Hi everyone,

I am currently dealing with a serious dispute regarding my Skoda Superb Combi iV MY 2021, and I'm looking for some official or crowd-sourced data regarding factory paint thickness and tolerances.

After performing a detailed micrometric paint audit on my car, I found massive readings on several exterior panels that heavily exceed normal factory specs (e.g., up to 2,150 µm on the rear-left side panel, 590–720 µm on the hood, and 320–360 µm on the roof), while the internal areas (doors and trunk jambs) stay at a normal 170–190 µm.

Before I push further with my legal claim against the dealership for undisclosed respraying/bodywork, I would like to double-check:

1. What are the typical factory paint thickness ranges (in microns / µm) for a modern Skoda Superb coming out of the factory?

2. Does anyone have access to any official VAG / Skoda technical documentation (SB - Service Bulletin, workshop manuals, etc.) that states the allowable factory tolerances for paint layers?

Any official data sheets, personal experiences with paint gauges on a brand-new Superb, or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!

The Car Expert

Does a seller have to declare damage on a car? | The Car...

What are the rules about any damage being declared on a car you're buying? Well, it's complicated, which car dealers use to their advantage.

Interesting.

For paint thickness I’m not sure you’ll find anything that will hold them bang to rights. Although some of those figures sound horrendous - not sure my NexPTG would read paint that thick.

As for recourse on damage, having always had a weird shape in my rear bumper since buying it at 6m old from a Carr’s Exeter in Sept ‘21 as the GM’s company car, and now having been hit up the rear last week, you can see evidence that the rear bumper has been damaged and filled before respray. They never mentioned a thing - I wouldn’t have cared. I’d never get anything from them but it was a **** move by them.

The workshop manual does have information on paint - I’m not able to access it now, however, but maybe somewhere to look?