Apologies but I need a little consumer advice. I bought a Skoda Yeti to taxi the dog around about 7 months ago. It is a used approved vehicle bought from a main dealer. A number of blisters have appeared on all four doors;








I took it in to have it inspected for a warranty claim. They rejected the claim and diagnosed zinc inclusions. I had never heard of them but it is relatively common in VAG models.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/arch...46476.html

It seems hard to believe that these can be described as paint defects (3 year warranty) versus bodywork (12 year warranty). As I have only had it for a few months, I am up for a fight but unsure who best to pursue for the cost of repair. It is a manufacturing fault so I don't feel particularly comfortable chasing the supplying dealer as they are an innocent party in all of this. Skoda UK are hiding behind the paint defect argument and would be my favoured route for a claim. Does the Consumer Rights act apply to situations such as this and a car 5 years old?

For a VAG car I would be very disappointed in that.

This subject is my cup of tea In short, yes the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies (against the dealer rather than VAG).

1: I presume you are seeking repair rather than a refund?

2: When did the paint first show the defect? If within 6 months of purchase, the defect is taken to have been there since day one unless the dealer can prove otherwise - Time spent requesting repairs or carrying them out is not to be counted when calculating how much time has elapsed. E.g: You have had the car 6 months but spent 1 month requesting repairs and having the car fixed. So you have had it 5 months as far as the law is concerned

3: How much was the car? The limit for small claims is £10k

4: Bear in mind that there is a lessened expectation of quality with used cars

5: The fact it is relatively common is not some get out of jail free card for the dealer

6: They say they reject the warranty claim. Why? What term of the contract are they relying on to back that up? - Although typically used in insurance, the contra proferentum rule says that an ambiguous contract term will be interpreted in a manner least favourable to the party seeking to rely on it. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

looks like rust bubbles to me ?

has it had a respray in the past, maybe due to accident damage ?

Iain

If you Google "zinc inclusions" you get a lot of hits from VW cars like Audi, Skoda etc. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

iain cooper wrote:

looks like rust bubbles to me ?

has it had a respray in the past, maybe due to accident damage ?

Iain

Hi guys thanks for the replies. No it has not been resprayed. They did a paint thickness test. Doc, the car was put through the Skoda Used Approved system part of which being a paint inspection. The form is ticked as all okay by the supplying dealer. As we all know this means absolutely nothing but they will almost certainly say it was free of defects at the time of purchase and use this as proof. I may be pushing it because of it's age, but do paint warranties really include the zinc priming coat? They claim the final colour coat is reacting with the zinc prime and blowing. I find this hard to believe as why would it show up as small isolated blebs? An alternative theory on the net is that the body work is not being properly cleaned prior to galvanising. Small, trapped dust/grit particles then sweat and blow. The latter sounds more likely to me but at 5 years old is it reasonable to expect a manufacturer to pay up for a manufacturing fault?

This is a total PITA as it was only bought as a stopgap car to cart the dog around in. I may have to bite the bullet and sort it myself and add Skoda to the list of cars I will never buy again.

You have a much higher chance of success if you pursue the dealer because that is what the Act is all about. Do you know roughly how much it would cost to have it repaired by them? I can give you the relevant small claims court costs and guidance then. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Hi Doc.

Many thanks for your help it is genuinely appreciated. At least I know Skoda are untouchable which has saved me a rant although I may try the goodwill contribution angle with them. I am unsure of the cost of repair as it was a straight rejection on the warranty front. I am going to take it to a Audi paint shop I have used before. Based on that experience (someone reversed into my A4) I would estimate the cost of repair as being £600-1000. I contacted the dealer I bought it from just outside (by a few days) the 6 month time-frame you mentioned previously. They are 70 miles away so I have used Skoda Derby for the warranty claim. It maybe something I have to live with and take the hit when I trade it in. I know people moan about Land Rover but in my experience their customer service and used warranty is in a different league to most manufacturers including Skoda.

With regard to the 6 months, its when it occurs as opposed to when you report it. So if it occurred within 6 months and you reported it after the 6 months, it doesn't matter (within reason - so you as long as you didn't leave it too long!)

One issue here is that yes you can claim or attempt to claim on the warranty from any dealer but your consumer rights lie with the supplying dealer. It is important that you email or write to them to ask for a repair from them before any action can commence.

Let's say worst case scenario cost wise and the bill for repair is £1,000. It would cost you £70 to file the claim and get it read by a Judge who can sometimes decide on paper without a hearing. If it goes to a hearing, an additional cost would be £80.

You can get that back if you win but if you lose, that's all you pay. Nothing more to lose. Your statutory rights are completely separate to any warranty rights so a refusal to a warranty claim is not a refusal to a claim under your statutory rights.

I also live in Derbyshire which is a bonus should you require further assistance. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Hi Doc.

Many thanks for providing a summary of the costs. I did actually contact the supplying dealer first who were happy to process a claim for me. I decided to use a local dealer to save travelling backwards and forwards the 70 miles. I will drop the supplying dealer a email and see what they have to say for themselves after I have got a quote for the cost of repair. Thanks again for your help.