My son bought a 2006 Mazda Atenza from a dealer. Three days later he noticed it had "spider rust" on the roof. On contacting the dealer he was told it was common due to acid rain in Japan and he was not very interested in fixing the problem.The said dealer eventually agreed to pay half. I would appreciate comments from the reputable dealers on here whether it is a CGA matter or tough luck. Many thanks.
vtecintegra,
Dec 15, 10:21pm
How much? If it's just cosmetic I'd say he's probably out of luck.
Mazda paint (particularly on the roof as your son has found out) is pretty thin and easily damaged - you'll find most Mazdas of that vintage have a bunch of stone chips and cosmetic rust there (my low mileage 2008 3 certainly does)
kazbanz,
Dec 15, 10:57pm
Saturn-Im looking out at 80 ish cars and NONE have rust on the roof. The story that its "acid rain" is rubbish. -ask the paint guys here. IMO the dealer should sort it out
buyit59,
Dec 16, 2:16am
I have noticed many Mazda 6 with same issue ( and NZ New ) . Think it is more an issue of paint quality and thickness rather than acid rain . It was obviously there before it was purchased and I would say grab the 1/2 offer to get it back to better than it was ( and probably better than ) new !
bigfatmat1,
Dec 16, 3:10am
I think the question is. Is the dealer legally obliged to pay full repairs. On a possibly cosmetic issue
tgray,
Dec 16, 3:40am
I know this will alarm some, but near 10 year old used cars, will be in used condition and at used prices. I have never met a 10 year old car I have not been able to fault. Dealers obligations do not require them to sell used cars in new condition.
bwg11,
Dec 16, 4:22am
I see no obligation (moral or otherwise) on the part of the dealer. This is a cosmetic issue on an old car which would have been apparent at any PPI. A massive transmission or engine failure after 3 days would be arguable.
intrade,
Dec 16, 4:57am
i wonder if its radioactive also from fuchushima.
kazbanz,
Dec 16, 5:00am
I don't agree on the basis that 'spider web corrosion" if its as I'm picturing it is indicitive of an underlying issue.Ie the corrosion has come UP through the paint so there may be a structural issue. Equally it could be metal splatter and the rust is spreading out in the scratches Happy to be proven wrong.
tgray,
Dec 16, 6:36am
I think I will buy my next car from you mate! What's your reaction if a customer comes back and says you didn't tell me a CV boot is torn or the spare tyre is down to minimum tread? Don't get me wrong, I often go out of my way to help out customers but a few times I have drawn the line. I had a customer who bought a $4000 car and a year later and 20,000k of driving, came back with something I thought was unreasonable and suggested that was not my responsibility anymore.
gunhand,
Dec 16, 6:59am
Rust does not form from the top down on a roof, from the bottom up more likely, if that makes sense? Unless the roof paint has had a deep scratch or chip down to the metal then it will form and spiderweb under your paint. however Ive seen unchipped surfaces full of rust on many a roof. On a 10 year old car it's piss poor really unless the car has history of a roof repaint or something. Ive got cars out there that have been bare metaled and well over 10 years old in the paint and still look good as. The bad news is, I can almost guarantee that there will be many many more webs forming under the paint. Strip the roof and deal with it properly and repaint is about the only way you can deal with it. Not a cheap exercise at all.
vtecintegra,
Dec 16, 7:17am
I'll bet there is a chip down to the metal at the start of it - like I said the paint on those chips really, really easily
franc123,
Dec 16, 7:26am
I would agree, it was clearly not obvious to the purchaser when first looking at it and not in the perimeter zones of the roof where it could be a WOF issue. About the only thing you could hope for is obtain a quote and see if the dealer would contribute. You would think if this issue was common they would be more vigilant when purchasing or trading them in.
saturn51,
Dec 16, 7:29am
Thanks for the replies people.He will get the repairs done at at paint shop of his choice,not the dealers one,and wear the cost himself. Vtecintegra,you are right about the stone chips,the bonnet has heaps. Here is the car if anyone is interested - Listing #: 989858320. Many thanks again.
a.woodrow,
Dec 16, 7:30am
The offer of half seems quite reasonable considering the defect in the paint was there when the car was purchased. You can't expect a 10 year old car to be in as new condition
tgray,
Dec 16, 8:26am
$12500? I think I will have to put my prices up! By the way, the dealer has 100% good feedback and has offered to help, so we need to give them credit for that.
saturn51,
Dec 16, 8:33am
Tgray,I think the dealer put the price up on here when my son bought it.It saves cancellation fees.
kazbanz,
Dec 16, 9:11pm
Do be aware that if your son goes ahead with repairs he cannot put his hand out to the dealer for compensation. --REphrase--he can but dealer has no legal obligation to pay. The dealer has to have the chance to fix the fault.
tgray,
Dec 16, 9:39pm
Unless a dealer refuses to do it. The customer can then go ahead and fix and claim the costs back through the tribunal process. The key thing is, the dealer has to be given the opportunity to fix first, as Kaz rightly points out.
gazzat22,
Jun 6, 11:24am
Acid Rain! is the bonnet and boot similarly affected .Sounds like bull dust to me.
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