I'm trying to determine if there are other A4 owners who have had the misfortune of having portions of the paint on their bumpers begin peeling away. I have a 98 A4 Avant quattro that has developed a half-dollar sized area on the right side of the bumper (near the headlight washer) in which the top clear coat layer of thepaint (with the the flex) has peeled back to reveal the red primer coat. The paint still contines to peel when water pressure from a garden hose is applied to the damaged area. The car is less than one year old, has 14,000 miles, is handwashed weekly and is otherwise meticulously maintained.

The dealer has denied the claim because there is evidence of a stone chip in the middle of the peeled area. I maintain that even if a stone did breach the clear coat and flex surfaces, that chip should not cause the entire bumper to begin peeling from that breach. In addition, there is an area located about an inch from the primary problem area that is developing the same problem without any evidence of a chip.

Any comments, advice and info on similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. And any advice on resolving the claim with Audi Cusomer Care would be appreciated as well.

Rick Kozal
rickozal@ibm.net

OK I know VERY little about cars except for the whole Three pedals and a wheel thing. BUT from what you described it sounds as though the bumper was damaged (perhaps on the lot) and then repaired. A 1\2 dollar-sized chip on top of the bumper? sounds unlikly to me.

This is of course just IMHO

Ask the Service Manager to make an appointment with the regional service rep. Promise them a perfect satisfaction score on service if they will attend to this promptly. This peeling is not at all normal.

April

...it is likely the result of a poor repair job at some point. Perhaps your car was damaged in shipping and the dealer didn't get a proper fix. I would check their credability on this issue and Make your case. Even my '89, 90 quattro isn't peeling, and it's been dinged and hit more times than I can count! Wouldn't hurt to try a different dealer and also contact AOA. Good luck!

Charles

I have a 98.5 1.8t and I bought it June of last year. Late August/ early September I washed it and noticed that the clear coat on the front bumper was peeling off on the drivers side part. It started off small and expanded rapidly. I could actually peel it off like a bad sunburn. I took it to my local dealer at school in Indiana and they said that an Audi Rep had to look at it but it did look to be a factory defect because there were tiny bubbles (that I couldn't see) in the clearcoat. Well their Audi Rep supposidly had not been to visit them in 3 years. I asked for them to make an appointment and they never did. When I went back to Florida (where my permanet residence is) for Christmas break I took the car to the dealership where I bought it. They claimed it was due to something that I put on it, like wax or something. Needless to say I got firm and ordered to see the Audi Rep, they said they would call me when he came the next time (in 2 weeks they said.) Well shocker...they never called, I called them they said he wasn't coming for another week and I had to be back at school. So I had to wait till summer. So summer rolled along and the entire left side of the bumper was missing clearcoat. I brought it in and before I did I called to made sure I set the appointment up while the rep was there (it took 4 calls before I finally got the date) I brought it in and they said that they would fix it, when I asked for a loaner car they said "no" because the defect is not under warranty and that they are doing this as a good will gesture. I asked to talk to the rep because this was definitly a warranty issue, they said the rep was not there and never saw the car but they talked to him on the phone and he agreed to do it only for good will. Well once again I got firm and said that I will wait till the rep sees it in person because it IS a factory paint defect that IS covered under that nice Audi warranty for 10 years (I think.) They finally said fine you will get a loaner. I think the dealership did it as a "goodwill" gesture and never talked to Audi at all because the service manager was still claiming it was either something I applied or a rock chip and because my parents had just put deposits down on 2 new BMWs at the dealership the night before.

If I were you I would just make sure you see and speak to the Audi rep. Don't even tell the dealership what the problem is just schedule your appointment when the rep will be there. Explain it to them and then when they say the rock chip thing again just ask them how in the hell a rock prick could make the entire bumper peel. It is impossible, because if that was the case every Audi bumper would be peeling. If you just talk to the service manager he will blow it off because he dosen't want to deal with it.

Good luck with your quest.

Alex C.