Chrome Trim Problem

[georgek_]

Hi guys

I recently bought an Ibiza Xcellence Lux DSG and I’m loving it so far.

I’ve unfortunately found a problem with the chrome trim around the rear window, it seems to be coming away and exposing blue paint underneath? No matter how hard I push it doesn’t want to stay down.

Seems to be a similar story for the front passenger side although much less noticeable there. See attached pics.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? If so, what did you do to fix it?

Cheers

 

[SRGTD]

From the pictures you’ve posted, your car is white so I wouldn’t expect the paintwork on the door under the window trims to be blue.

Did you buy the car new or used? If used, then blue paint under trim pieces on a white car may suggest repairs have been carried out, and second hand replacement doors from another (blue) car used for the repairs. If the original window trim pieces from your car have been retained and re-used, then the removal and refitting process might have distorted them - hence why they do not fit correctly.

I would be looking for other evidence of paint repairs; any differences in the shade or finish of the paintwork on the doors compared to adjacent panels, any other visible blue paint and / or ’hard’ edges from masking up areas of bodywork / trim to be protected from repainting. I’d also be checking door edges, door openings, behind door rubber seals and other parts of the bodywork near the doors for any evidence of paint overspray / rough paint finish. The areas I’ve marked on two of your pictures below look as if they might be hard paint edges as a result of masking up and painting. If you know someone with a paint thickness gauge, then it’d also be worth measuring the paint thickness on the nearside doors and comparing it to the paint thickness on other parts of the car.

Please update this discussion thread, once you‘ve had a chance to inspect the doors more closely and compare to the rest of the car.

 

[Seriously?]

Sorry you've got an issue with your Ibiza It's always difficult to see from photos, but there also appears to be dust or debris under the paint here:

 

[georgek_]

Thanks for your replies guys. On further inspection I can see more blue paint on the inside of the door. It also seems the seal has been damaged - see pics. I bought the car used a couple of weeks ago from a dealership, of course not noticing these issues when I inspected the vehicle beforehand. In terms of paint, the colours on the doors match elsewhere perfectly, and the hard edges you speak about are only noticeable as the trim has lifted up.

It goes without saying that I’m a little disappointed, although I probably would’ve never noticed it had the trim been in its original shape. Would this be something a dealership should inform the buyer of beforehand? Would I have any form of recourse in terms of getting them to pay for it to be repaired properly?

 

[Seriously?]

What would worry me is why it seems a second-hand door has been used. I can't imagine an insurance claim repair would utilise used parts. Retailers have no obligation to tell you if a vehicle has been repaired unless it was subject to a write-off category. They may not even realise it's been resprayed; although there is certainly enough evidence in your pictures. I'd be tempted to take the matter up with them. As a matter of interest, did your car come from a SEAT dealership or independent?

 

[SRGTD]

@georgek_ - agree, it’s really disappointing when issues like this are discovered on a major purchase such as a car. This happened to me back in the 1990’s when I discovered the nearly new used car I bought from a Vauxhall dealer under their approved used scheme at the time (Network Q) had had bodywork repairs. I exchanged that car under the 30 day exchange pledge provided by Vauxhall under their Network Q programme for an alternative car.

If you bought your car from a Seat dealership as an approved used car, then it should’ve gone through a multi point inspection which includes inspection of the bodywork by the dealer. Also, with Seat Approved Used cars, there is a 30 day exchange promise - if, within the first 30 days / 1,000 miles (whichever occurs first) you are unhappy with the car for whatever reason, you can exchange it for another car - presumably with cash adjustment either way if any replacement car is more or less expensive. As you’ve only owned your car for two weeks, then you could exchange it for another car under the 30 day exchange promise.

If you bought the car from an independent dealer, then as @Seriously? has suggested, in your position I’d be discussing your findings with the dealer, with the objective - as a minimum - of getting them to agree to rectify the paintwork issues to remove ‘tell tale’ signs of repairs, and also replacing the window trim pieces.

If you’ve not already done so, in light of your findings, it’d be worth checking the rest of the car over very carefully before going back to the dealer for evidence of repairs on other panels. Look specifically for uneven panel gaps, paint overspray onto trim, rubbers, hinge bolts with paint removed, hard paint edges from masking up and differences in paint shade and finish compared to adjoining panels. If you do find any evidence of other repairs, then you can highlight these to the dealer at the same time.

Good luck, and please continue to keep the forum updated with developments and (hopefully, a successful) outcome.

 

[Big Vinny]

A garage uses a paint thickness gauge to check for repair and respray work. The paint on the white oversprayed parts will be thicker than that on the original panels. It may be more than just the doors that have been resprayed ? I have seen paint thickness gauges on eBay UK for about 14 GBP.

 

[georgek_]

Some rather encouraging news - I have since been in contact with several people, all of whom have confirmed what you guys helpfully said here - it definitely has been resprayed.

A service advisor at SEAT, however, is not convinced that the door is a second-hand one. The explanation he gave me was that the blue colour we can see is, in fact, the primer colour of the doors before they’re painted in the factory. I’m not sure myself.

I also contacted the dealer I purchased the vehicle from - an independent I might add. They have since offered me a full refund/collection of the vehicle or to cover the repair cost at a bodyshop. I’m in two minds over what to do, although I suspect I’ll take the latter option as this was/still is the only spec car I could find advertised.

I have it booked in for a quote next week at a SEAT approved repair bodyshop who will obviously carry out a more thorough inspection, measuring paint thicknesses etc.

I will keep you guys updated on the (hopefully positive!) outcome.

 

[BigJase88]

Some rather encouraging news - I have since been in contact with several people, all of whom have confirmed what you guys helpfully said here - it definitely has been resprayed.

A service advisor at SEAT, however, is not convinced that the door is a second-hand one. The explanation he gave me was that the blue colour we can see is, in fact, the primer colour of the doors before they’re painted in the factory. I’m not sure myself.

I also contacted the dealer I purchased the vehicle from - an independent I might add. They have since offered me a full refund/collection of the vehicle or to cover the repair cost at a bodyshop. I’m in two minds over what to do, although I suspect I’ll take the latter option as this was/still is the only spec car I could find advertised.

I have it booked in for a quote next week at a SEAT approved repair bodyshop who will obviously carry out a more thorough inspection, measuring paint thicknesses etc.

I will keep you guys updated on the (hopefully positive!) outcome.

It looks like Mystery Blue.

i doubt they would paint them Mystery Blue 1st then put another coat on top

 

[georgek_]

It looks like Mystery Blue.

i doubt they would paint them Mystery Blue 1st then put another coat on top

My thoughts exactly

 

[Bear]

My thoughts exactly

It's certainly a mystery that it's blue...or am I due a whoosh?

 

[BigJase88]

My thoughts exactly

I had a look at 2nd hand doors for sale on ebay

the innards of the door is generally unpainted / primer / grey looking colour

 

[SRGTD]

Some rather encouraging news - I have since been in contact with several people, all of whom have confirmed what you guys helpfully said here - it definitely has been resprayed.

A service advisor at SEAT, however, is not convinced that the door is a second-hand one. The explanation he gave me was that the blue colour we can see is, in fact, the primer colour of the doors before they’re painted in the factory. I’m not sure myself.

I also contacted the dealer I purchased the vehicle from - an independent I might add. They have since offered me a full refund/collection of the vehicle or to cover the repair cost at a bodyshop. I’m in two minds over what to do, although I suspect I’ll take the latter option as this was/still is the only spec car I could find advertised.

I have it booked in for a quote next week at a SEAT approved repair bodyshop who will obviously carry out a more thorough inspection, measuring paint thicknesses etc.

I will keep you guys updated on the (hopefully positive!) outcome.

@georgek_ , Good news on what the dealer is prepared to do to resolve the situation to your satisfaction .

I don’t think the Seat service advisor is correct regarding a blue coloured primer being used in the factory. Below is a link to a YouTube video of a Leon body shell going through the painting process on the factory production line. The primer used is a very light grey (almost white) colour - seen on the bonnet of the car at 3min 44sec to 3min 55sec and again at 4m 32sec. The light grey primer isn’t just used on the Leon - it’ll be used on all Seat models. I think the light grey primer is used across all VW / Audi group brands - all of the VW’s I’ve owned have had light grey primer (visible when the car’s picked up stone chips) irrespective of the paint colour of the car.

Genuine new OEM Seat replacement body panels used by body shops to repair damaged vehicles have a satin black finish - not blue - and the body shop will apply a light grey primer coat before the body colour paint is applied. Here’s a genuine OEM replacement front nearside wing panel for the Ibiza before it’s painted - the part number listed (6F0821105B) is correct for the genuine OEM part being sold.

 

[georgek_]

Hi all, just thought I’d provide an update, albeit bittersweet.

As mentioned before, the dealership offered to pay to respray the two doors. With this in mind, I took it to a bodyshop for a quote and they straight up refused a respray, instead saying the only way they would work on the car would be to replace the doors completely. Reason being was that the workmanship was already very shoddy (paint already showing signs of wear) and they couldn’t guarantee how the doors would hold up over time. Respraying the doors would also mean the 3 year paint and 12 year corrosion warranties remain invalid. I came away with a quote of £3.8k, apparently whoever repaired the car in the past had decided to spray the whole left hand side of the car, as opposed to just the doors as first thought, presumably to ensure the colour matched better. The quote obviously included replacement of these parts as well.

At this point I thought it more than best to ask the dealership to take it back and give me a refund. The car was collected today and the money should be with me ASAP. I’m grateful that the dealership were so easy to deal with. Although they denied all knowledge of the repairs, I still have a feeling inside that they had to have known something. All in all, I’m happy to have gotten shot of the thing, and am currently looking for a replacement Ibiza. Lesson
learnt!

 

[SRGTD]

I pleased that you’ve had kind of a satisfactory outcome - satisfactory insofar as getting your money back after handing back a car that you’d probably never been entirely happy with, knowing it had been poorly repaired. However, you’re now left with having to find a replacement car. It’s good that the dealer was true to their word and took the car back, although it’d be interesting to see if they put it back on their forecourt for sale again……

When you track down a replacement car that you like, it would be worth taking someone with you to inspect the car carefully for signs of repairs - evenness of panel gaps, uniform paint colour, shade and finish, no evidence of paint overspray on trim, glass, no hard edges etc. An independent person viewing a car might spot issues that you wouldn’t see. I went with a friend a few years ago to view a car they were considering buying and I spotted the driver’s door had been repaired - looking along the side of the car, there were small ripples in the metalwork from rubbing down a section of the door that’d been filled prior to repainting and the paintwork finish wasn’t the same as the factory paint on the rest of the car. My friend didn’t spot this but needless to say once it was pointed out to him, he didn’t buy the car.

Also, if any future car you consider buying has been HPI’d or had an AA / RAC inspection carried out prior to to going onto a dealer’s forecourt for sale, it’d be worth asking to see the inspection report before buying.

Good luck - I hope you find a replacement car soon that’s accident and damage free.

 

[BigJase88]

So the doors weren’t mystery blue from the factory as an undercoat

what a bloomin’ mystery then ‍