Me and my rusty B8..

[Zodiam]

Hi, i feel like i need to vent a bit because im so sad and frustrated.

I bought my 2010 A4 in 2016 and i was so happy because i bought a really nice looking and driving car, my old B6 A4 was a rustbucket and all four wheel whells were rusting out, the clearcoat was failing all over the car.

First winter was a blast, having Quattro was great fun and the car was overall much better than my B6, and then after the winter while waxing the car i found that both front fenders were peeling paint inside, researched it online and it was a very common issue, my dealer fixed it fast and did a great job.


Now fastforward to after the second winter with the car has passed, again i found new defects while waxing that were not there before the winter, my drivers side rear quarter panel now has bubbles all around the wheel well, guess ill just call Audi again then.


NOPE! Audi has apparently declared a maximum of 5 years of age on the car for them to fix "rust bubbles" which are caused by the galvanization (rust protection) failing... the stupid 12 year rust "perforation only" warranty is such a scam..

This is on a car that has full service history with only authorized Audi dealers, has always been handwashed at least every 2 weeks (PO worked as a detailer and kept it in great shape) and sealed and/or waxed about every 4 months.



I love this car, it drives so damn well and has had no mechanical issues at all (TDI) and i was looking to keep it for many years but this is starting to change my mind..

[Crucible35]

Were any of the areas that are rusting repainted due to bodywork? I've heard a lot about the paint flaking/chipping around the wheel wells but not much in the way of rust unless there has some sort of upset.....especially if the previous owner took meticulous care of the car. I put my 2009 A4 through 200,000 kms with 5 Canadian winters.....no issue with rust and we tend to use a ton of salt on our roads.

[Zodiam]

Were any of the areas that are rusting repainted due to bodywork? I've heard a lot about the paint flaking/chipping around the wheel wells but not much in the way of rust unless there has some sort of upset.....especially if the previous owner took meticulous care of the car. I put my 2009 A4 through 200,000 kms with 5 Canadian winters.....no issue with rust and we tend to use a ton of salt on our roads.

Nope, other than the front fenders being repainted on goodwill i am almost 100% certain the car has had no other bodywork, but there is nothing like carfax here where all accidents are reported to, in order to find out for certain i would have to call every insurance company and see if the car has been previously insured with them and if it had any accidents.

I might have overstated it a bit, but there is probably no real "rust" yet, but as far as i know the bubbles are caused by the galvanization failing and thus the paint "lifting" - the paint itself is completely whole, smooth and not chipping (yet) but im assuming that they will eventually.
The bubbles are currently incredibly small and are only really possible to see if you take a light to them. - i will try to snap a photo later but it is really hard to get it to show on photos especially with my car being Garnet Red..


Canada and Sweden are probably pretty alike in that regard, they completely cover the roads with salt and gravel here and anytime i see one of the salt spreading trucks i take a detour to not end up in the worst of it..