VW Faces $17B Fine for Emissions Scam

EPA to VW: Fix It Again Tomorrow

SM-G900I ?

 

The settlement has become 'scum chum': Government Warns VW Sellers: Don’t Mislead Diesel Owners About Buyback Program – Consumerist

The first post is addressed to car dealers, especially those who might be thinking about making buyback offers that differ from those detailed at VWcourtsettlement.com.

While the details of the settlement, including the $10.03 billion buyback program, are available at VWCourtSettlement.com, regulators say it appears other companies have been reaching out to owners with alternate offers.

“It’s unwise for anyone – including independently owned VW dealers – to make separate offers,” the FTC warns.

These alternative offers may imply they are part of the $10 billion settlement; inform owners they have to spend compensation under the settlement on a new VW or Audi; or use phrasing, like “Act now!” to lock owners into a separate deal before they have the full picture of what they could gain as part of the actual settlement.

In a separate blog post, the agency explains that owners of affected vehicles may be approached by buyers offering what appears to be a good deal. However, it’s possible this offer may actually be less than what the owner could get under the actual settlement.

“Whether it’s a private purchaser or an unscrupulous dealer, those buyers are just going to turn around and sell the car back to VW for more money through the court-approved buyback program,” the blog warns.”

When it comes to offers of “Act Now!” the FTC reminds consumers that there is no pressure to act quickly. In fact, the buyback program isn’t actually making payments yet. Additionally, funds procured through the program can be spent any way an owner chooses, it does not have to be spent at a VW dealer.​

All too often it happens like this.

Bob Wilson

 

Hopefully no Toyota dealers will take part in this kind of buyback scam.
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Actually, I'm kind of hoping Dianne or some other dealers offer "special incentives" on a Gen IV or new Prime to lure in us poor, emotionally damaged TDI owners. ;->

 

Careful what you ask @DianneWhitmire for:

Bob Wilson

 

I bought a Prius 4 from Dianne (for a friend) a couple of months ago, painless process, unexpectedly great price. I've bought a lot of cars over the years, I like dealers that thrive on low profits and high volume, I can work well with that model. If I go Prius post-TDI, she'll absolutely get a shot at my business.

 

would you call it unscrupulous to offer $4500. on a car vdub is eventually going to pay $5,000. for?

 

Are you the only TDI owner that I know of who is willing to make the switch to the Prius? Most, if not all, TDI owners here don't give a hoot about this emission thing. In fact, they continue to bag the Prius unabated, saying they rather push an TDI than driving a Prius.

Well, I love to see that one day because they can suck in all those NOx they beloved VW diesels shooting out.


SM-G900I ?

 

i think there might be someone else here considering a prius as well.

 

Is the MB diesel going to skate ? Seems like VW ought to have taken their cheat route ... just disable it under the pretext that it's just 'till the engine gets nice & hot. We can just hold our breath in the meantime.
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And they may have to do that if the HPFP goes belly up.

 

And now some of their to-be fixed diesels actually have emission control system working, the PDF filter may get clogged too. I guess it's their way to transport cleanly... by pushing an TDI.

SM-G900I ?

 

All cars produce more emissions during warm-up.

There is a big difference between VW and all the other manufactures selling diesel engines in the USA. All the others installed urea injection systems to meet emissions. VW did not and claimed they found a special solution that allowed them to meet emissions without the equipment the others needed. Now we know that "special solution" was just outright cheating.

Nexus 5X ?

 

I owned a 03 TDI and a 05 Prius at the same time. The TDI was a nicer car while the Prius was less expensive to run. When it came time to replace the TDI I got a 09 Prius. When it came time to replace the 05 Prius I got an EV.

Nexus 5X ?

 

Bob, could you add the manual 2006 Jetta to the comparison between the Jetta and Prius? The reason I ask is that there's conventional wisdom on TDIClub that automatics get worse mileage and don't necessarily beat their claims. Granted, a 2006 Jetta would have a DSG, which isn't anywhere near as bad as the torque converter automatics...

I switched from an older TDI (pre-cheat, although it was modified) to the Gen 4 Prius...

Not only that, but it's very, very common on TDIClub to delete emissions control devices for more reliability, power, and efficiency.

 

Ah, good to know you came over from the dark side.

I'm not one bit surprised about the disabling of emission control stuff from these owners. More often than not, I noticed these owners talked about changing engine mapping/valve timing/tranny behaviour to gain more power output, and risk voiding your new car warranty. If you ever involved in a serious car incident, and they found that you tampered with the car engine management system, one would wonder if the insurance company will pay you out?

Without emission control, I guess one can't really take fuelly too seriously when it comes to comparing VW diesels FE vs. other cars.


SM-G900I ?

 

• Tossed out the top 5% and lowest 5% for each model
• Data from user reports at fueleconomy.gov

Bob Wilson

 

I wouldn't read too much into it. Only a tiny fraction of car owners make any sort of engine modifications to their vehicles.

 

sorry for winding back to a quote from so far back in the thread - but it'd appear that both the dishonesty will continue to continue - as well as the concept of the clean diesel. As a grade school kid of the 1960's i still remember actor Wally Cox narrating GM's Detroit diesel spin - the clean diesel. That's right folks, maybe you didn't know it but diesels have been clean now for nearl ½century. This film was 14 minutes of pure dishonesty, and even among us ignorant kids our knee-jerk reaction was, "this can't be true". Plus, this was back in the days of high sulfur content fuel;

Glad someone took the time to digitize that. You'd go vacationing in the mountains - us kids in the back seat, & invariably we'd get stuck behind the Greyhound bus pulling a grade. The cloud of black was awesome ! According to Wally Cox & GM, that smoke isn't smog. So that must mean it's Ok - if they say so.

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I received my diesel emissions settlement paperwork from VW today. Just 5 years too late.