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VW Scandal...It continues.

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Philpug

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From the Wall Street Journal...

Even though the amounts for the 2 cars are not listed, is is rumored to be a $500 cash card and a $500 card that is good at VW/Audi Dealers. In the article it talks about resale value has dropped anywhere for 16-30% which is way more than the $1,000between the two cards. $500 at the dealer, I don't want the dealer to touch my car.

As an owner, I am not happy about this at all. To me, this is not them going the extra distance but actually just doing the minimum.
 

Bill Talbot

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VW makes a car that performs better than the 'test'. You do know that this 'test' is pure crap that simulates NOTHING to do with driving in the real world.
Much to do about nothing. I give them a thumbs up for actually caring about the driving experience.
 

Living Proof

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Phil
VW.s offer of 500 debit card and 500 dealer credit looks like freebie, so, why not take advantage? The answer to that question may lie in the fine print of their offer because you do not want to give up any rights to compensation for your financial damages, and I've read there are attorney reviews that indicate the offer does have some legal language that needs clarification. I'm sure you can easily use the dealer credit for routine maintenance or tires. Hopefully, it is a good faith effort by VW to their customer base.
 
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What I understand is the $500 at the dealer and the Visa card both have 1 year limits on them. I do not have $500 of service coming up in the next year. I just did my 120k and timing belt and also just bought a battery...
 

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Well, I know Trish can spend the %500 debit card.;) If nothing else happens in the next year, buy new tires and resell them. The mileage on your VW is getting to the point where stuff begins to happen. Better the first $500 is on them, even at their dealer prices.
 
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We will need tires after next summer...My guys at Discount Tire will understand.
 

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Just in time...not. We've finished buying the thousands of dollars in needed parts. The project diesel Jetta is now in the shop for frame straightening and all the extra work it needs. This project is crazy - if anything can go wrong, it has.

Funny how the value of the Jetta has dropped so much but the cost of parts and labor haven't. Maybe it's gotten worse as now they think of it a a rebranded Audi.

Hopefully we will get it driving on the road soon. Pictures at that time.

I should have gotten a KIA.

Eric
 
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Just in time...not. We've finished buying the thousands of dollars in needed parts. The project diesel Jetta is now in the shop for frame straightening and all the extra work it needs. This project is crazy - if anything can go wrong, it has.

Funny how the value of the Jetta has dropped so much but the cost of parts and labor haven't. Maybe it's gotten worse as now they think of it a a rebranded Audi.

Hopefully we will get it driving on the road soon. Pictures at that time.

I should have gotten a KIA.

Eric

Did you check to see if your car qualifies for the $500/$500 Good Will Program?
 

Alexzn

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Well mr Talbot...where do we start... I'm glad you care about driving experience. I bet you don't care about your lungs. You probably also do not care about other manufacturers that made cars that actually conform to the emission standards. Ditto for the customers who paid money for all that useless emission control paraphernalia stuffed under the hood. The same road test that got VW in hot water had a diesel X5 in it. It passed. I bet the bimmer owners feel totally screwed because BMW didn't care enough about their driving experience. Thumbs up indeed.
 

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Today's paper said that VW has a fix. No details but there was a California deadline to meet. Politics over engineering? There was mention in the article that some cars might have to be bought back. I'm not sure how I feel about that. We have put too much time and repair money into the Jetta project. To not get to drive it would be a bummer - and I doubt our investment will be covered (don't think about the time!). The San Diego Union article was pretty short (big headline though). Anyone know any better details?

I followed a Mexico registered car the other day. It's exhaust stunk. VW diesels are nothing like that. There are emission controls that do function and protect our lungs. Perhaps not well enough in real driving to meet standards but tests are finding discrepancies for most cars. The big difference was VW's mendacious rigging of the smog test to cover up an underperforming emission control system. Then building a "clean" reputation from the cheat. Fortunately, the US hates diesels enough that VW diesels did not gain enough acceptance to actually have a real effect on smog. Diesel cars may never recover from this.

Our car is still not registered yet. Not sure when it will be out of the shop. So we can't be on the VW radar (or benefits list) yet. Where the salvage title leaves us is another question.

FWIW, my son decided to bet on a good fix (both from VW and how we were going to do the car). He's gambling that this might be a unique last of it's kind car so fix it for the long run. As long as we don't get bought back or "fixed" to uselessness, there will be a cult following of this car. Like an International Scout?

Eric
 

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Good bit in Road and Track by Bob Lutz..blames Ferdinand Piech and the do it or you're fired dictatorial management style. Given the choice of being fired in 6 weeks or being fired in 2 years..we'll take the latter generally. Dictatorship works in the short term maybe..but...not exactly the culture that breeds long-term success.
 

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Today's paper said that VW has a fix. No details but there was a California deadline to meet. Politics over engineering? There was mention in the article that some cars might have to be bought back. I'm not sure how I feel about that. We have put too much time and repair money into the Jetta project. To not get to drive it would be a bummer - and I doubt our investment will be covered (don't think about the time!). The San Diego Union article was pretty short (big headline though). Anyone know any better details?c

Got a link? There doesn't seem to be any mention of it over on the tdi forum.
 

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VW makes a car that performs better than the 'test'. You do know that this 'test' is pure crap that simulates NOTHING to do with driving in the real world.
Much to do about nothing. I give them a thumbs up for actually caring about the driving experience.

It's corporate governance gone awry, and industrial fraud. Maybe it was a dumb test in the eyes car enthusiasts , and maybe the cheating was aimed at government bodies that administer those tests, but ultimately, that fraud is visited on consumers, share holders, dealers and innocent employees if any lose their job's due to layoffs because of slips in revenue. That is why this stuff matters and why the world is making such a big deal over it.
 

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My paper is the San Diego Union and the article was on the front page of the business section. I looked for more details elsewhere and couldn't find any.

I do kind of understand @Bill Talbot 's point. Society has a duty to work around rules that are unfair, unreasonable or impossible. Perhaps air quality rules that impose a burden on the general population to the benefit of a sensitive minority aren't fair. Maybe a moving target of ever stricter standards isn't a reasonable way to develop a product. And applying goals that are counter one another (CO2 vs NOX) might actually be technically impossible. I'm not sure VW's situation actually falls here but I can understand that side.

Actually if VW had cheated for just a couple years and then solved the technical challenges, I'd be 100% on VW's side. Instead, they accepted green awards, kept the deception going full force for years and defrauded suckers like me. It's hard to defend actions like that.

I'm very glad that we have clean air now. I remember not knowing LA had mountains due to smog obscured air. But I remember the early smog compliant cars - expensive, unreliable and crappy performance. Engineers have done a fantastic job to give us the clean, reliable, reasonably priced and fun cars we enjoy today. It makes VW's failure even worse.

Eric
 
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I received my good will letter from VW and have yet to follow the steps because I a have been pretty busy getting the site up..but I need to do it this week. I guess I am happy that they have at least reached out a hand but I hope this is not all. Driving my TDI back and forth from Truckee over the past couple of months has been a bit bittersweet. I really have enjoyed the car and love the mileage I get out of it but I know that the relationship will be ending in the near future. Will there be a buyback with the older cars like mine? It makes some sense that they would not put in thousands of dollars worth of upgrades on a car that isn't worth that much more. Would a buyback be only applicable towards another VW product? I bought my car because it was a diesel, NOT because it was a VW.

In my heart I agree with Bill, in my head I know Alex is right. It is still uncertain how this will fair for us because my recent dealings with "big corporation" has shown that they loyalty is with the bottom line and the share holders and if there is a cost to be cut somewhere it will get cut.
 

Lorenzzo

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I received my good will letter from VW and have yet to follow the steps because I a have been pretty busy getting the site up..but I need to do it this week. I guess I am happy that they have at least reached out a hand but I hope this is not all. Driving my TDI back and forth from Truckee over the past couple of months has been a bit bittersweet. I really have enjoyed the car and love the mileage I get out of it but I know that the relationship will be ending in the near future. Will there be a buyback with the older cars like mine? It makes some sense that they would not put in thousands of dollars worth of upgrades on a car that isn't worth that much more. Would a buyback be only applicable towards another VW product? I bought my car because it was a diesel, NOT because it was a VW.

In my heart I agree with Bill, in my head I know Alex is right. It is still uncertain how this will fair for us because my recent dealings with "big corporation" has shown that they loyalty is with the bottom line and the share holders and if there is a cost to be cut somewhere it will get cut.

Well it was fraud and there are damages whether or not the tests are fair or worthwhile. At some point VW will have to pay up to those they've damaged. A fix bringing things into compliance plus cards may or may not square them with owners but it won't with other affected parties.

If you decide to take the cards, it goes without saying to know what rights you're waiving if any. To Alex's point, I wonder how many additional cancers and other maladies have been created. Maybe the tests are fubar and the answer is zero but VW hasn't earned that presumption having committed massive fraud.

I know my Q5 will be my last Audi. Yes public companies cheat to varying degrees. Less if they are held accountable, more if they aren't.

BTW, I'm damaged because soon I'll be driving a Ford truck?
 

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My buddy's big Ford diesel rocks. We used it yesterday to pull out a tree stump that the tractor couldn't budge. He bought it used and drove it 100,000 miles himself of hard work before rebuilding the engine. He should get a good life out of the truck as it's in great shape for an 06. Nothing wrong with Ford products - or any nasty scandals.

Perhaps a problem with the VW diesels is that diesel owners are nuts and will rebuild old cars to keep them running. Is the average lifespan of a diesel on the road is a lot longer than normal? Hmmm, I see another pollution underestimate coming. Maybe they will have to buy back the cars. Phil, put all the miles on your car while you can. I'm screwed though - unless the salvage title lets me slip through the cracks.

Eric
 
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My buddy's big Ford diesel rocks. We used it yesterday to pull out a tree stump that the tractor couldn't budge. He bought it used and drove it 100,000 miles himself of hard work before rebuilding the engine. He should get a good life out of the truck as it's in great shape for an 06. Nothing wrong with Ford products - or any nasty scandals.

Perhaps a problem with the VW diesels is that diesel owners are nuts and will rebuild old cars to keep them running. Is the average lifespan of a diesel on the road is a lot longer than normal? Hmmm, I see another pollution underestimate coming. Maybe they will have to buy back the cars. Phil, put all the miles on your car while you can. I'm screwed though - unless the salvage title lets me slip through the cracks.

Eric
I usually sell my cars while there is some appreciable life left in them, one of the reasons I bought a VW diesel..there is a good chance I have lost that.
 
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