warranty is ten years unlimited mileage - the car is not yet ten years old, and there are no mileage limitations in there."


"yeah, but we still have to run this by him. Newer cars are "fast tracked", but we'll need authorization for yours. Should have an answer by tomorrow"



I'll update after I call him back tomorrow...

Windex said:

Well, I stopped by Don Valley VW today and had them look at the fenders.

The Body-shop guy came out, took some pictures (of both sides) and asked me "are you looking to get this covered under warranty?

"yes"


"oh. I'll have to run this by the district rep, given the age and mileage of the car"


"Uh- I've gone through the owners manual, and the rust-through warranty is ten years unlimited mileage - the car is not yet ten years old, and there are no mileage limitations in there."


"yeah, but we still have to run this by him. Newer cars are "fast tracked", but we'll need authorization for yours. Should have an answer by tomorrow"



I'll update after I call him back tomorrow...

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When I had my fenders done, my car had around 245K kms, and it is 2000 Jetta. You may need some patience and give him 3-5 days to get back to you. The guy who I dealt with called me after 5 days,lol.

Windex said:

Well, I stopped by Don Valley VW today and had them look at the fenders.

The Body-shop guy came out, took some pictures (of both sides) and asked me "are you looking to get this covered under warranty?

"yes"


"oh. I'll have to run this by the district rep, given the age and mileage of the car"


"Uh- I've gone through the owners manual, and the rust-through warranty is ten years unlimited mileage - the car is not yet ten years old, and there are no mileage limitations in there."


"yeah, but we still have to run this by him. Newer cars are "fast tracked", but we'll need authorization for yours. Should have an answer by tomorrow"



I'll update after I call him back tomorrow...

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I've dealt with Al at DVW, he seems to be okay. But I never got any warranty work done there though.

Although some members prefer not to go to DVW for bodywork

Update:

They are going to do it without any difficulties.

"Good news Adam, they're going to cover the replacement of the fenders!"

<-- thinks to himself "you're damn right you are"

"I've booked you in for Monday. We'll need the car for three days. We have to paint the fenders, and then flash in the paint"

Me - "Uh, about that. I'd rather the paint not be flashed in - you're just going to paint over top of the old paint. That stuff flakes off after a couple of years - I'd rather have a slight mismatch in the paint tone when viewed from the wrong angle than flakey door paint in a couple of years - how about you just paint the fenders?"

Him - "Oh. Ok, then we should only need the car for the day then. We'll have the fenders painted and ready to install"

Me - "see you Monday"

So that's it - I'll post up before and after pics for comparison. So far DV VW has been fine in all respects. I should try and get them to do my outstanding brake switch recall at the same time...

Should have pushed harder. As far as I know, a number of members got brand new fenders.

Toronto_Vento said:

Should have pushed harder. As far as I know, a number of members got brand new fenders.

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To clarify, they are going to replace the fenders. They are ordering new ones in, painting them ahead of time, and then installing them on Monday.

I told the guy that I'm Ok with a "slight" mismatch in lieu of flashing in the doors - I hope that doesn't end up being famous last words...

Warranty Fender Replacement?

Could any of you guys post the TSB or a link to it, or at
least which models and year to which it relates? Thanks!!!!

What years of jetta does this cover? Would my 05 MKIV be covered?

It seems to be an MKIV thing...all years.

To see the TSB:
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=32870&si=tsb

(log in using your TDI Club account info)

Apparently this is the TSB for the repair of the foam under the fender (which is what is causing the problem). It does mention replacing the fenders on one of the pages.

This is TSB 5006-02.

GD said:

Let me tell you one dealer that you should avoid for bodywork = Owasco.

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I will second that motion!

This dealer addmitted to simply wire brushing the fender (according to the shop manager) and repainted it. 2 years later, all of the paint work they did fell off and it looks even worse than before!
Walt (shop manger at the collision shop) at Owasco tells me that his recommendation is always to replace the fender and never to repair it because of this happening (of course he charges VW $1200 per side to do this).I called VW Headquarters directly and was told that's BS and that Owasco should stand up to their work that was completed. Certainly you should get more than 2 years out of a paint repair. Well guess what? They won't.
At the moment VW is fighting with Owasco to get this resolved and haven't heard the latest.

Now I have the other fender flaking off, and can assure you it won't go there.

Done!

I have my car back. It took them a day to do it (dropped off at nine, had the car back at 4:30), and the fit, finish and colour match are excellent.

I have to admit that I am impressed by the service I received from DVVW, as they picked me up, dropped me off, and aside from the initial question, never once treated me differently because I was there only for a warranty fender replacement.

They washed and vacuumed it too...

I am usually very hard on businesses with mediocre service, so it was nice to have excellent service for a change.

Though I doubt I personally would every use them again, i would honesty recommend DVVW for body repairs (can't comment on their mechanical shop though)

Pics coming shortly

Windex said:

Done!

I have my car back. It took them a day to do it (dropped off at nine, had the car back at 4:30), and the fit, finish and colour match are excellent.

I have to admit that I am impressed by the service I received from DVVW, as they picked me up, dropped me off, and aside from the initial question, never once treated me differently because I was there only for a warranty fender replacement.

They washed and vacuumed it too...

I am usually very hard on businesses with mediocre service, so it was nice to have excellent service for a change.

Though I doubt I personally would every use them again, i would honesty recommend DVVW for body repairs (can't comment on their mechanical shop though)

Pics coming shortly

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You are happy cuz you don't need to pay.
If you let the only female estimator there to give you a quote, you will feel the price is ridiculous for sure. She did estimate my car before the fender recall, polish both fenders, hood, front bumper, driver side front door, passenger side rear door and trunk would cost $5500+tax,lol.

$5500? Did they include a new car with it?

Well, I guess I have to say that my opinion is price independant. If I was given an estimate of that magnitude for what should be a $1500 repair (using factory parts), I would told them where they sould stick their quote...

For warranty work however, I was quite pleased. I will have pics up some time today.

pics?

redlinedave said:

pics?

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crap... Sorry, forgot, then the car got dirty - I will endeavor to get them clean and pics taken within the next couple of days.

Of course your welcom to come to the TB GTG and see them firsthand...

thanks "Toronto_Vento"

your posting of the TSB regarding fender replacement was extremely helpful. My local Service Manager swears he has "never seen it before", well he has now; thank you very much!!