Not much help here, but I would certainly agree there's nothing normal about that on a 2008 vehicle. Looks severe and structural (which would explain the cost). That kind of $$$ isn't small claims here - that'd be full on court case.

 

Yes actually the invoice from the repair shop lists these issues as "STRUCTURAL" which is worrying. The detailed invoice talks about cutting the metal frame and putting a new part of the frame... Really hardcore.

However in Quebec the small claims is 15000$ max as to 1st January 2015 so I'm still good for it. I'm talking about Canadian Dollars here of course, which is roughly 12500$ USD

 

Car are supposed to be warrantied for normal use where it was sold. Normal use in Canada should equal that for 10 years the "Normal salt that is in normal use in Canada" will not destroy it.

I hate to say court, but unless VW of Canada can show where the car was damaged.... how can they (legally) get out of the 10 year paint rust thru warranty?

Just saying that they won't cover it seems like the cowards way of hoping you will go away and let it be. In real life, 50% of the people would just accept it which lets VW off the hook. So I guess if you are a real slime... it is a way to save your company money which equals increase your bonus.

Do you have the equivalent of a Pro Consumer "TV news on your side" where you live. We have one nearby and usually all it takes is them calling the company saying they are going to do a news story.... and MAGICALLY the company decides to make a one time exception.

 

Yeah, anything along the rocker/sill there is going to be major/structural. Cutting it out requires someone who knows what they're doing to keep the chassis straight, and welding new metal in requires proper work to handle the heat/stress properly.

Honestly - that damage would make me consider the car 'totaled' even if everything else was in perfect shape. That is probably the worst place for rust, followed by the A & B pillars.

 

Yeah as I said I'm building my case right now (and proof can include whatever you want to make the scale go on your side - including internet forums). It is very easy to go to small claims court, as it should be, of course (a well documented case, 150$ and you're set, but it takes more than 12 months, and at this point the rust will be even worst).

I've already reviewed jurisprudence and legal doctrine, and VW Canada are really aweful when it comes to that. They will not answer to my letters (formal notice), neither will my dealer, so I'm just gonna sue them I guess. Most of the times, the judge will side towards the buyer, since there's a strong "legal warranty of normal performance and normal use" in QC, which comes straight from our civil code and specific sets of consumer laws.

We do have a pro consumer TV show here, didn't think of that but yeah, it's a good point 15000$ structural repairs on a 16000$ vehicule is just batshit crazy. They would deserve to payr everything, just because of their awful treatment of the consumer :/

 

Bloody hell, I don't think I have ever seen rust like on a Touareg.

They can rust on the curved section on the inside of the rear doors where they touch the door rubber, but those door sills are something else again.

 

god damn! how on earth did that happened to touareg, these cars have galvanised body, in what conditions do you drive???

 

Rust like that doesn't just happen all of a sudden. Is there possibly more to the story of the full history of this vehicle?

 

I never asked for the carproof of the vehicle but I don't think it's an accident (it would be local and not generalized to the whole body).

I bought the vehicle in 2013 so I really don't know what happened before that... the first owner had it for 6 years and bought it new.

Since I didn't see anything when I bought it (everything was cleaned), I suspect there was a ****ty paint job to hide that. My car guy will tell me next time I'll bring it, he should check the paint density at this place.

About road conditions : it's harsh in Quebec but lots of Treg owners are Canadian on this forum and we don't see those pictures all the time...

 

Good lord that seems crazy unusual for a Touareg. Maybe a very shoddy repaint after a collision? I'd be looking deep into the vehicle history before trying to take VW to court. If it has a dodgy history they'll throw that back in your face.

I got nothing. Good luck though.

 

But VW did not inspect the vehicle and refuse to warranty it due to any prior problems.

VW just flat out said tough crap and we don't cover "that special" kind of rust thru.

IF VW had found prior damage, I would have defended the refusal to fix. But the way that this was handled by VW was a big screw you, we don't care.

 

Yeah I could not care less of any prior damage (right now). Even though I don't think it's an accident damage, as I said it's too generalized. If it IS an accident that was crappily fixed, case closed in my favor (since they would have lied to me prior purchase - which I can't even believe would be true).

When I bought the vehicle, I bought an extended warranty too, which means they inspected "thoroughly" the vehicle before re-warranting it. First thing I notice when it's hot outside? : the A/C doesn't work (when I test drived it it was cold outside so no need to check it). Says a lot about their crappy inspection process :/ They fixed it for free of course.

 

Your case may be against the seller. Is that a dealer or private party? Sounds like it was a dealer?

You're sure that researching the car's history isn't going to turn up anything in your favor such as previous damage that was poorly repaired and then passed on to you along with a bogus extended warranty assurance of quality?

Is it even possible for an entire new car body to miss the priming dip during manufacturing? Seems incredibly unlikely. Just like all that rust.

I still got nothing, except a lot of curiosity about its entire history! :-/

 

There must be some subtle causation for that localized rust problems. Check for welding seams from previous repairs. Or probably doors frames were bended and subsequently restored to its original shape, though the original coating was damaged. Or some chemicals were spilled.

 

I would bet the ranch that the car has had some serious work done on it ,and it wasn't done correctly. There is too much bad paint rust throughs to be just normal rust ,even though it is in Quebec. VW will not warranty rust out in repaired areas.

Someone was pulling a fast one on this transaction and they should have to pay for the problem. I would be concerned about the structural integrety with all that rust. What you can't see is very likely worse than what you can see.

Good luck getting it straigthened out.

 

All good points... and all that VW needed to do was to actually put the vehicle on a lift and check it to see if the vehicle was still in factory condition or if it was repaired.

If everything is in factory condition then VW should fix it.
If it is a repair, they should present the evidence to the owner and explain why the warranty does not apply.

By failing to do even that, VW has admitted that they do not plan or care to honor the warranty.

 

Never seen anything like that...your T looks like a 60s era Transporter. Best wishes for an acceptable outcome, but that looks nasty.

Would clogged drains allow moisture to infiltrate the rockers like that?

 

My guess is it was hit in the side and a body shop repaired it...it won't show up on carfax or anything else if it didn't go through insurance. You'd see it on the passenger side as well if it was due to the driving conditions (ie salt) or defective paint. VW won't warranty body repair work. Not their problem for obvious reasons.

Its not a known rust area for Touaregs. About the only body area that develops rust is around the license plate.

If I were you ..before spending money on lawyers, I'd bring it into a body shop and make sure that its 100% original and never repaired. Also make sure it isn't a US import. VW Canada doesn't do warranty work on US imported vehicles...they only do warranty work on US vehicles registered to a US owner.

 

Looks like it's equal on both sides though.

I can't really picture a scenario that would involve repairs on all four corners of the structure like that.

Seems more like somehow the anti-corrosion process failed on the car on the line or something weird.

 

thanks for all the answers.

So yeah : it is not likely a damage that was badly repaired because it is on the 4 doors. 100% certain carfax will not show anything. I will certainly give a call to the previous owner though to fish some information. I think something went wrong on the coating process or whatever and it was hidden when I bought it. Cheap repair or something.

To make it clear : I bought it from my local VW dealer, with an extended warranty. They got it from the previous owner, who was the ONLY owner (still have the original invoice of 50k$ in 2008)

to make it also clear, it is a small claims court, so there's no lawyer involved, only a 150$ court fee (which is then reimbursed if I win my case). So I won't spend a dime on a trial.

Whether VW Canada warranties those damages or not, it was sold by a professionnal seller and they have strict obligations of quality under Canadian laws, so I'm actually sueing both of them (dealer and VW Canada). Already made in the jurisprudence I read (but the judge always condemned VW Canada). The dealer always barely acts as witnesses.

 

The thought that crossed my mind today was whether this car has ever been in salt water for some reason?

What set me thinking was that I was on a beach today where folk used to park their cars and go hiking and sometimes they didn't get back in time . . . Some kind soul has now provided a tide safe car park up the hill!

Does it have a towbar? Could it have been launching/recovering a boat?

 

Quebec is known as a "severe salt corrosion" area amongst all carmakers. It is the worst area in North America for rust. So if there was a defect in the anti corrosion process, it would show up in a car that's lived its life in quebec.

I can't tell from the pictures, but has the rust made a hole in the metal? The warranty won't cover surface rust, there has to be perforation present.

 

definitely possible that it could have been launching a boat since there is a towbar and the previous owner used it (there is an electrical towing kit present already, the one where you have cables for lighting and etc.). I will contact the previous owner soon.

There is beginning to be some perforation but even then VW wouldn't pay for the repairs. The car was inspected last january and damage was not as extensive as in the photos, but it's worse since then and I have an appointment with the repair shop to make a new evaluation.

 

I'm just thinking possible damage scenarios...only two I can think of would be that 1) it fell off the hoist - meaning that both rocker panels would be damaged and need repair/repaint. or 2) someone took it offroading on a rocky trail and dinged up all the rocker panels, also requiring a repaint.

I also think its normal for VW to deny warranty claims on rust as a 1st step. Keep pushing!