thebrighton

Yep, 2 round rubber covers, one about 3 inches across and 2 inches.

The seal along the join between front and rear of unit has probably failed. It did on one of mine so I ran a bead of clear sealant along the join and ran my finger along to smooth it out. Job done. However it may not be needed. On the rear of the unit there are 2 rubber covers. Pop them off, leave it for a few hours and it will clear itself. That may sort it or you can use a hair drier blowing through the openings which will speed things up. Have a look at the rubber covers as they may be damaged or not sitting around the opening properly.

I believe they are doing their own thing as they have done this work numerous times and the small repair panels available are just for the outer skin but that area is double skinned and the inner layer will be where the rust started so just replacing the outer area will hide the main culprit. For the cheaper quotes it will be cutting out a square, welding the new bit in then filling and sanding. Really the whole rear quarter would need repainting. A 5 door would probably be cheaper but mine is a 3 door so to be sprayed properly the rear window will need removing whereas the 5 door has a handy door!

I pushed as hard as I could and went down numerous avenues. The first visit to the dealership and first rejection was a joke as they didn't even bother to take any photos. After numerous exchanges with Skoda customer services I was asked to return to the dealership for photos and the claim to be resubmitted. I knew what the outcome would be because, yes, the dealership took photos but only of the exterior of the car. Surely they needed to take photos of the inner wheel arch where the rust started? It was this second visit when it was no longer a matter of not having it serviced at Skoda and annual bodywork checks as I had pointed out it had just started so wouldn't have been seen at a service but seems and edges came into play. Next stop was the ombudsman but then finding out they are toothless and have accepted Skoda's poor excuse to get out of paying up. It is now booked in with a local bodyshop to get sorted at my expense. That's another area to be wary of as you can get quotes from as little as £300 but I wonder what the quality of repair would be. The local bodyshop is a Skoda approved one amongst numerous other manufacturers and I have had them do work before on other cars. We are looking at just over a grand but hopefully it will cure it and not return.

I've been down the same road. They will throw a number of reasons at you but Skoda's ultimate response will be the warranty doesn't cover seams and edges which is where the rust starts. Unfortunately the ombudsman has now accepted Skoda excuse for not honouring their warranty and doesn't support claims. As you will have found it is a well known issue that could have bean easily solved if Skoda had bothered to spend a fiver on rear wheel arch liners but they decided to go cheap then when the claims started rolling in they panicked and threw out excuses until they found one the ombudsman would accept. Absolutely disgusting from Skoda.

It is not possible to talk directly to the Skoda warranty department, only the extended warranty department who can't help. Your only port of call is customer services but even when you reach management level they have no control over warranty claims. I have plenty if emails from customer services but you will not get one from warranties. They only deal direct with the dealership who can confirm things to you by email. They win, it's wrong, but they win and now that the ombudsman is on their side they always will.

I was sitting in the warranty managers office reading Skoda's reply to him with attachments from the ombudsman supporting the VW group's stance. They were recent rejections so VW have probably come up with a more robust "excuse" for not coughing up which the ombudsman now agrees with. Missing inspection reports weren't mentioned, purely the location. If it can be rubbed or collect dirt causing corrosion it's a no. He reconned if it was just the small bubble about a half inch into the panel it would have probably been ok but as you can see a small area where the edge of the rubber filler surround meets the bodywork they've decided it is "edge and fold". As you say it's cobblers. My only real option is the ombudsman which I have started but they quote a 6 month wait before they'll even look at it but it appears they'll side with VW anyway. I may have to bite the bullet and get it sorted myself.

I now have a reason for the claim being rejected. It is corrosion caused by "edge and fold" not from the middle of a panel; if corrosion starts inside on a seam or edge it's tough. Sounds like cobblers to me and not specified in the warranty. I have also now discovered this has been the reason quoted to the motoring ombudsman which they have accepted and then rejected customer appeals. Seems Skoda have covered their backsides and have the ombudsman on their side.

I've been back to Caffyns and had a long chat with their warranty manager. He agrees what has happened and that it's rust from the inside and that it is covered by the warranty and has shown me Skoda's internal repair schedule for claims such as this which even stipulates wheel arch liners have to be retro fitted. However, he has also shown my the reply to the warranty claim which shows it was Skoda that rejected the claim and they gave zero reason so that's Skoda lying to me saying the dealership made the decision. He is now contacting them again. What an absolute shambles.

I have just spoken to Skoda's extended warranty department who were very helpful. Skoda have nothing to do with a claim. It is down to the dealership warranty manager to make the decision. It only goes to Skoda annually in the form of an audit so it is Caffyns that are lying to me. Looks like I will be going back to Caffyns

Claim update. Skoda finally managed to contact Caffyns, the dealership, who claim Skoda warranty rejected the claim without giving a reason despite telling me it was because it wasn't corrosion. Caffyns have asked I return so they can take more photos, more (?) they never took any in the first place. I have an email train with Skoda but interestingly they rang me to say they had suspicions that Caffyns have asked for this to cover themselves so no proof. I asked for the number for warranties but for some reason customer services can't provide one. Anyone have it to hand. They told me to go to the ombudsman. There's a 6 month wait there so I guess Skoda are just hoping I go away! I won't be returning to Caffyns so they can cover their backsides.

To answer my own question I actually found the part number attached to the tubing. Of course being part of the VW group things are never simple. You cannot buy just the tube as it comes with the wiring for the rear hatch attached to it so just the £150 when all that was required was a metre of tubing. 5mm clear rubber tube was purchased for a couple of quid and job done. Pity you have to remove 4 trim panels to be able to drop the roof lining enough to thread the new tube through.

I am now confident that the dealer didn't contact Skoda UK. When I contacted Skoda UK they set up a case number and emailed Caffyns to arrange an inspection. They asked me if Caffyns had been in contact with me which they hadn't so Skoda UK emailed again and, again, Caffyns didn't contact me. The agent then tried ringing Caffyns but their numerous calls went unanswered and the only time they did answer they cut them off. They have now escalated it. I am still fully prepared for a drawn out argument with Skoda but so far they have kept me updated on a daily basis and are getting punchy with the useless local dealership.

Many thanks

Where did you find the bit about body protection warranty? It would be handy to get a decent copy as I just have what is listed in the handbook.