VW USA 2.0 TDI Court Settlement Options for Owners
I just completed filling the forms for the beginnings of the 2.0 TDI Dieselgate compensation actions. Another owner TDI owner customer of ours called and said she was filling in a form and submitting it and she had some questions… i hadn’t heard of anything official yet so i advised her to email me a link so I could look it over and confirm that it wasn’t another thieving lawyer website (excuse the derogatory reference, i know most lawyers are humans too). I confirmed that it was legitimate by contacting our friend Steve Ferenc at Mitchell VW in Canton CT.
SO this is the portal through which all claims are being made.
On there you will need to provide your VIN number and current mileage and your address. At this point you are asked whether you would prefer to have your car repaired and keep it or take the buy back option. It isn’t clear yet what the actual fix will be and is still in development phase and will require approval by the EPA. I selected the buyback option and the estimate was that the buyback will take place roughly in November 2016. One question that is asked is – “Can your VW be driven to the dealer under its own 2.0 TDI power”, that to me sounds like a good reason to continue to maintain your VW well as you have to ensure preserving the value of the buyback, nudge nudge wink wink, call us a we’ll help!
This website also calculates the restitution payment which you are eligible for. In my case I bought the 2009 Jetta TDI in December which was after the September discovery of the emissions cheat device, therefore I split the restitution 50/50 with the previous owner. Regardless the calculated restitution in my case was $2550- not bad for 1/2.
The website decisions you make are not binding and you can change your mind if options change and different choices come up but for now getting on there and getting the ball rolling seems to be best.
I think that most likely the best deals will be had when the buy back coincides with the purchase of another new VW. I am excited for the new all wheel drive Golf Alltrack wagon expected to come stateside soon- that could finally be the family-hauling snow-eating machine we’ve been waiting for. There is no obligation to rush into any decisions and I’ve been told that once the info has been received through the website that we have up to 2 years to decide what to do.
I will update this as more info comes in but also feel free to call the shop and ask any questions regarding keeping your TDI in top shape in the meantime, and any decisions you need help with.
Dominic