Rusting from the inside out

Bigfoot1_2

Hj,
I have a major problem developing with my Chrysler Sebring car. The bonnett is bubbling and rusting from the metal .
The paintwork is sound but the metal is bubbling behind it. The car is 3 years and 4 months old and whilst the general guarantee is only for three years, the corrosion guarantee is for 7 years. Chrysler has refused to carry out repairs because I have not had the car seviced by them although it has had full sevicing.I live 70 miles from the nearest Chrysler garage.
The car has only done 12500 miles.
Is it reasonable to expect the car not to rust from within after this period and should I make a claim to the car sales company rather than Chrysler (the manufacturer). Do you think that my statutory rights will help me claim from the seller or do you think that I am stuck with this problem whilst it may get worse.
I will obviously repair it now, but I need a commitment from the seller or manufacturer or I will be left with the full cost,

forgotmyname

There may have been a chip or flaw in the paintwork. The annual body inspection is supposed to find these and sort them before rust takes a hold.

If you didnt have the checks done as required i dont see them offering any help. Bit of a discount at most but you can probably get it done cheaper anyway.

Angry_Fanboy

I had to Google "Chrysler Sebring" to find out what it was!

Don't see many of those around.

forgotmyname

VW engine in a car thats got the build quality of an original old cheap and nasty kia or hyundai.

GolfBravo

Bigfoot1 wrote: »

Chrysler has refused to carry out repairs because I have not had the car seviced by them although it has had full sevicing.

There is a EU law that makes this illegal. It is known as EC Cars Block Exemption, and it expressly forbids from attempting to tie customers into servicing with specific garages to maintain warranty.

Get back to Chrysler UK and make an official complaint and just mention the EU Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (BER). Any problems, get in touch with the Office of Fair Trading.

TradePro

forgotmyname wrote: »

VW engine in a car thats got the build quality of an original old cheap and nasty kia or hyundai.

Engine is still the worst bit then!

TradePro

GolfBravo wrote: »

There is a EU law that makes this illegal. It is known as EC Cars Block Exemption, and it expressly forbids from attempting to tie customers into servicing with specific garages to maintain warranty.

You are right regarding servicing etc. (though the onus is on the owner to 'prove' that the servicing was carried out to spec if anything does go wrong...) but I'm 99% sure the anti-perforation warranty is a different matter.

I have never witnessed a successful anti-perforation claim in almost 25yrs in the industry, rust is almost always a result of damage (an almost invisble 'pinhole' chip in your bonnet paint could allow water in, for example), without annual inspections I think you're doubly screwed.

forgotmyname

The servicing is probably not the issue though. I think its the lack of the bodywork/corrosion check.

It maybe a tiny chip in the paint that allowed moisture in. The annual checks are supposed to spot these before rust takes a hold.

GolfBravo

forgotmyname wrote: »

The servicing is probably not the issue though. I think its the lack of the bodywork/corrosion check.

It maybe a tiny chip in the paint that allowed moisture in. The annual checks are supposed to spot these before rust takes a hold.

I don't think any manufacturer perforation warranty covers rust caused by a chip in the paint. Perforation warranty usually covers corrosion originating from the inside surface, eg. manufacturing/design fault.

chrysler.co.uk:

Corrosion warranty covers any outer-body metal panel that gets holes from rust or other corrosion. The warranty has time and distance limits as follows;

• For sheet metal panels, the limit is 2 years with unlimited distance.
• For an outer-body sheet metal panel, one that is finished-painted and that can be seen when walking around the vehicle, the time limit is 7 years with unlimited distance.
• The warranty does not cover cosmetic or surface corrosion resulting for example from stone chips, scratches or bird lime in the paint.

Anyway, provided the independent garage performed the regular rust inspections, the rust warranty should be valid. This is exactly what the EU BER covers: "consumers should not be subject to ties to approved garages for servicing within the manufacturer's warranty period". Rust inspection is no different to any other inspection carried out during normal scheduled service.

I would really recommend contacting Chrysler and mentioning the BER, and if they still say no, contact OFT to clarify (they enforce the EU BER in UK) and enforce if necessary.

GolfBravo

TradePro wrote: »

I have never witnessed a successful anti-perforation claim in almost 25yrs in the industry, rust is almost always a result of damage (an almost invisble 'pinhole' chip in your bonnet paint could allow water in, for example), without annual inspections I think you're doubly screwed.

And in my 13 years in the industry I have witnessed quite a few actually - but only where the customers stood their ground, and the claims were genuine (no mechanical paint damage, rust from inside out). But overall, they are very easy to dismiss by manufacturers.

So I think it is definitely worth a try.

StrongWork

Angry_Fanboy wrote: »

I had to Google "Chrysler Sebring" to find out what it was!

Don't see many of those around.

There's a reason.