VW TDI Settlement - buying a TDI now

corvette · December 2016

Even Carmax's online inventory was off when I went to buy my Murano. The one I went to look at was sold, and the one I bought was just sitting there on the lot and hadn't been uploaded into their inventory yet--wasn't showing on their website.

stickguy · December 2016

The dealer my son's car is coming from still showed it as "in transit". But it was sitting on the lot. And the one he first was trying to get, but was already sold, is still showing as available.

stevedebi · December 2016

kyfdx said:

stevedebi said:

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

kyfdx said:

Got the offer.. 100% of the modification amount.

$25,576.73

I am a happy camper!

Excellent news! How many business days between your documents being accepted and receiving the offer?
Accepted on 11/14, offer letter on 11/27. (9 business days, if you take out Thanksgiving).

I could get it notarized today, but I'll just wait until tomorrow.
Did you get the formal offer via Snail Mail? I'm still waiting for mine.

All through email.

Single owner, no lien.

Mine came via email last night. The website had a download link to retrieve the offer. We got the documents signed, scanned, and uploaded today. They said they will review the documents and then contact me to set up the appointment.

kyfdx · December 2016

stevedebi said:

kyfdx said:

stevedebi said:

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

kyfdx said:

Got the offer.. 100% of the modification amount.

$25,576.73

I am a happy camper!

Excellent news! How many business days between your documents being accepted and receiving the offer?
Accepted on 11/14, offer letter on 11/27. (9 business days, if you take out Thanksgiving).

I could get it notarized today, but I'll just wait until tomorrow.
Did you get the formal offer via Snail Mail? I'm still waiting for mine.
All through email.

Single owner, no lien.

Mine came via email last night. The website had a download link to retrieve the offer. We got the documents signed, scanned, and uploaded today. They said they will review the documents and then contact me to set up the appointment.

Good deal! Of course, I've been waiting for that review since last Monday.

qbrozen · December 2016

Still nothing here

28firefighter · December 2016

Nothing here either. My 10 days from acceptance is Tuesday.

qbrozen · December 2016

My 10 days was Thurs

kyfdx · December 2016

I'm up to six days since I returned/accepted the offer.

qbrozen · December 2016

so just returning the offer is NOT the end? Now what?

kyfdx · December 2016

qbrozen said:
so just returning the offer is NOT the end? Now what?

They have to inspect your return offer/release, to make sure that signatures are in the right spot, and that they are notarized properly. Once "approved" (again), you can go in and select an appointment date/time/location.

When the first few people started getting offers, they were approved within hours or a day. My offer/release papers were uploaded and "accepted" last Monday (meaning: "We got your upload"). So, tomorrow will be a week, that I've been waiting to get final approval and make my appointment.

qbrozen · December 2016

It is really quite ridiculous

kyfdx · December 2016

qbrozen said:
It is really quite ridiculous

Also, minimum 14 days out to get an appointment, assuming it's available.

breld · December 2016

Well...it may be ridiculous for those owners who bought their cars years ago and have had to live through this diesel debacle, and now are being strung out a bit while VW gets the process going.

But for those of us who purchased the car a mere months ago and stand to gain thousands of dollars in that timeframe....

qbrozen · December 2016

I'm just referring to the logic of it. To spend so much time just to see it has a sig and stamp is silly. Same way that looking over paperwork to confirm you own a car is silly. This process could have largely been automated. They did not even connect their VW finance with whatever database they are using for these buybacks. That alone could have taken care of a large number of these vehicles and hardly have to lift a finger.

stickguy · December 2016

lot of logistics and technology to pull together. not to mention, inventing all this process on the fly, and have to ramp up quickly (as opposed to starting slow and building). Maybe could have been done better, but maybe not in time. So, they built what they did, now just trying to bail water as fast as possible, because probably flooded day 1 with submissions.

at some point they will catch up, and it should go quicker. Of course, that only helps people that did not rush to get their stuff in!

I know from experience with these types of support programs, that when you get hammered out of the gate (and pretty much everyone involved is new and lightly trained) you just try to survive initially. learning from experience and continuous improvement, sounds easier than it is to put into place. Plus, you are talking (likely) about a bunch of people hired into temp positions, for not a lot of pay. And those people, when buried and getting hassled, tend to saw screw it and stop showing up.

Hopefully you all get your acceptances and appointments this week, and they can fit you in before February!

mjfloyd1 · December 2016

I haven't heard anything yet either. I'm 2000 miles over the original offer estimate and I suspect that I'll be 5000 miles over at turn in time. Assuming that ever comes...

henryn · December 2016

One of the things they're handling poorly is no perceivable rhyme or reason to the timing. They are NOT taking documents in the order in which they were submitted, not even close. If there is any method other than purely random, no one on the outside has been able to figure it out.

Which leaves you with absolutely no idea of when you might be able to finish this up. If they would give you a number, "You are number 173,211, and we're processing 5,000 per week, so you are approximately 35 weeks out", that would at least be something.

kyfdx · December 2016

Agreed. The waiting is the hardest part. So says Tom Petty.

stickguy · December 2016

Sounds like they might start at #1, but if it can't be finished immediately (we call that "1 and fine), you get sent to some side queue for special handoing. And you never went to get into the special pile!

Sometimes, agents also get assigned a group of cases. And if your assigned agent is out, you sit and wait

breld · December 2016

qbrozen said:
I'm just referring to the logic of it. To spend so much time just to see it has a sig and stamp is silly. Same way that looking over paperwork to confirm you own a car is silly. This process could have largely been automated. They did not even connect their VW finance with whatever database they are using for these buybacks. That alone could have taken care of a large number of these vehicles and hardly have to lift a finger.

I hear ya. Each time I click on this forum I'm crossing my fingers that you've received your offer!

kyfdx · December 2016

Just got my email at 12:55 PM.

Checking the portal now.

28firefighter · December 2016

Still no offer for me.

qbrozen · December 2016

Nothing here.

I kind of like stick's explanation that cases are stacked up for certain operators. So if you got assigned to the slow person, yours will take longer. Ok, not that I LIKE it, but it would explain a lot.

kyfdx · December 2016

Okay.. I'm good to go.

They ask you for your current mileage, as of today.
If your mileage is in excess of the expected mileage range on your appointment day, you could be required to reschedule your appointment. I'm guessing if you choose a paper check as payment, that will definitely happen (if you are over your range).

Three forms to print out.
1) Odometer Disclosure Statement
2) Limited Power of Attorney (for possible title transfer work)
3) Buyback Checklist

The closest Audi dealer that I chose only had appointments on Wednesday. The first date available was the 21st. I picked December 28th. Had a choice of five different times. Looks like they schedule them one hour apart. I'm in on the 28th at 10:00 AM.

This last email came exactly one week, after I had uploaded my signed/notarized offer.

henryn · December 2016

I don't like chaos theory. Yes, I know the universe is random, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!

I would rather think that there is some kind of explanation, such as "stacked up for certain operators".

28firefighter · December 2016

I just emailed class counsel again to get a sense for what the situation is - the seeming randomness is very bothersome to me. I'm not worried that it won't happen, but I'd like to be out of this car by mid-January.

henryn · December 2016

Yeah, I don't know, a few weeks ago I would have said mid-january was pessimistic. Now, I'm beginning to think mid-january might be optimistic. One of the few things we do know is that more than 200,000 people have signed up for the buyback. By now, that could easily be 300,000 or more.

And at the rate they're progressing, this could take months. Many, many months.

I just read this over on TDIClub, and I believe it sums up the frustration many of us are feeling:

I can get more status ordering a Domino pizza for a $18 transaction than I can from a #7 Fortune 500 major auto manufacturer handling a $29k+ payment. Absolutely embarrassing

qbrozen · December 2016

well, now I REALLY need it gone since I have the replacement already.

Michaell · December 2016

henryn said:
Yeah, I don't know, a few weeks ago I would have said mid-january was pessimistic. Now, I'm beginning to think mid-january might be optimistic. One of the few things we do know is that more than 200,000 people have signed up for the buyback. By now, that could easily be 300,000 or more.

And at the rate they're progressing, this could take months. Many, many months.

I just read this over on TDIClub, and I believe it sums up the frustration many of us are feeling:

I can get more status ordering a Domino pizza for a $18 transaction than I can from a #7 Fortune 500 major auto manufacturer handling a $29k+ payment. Absolutely embarrassing

Sorry, I don't buy that. Dominos (and other vendors with any sort of on-line presence), invest millions to make their customer interactions as friendly as possible.

VW voluntarily agreed to these terms, and is now playing catch up with the infrastructure to effect the buy backs. It's not simple, it's not cheap, and it's going to take time.

I feel for you all who are waiting for your compensation - I really do. But, I would expect this to take some time to get fully ramped up. And, expect there to be turnover of the human capital that VW is hiring to do all the grunt work.

That said, I do expect everyone to get paid. Handsomely. And, eventually.

qbrozen · December 2016

Michaell said:

Sorry, I don't buy that. Dominos (and other vendors with any sort of on-line presence), invest millions to make their customer interactions as friendly as possible.

VW voluntarily agreed to these terms, and is now playing catch up with the infrastructure to effect the buy backs. It's not simple, it's not cheap, and it's going to take time.

Also recall, this wasn't a surprise. They have known this was coming for quite some time, so they had more time to prepare than a few weeks.

corvette · December 2016

If you don't like the available appointment slots at your chosen dealer, can you pick a different dealer, or are you locked in to your initial dealer selection?

xwesx · December 2016

I returned my acceptance this morning. The trickiest part for me might be actually getting the car started to take it down to Anchorage. It's not liking these cold temperatures. I tried to start it on Thursday when it was a balmy -5, and it was a no-go. I put a charger on the battery so it will be ready for another try, but it's been -20 or colder since then, so I am not even bothering. Sadly, the whole drivetrain is "shielded" underneath by plastic covers, so I can't even get in there to put a heater on it.

Apparently, the midwest has had enough of our arctic air masses! But, we were quite happy to share them over the last two years.

henryn · December 2016

corvette said:
If you don't like the available appointment slots at your chosen dealer, can you pick a different dealer, or are you locked in to your initial dealer selection?

I have seen people stating that you could, over on TDIClub. Apparently you can "shop around" and pick a dealership which has an available appointment which might suit you better. That is, if you're in an area with multiple dealerships to choose from.

28firefighter · December 2016

xwesx said:
I returned my acceptance this morning. The trickiest part for me might be actually getting the car started to take it down to Anchorage. It's not liking these cold temperatures. I tried to start it on Thursday when it was a balmy -5, and it was a no-go. I put a charger on the battery so it will be ready for another try, but it's been -20 or colder since then, so I am not even bothering. Sadly, the whole drivetrain is "shielded" underneath by plastic covers, so I can't even get in there to put a heater on it.

Apparently, the midwest has had enough of our arctic air masses! But, we were quite happy to share them over the last two years.

I'm sure this goes without saying, but make sure you leave enough time before cranking for the ignition coils to heat up. There is a light on the dash that comes on when you put the car into accessory mode and that will go out when they are warmed up. Once it goes out you can crank it, and it should go fairly easily.

That said, -5 is very cold for a diesel with no engine block heater.

corvette · December 2016

Do you have a barn or something you can tow it into to warm it up a little before trying to start it?

kyfdx · December 2016

corvette said:
If you don't like the available appointment slots at your chosen dealer, can you pick a different dealer, or are you locked in to your initial dealer selection?

Yes.. if the dealer I picked had not had December appointments, I would have backed out and selected another dealer.

xwesx · December 2016

28firefighter said:
I'm sure this goes without saying, but make sure you leave enough time before cranking for the ignition coils to heat up. There is a light on the dash that comes on when you put the car into accessory mode and that will go out when they are warmed up. Once it goes out you can crank it, and it should go fairly easily.

That said, -5 is very cold for a diesel with no engine block heater.

Mine is push button start; I'm not sure there is any way to adjust the timing of the crank. It didn't seem to wait nearly as long as I thought it would. Maybe a couple seconds. I'll have to take a look at the manual before I try again.

I wish there was some place for me to warm it up! I mean, without having it towed, that is.

If worse comes to worst, that's what I'll do. A couple hundred to have it towed into town and sit in a shop a few hours will be worth it if it's standing between me and a payday....

Michaell · December 2016

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

Sorry, I don't buy that. Dominos (and other vendors with any sort of on-line presence), invest millions to make their customer interactions as friendly as possible.

VW voluntarily agreed to these terms, and is now playing catch up with the infrastructure to effect the buy backs. It's not simple, it's not cheap, and it's going to take time.
Also recall, this wasn't a surprise. They have known this was coming for quite some time, so they had more time to prepare than a few weeks.

But, until the settlement was finalized, VW wasn't going to spend one red cent in hiring and training personnel. I'm sure they lots of plans on paper, but didn't execute any of them until they absolutely had to.

stickguy · December 2016

Wes, not that I would ever move to the arctic, but if I did, the first thing getting built would be a large, insulated, heated garage. would not be having these problems if you did!

can you push it inside your house maybe? I doubt the wife would mind it spending some time in the living room.

stever · December 2016

I never had a garage in Anchorage, much less a heated one. Sure was handy in the UP though. Saw someone using one of these at their cabin one time @xwesx - who cares if the plastic melts a bit. It's the original block heater and disposable too.

xwesx · December 2016

stickguy said:
Wes, not that I would ever move to the arctic, but if I did, the first thing getting built would be a large, insulated, heated garage. would not be having these problems if you did!

can you push it inside your house maybe? I doubt the wife would mind it spending some time in the living room.

Well, the plan was kinda sorta to have a heated garage! Sadly, the garage *is* our living room, so I'm not sure if my wife would appreciate me parking it on her wool rug.... I literally could put the car in there within about twenty minutes' time, though. The problem would be doing it fast enough that I didn't freeze up the whole house in the process. Haha!

Someday my garage will become a garage.

xwesx · December 2016

Steve. I suspect that the classic charcoal heater would do more than "melt the plastic a bit." There's a LOT of plastic down there!

Once I get an appointment on the schedule, I'll spend some time to square away the details. In the meantime, it can sit there unmolested.

corvette · December 2016

kyfdx and I must have the same person assigned to our claims. I just got my "offer accepted" email and scheduled an appointment on the 27th.

I just cracked open a cheap domestic beer to celebrate the buyback of my fancy German wagon.

kyfdx · December 2016

corvette said:
kyfdx and I must have the same person assigned to our claims. I just got my "offer accepted" email and scheduled an appointment on the 27th.

I just cracked open a cheap domestic beer to celebrate the buyback of my fancy German wagon.

Hmmm.. I had a Shiner Ruby Redbird. (it was on sale)

breld · December 2016

Got my e-mail yesterday afternoon and have an appointment on the 23rd.

Michaell · December 2016

breld said:
Got my e-mail yesterday afternoon and have an appointment on the 23rd.

Which dealer are you going to?

kyfdx · December 2016

breld said:
Got my e-mail yesterday afternoon and have an appointment on the 23rd.

Congrats!

breld · December 2016

Michaell said:

breld said:
Got my e-mail yesterday afternoon and have an appointment on the 23rd.
Which dealer are you going to?

McDonald.

28firefighter · December 2016

Still no offer for me.

kyfdx · December 2016

It's coming.. I can feel it!

VW TDI Settlement - buying a TDI now

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