DB9 corrosion

[Simond S]

Has anyone had corrosion on the side strakes? Mine both seem to be pitting from underneath the chrome.

Also have pitting on the bonnet edge and awaiting feedback regarding warranty.

Car willbe at Gaydon tomorrow, so I'll also get some of the more experienced Aston owners to take a look, but the Ford garage who noticed it said they'd cover both under warranty, hopefully AM will agree

[Neil1300R]

Simond S said:

Has anyone had corrosion on the side strakes? Mine both seem to be pitting from underneath the chrome.

Also have pitting on the bonnet edge and awaiting feedback regarding warranty.

Car willbe at Gaydon tomorrow, so I'll also get some of the more experienced Aston owners to take a look, but the Ford garage who noticed it said they'd cover both under warranty, hopefully AM will agree

Just had my warranty claim rejected on corrosion on both front wings, where the side strake meets the wing. Wings are composite, bubbling has to be coming from underneath, but claim still rejected. Reason for rejection - car too old! 10 year corrsion guarantee - car is a 2006. Either I can't count to 10 or AM can't! Dealer being fighting my case for a week.
I am also on the factory tour tomorrow, so expect some questions!
Really annoys me when companies don't backup their products or warranties. Doesn't build customer loyalty or long term relationships.

[SLacKer]

Neil1300R said:

Simond S said:

Has anyone had corrosion on the side strakes? Mine both seem to be pitting from underneath the chrome.

Also have pitting on the bonnet edge and awaiting feedback regarding warranty.

Car willbe at Gaydon tomorrow, so I'll also get some of the more experienced Aston owners to take a look, but the Ford garage who noticed it said they'd cover both under warranty, hopefully AM will agree

Just had my warranty claim rejected on corrosion on both front wings, where the side strake meets the wing. Wings are composite, bubbling has to be coming from underneath, but claim still rejected. Reason for rejection - car too old! 10 year corrsion guarantee - car is a 2006. Either I can't count to 10 or AM can't! Dealer being fighting my case for a week.
I am also on the factory tour tomorrow, so expect some questions!
Really annoys me when companies don't backup their products or warranties. Doesn't build customer loyalty or long term relationships.

Give this guy a call

Will Lilburn

Customer service executive

Telephone number : 01926 644742

Ask him to explain the rejection. Just quote the last 6 characters of your VIN.

[Jockman]

How old is the car Simon ??

[MrAmNpg]

Neil read the book 10yrs is correct but the corrosion has to be inside out not outside in(on the surface)

[bogie]

yeah, the anti corrosion warranty isnt that good for plastic panels with bubbling paint

[Neil1300R]

MrAmNpg said:

Neil read the book 10yrs is correct but the corrosion has to be inside out not outside in(on the surface)

quite capable of reading thank you. Read my post, corrosion has come from inside. Outside is a composite. Claim rejected because of age of vehicle.

[Simond S]

My car iis 7 years old. Had a call this afternoon offering me 30% toward the cost from AM.

I did ask if the warranty reduced by ten percent per year!

I truly don't understand how bubbling paint or chroming can be anything but deteriation from the inside out if there is no break in the paintwork.

Wr will see thst am say tomorrow face to face

[Jockman]

Just had these fixed under warranty if this helps your case at all, though the car was just under 3 years old at the time.....

[alan d]

Hi guys,I have had two problems with bubbles around both door handles,and top of the front nearside wing, Grange Brentwood fought my case, and convinced Aston Martin to pick up the tab!!!.Both times A.M. tried to wriggle out of the warrranty,and asked me to pay 30-40% towards the repair costs!!!. Stick to your guns and insist that it was caused by the preperation of the paintwork,as there is NO external damage to the paintwork which could of possible caused it to blister!!!.Paul is the sevice manager at Grange Brentwoon, and he has been a massive help to me over the years!!!

[F458]

Another one here, paint bubbling in 4 different places on a 2005 DB9 car, dealer takes 4 photos and sends to Aston, Aston say they will contribute 40% of the bill as a goodwill gesture and insist that the 10 year warranty is for panel corosion from the inside not water ingression from the outside, ok fair enough but how they can tell this from 4 emailed photos of the affected areas I don't know, just been on to Aston customer services and they wont budge. Whether its warranty work or not to have the paint bubbling in 4 separate areas on a 2005 car that has done 26,000 miles and been kept garaged is an absolute disgrace!! There seem to be lots of cases of this happening and makes me think that these cars were never painted properly in the first place? What can you do now? The bodywork 'warranty' isn't worth the paper its written on.

Edited by F458 on Friday 27th April 10:58

[SL500UK]

Happened to mine 12 months ago on both doors, at the bottom where it meets the front wing and by the key/handle on one of the doors. AM offered 40%, I suggested that they reconsider bearing in mind I only bought the car from an AM dealer 5 months prior. They came back and said they'll pick up the whole tab. Not sure if this very common defect falls under their 10 corrosion warranty, if it does how can they wriggle out paying out?

[Simond S]

Ok, very interesting visit today and I learnt more about the AM warranty and paint process.

First of all, a few years ago AM changed their paint process to include an ultrasonic (or something ) process to remove any foreign particles from the body prior to paint.

The warranty that we have is a 3 year paint defect warranty, and a ten year corrosion warranty. What this means is that and defect that is visible in the paintwork must be claimed within three years to be vaild.

I had the opportunity of showing Will my car. He acknowledged that their is a problem with the paint, but...

if the issue is born from the panel rusting from inside the car out, it will be covered in its entirety.

if the issue is due to a fault in the paint process between the aluminium and the paint or layers of paint, it will not be covered.

I tried to argue that oxidisation of steel (which is the product that was in mind when the warranty was written) is very different to the oxidation of aluminium and an ally panel would never rot through from the inside of the panel to the outside.

This was agreed, but the fact remains that the warranty is only there to cover this type if corrosion.

Being a painting process fault also explains why we see this type of bubbling on panels regardless of what they are made from. The composite panels will have the same issue as ally panels as this isnt the panel degrading, more the paint moving away from the coating beneath it.

Any payment made after three years for bodywork is a goodwill gesture by AM.

So i'm really pleased that I had an explanation as to why my car has bubbbles on the paintwork. Maybe in a few years DB9/ Vanquish / V8 bodies will be to Aston what chassis hanger rust became to TVR with specialists popping up to resolve the constant influx of cars with the same problem. The fact that AM have resolved the issue by investing in better qc during the paint process is a bonus for new owners, and for any owner prior to 2004 it isnt an issue as the paint process was totally different.

So it seems we have maybe 5 years of Astons that will suffer from this. I have been offered 30% contribution toward my repair which is circa £2000 which I am grateful for on the basis the issue is ouside of the warranty.

[F458]

Simond S - so basically these 2004 onwards cars were not prepared or painted correctly but being as we did not know that within 3 years because they had not bubbled up by then, then the warranty does not apply!! All this Aston Martin goodwill gesture is a load of tosh they are not 'paying' anything just adding on the quote so you pay 70% and I pay 60% of the full amount, Aston are not out of pocket in any way. You can't take the car to a non Aston Approved paint shop and you did not have a quote from them to just repair it before you mentioned the paint warranty so you have no idea how much of the 30% Aston are actually paying and how much they have just added on your bill to cover their "30%". As I said earlier whether its warranty covered or not I think its a disgrace! There is a £500 X plate Ford Ka outside my window at the moment that does not have a spot or rust or bubbling anywhere! Can't help thinking that you expect a bit more for £120k and the 'Aston Martin Experience'!!!

Edited by F458 on Friday 27th April 16:52

[Neil1300R]

Got the Aston guys to look at mine as well - phoned them whilst standing in their reception and asked for them to come and have a look . Got the same explanation as Simon - first time someone had explained what the issue was (paint defect) and the difference between the pain warranty (3 years) and corrosion warranty (10 years). As mine is where the side strake joins the bodywody, aston prepared to re-consider the claim once the side strake is removed.
Not happy with the quality of the paint, but satisfied as why they could reject the claim.

[SL500UK]

Thanks for the report Simond S. You say the warranty that comes with a new car is a 3 year paint defect warranty, and a ten year corrosion warranty. I accept that this is the case, and therefore those people who bought their pre-owned cars from an AM franchised dealer could be covered for 3 years from purchase date.

The sales blurb on the official AM website says this: "The AM pre-owned programme ensures that when you purchase a used AM you really are guaranteed the same standards, reassurance and service you'd expect were you to buy a new car". The inference is clear and that's why I was fairly confident that they would settle in full after I invited them to reconsider their goodwill gesture.

Whether this will apply for a full 3 years after purchase date I don't know, but if the paintwork were to bubble up again and they refuse to remedy the defect foc, then I'll happily put it to the test.

[sportie]

I too have corrosion, mine is on the rear wheel arch and door handle (DB9 2005) which has a stamp in the service book saying the bodywork was inspected by an AM dealer 4 months prior. Photo's were sent from the dealer to AM who said it was due to stone chips and they as a good will jesture would pay 30% of the £1,000 bill.

So I took the car to my trusted bodyshop and they will corrected it for £300, so I suspect that AM inflate the price so they can offer something off which in fact is nothing...................

Warranty is not worth the paper its written and AM far from being a premier brand act like a British Leyland outfit

[F458]

My 'bubbling'/corrosion is on both rear wheel arches, where the side strake joins the bodywody and in the middle where the roof joins the front windscreen! Seems a few common areas looking at the other posters. I would recommend that anyone who has an Aston to give it a good inspection and try to identify any problems as early as possible so that you have more chance of Aston paying for it. I am going to go to a guy I know who has a body shop and is approved by Mercedes/Audi etc etc and get it fixed for around a 1/4 of the Aston quote, they can shove their 40% goodwill contribution.

Edited by F458 on Friday 27th April 18:09

[Simond S]

In case I have portrayed the wrong impression. I am absolutely appalled that the car isnt covered for this defect.

The AM warranty is essentially a waste of paper. It does not cover any bodywork, wings, strakes, wheels, brake calipers, wing mirrors against faulty workmanship after the initial 3 years. When googling it becomes apparent just how widespread this issue is with DB9's and Vantages.

I have spoken to Tonbridge Coachworks (AM approved bodyshop) this afternoon and explained my main concern. If this is as widespread as the www suggests are we clearing up two areas of defect only to have more appear next year. Are these models Astons going to become patchworks of paintwork as each defect is rectified.

I said to our guide today that my perception is the guys building the cars have passion, but the guys upstairs couldnt give a damn about owners. In reality we are irrelevant to them as their markets grow in Asia and India. Luckily for the new owners these issues have been rectified. I'd be interested to find out how US owners have been treated, they seem to stand much taller to get warranties honoured and class actions progressed.

[F458]

Simond S, you are right, even I am thinking now to get it patched up and sell as where will it be bubbling up in another 12/24 months time??!! This is the problem with dodgy paint, its not like other problems/niggles that can be fixed 100% you need to have it all stripped and resprayed to do that with this problem! And what does that cost? Is it worth it on a £35k car? I agree it is more widespread than you think having done a fair bit of searching on the web, is it widespread enough for Aston to have to have a complete change of policy and sort out everyones car. I'm not over reacting but its things like this which make you not buy another one whether they say they have sorted out the paint now or not!! So much choice in the £80-£120k bracket now!

Edited by F458 on Friday 27th April 18:21