I’ve inherited a 2016 Octavia estate, which is very nice.
I have noticed that there is a 3cm patch of rust appearing from under the rear boot window, it’s on the lower edge and is definitely not the result of a stone chip or other ding.
Has anyone had any previous dealing with Skoda on This Sort Of Thing before I go into bat?
Sausages and Bombers primed obvz.
This being STW I'm going to be of no use whatsoever but I will say that I'd be surprised if there was no underlying damage to the panel for rust to appear.
Vehicle rustproofing seems really very good nowadays.
How are you sure there's not been previous damage?
It’s a four year old car, not sure that paint warranties go that long.
Actually a quick google ‘Skoda paint warranty’ will tell you that there’s a 3 year paint warranty and a 10 year perforation warranty.
There can be any number of reasons for paint damage there, but, tbh, you’ve inherited the car, it’s cost you nothing, a careful rub down, rust treatment then primer and a rattle-can respray and clear coat using the correct colour isn’t going to cost more than around fifteen-twenty quid for the cans. Or else one of the dent repair blokes could sort it for probably not very much.
I’ve just given away my Octavia, it was 19 years old, I’d had it 15 years, it was doing 155 miles a week for work, and it had never been serviced, at least by me. Sort out that bit of paint, it’ll last years.
How are you sure there’s not been previous damage?
Fair point. It’s appearing from under the glass/mastic , so to be the result of damage it would have had to have had the rear window out and a shoddy repair done to the joint line of the outer and inner skins joint.
It was a Skoda car for 6 months before my father got it so it’s possible that something happened, but the glass has the id etched into it, so that bit at least is unlikely to have been replaced.
My 2013 Fabia had a 6 year paint warranty but only because I had it serviced and inspected by Skoda during that time. I did have one claim under it too, for a rusty painted bracket in the engine bay. Wasn't spotted by me but the tech doing my aircon service, they just replaced it while doing the job and handed me the rusty one when I went to pay. Wasn't a small bracket either! Might be worth looking into if it's been serviced by the dealer and the inspections kept up-to-date.
You mention that the it may have had the rear window out and replaced. It’s all too easy for a windscreen fitter to nick the paint during removal of the broken glass . They should use a primer to make good any damage before binding in the new screen.
Might be worth looking to see if it’s had a replacement screen and who fitted it to see if there is any potential recourse there.
Generally you need to have inspections done to maintain the anti corrosion warranty, sometimes done as part of dealer servicing but not always. If it's not had main dealer care don't waste your time.
Yep, main dealer stamps, although how do I tell if the paint/bodywork inspections have also been done?