mnitup

Hello all. I'll keep this short for now and expand if/when questions arise.

Eight months ago I purchased a 2011 A4 Avant CPO with 43,000 miles and all was good. On about the sixth month, while hand washing the car, I noticed the tow eye cover paint was blistered and about to peel, this was not good, but thought it would be a fairly easy fix since it was isolated to just that small plastic cover. Well, about a week later, after a Spring interstate ride home at dusk I noticed about 20-30 small chips where bugs had made contact with the front bump cover. Two days later, after driving home from work through a rain storm; the chips had turned to 1/4"-1/2" diameter paint voids. So, I contacted Audi of America (AoA) and explained the issue and asked how best to proceed with a warranty claim. Long story short, I was referred to my local dealer, back to AoA, back to the out of state dealer I purchased from, back to my local dealer, and full circle back to AoA. I asked to bring the car in for examination, sent photos (without there requesting any), and after a few weeks was told via email from my local dealer's Service Manager (with AoA Cced), that my claim was denied because this issue did not fall under the corrosion and perforation warranty. They expanded by stating it was a plastic part and could not corrode, blah, blah, blah. So, I am here to inform all readers of this case. I have also made the choice to not repaint the car (for $1,420, as quoted by an authorized Audi collision center) until after I complete stage II oil consumption and prepare it for sale. In the mean time, I added a European tag to the front of the car the reads "AUDIPAINTFAIL". Yeah, I'm pissed!

Are there any other forum members that have experienced similar A4 B8 paint issues? If so, what was your outcome? Thanks for reading, and I assure you this is really the short version.

uberwgn

It's a re-painted bumper! Did you review the damage history of the car?

mnitup

Hi, Uberwgn. Yes, I reviewed the damage history before purchase and it was/is clean.

What makes you state that it's a re-paint? The body shop could not say either way. They did say that if it was a re-paint, the shop did a fantastic job, and there was a visible primer coat adhered to the back side of the peeling paint.

uberwgn

Improperly prepared re-paint work looks like that.

BMWBig6

Yeah, I agree that's a poor re-spray, or it's possible someone accidentally used some really harsh chemicals on it (over-aggressive bug and tar removal?) but my bet would still be repainted bumper flaking off. It could have been resprayed at the dealer (they have someone on staff that uses a small air brush for touch-ups) and it wouldn't show up on vehicle history reports. Usually they have to feather the clear coat though so you'll notice a faint edge or border around the touch-up area.

mnitup

Thanks for the feedback, guys. The notion of a non-reported accident or re-spray has been in back of my mind as well, which was part of what I ***-umed I would be avoiding by purchasing a CPO vehicle.

The dealer I purchased the vehicle from assures me they did not perform any such work, either in-house or by others, while the car was in their possession and at this point all I really can do is take their word for it since the CPO inspection report backs this claim up.

The frustrating thing for me, beside the obvious paint falling off, is the lack of good customer service, sense of responsibility, or even empathy from any Audi representatives that I've been in contact with. I bet they would react differently if this were their car's paint peeling off of . . .

I'm still looking for others that may have experienced similar issues and more importantly, what the outcome was.

Thanks again for the input, and I'll update this thread as my experience progresses.

Manual_Trans

Agree with others. When Audi resells a car as as CPO, they're not certifying that the car has never been in any accident or required body work. They may not even know that (they probably do not). They're certifying that they're reselling a car that has been refurbished within specific tolerances to meet the CPO program.

Does the rear bumper exhibit the same deterioration?

Best guess: Car was in an accident of some kind and the bumper was replaced and poorly painted. Pull off the front fascia and see what's going on behind it. There may be signs of damage and repair.

mnitup

As an update on this epic first post to this awesome forum, all that stated my issue was due to a failed repaint were correct. I had a few paint shop quote the repaint and they all agreed. Had it stripped, treated correctly, and repaint with great results. Thanks for letting me vent. I also finally had part two of the oil consumption performed and now feel like a have a whole car. Sure wish it didn't take over 1.5 years, but I'm happy now nevertheless.