advise on tailgate issue

[rockDAhouse]

Hi guys,
Recently purchased a 2nd hand 09 golf mk6 118tsi. Found out few days ago, when the tailgate is closed, the gap on the left hand side is bigger than the right hand side. The gap is big enough to fit in my whole finger !!


Below is the picture when tailgate is closed, can see that the lights on the tailgate part is a bit popping out.


Did a thorough check on the tailgate and found out the hinge that connect tailgate and car has been altered

Can tell from the picture this is a dodgy job.

Also can see that the trim on the tailgate is not attaching properly.


Other than these few annoying problem, other parts of this car is still in good condition. I really want to fix these problems and have been to a few smash repairs. They all give different opinion about fixing this. 1 of the smash repair guys did mention that the tailgate where the hinge is bolt on to might have damage badly, this is why they apply so many "things" there to cover up or when they take the tailgate out for repair, they snapped the bolt...

So far, only one of them can give me a quote on fixing this, which is ~6K !!!! LOL ....

I was thinking is that going to be easier and cheaper if I tried to source a 2nd hand tailgate and replace it.
Any advise will be greatly appreciate, or point me to an experience smash repair. btw, i live in Ryde.

THANK YOU.

[NickZ]

First question, is this through a dealer or private sale? If a dealer, return it to them and demand the car be fixed properly.

If a private sale, much more difficult to get recourse. I would get in touch with the person you bought it from, find out what happened to it and whether it was done through insurance. A lot of insurers do offer a lifetime guarantee of repairs. The only problem is that they may not honour this as the car has since been sold, but it is worth a shot especially if only done recently.

[rockDAhouse]

is a private sale and i have check with the seller as from what i gather is not through insurance and done privately. so I can't go through insurance now, which is too bad.

[rossw]

Now you know why it was for sale...

Seriously though, this happened to me with a twin cam Corolla. I only found out when someone rear ended me and the panel beater showed me what was lurking under the trim. I should have been suspicious when the parcel shelf didn't fit properly.

The issue may not be the tailgate itself but the rest of the car. ie the tailgate is actually straight, but the car is bent/twisted so the tailgate won't fit properly. That could be why you've been quoted $6K.