VW TDI Settlement - buying a TDI now

qbrozen

Michaell said:

Okay, I'm in. http://www.mmlmotorsports.com/vehicle-details/2013-volkswagen-passat-tdi-se-sunroof-heated-seats-bluetooth-aux-sedan-182b4e97814f47d1bce1dd2875cafeaf/ http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?vin=1VWBN7A33DC149239&partner=AMG_1 2013 Passat TDI SE, 65k miles. Buyback should be $18,598, and I wrote them a check for $14,500 out the door.

Sharp looking car! Be interesting to see how you all make out in a couple of years.

Couple of years? I'm hoping to be out in a couple of months.

breld

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

henryn said:

Okay, I'm in.


http://www.mmlmotorsports.com/vehicle-details/2013-volkswagen-passat-tdi-se-sunroof-heated-seats-bluetooth-aux-sedan-182b4e97814f47d1bce1dd2875cafeaf/

http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?vin=1VWBN7A33DC149239&partner=AMG_1

2013 Passat TDI SE, 65k miles. Buyback should be $18,598, and I wrote them a check for $14,500 out the door.

Sharp looking car!

Be interesting to see how you all make out in a couple of years.

Couple of years? I'm hoping to be out in a couple of months.

Exactly! I like the wagon and all, but...

breld

kyfdx said:

So far, there is no settlement on the 3.0 TDI models. But, if it followed the same path as this settlement, your restitution would be the same whether you turned it in, or bought the vehicle out of the lease. Once a lessee, always a lessee, when it comes to restitution. (according to the settlement).

So, if you love your car and want to keep it, it shouldn't affect any future compensation.

Agreed - bottom line, since you love the car so much, and @qbrozen says it's a good price, I'd just buy it. Any kind of restitution or fix will work itself out.

breld

henryn said:

Okay, I'm in.


http://www.mmlmotorsports.com/vehicle-details/2013-volkswagen-passat-tdi-se-sunroof-heated-seats-bluetooth-aux-sedan-182b4e97814f47d1bce1dd2875cafeaf/

http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?vin=1VWBN7A33DC149239&partner=AMG_1

2013 Passat TDI SE, 65k miles. Buyback should be $18,598, and I wrote them a check for $14,500 out the door.

Congrats!

xwesx

So, I have have VIN. VW shows it as an eligible vehicle, so that's a good start. I also ran the Carfax, and it shows that the total loss occurred on 8/21/2014. The current owner bought it at a salvage auction on 4/10/2015, and he didn't title it until he returned it to the road in November of 2015. At this time, the reconstruct title was issued.

Reading through the section of exclusions from the Class, 2.16.c reads, "Owners whose Volkswagen or Audi 2.0-liter TDI vehicle (i) could not be driven under the power of its own 2.0-liter TDI engine on June 28, 2016, or (ii) had a Branded Title of Assembled, Dismantled, Flood, Junk, Rebuilt, Reconstructed, or Salvage on September 18, 2015, and was acquired from a junkyard or salvage yard after September 18, 2015;"

I would say that this vehicle does not fall into the category of Class exclusions because it was not issued a branded title before 9/18/15, nor was it acquired from a salvage yard after this date, and it appears to me that both portions of that clause (2.16.c.ii) must be true to exclude the owner. However, I think that it is best if I cover my rear on this and see if the seller has records to support the timing of events, because the argument that the title branding occurred on the date of the loss event is reasonable.

Clearly, the risk level on this vehicle is higher than others here, but, if I buy for asking ($16K), and since the current owner has been so since before 9/18/15, then there is no lien on the restitution, so the total potential buyback is just under $29K. That's a pretty solid ROI, and makes it hard for me not to seriously consider this car.

I think I will talk to my financial institution to see if I can borrow through them, but if they turn me down due to the reconstruct title, I can buy it outright as well.

This is a really nice looking car with an unfortunate past, but I think it is going to prove to be well put-together (in terms of post-crash repairs). Thoughts? Rational, lucid thoughts?

kyfdx

Everything about that screams ineligible. Reconstructed title?

stever

Not getting good vibes about it either. Lots of gotchas that'll be time consuming to work your way through and you'll be dealing with an administrator who's going to be more concerned about clearing the books for the other 474,999 owners instead of arguing the finer points of the settlement language with one guy in Fairbanks who lives in a rusty school bus off the grid and survives on roadkill moose meat.

henryn

breld said:

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

henryn said:

Okay, I'm in.


http://www.mmlmotorsports.com/vehicle-details/2013-volkswagen-passat-tdi-se-sunroof-heated-seats-bluetooth-aux-sedan-182b4e97814f47d1bce1dd2875cafeaf/

http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?vin=1VWBN7A33DC149239&partner=AMG_1

2013 Passat TDI SE, 65k miles. Buyback should be $18,598, and I wrote them a check for $14,500 out the door.

Sharp looking car!

Be interesting to see how you all make out in a couple of years.

Couple of years? I'm hoping to be out in a couple of months.

Exactly! I like the wagon and all, but...



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I think "a couple of months" may be optimistic. I don't think you will be able to get a buyback before October at the earliest, which is 3 months. And with the courts involved, and massive bureaucracy, I would be very surprised if all of this comes off smoothly and / or quickly.

I myself may be in this for the longer term. Part of the appeal here is to be able to drive the car basically for free for better than 2 years. Remember, you are allowed 1,042 miles per month with no deduction from the buyback amount. And if you drive less (which I probably will), the buyback will be going up slightly. At this point I am undecided, no rush, I will wait and see how I like the car and how things play out.

Yes, there are decisions to be made, and my short term versus long term plans are an important criteria. Take, for instance, do I get a front end alignment or not? (The car is pulling ever so slightly to the right.) If I'm keeping the car for 2 years, absolutely. If I'm selling the car back in October, then no way. And the "service minder" says I need a 10k service (oil change, etc) in about 1,700 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. If I'm keeping for 2 years, then I would be inclined to change the oil now. I have never much believed in 10k oil changes. If I'm selling back in October, who cares?

xwesx

Hmm. I think you failed the "rational" part of that request, Steve!


That said, I'll read through this stuff one more time before I take a trip down there. I'm not getting the same vibe y'all are getting.

stever

Rational could mean not adding a sixth car to the fleet when you only have two drivers.

Well, seven, if we're still counting the Pinto in storage in Oregon.

xwesx

stever said:

Rational could mean not adding a sixth car to the fleet when you only have two drivers.

Well, seven, if we're still counting the Pinto in storage in Oregon.

Now you're hitting below the belt! I already wrote the Pinto off, so I only have five. And, if I do this, I'll sell the '08 Forester to keep it at that number. My wife already has an extremely strict five-rig limit.

Sandman6472

Wish I was so lucky! Found a great '13 BMW 128i with low miles for a decent price at my local store and would love to buy it but think the wife would go nuts on me if I did. Would be cool to have it as my next d d while driving it one or two days a week now. Once the Golf is ready to be traded, I'd already have another "in the wings" and really like a coupe. Will go see it on Wednesday and probably take a drive in it. Very curious. And if they have a lowish buy rate, might consider that also. Still working and don't see any problem with my cash flow going forward.
Only drawback is it's a 6 cylinder so the mpg's are a bit low and believe it calls for 93 octane. Plus the fact that I'd have to keep the Golf outside most of the time as we can only fit two into the garage. That and one of my kid's is moving back in September 3rd until she can find a job. Studying to take her boards now so we kept the apartment for a few months to make things easier for her. Sine we live on a cul-de-sac, we can't put in a circular drive and street parking can get tight sometimes.

The Sandman

stever

xwesx said:

Now you're hitting below the belt! I already wrote the Pinto off, so I only have five.

I can't keep up (you're easier than @breld though!) and was just going by your sig file. Miscounted.

andres3

jpp5862 said:

Congrats @henryn!

The Golf I went to look at this afternoon was nice enough but the A/C didn't work. They're supposed to have it fixed Monday for me to come back and drive it, but not sure I'm that interested now. I may go drive it just for kicks, but A/C problems at 46k miles definitely gives me pause on buying it.

I think the refrigerants used these days due to the eco-[non-permissible content removed]'s taking over the world is what causes things to not work, or at least not work as reliably, or for as long of a time. Seems no one can consistently make an A/C work much more than 50K miles anymore.

stever

Horsehockey. Got 200k on the AC in the Quest and have 160k on the Grand Caravan's AC here, where we use it ~9 months out of the year. Maybe if you were shopping a last generation CR-V instead of a VW, but even then, it wasn't the refrigerant that was killing them. This poor slob just lost his today. At 225k in an XC90.

Sounds like the old "paint was better in the old days" argument, except it wasn't.

28firefighter

Looks like someone snagged the cheap JSW in Philly - finally put me out of my misery!

qbrozen

Was pondering the timeline just now. So the preliminary hearing is tomorrow, then, if preliminarily approved, they mail out the info to all owners, and then twiddle our thumbs until a "final approval" hearing takes place. I guess waiting for that hearing could be the holdup to this whole thing.

kyfdx

My car goes into the local independent Audi/VW specialist on Wednesday to check out the CEL, and to give it a good once-over. I'm hoping it's minor, and I don't have to park it until the buyout. I sort of like it, even with FWD and an automatic.

qbrozen

So far, so good with mine. I am heavy-footed, of course, so the mileage isn't quite where it should be (averaging 34mpg). I have a highway trip tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Only problem so far is a glitchy rear passenger window that doesn't always respond to me pushing the switch. Oh, and the driver's window will only go down when you click through to the express down; in other words, I can't lower it just a little.

Oh, and with black on black and a glass roof, that things gets HOT inside. I miss my remote start.

henryn

qbrozen said:

So far, so good with mine. I am heavy-footed, of course, so the mileage isn't quite where it should be (averaging 34mpg). I have a highway trip tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Only problem so far is a glitchy rear passenger window that doesn't always respond to me pushing the switch. Oh, and the driver's window will only go down when you click through to the express down; in other words, I can't lower it just a little.

Oh, and with black on black and a glass roof, that things gets HOT inside. I miss my remote start.

Oh, yes, the infamous black car in the summertime. I almost bought a new Pacifica minivan a few weeks back, but just couldn't convince myself to buy a black car again. My Passat TDI is the metallic silver (of which you only see one million on the average day), but at least it isn't black. At around 150 miles, the display is showing 36.3 mpg. I'm not complaining, that is the highest number I have ever seen on any vehicle that I have owned / driven.

I have been calling around trying to get quotes for a front end alignment, but the two VW dealers that I tried aren't answering the phone in the service department. And I'm not at all sure I want to try the Firestone store, can they properly align a VW? Heck if I know.

I did get the EZ-Tag for toll roads. And I got the 2 month free trial for SiriusXM. Drove it to work this morning, and got the stickers for the parking garage.

The tires are Hankook Optimo H426, a little searching with Google and it appears these were OEM tires for the 2013 Passat TDI SE model. The original tires, at 65k miles, and with tread left? Interesting. A long thread over on TDIClub about how noisy they are or were, many people replaced them. And yes, there is a lot of road noise. My 2008 Passat (non TDI) came with Continentals, which were replaced with Michelins, and both were a lot quieter.

I found an oil change sticker on the upper left corner of the windshield, appeared to be from a VW dealer. So perhaps the previous owner was getting service at a VW dealer. Maybe I can get someone at a VW dealer to pull service records for me. I've never tried with a VW dealer, but I have been successful getting other brands (Ford, Chevy) to pull service records and print them off for me.

qbrozen

I received an email telling me I have a 3-mo SiriusXM trial. Too bad the car doesn't have SiriusXM capability.

Oil was changed in mine by the selling dealer, so I probably won't have to touch it before the buyback.

I did achieve 40mpg in the Honda Fit I had for a while. I am pretty sure I could break 40 with this if I really tried. I am down to a quarter tank and, during the first 3/4 of my commute this morn, I was gentle and got it to increase from 30 to 37. That is a drastic swing considering I did that in just 20 miles out of the 400 that I have put on since resetting the average consumption meter. The last 1/4 of the trip saw me zipping from light to light, so it is down to the aforementioned 34 now.

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

I received an email telling me I have a 3-mo SiriusXM trial. Too bad the car doesn't have SiriusXM capability.

Oil was changed in mine by the selling dealer, so I probably won't have to touch it before the buyback.

I did achieve 40mpg in the Honda Fit I had for a while. I am pretty sure I could break 40 with this if I really tried. I am down to a quarter tank and, during the first 3/4 of my commute this morn, I was gentle and got it to increase from 30 to 37. That is a drastic swing considering I did that in just 20 miles out of the 400 that I have put on since resetting the average consumption meter. The last 1/4 of the trip saw me zipping from light to light, so it is down to the aforementioned 34 now.

Q - Your car absolutely does have Sirius XM - or it should. My BIL has a 2013 JSW with the RNS315 Nav like you do, and their car came with Sirius.

qbrozen

hmmm... I can't find the button for it. I'll check again tonight.

28firefighter

Click the RADIO button to cycle through AM/FM/Satellite, I believe.

henryn

I ran across this just now, over on the tdiclub forums:

according to DOJ...ALL warranties will be for an additional 10/120K miles...covering any and ALL parts related to engine mechanicals(long Block) Fuel delivery system including HPFP, and all emissions parts, PDF, urea injectors, exhaust flappers valves, sensors, anything to do with emission RELATED parts... so even modules for emissions would be covered.SO whats bad about about that? if you have over 80K on car you still get the warranty... part of fix. Don't think VW would balk to much.... if so could be in violation of court orders on anything emissions or higher temps to engine systems related.

So, if VW does come up with a fix, I could (instead of the buyback), take the "fix", receive half of $6,097 dollars, and a very long extended warranty.

Hmmm...

On Edit: Further reading says out to 10 years, 120k miles, not "additional". So for me, another 7 years and 55k miles.

breld

qbrozen said:

hmmm... I can't find the button for it. I'll check again tonight.

Yup - I actually activated Sirius on our JSW while we were on the road trip do my wife could listen to radio classics.

So far so good on ours as well.  Even got the 30k mile service done (early at 26k).  Really testing it out with this road trip and it's been great. 

xwesx

I'm scheduled to take a trip south on Friday, so I hope the vehicle checks out as expected. I talked for a good while tonight with the seller, and I'm confident at this point that the car is eligible per the settlement language.

jpp75

Still waiting to hear back on the Golf. I told them on Saturday I would come back and drive it when they fixed the A/C, they said it would definitely be fixed Monday and would call when it was ready......but no call. I drove by yesterday and it was still sitting in the same spot as Saturday, so not sure if they've done anything with it.

Given the time of year though they will have to fix the A/C if they want to sell it, so I'll just wait and see I guess. Overall though I don't have a great feeling about it. I'm traveling a lot for work the next 2 weeks so I may hunt around while on the road and see what's out there.

qbrozen

Thanks for the tip on the siriusxm. Sure enough, it is there when I cycle past the FM bands. Drove 110 miles this morn and will drive that back home this afternoon. Averaged 42mpg, and my back doesn't hurt yet. 

28firefighter

The Judge has given preliminary approval for the buybacks. Seeing it crop up from a couple different sources.

qbrozen

was just prowling around for that info. Where did you spot it?

28firefighter

https://www.vwdieselinfo.com/updates/2471/

28firefighter

Do any of you have any experience with those companies that go on-site to perform vehicle inspections for remote buyers? I'm looking at another TDI in the bay area this time, but its from a BHPH, so I don't want to just jump without having it looked at first.

28firefighter

Actually, disregard the above. They aren't really willing to play ball and its priced way too high.

henryn

http://wiat.com/2016/07/26/the-latest-judge-gives-early-ok-to-volkswagen-settlement/

A federal judge in San Francisco has granted preliminary approval to a $15 billion settlement over Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled Tuesday on the deal that would settle consumer lawsuits and government allegations that the company’s diesel engines cheated on U.S. emissions tests.

forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=464586

July 19, 2016
Latest TDI News
FINALLY: TDI News you can USE!




I’m happy to say we now have answers, timelines and rules/guidelines of how everything will take place with the customer settlement. Please read carefully because there is a lot of information in this edition of our monthly newsletter.




Last Wednesday, I attended a meeting in Dallas with all VW dealers in our region and the VW executives working on the customer settlement. The information below is what we learned from them.

kyfdx

So, I entered all of my information on the claims website, including the date I purchased. It only credits me with half of the modification amount.

I have no way of knowing for sure, but I'm guessing since I bought the car after September, 2015, that's all I will get, even if the original owner does not make a claim.

On the plus side, it's exactly what I calculated, assuming half of the modification amount. $22,200

I'm into the car for $16,100, and this would be my buyback amount, assuming I stay under 100K miles by November 1st. (at 97,200 now). And, assuming I meet all eligibility requirements.

Of course, I dropped the car off tonight to have the CEL checked tomorrow..
Plus $55/mo. insurance.

henryn

I just went through the process. My total came out $440 more than my original estimates. And yes, that was based on 1/2 of the modification amount. Just (seemingly) a slightly higher value for the car. So far, I'm enjoying the car more than I expected that I would. My "Tentative Return Date" shows 11/01/2016. Right now, I'm thinking I will probably keep it longer than that.

My insurance runs a little more than your $55 per month. But then, I'm living in a very large city with terrible traffic these days. When I lived out in the boonies, insurance (and taxes) were much cheaper.

However, I'm going to have two vehicles anyway, so that isn't really an extra cost.

28firefighter

I'm still on the hunt. I figure I've got a week to button one down before used prices spike or inventory becomes scarce. 

Wife has given me the OK - of course a few days late. 

xwesx

Hey, better now than after all is said and done!

I'm still set for the Friday trip to finalize mine; I need to call the seller Thursday evening to confirm and set up an appointment time/place. It's a little tricky with this seller because he refuses to use email, and I don't have a cell phone. As such, we need to plan and execute well, or all sorts of things can go awry! LOL

stever

So, email me and I'll call him and then you can buzz his house in a Piper Cub and drop an ammo box of cash in his yard. The VW will be parked in the side lot at Chilkoots with the keys under the front mat.

xwesx

Darn it. I have to drive all the way into Anchorage?! This is getting worse and worse.....

qbrozen

Where did you guys submit info and get a final number? I'm looking at vwcourtsettlement.com and it is just the same as before.

Edit: I refreshed the screen and found it.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

Where did you guys submit info and get a final number? I'm looking at vwcourtsettlement.com and it is just the same as before.

Edit: I refreshed the screen and found it.

https://claims.vwgoa.com/#/

qbrozen

$27,150, which is right where I pegged it. That will pay off all the negative of my Caddy and put an additional $1500 in my pocket, which will continue to go up as the months click by and I make the payments.

stever

xwesx said:

Darn it. I have to drive all the way into Anchorage?! This is getting worse and worse.....

C'mon, you hit all the mess at Houston now - Anchortown is just more of the same, just with better scenery.

henryn

qbrozen said:

Where did you guys submit info and get a final number? .


You mean the "tentative, subject to revision "final" number?

kyfdx

kyfdx said:

My car goes into the local independent Audi/VW specialist on Wednesday to check out the CEL, and to give it a good once-over. I'm hoping it's minor, and I don't have to park it until the buyout. I sort of like it, even with FWD and an automatic.

So, the diagnosis is an intermittent implausible signal from a sensor in the exhaust flap, that controls back pressure (or, something like that). While doing the check, they noticed that the intake pipe was loose, and said that unmetered air could have been causing that (and, would be likely), but they can't be positive because the fault is intermittent. But, unless it comes back, that's what they think.

They were able to fix it, within their allotted diagnosis time, so the only cost was for the diagnosis.. $100+tax. They checked the car over, and said their only concern would be that the regular scheduled maintenance was followed. (which I'm pretty sure it was, going by the entries from the Audi dealer service department on the CARFAX).

They said if the problem does return, it might actually be the exhaust flap or sensor, and that may be covered by an extended 10 yr, 120K mile warranty on the TDIs.

Pretty good news, all around.

kyfdx

I'd be interested in hearing from others that have bought since June 28th. If your payout includes the full buyback, or if it's minus half of the modification money?

28firefighter

Well - that's a plus!

28firefighter

kyfdx said:

I'd be interested in hearing from others that have bought since June 28th. If your payout includes the full buyback, or if it's minus half of the modification money?

Obviously not in the buying group, but been following some other boards and the consensus is if you bought after 6/28 you are only being offered 50% initially - at least until after the eligible sellers window closes and they see how much has been used up.