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Gigaro wheel issue


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I'm sure I have read some threads before about corrosion issues under the lacquer on the gigaro wheels.

I have this corrosion on 3 of my wheels on a 14 plate vrs.

The cars booked in for a service next week so I mentioned the issue and asked to look at it and fix/ replace.

They said they will look at it but "it doesn't sound like a warranty issue".

Just being preemptive. Who has had these issues before and was it settled under warranty? To me it's a clear warranty issue with a defective item.

Pics below:

post-125404-14659904481381_thumb.jpgpost-125404-146599045649_thumb.jpgpost-125404-14659904634495_thumb.jpgpost-125404-14659904695399_thumb.jpg

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Well who ever said that knows jack **** really.

5 years of issues and loads of threads.

So get 'them' to take the photographs, and add yours and see what the Warranty Provider says, and they can get a Warranty Manager to inspect them.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/354438-corroded-alloys

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/240344-chrome-alloy-corrosion-offer

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/34797-white-dove-cardiff/page-3

See post #69,

another member with this issue recently, no idea of the outcome, maybe ask him.

Edited by GoneOffSKi
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It is a warranty issue and don't let them tell you otherwise. The laquer they use is sub-standard and they know it. They will only get worse so make sure you stand your ground and don't let them blame it on 'stone chips' or 'fair wear and tear'

 

I had to fight SUK hard to get my wheels replaced. After 6 months I finally won and they replaced the whole set (even though the car was out of warranty by the time they finally admitted they needed to be replaced)

 

Then traded the car in a few months later...

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I always find wheels of his nature will go this way unless you constantly coating them with wax protection etc

I was lucky enough to get a independent garage to refurb mine prior to sale but I have picked up wheels in the past that do this specially Vw wheels

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Wax protection makes no difference with Dark Chrome Gigaro, 

i have a brand new Dark Chrome Gigaro wheel never used on a car that has white spider corrosion.

The damage was done to the lacquer when the dealership had the tyre fitted to the replaced under warranty wheel.

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The dealers response smacks of inexperience, poor product knowledge or just generally bad customer service to me.

 

Polished or diamond cut alloys are inherently weak by their very design. Skoda know it, their dealers know it and their customers are only too aware of the issue.

 

As has been mentioned this is 100% a warranty claim.

 

They'll try and claim kerbing or stone chips as the cause for the water ingress but don't stand for it. Dig in.

 

There are far too many complaints for this to be anything other than a manufacturing / quality defect.

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I must admit I caved in far too easily on this issue :( . Water under the bridge now. SUK do indeed SUK.

Edited by Brian69
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So my local skoda dealership in reading rejected the claim.

They said that it is caused by small stone chips allowing oxidisation underneath the lacquer.... Least to say I was livid.

My wheels have zero damage on them (curbed etc). The service girl even said she didn't understand it as I clearly look after my car.

So basically they are saying a 2 year old car with no caused damage can have defects as big as this (3 wheels affected) by normal driving wear that falls outside of a faulty product/ not fit for purpose. Absolute joke

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Edited by aholloway21
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So my local skoda dealership in reading rejected the claim.

They said that it is caused by small stone chips allowing oxidisation underneath the lacquer.... Least to say I was livid.

My wheels have zero damage on them (curbed etc). The service girl even said she didn't understand it as I clearly look after my car.

So basically they are saying a 2 year old car with no caused damage can have defects as big as this (3 wheels affected) by normal driving wear that falls outside of a faulty product/ not fit for purpose. Absolute joke

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Try a different dealer, When  we had ours replaced the service manager told us the claim was excepted and he would hold onto the wheels until the spring, about 4 months later we had them fitted.

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Has the Skoda UK Area Warranty manager been to see the wheels?

It is not for the Dealership to reject them.

 

Is the white spider corrosion not also near the centre of the wheel and up the spoke where there is no external damage?

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Yep, there is no damage to the wheels. They are claiming stone chip micro abrasions have caused moisture to get underneath.

If I had a big kerb mark on the wheel, I would accept responsibility for it l, but they don't.

I don't think a warranty manager has seen it, they said it was the master tech who said this.

I'm in the process of emailing skoda Uk atm.

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Under 3,000 Mk2 Fabia vRS in the UK, 

under 1,000 will have Dark Chrome Gigaro, and Skoda UK know how many cars have had wheels replaced,.

often more than once.

The new Brand Director of Skoda now that he is back from VW After care and Warranty Claims know as well.

 

Only the dealership employees seem to be 'Tommy'.  ie Deaf dumb and blind.

 

Skoda UK Brand Director is Duncan Movassaghi.

(was VW UK Head of Service and Parts operations, so he knows about there manufacturing failures,

and knows lots, maybe more than his predecessor.)

So maybe be sure you ask your complaint to be forwarded, and you want a Senior Customer Services Manager 

to handle the issue, not some Communications Manager, or one that just repeats the script..

Edited by GoneOffSKi
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So my local skoda dealership in reading rejected the claim.

They said that it is caused by small stone chips allowing oxidisation underneath the lacquer.... Least to say I was livid.

My wheels have zero damage on them (curbed etc). The service girl even said she didn't understand it as I clearly look after my car.

So basically they are saying a 2 year old car with no caused damage can have defects as big as this (3 wheels affected) by normal driving wear that falls outside of a faulty product/ not fit for purpose. Absolute joke

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I called the Reading dealer once with an issue as I work nearby, and they wanted £15 more to investigate the issue than the dealer in aldershot which is closer to where I live in fleet.

I asked why and they just said they just charge more and if I didn't like it I could go elsewhere.

Which obviously, I will.

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Disgusting mate. Main dealers have done this under warranty for people before. Get onto the phone to customer services. They've always been helpful with me.

When mine were done at main dealer. Service manager took photos of the wheels, sent them to skoda and they approved the work. Booked it in a week later.

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Finally had a reply from skoda customer services, about a week since I put it in.

Response is below, again livid.

"Dear Mr Holloway

Thank you for your recent correspondence with ŠKODA UK. Please accept my apologies for the delay in my response.

I appreciate that your expectations of reliability and build quality are high when you purchase a ŠKODA vehicle and any fault is

most disappointing. However, there is always a possibility that a component may fail during its lifetime. It is for this reason

all new ŠKODA vehicles are supplied with a comprehensive three years or 60,000 miles warranty, whichever arrives first providing

the fault is a manufacturing defect.

I have now investigated your concerns by liaising with Samantha Pearce, Service Manager at Ridgway ŠKODA. She has confirmed the

peeling of the lacquer on your alloy wheel is not warrantable as it has been caused by an external influence. She has explained

that the blistering has been caused by stone chips. This decision is that of the Warranty Administrator at Ridgway ŠKODA and

they have stated that this has not been caused by a manufacturing defect. Under ŠKODA’s warranty guidelines, items where the

lifetime of the component is influenced by driving style or external factors, will only be considered under the terms of the

warranty for a period of six months or 6,500 miles, whichever arrives first. Beyond this limit, any failure is considered by

ŠKODA to be normal wear and tear or external influence.

Customer Care cannot overturn this decision, it is final. Whilst I appreciate that you want to have the vehicle repaired under

warranty, this is not possible due to the fault not being caused by a manufacturing defect which Ridgway ŠKODA have confirmed

after thorough investigation.

I apologise that this is not the outcome you were hoping for; however, this is our final position on the matter. Unless there is

any new information you are able to provide, there is no need to respond to this email. Should I not receive any correspondence

from you in the next three days, the case file will be closed down.

Kind regards

Asmah Hussain

Customer Relations Manager

ŠKODA UK | Selectapost 34 | Sheffield | S97 3FA

Tel: +44 (0)333 0037 504

[email protected] | www.skoda.co.uk | www.skoda-auto.com"

Any advice on next steps? I'm not letting this go it's absolutely shocking how skoda treat these matters.

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This seems to be how Skoda UK Customer Services are answering all issues now.

 

Problem for them is the the Service Manager confirming the peeling lacquer is from external influences caused by a stone chip.

Reason being the White Spider Corrosion under the lacquer is there stone chip or not.

 

Your problem is showing that, but then you can have a report carried out by an Expert.

Or,

Ask to see the Warranty Administrators @ Ridgeway Skoda's report and pictures of peeling lacquer and the areas of the corrosion under undamaged lacquer.

Maybe ask the technical qualifications of the Warranty Administrator that examined the wheels.

Edited by GoneOffSKi
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Finally had a reply from skoda customer services, about a week since I put it in.

Response is below, again livid.

"Dear Mr Holloway

Thank you for your recent correspondence with ŠKODA UK. Please accept my apologies for the delay in my response.

I appreciate that your expectations of reliability and build quality are high when you purchase a ŠKODA vehicle and any fault is

most disappointing. However, there is always a possibility that a component may fail during its lifetime. It is for this reason

all new ŠKODA vehicles are supplied with a comprehensive three years or 60,000 miles warranty, whichever arrives first providing

the fault is a manufacturing defect.

I have now investigated your concerns by liaising with Samantha Pearce, Service Manager at Ridgway ŠKODA. She has confirmed the

peeling of the lacquer on your alloy wheel is not warrantable as it has been caused by an external influence. She has explained

that the blistering has been caused by stone chips. This decision is that of the Warranty Administrator at Ridgway ŠKODA and

they have stated that this has not been caused by a manufacturing defect. Under ŠKODA’s warranty guidelines, items where the

lifetime of the component is influenced by driving style or external factors, will only be considered under the terms of the

warranty for a period of six months or 6,500 miles, whichever arrives first. Beyond this limit, any failure is considered by

ŠKODA to be normal wear and tear or external influence.

Customer Care cannot overturn this decision, it is final. Whilst I appreciate that you want to have the vehicle repaired under

warranty, this is not possible due to the fault not being caused by a manufacturing defect which Ridgway ŠKODA have confirmed

after thorough investigation.

I apologise that this is not the outcome you were hoping for; however, this is our final position on the matter. Unless there is

any new information you are able to provide, there is no need to respond to this email. Should I not receive any correspondence

from you in the next three days, the case file will be closed down.

Kind regards

Asmah Hussain

Customer Relations Manager

ŠKODA UK | Selectapost 34 | Sheffield | S97 3FA

Tel: +44 (0)333 0037 504

[email protected] | www.skoda.co.uk | www.skoda-auto.com"

Any advice on next steps? I'm not letting this go it's absolutely shocking how skoda treat these matters.

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Absolute bullcarp!! I had the spider issue took the car in to my local dealer, they spent all of 10 seconds looking at the rims and ordered a brand new set for me all FOC under warranty. They are mugging you off!

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So my first response is below. I'm going to keep this thread up to date with all communication.

This is not as a skoda bashing but more as education for the briskoda community on how Skoda conduct themselves towards their consumers. They get away with far too much and it's a joke.

"Hi Asmah,

Apologies for my delay in response, it's been rather busy since I got back to the UK.

I would really like to reiterate again my absolute disgust with the level of service Skoda and your dealership are providing in this matter, it's disgraceful.

This issue is a warranty issue, there is no doubt about it.

This white spider effect issue is a known problem with the Gigaro wheels as the lacquer used on them from factory is substandard. Skoda also know this to be an issue as they have replaced countless amounts of them under warranty.

I am an active member of the Briskoda community and have read and come up against this issue with other members on multiple occasions. All of them have had the same outcome concluding that if there is no deliberate kerbing damage, the issue is fixed under warranty.

Your current assessment of "stone chip" damage is absolute garbage. There is no visible damage, no kerbing, nothing. If this has been caused by stone chips allowing moisture under the lacquer then this has happened within normal driving conditions as the product (wheels) are intended for.

My car is two years old and has covered 20,000 miles. That is nothing in the life of a car, and your current response is basically saying that your product is not fit for purpose and you don't care about it.

That response is not acceptable.

I purchased a car from Skoda with my hard earned money. That car has been used within normal driving conditions and something has gone wrong. It is your responsibility to me as a consumer to fix that issue under the warranty provided to me.

As a first point of action, I am requesting a full copy of the report made including pictures from the Service manager at Skoda Reading that has rejected this claim.

As a second point of action I am requesting an inspection by a warranty manager that I will be present for.

I would like to reiterate that I will not let this matter drop, too many times I have come across other Skoda owners that have also received a poor and misleading level of service from Skoda and have walked away out of pocket, I am not one of those people.

This issue is being documented on the Briskoda site in full to make others owners aware of the level of service they can expect.

I look forward to hearing from you with an appropriate response this time.

Kind Regards,

Adam"

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I'd simply take it to another dealer, get them to take a look and I wouldn't mind betting they will order you another set under warranty. The first dealer was pretty clueless.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Adam, I have just gone through what you are going through. I've been off the forum for a while because the whole situation with the wheels coupled with a dodgy gearbox has caused me to lose my love with the car and all things that go with it, I jumped on here just now out of curiosity to what's going on! Since I was last here I have had all four dark chrome gigaros changed foc but I did have to drive all the way to Lincoln from south Wales to get this done as I bought the car from them although there's more to it than that. Cardiff and Newport Skoda refused to do any under warranty. One had kerb damage from myself although the corrosion was present when I collected the car, one had chips in it on collection with corrosion and two were perfect. Before I drove to collect the car last September I was told by Lincoln Skoda all four wheels were perfect but I wasn't driving away without the car and took the chance on getting them done down here. Luckily Lincoln Skoda Dennis Horton gave me great customer service but it did take me prior to this to fight like mad on the phone to Skoda customer services and got the case uplifted twice until I got to Steph and she had good links on Dennis Horton to sort it out. Other than me waiting for a cheque to reimburse me for my fuel costs I'm very happy with the wheel outcome. Not so happy my gearbox judder can't be fixed and I'm getting told to make it worse so it's easier to diagnose! Your wheels are 100% covered under warranty, fight it with customer care, citizens advice and try other dealers. Most dealers are worried they won't get their money back for the wheels but there are a few that know the system and will help you. They are basically not fit for purpose.

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While speaking to Skoda U.k about my Fabia that I had bought used about fault I also asked them what other warranty work had been done. To my astonishment he reeled off a list which included new alloy wheels due to corrosion.

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Yep it's a common problem.

Skoda uk have been absolutely useless, as have skoda in Reading. Bottom line I won't be buying another skoda which is a shame as I was looking at the new Octavia vrs as my next car.

I took mine to a local well known tyre and wheel specialist. They couldn't believe that skoda didn't want to know about the problem given that my car is only 2 years old.

I'm going to try going back to the dealership in Guildford I purchased my car from, see what they say.

Just a shame customers even have to go to these lengths to get issues rectified.

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