Being fobbed off by dealer for hidden work
Discussion
We purchased a Leon Cupra brand new in 2022. We've recently spotted an issue with the paint on a portion of the roof, where this is failing and has gone flat and cloudy.
We booked it in at the local Seat Dealership body shop and they advised it isn't an issue with the factory paint. They used a paint depth gauge and said that they can see the roof panel has been repainted after leaving the factory as its not an even depth and they showed us the tape lines that you would not get from factory paint.
They informed us that we would need to take it up with the original dealer, after we told them that the original dealer was near Gatwick they have kindly taken photos and uploaded them to the system along with the details of the checks they did.
We weren't made aware of any re-painting at anytime before delivery, but are presuming that this work was carried out by the original dealership in October 2022, we didn't receive it until December 2022 as it had some remedial work relating to issues with the entertainment system carried out.
The original garage are saying they have no records that they have painted it so nothing to do with them.
Where do we go from here, the remediation work is over £1k as the whole roof needs repainting, the car is on finance if that matters?
We booked it in at the local Seat Dealership body shop and they advised it isn't an issue with the factory paint. They used a paint depth gauge and said that they can see the roof panel has been repainted after leaving the factory as its not an even depth and they showed us the tape lines that you would not get from factory paint.
They informed us that we would need to take it up with the original dealer, after we told them that the original dealer was near Gatwick they have kindly taken photos and uploaded them to the system along with the details of the checks they did.
We weren't made aware of any re-painting at anytime before delivery, but are presuming that this work was carried out by the original dealership in October 2022, we didn't receive it until December 2022 as it had some remedial work relating to issues with the entertainment system carried out.
The original garage are saying they have no records that they have painted it so nothing to do with them.
Where do we go from here, the remediation work is over £1k as the whole roof needs repainting, the car is on finance if that matters?
Edited by cymatty on Tuesday 26th August 15:00
Your post is a little vague on detail, but are we to assume that you bought this as a new car, first registered in December 2022?
Are you claiming under Leon/Seat/VAG's three year paint warranty?
https://www.cupraofficial.co.uk/owners/electric-ve...
I am not familiar with the set up with VAG group, but I do IT for another OEM. This is in fact my speciality, I write the software which handles transport damage and its rectification for issues arising between factory departure and delivery to end customer.
If you are saying that it's had a poor roof repaint prior to delivery to you *as a new car* then Leon/Seats/VAG themselves should almost certainly have a record of this. I would go straight to them and work forwards from there.
If they have no trace and it is a repaint at the supplying dealer's bodyshop then that's really an issue between them but ultimately if someone has done a poor repaint it's not really your problem who did it - you should still be within the three year paint warranty, I think?
I would take it up with Leon/Seats/VAG and involve the Finance Company.
FWIW lots of things can happen to cars in the supply chain before they reach the end user, hence my OEM having a good tracking system so we know who repaired what damage and where. It's not unheard of for a car to fall off a transporter on delivery to dealer, who then has to rectify the damage as by that point it is their car rather than the manufacturer's. The dealer will then argue about the responsibility/cost of repair with the transporter provider, usually a third party.
Are you claiming under Leon/Seat/VAG's three year paint warranty?
https://www.cupraofficial.co.uk/owners/electric-ve...
I am not familiar with the set up with VAG group, but I do IT for another OEM. This is in fact my speciality, I write the software which handles transport damage and its rectification for issues arising between factory departure and delivery to end customer.
If you are saying that it's had a poor roof repaint prior to delivery to you *as a new car* then Leon/Seats/VAG themselves should almost certainly have a record of this. I would go straight to them and work forwards from there.
If they have no trace and it is a repaint at the supplying dealer's bodyshop then that's really an issue between them but ultimately if someone has done a poor repaint it's not really your problem who did it - you should still be within the three year paint warranty, I think?
I would take it up with Leon/Seats/VAG and involve the Finance Company.
FWIW lots of things can happen to cars in the supply chain before they reach the end user, hence my OEM having a good tracking system so we know who repaired what damage and where. It's not unheard of for a car to fall off a transporter on delivery to dealer, who then has to rectify the damage as by that point it is their car rather than the manufacturer's. The dealer will then argue about the responsibility/cost of repair with the transporter provider, usually a third party.
Edited by Shooter McGavin on Tuesday 26th August 14:42
cymatty said:
We purchased a Leon Cupra in 2022. We've recently spotted an issue with the paint on a portion of the roof, where this is failing and has gone flat and cloudy.
We booked it in at the local Seat Dealership body shop and they advised it isn't an issue with the factory paint. They used a paint depth gauge and said that they can see the roof panel has been repainted after leaving the factory as its not an even depth and they showed us the tape lines that you would not get from factory paint.
They informed us that we would need to take it up with the original dealer, after we told them that the original dealer was near Gatwick they have kindly taken photos and uploaded them to the system along with the details of the checks they did.
We weren't made aware of any re-painting at anytime before delivery, but are presuming that this work was carried out by the original dealership in October 2022, we didn't receive it until December 2022 as it had some remedial work relating to issues with the entertainment system carried out.
The original garage are saying they have no records that they have painted it so nothing to do with them.
Where do we go from here, the remediation work is over £1k as the whole roof needs repainting, the car is on finance if that matters?
Did you purchase the car new or second hand?We booked it in at the local Seat Dealership body shop and they advised it isn't an issue with the factory paint. They used a paint depth gauge and said that they can see the roof panel has been repainted after leaving the factory as its not an even depth and they showed us the tape lines that you would not get from factory paint.
They informed us that we would need to take it up with the original dealer, after we told them that the original dealer was near Gatwick they have kindly taken photos and uploaded them to the system along with the details of the checks they did.
We weren't made aware of any re-painting at anytime before delivery, but are presuming that this work was carried out by the original dealership in October 2022, we didn't receive it until December 2022 as it had some remedial work relating to issues with the entertainment system carried out.
The original garage are saying they have no records that they have painted it so nothing to do with them.
Where do we go from here, the remediation work is over £1k as the whole roof needs repainting, the car is on finance if that matters?
Did you purchase it from a Seat main dealer?
OK, so their three year paintwork warranty says:
All CUPRA vehicles are provided with a warranty against any manufacturing defects with the paintwork. The paint and bodywork warranty lasts for a period of three years starting from the date of first registration.
The only preconditions are:
The defect must be reported to a CUPRA Retailer as soon as it is discovered. This must, of course, be within the warranty period
The defect must not be caused by external influences such accident damage, stone chips, industrial fallout or pollution, plant resin, animal pollutants, chemicals or insufficient care or maintenance.
This will be determined by a CUPRA Retailer at the time of inspection.
My bold for emphasis. I think they will try to wriggle off the hook on these points.
Be prepared for a fight. You might need to get your own expert involved, which is of course costly.
All CUPRA vehicles are provided with a warranty against any manufacturing defects with the paintwork. The paint and bodywork warranty lasts for a period of three years starting from the date of first registration.
The only preconditions are:
The defect must be reported to a CUPRA Retailer as soon as it is discovered. This must, of course, be within the warranty period
The defect must not be caused by external influences such accident damage, stone chips, industrial fallout or pollution, plant resin, animal pollutants, chemicals or insufficient care or maintenance.
This will be determined by a CUPRA Retailer at the time of inspection.
My bold for emphasis. I think they will try to wriggle off the hook on these points.
Be prepared for a fight. You might need to get your own expert involved, which is of course costly.
Shooter McGavin said:
OK, so their three year paintwork warranty says:
All CUPRA vehicles are provided with a warranty against any manufacturing defects with the paintwork. The paint and bodywork warranty lasts for a period of three years starting from the date of first registration.
The only preconditions are:
The defect must be reported to a CUPRA Retailer as soon as it is discovered. This must, of course, be within the warranty period
The defect must not be caused by external influences such accident damage, stone chips, industrial fallout or pollution, plant resin, animal pollutants, chemicals or insufficient care or maintenance.
This will be determined by a CUPRA Retailer at the time of inspection.
My bold for emphasis. I think they will try to wriggle off the hook on these points.
Be prepared for a fight. You might need to get your own expert involved, which is of course costly.
The vehicle was supplied new in Dec 2022 and has had no paintwork done since then, how will they wriggle out of it? The manufacturer can hardly rely on it's own poor quality repair to void it's own warranty.All CUPRA vehicles are provided with a warranty against any manufacturing defects with the paintwork. The paint and bodywork warranty lasts for a period of three years starting from the date of first registration.
The only preconditions are:
The defect must be reported to a CUPRA Retailer as soon as it is discovered. This must, of course, be within the warranty period
The defect must not be caused by external influences such accident damage, stone chips, industrial fallout or pollution, plant resin, animal pollutants, chemicals or insufficient care or maintenance.
This will be determined by a CUPRA Retailer at the time of inspection.
My bold for emphasis. I think they will try to wriggle off the hook on these points.
Be prepared for a fight. You might need to get your own expert involved, which is of course costly.
MustangGT said:
Shooter McGavin said:
OK, so their three year paintwork warranty says:
All CUPRA vehicles are provided with a warranty against any manufacturing defects with the paintwork. The paint and bodywork warranty lasts for a period of three years starting from the date of first registration.
The only preconditions are:
The defect must be reported to a CUPRA Retailer as soon as it is discovered. This must, of course, be within the warranty period
The defect must not be caused by external influences such accident damage, stone chips, industrial fallout or pollution, plant resin, animal pollutants, chemicals or insufficient care or maintenance.
This will be determined by a CUPRA Retailer at the time of inspection.
My bold for emphasis. I think they will try to wriggle off the hook on these points.
Be prepared for a fight. You might need to get your own expert involved, which is of course costly.
The vehicle was supplied new in Dec 2022 and has had no paintwork done since then, how will they wriggle out of it? The manufacturer can hardly rely on it's own poor quality repair to void it's own warranty.All CUPRA vehicles are provided with a warranty against any manufacturing defects with the paintwork. The paint and bodywork warranty lasts for a period of three years starting from the date of first registration.
The only preconditions are:
The defect must be reported to a CUPRA Retailer as soon as it is discovered. This must, of course, be within the warranty period
The defect must not be caused by external influences such accident damage, stone chips, industrial fallout or pollution, plant resin, animal pollutants, chemicals or insufficient care or maintenance.
This will be determined by a CUPRA Retailer at the time of inspection.
My bold for emphasis. I think they will try to wriggle off the hook on these points.
Be prepared for a fight. You might need to get your own expert involved, which is of course costly.
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