Golf R ex-Demonstrator
Discussion
Hey All,
New user to the pistonheads community. I'm looking for a bit of advice around my ex demo VW Golf R.
I bought it around a year ago and absolutely love the car. It is high specced with all the toys, beautiful drive and no major niggles. However, I'm just under a year into owning the car and noted that the paint in certain area of my alloys has started up flake off when washing. From close inspection it would appear that there has been a repair job done on them with paint that doesn't match and is evidently of poor quality.
I was obviously not best pleased, as I assumed any damages to the car with subsequent repair would have been highlighted to me at point of purchase. From a discussion with the VW garage in Reading they have agreed that it was done by then and that their previous contractor that completed such work wasn't well rated so they have since changed to someone onsite for 'Smart repair'.
Anyways long story short, they have agreed to pay for part of the cost of repainting the alloys, which I'm told would normally be 400, they would charge me cost price (£320) and out 200 toward the repair leaving me with a £120 bill.
My thought are they should cover the full cost as (a) it's within a year and (b) they didn't make me aware of the repair before.
I don't know whether I'm being unreasonable however, and looking for thoughts from the group?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
RFGolfR
New user to the pistonheads community. I'm looking for a bit of advice around my ex demo VW Golf R.
I bought it around a year ago and absolutely love the car. It is high specced with all the toys, beautiful drive and no major niggles. However, I'm just under a year into owning the car and noted that the paint in certain area of my alloys has started up flake off when washing. From close inspection it would appear that there has been a repair job done on them with paint that doesn't match and is evidently of poor quality.
I was obviously not best pleased, as I assumed any damages to the car with subsequent repair would have been highlighted to me at point of purchase. From a discussion with the VW garage in Reading they have agreed that it was done by then and that their previous contractor that completed such work wasn't well rated so they have since changed to someone onsite for 'Smart repair'.
Anyways long story short, they have agreed to pay for part of the cost of repainting the alloys, which I'm told would normally be 400, they would charge me cost price (£320) and out 200 toward the repair leaving me with a £120 bill.
My thought are they should cover the full cost as (a) it's within a year and (b) they didn't make me aware of the repair before.
I don't know whether I'm being unreasonable however, and looking for thoughts from the group?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
RFGolfR
RFGolfR said:
Hey All,
New user to the pistonheads community. I'm looking for a bit of advice around my ex demo VW Golf R.
I bought it around a year ago and absolutely love the car. It is high specced with all the toys, beautiful drive and no major niggles. However, I'm just under a year into owning the car and noted that the paint in certain area of my alloys has started up flake off when washing. From close inspection it would appear that there has been a repair job done on them with paint that doesn't match and is evidently of poor quality.
I was obviously not best pleased, as I assumed any damages to the car with subsequent repair would have been highlighted to me at point of purchase. From a discussion with the VW garage in Reading they have agreed that it was done by then and that their previous contractor that completed such work wasn't well rated so they have since changed to someone onsite for 'Smart repair'.
Anyways long story short, they have agreed to pay for part of the cost of repainting the alloys, which I'm told would normally be 400, they would charge me cost price (£320) and out 200 toward the repair leaving me with a £120 bill.
My thought are they should cover the full cost as (a) it's within a year and (b) they didn't make me aware of the repair before.
I don't know whether I'm being unreasonable however, and looking for thoughts from the group?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
RFGolfR
Are they doing all 4 wheels?New user to the pistonheads community. I'm looking for a bit of advice around my ex demo VW Golf R.
I bought it around a year ago and absolutely love the car. It is high specced with all the toys, beautiful drive and no major niggles. However, I'm just under a year into owning the car and noted that the paint in certain area of my alloys has started up flake off when washing. From close inspection it would appear that there has been a repair job done on them with paint that doesn't match and is evidently of poor quality.
I was obviously not best pleased, as I assumed any damages to the car with subsequent repair would have been highlighted to me at point of purchase. From a discussion with the VW garage in Reading they have agreed that it was done by then and that their previous contractor that completed such work wasn't well rated so they have since changed to someone onsite for 'Smart repair'.
Anyways long story short, they have agreed to pay for part of the cost of repainting the alloys, which I'm told would normally be 400, they would charge me cost price (£320) and out 200 toward the repair leaving me with a £120 bill.
My thought are they should cover the full cost as (a) it's within a year and (b) they didn't make me aware of the repair before.
I don't know whether I'm being unreasonable however, and looking for thoughts from the group?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
RFGolfR
Actually - that is a pretty good response - I have just had four wheels refurbished, and cost was over £400 - so, they are not being unreasonable - equally, while they accept responsibility, you have had use of the car, and wheels may well not be perfect when you buy a second hand car - so I wouldn't be too unhappy with that offer...
you could say to them something along the lines of your accepting that it is a nice offer, but you hadn't budgeted to need to spend any money on wheels when buying from them, so could they do a bit better - perhaps your contribution could be £60 - £80 etc.
you could say to them something along the lines of your accepting that it is a nice offer, but you hadn't budgeted to need to spend any money on wheels when buying from them, so could they do a bit better - perhaps your contribution could be £60 - £80 etc.
Are the wheels being properly powder-coated or done by an onsite SMART repair guy (who normally sand them down and repaint the face only)? If they are being done properly then the dealer's offer is very fair but if they are being done onsite then they won't be costing as much as £320 so the dealer are potentially exaggerating the cost of the repair, meaning you are in reality paying the whole lot.
If the wheels are only being painted I can't see why it costs over £300!
I got kerb rash removed from 4 wheels and had them painted for £140 all in!
If I was having a set refurbed for long-term use I'd want tyres off and powder-coating - then I'd expect a bill more like £300!
Before you commit to anything OP it would be worth finding out exactly what the dealer is planning to have done.
Good luck getting them sorted.
I got kerb rash removed from 4 wheels and had them painted for £140 all in!
If I was having a set refurbed for long-term use I'd want tyres off and powder-coating - then I'd expect a bill more like £300!
Before you commit to anything OP it would be worth finding out exactly what the dealer is planning to have done.
Good luck getting them sorted.
Sten. said:
A year on, I think that's an absolute result.
Wheel repairs on an ex-demo / used car are extremely common and I wouldn't expect to be told about it when buying.
100% this. An ex-demo car is a used car. Used cars may be damaged and that damage will be repaired prior to sale. The fact they are willing to contribute a year down the line is an incredible gesture, you've found yourself a good dealership there. Take the service manager a 6-pack when you pick up the car.Wheel repairs on an ex-demo / used car are extremely common and I wouldn't expect to be told about it when buying.
I'd bite their hand off. A year later of driving and you want them to cover the entire bill? The repair could have been OK when it was done but a years worth of driving and cleaning is a lot of abuse.
Equally a Golf R ex-demo would have had a hard life pre-sale on test drives and the sales men would have given it some... all the time. So it is bound to have had some form of repair before being sold.
Equally a Golf R ex-demo would have had a hard life pre-sale on test drives and the sales men would have given it some... all the time. So it is bound to have had some form of repair before being sold.
Sounds like they’re potentially taking the piss.
An ex-demo car (assuming bought from a franchised dealer) should come with the manufacturer’s warranty intact which should cover this kind of thing so in my opinion they should be repairing them FOC. All repairs carried out by the franchised dealer should be in accordance with the manufacturers specifications which I doubt includes smart repairs!
If by painting the wheels they mean take the tyres off, and do a full paint / powder coat then their offer is fair.
If they’re going to do another shoddy smart repair (like I see Audi doing in the dealership next to my office everyday) they’ll be using a sub-contractor who will be charging nothing like £320 …. Probably not even £120. Try calling one yourself and get a quote!
An ex-demo car (assuming bought from a franchised dealer) should come with the manufacturer’s warranty intact which should cover this kind of thing so in my opinion they should be repairing them FOC. All repairs carried out by the franchised dealer should be in accordance with the manufacturers specifications which I doubt includes smart repairs!
If by painting the wheels they mean take the tyres off, and do a full paint / powder coat then their offer is fair.
If they’re going to do another shoddy smart repair (like I see Audi doing in the dealership next to my office everyday) they’ll be using a sub-contractor who will be charging nothing like £320 …. Probably not even £120. Try calling one yourself and get a quote!
John Laverick said:
Sounds like they’re potentially taking the piss.
An ex-demo car (assuming bought from a franchised dealer) should come with the manufacturer’s warranty intact
They come with the balance of manufacturers warranty, so depending how long they've been registered is how long you've got left.An ex-demo car (assuming bought from a franchised dealer) should come with the manufacturer’s warranty intact
John Laverick said:
which should cover this kind of thing
Err what? The manufacturers warranty does not cover flaking paint on a wheel. In this instance that's not even relevant, as it's been repaired so it's not a manufacturers warranty issue.John Laverick said:
so in my opinion they should be repairing them FOC. All repairs carried out by the franchised dealer should be in accordance with the manufacturers specifications which I doubt includes smart repairs!
I guess all the smart repair workshops owned and operated by premium retailers such as Sytner and Pendragon group at their dealerships have got there by mistake and are hidden whenever manufacturers visits happen then!tonyb1968 said:
Ask once the wheels are repaired, what the warranty is on them 
some are 1 year, others are 3 (depends on who the repairer is).
Most offer a 12 month warranty and some offer little or nothing for special finishes like diamond cut. some are 1 year, others are 3 (depends on who the repairer is).It's a used car and the wheels have lasted a year. The dealer's offer sounds very reasonable.
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