1.2 Warranty and product liability of the body builder
The body builder's or fitter's warranty conditions apply to the body builder's or fitter's scope of supply. Therefore, warranty claims associated with complaints to this scope of supply cannot be made under the warranty conditions applicable to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
Volkswagen vehicles delivered after 01. January 2005 are covered by a 2-year warranty without mileage limitation for the flawless condition of the product (Volkswagen warranty).
Defects of bodies, installations and conversions provided by third parties as well as defects of the vehicle caused by the said bodies, installations or conversions are excluded from the Volkswagen warranty and also from the Volkswagen paint and body warranty. This also applies to accessories which were not installed and/or supplied by the vehicle manufacturer.
The body builder or fitter is solely responsible for the design and assembly of bodies and the execution of conversions.
All conversions must be documented by the body builder or fitter in the service schedule provided with every Volkswagen vehicle.
Due to the multitude of conversions and diversity of operating conditions, the information provided by Volkswagen AG is subject to the reservation that modified vehicles are not tested by Volkswagen AG. Modifications may affect the properties of the vehicle.
For reasons of liability, the body builders or fitters must provide the following information in writing to their customers:
"Due to the modifications* to your Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles base vehicle, the properties of your base vehicle may have changed.
Please understand that Volkswagen AG does not assume any liability for any negative effects resulting from the modifications* to the vehicle."
* At this point, the term "modification" may be substituted by a more precise description of the work performed, e.g. by "camping equipment installation", "wheelbase extension", "box body".
In individual cases, Volkswagen AG reserves the right to demand proof of the information being passed on to the customer.
No general legal entitlement for the approval of a body modification exists, even if such approval was previously granted.
Bodies, installations or conversions complying with the present guidelines do not require additional approval by Volkswagen AG to be presented at the authorised examining body.