Washed the car today and was about to top up the windscreen wash and then noticed what at first I thought was a dirty mark I missed on the passenger side rear door and then to my horror I realised it was a patch of missing paint. On closer inspection the paint is literally falling off the door. I know this is an area prone to stone chipping, and there were a few small chips on both sides, but I’ve had that on all my cars over the years and the paint has never fallen off like this. The paint is so thin as well, like paper thin.

 

Is this the same as the paint blister problems other have reported?

 

The car will be 4 in January, so I guess I can’t claim this from the dealer/skoda? I am bracing myself for an expensive re-spray bill :(

I wonder if it was a pre delivery repair. It won't be that expensive to get blown in, but I'd certainly take it back to the dealership and see what they are willing to do.

Is that filler in there?

I bought my 59 plate yeti last december and by this spring I noticed the rear doors were a right mess with stone chips because my car hadn't been fitted with door foils. It was out of warranty but I contacted skoda and thankfully they resprayed both rear doors and fitted protective foils on free as a goodwill gesture. So its worth trying them. It looks like you don't have the protective foils on do you ?

Is that filler in there?

No. Bare metal where paint should be. I bought the car used at 3 years old in January.

I bought my 59 plate yeti last december and by this spring I noticed the rear doors were a right mess with stone chips because my car hadn't been fitted with door foils. It was out of warranty but I contacted skoda and thankfully they resprayed both rear doors and fitted protective foils on free as a goodwill gesture. So its worth trying them. It looks like you don't have the protective foils on do you ?

No, theres no foils. Did you contact skoda yourself or via a dealer? Mine is a 2010 '59' plate too.

No foils fitted?

Looks like it is one that missed the complaint proceedure.

 

Not a good sight and i suspect the only way will be to get the door resprayed below the bumpstrip. I would suggest a very quick visit to the local dealer with a request they contact SUK.

Excuse my ignorance but what are the "protective door foils"?

 

Don't have a Yeti yet so trying to learn from those who do.

That is serious 'gravel rash'.....it deserves to be sorted by Skoda

Excuse my ignorance but what are the "protective door foils"?

 

Don't have a Yeti yet so trying to learn from those who do.

They are a thin plastic adhesive film, that some car makers fit to areas that are prone to stone chips (ie; front of rear wheel arch and/or bottom rear edge of doors).

My March 2010 did not have foils fitted, just had a feeling they were not introduced till late 2010 or early 2011 after there had been a few incidents of gravel rash / rust.

But I do stand to be corrected.

They are a thin plastic adhesive film, that some car makers fit to areas that are prone to stone chips (ie; front of rear wheel arch and/or bottom rear edge of doors).

So would a F/L Yeti have these fitted?

I should say this is a definite yes as my last two have, but again i will give way to anyone who has more info.

Jeez that's shocking... That us just plain awful build quality, looks like they are starting to cut corners in the paint shop at skoda now then.. That panel is not even primed. I bet if you attacked that with a pressure washer the rest of the paint would fall off too.

Protective door foils = a cheap bodge.

Jeez that's shocking... That us just plain awful build quality, looks like they are starting to cut corners in the paint shop at skoda now then.. That panel is not even primed. I bet if you attacked that with a pressure washer the rest of the paint would fall off too.

I could literally peel the paint off, no need for a pressure washer. It would spread easily. I was surprised how thin it was too.

On my 2010 Yeti I had the foils fitted under warranty after Skoda agreed to repair stone chips on the o/s rear door, about a year later the foil on the n/s door started to bubble, Skoda agreed to replace it under warranty but when the garage removed the foil all the paint underneath came away with it! So the whole ear door was resprayed under warranty - so I would get the garage to try and make a claim on Skoda for repairing that - it pays to be persistent as well.

 

Have to say though the paint quality on my 2013 Suberb is far superior to that of my Yeti, as was my wife's 2011 Fabia, maybe there was a paint quality problem in the early days of the Yeti?

This was a very expensive mistake for Skoda as they realised that missing out the fitting of clear plastic 'foils'  on UK cars was leading to virtually every early car experiencing a nasty rash in front of the rear wheels.

 

I don't think it could be classified as a full blown recall but in my experience, Skoda were fully prepared to put things right at probably significant expense.  I seem to recall that Skoda (back home in the Czech Republic) actually paid the bill.

 

I've not noticed this fact being mentioned in any buying guides but I reckon that it is essential to check that any secondhand Yeti has the foils, particularly if out of warranty.

 

Despite this resolved paintwork glitch, my very early Yeti still looks like new.  Paintwork on the front end and bonnet seems to resist chipping and scratching, at least as well as any other Skodas that we have owned.

Jeez that's shocking... That us just plain awful build quality, looks like they are starting to cut corners in the paint shop at skoda now then.. That panel is not even primed. I bet if you attacked that with a pressure washer the rest of the paint would fall off too.

 

Let's remember that the car was not new, bought this year.

 

Looks very like a quick blow over some gravel rash - possibly for a quick sale?

 

No chance Skoda are going to make a move on this. Skoda are not daft, they don't make cars with rubbish paintwork on purpose, and this does not look like production paintwork.

 

I think a quality cosmetic repair and fitment of the proper foils will stop any real damage happening again.

I went to the dealer and didn't have much luck but they gave me skodas number and suggested I call them. I had to take the car to the dealer for an inspection then they phoned back and agreed to respray both doors and add foils. The skoda doesn't do the body repair, the vw dealer did it. Excellent service from skoda. Previous to my yeti I had an 18 month old mondeo and some paint came off the wheel arch and ford wouldn't touch it.

Protective door foils = a cheap bodge.

 

So what would you suggest, in your expert opinion?

So what would you suggest, in your expert opinion?

Running boards and air-ride; the lower ride height should help prevent so many stones impacting that area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Running boards and air-ride; the lower ride height should help prevent so many stones impacting that area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see my "Ignore list" has just increased by one member!!

I see my "Ignore list" has just increased by one member!!

I think you know I'm only teasing, Graham

Just left it at the local dealer. They have to photograph it and do some other stuff for Skoda. Crossing my fingers as there was talk of £400 to get the door resprayed, although I am hopeful of it being cheaper elsewhere.

 

In a wink-wink/nudge-nudge style, is there any way I can claim it on my car insurance? Maybe say it was like that after being parked in the supermarket car park for a few hours etc? My excess is only £100.