Better to OPT Out then do nothing?

Hello-All,
My first post here. I just got into TDIs and really like the mileage and how they drive. Bought mine the day the settlement was announced from Ebay sight unseen: 2011 Jetta TDI 6spd manual, 172Ks on it, I'm at 183K now -no issues other than minor dents and scratches on the paint(allows me some bondo practice).

I went through the buyback process and have an appointment set in March. I'll most likely sell it but am looking at all my options. With a fix not likely for 2011s, if I decided to keep the car my (or anyone else's) best route would be to choose the fix and OPT out of the settlement in the window May-June 2018? Since if I read it right anyone not Opting out is releasing VW of all claims.

So it'll be better to OPT out and keep open the future option of legal action if you don't do the buy back or the fix. Am I reading this right?

(Any chance/or possible VW will increase buyback amounts to meet their 85% goal?)

To late to opt out anyone who did not claim to opt out several months ago is automatically assumed to be part of the class action settlement now

The only way you would have an opportunity to opt out now is if you just bought the car. Otherwise, the deadline was 9/16. And I don't see any chance of VW increasing buyback amounts to meet the 85% requirement, nor do I think there will be any need to.

We probably won't know if there is a gen 1 fix until sometime in March.

There has been considerable confusion over the terms "opt out" versus "do nothing". Most people when they say or think "opt out" are actually in the "do nothing" camp. "Opt out" meant that you would formally exclude yourself from the class action so that you could file a lawsuit against VW yourself. Aside from being a rather unwise move, that ship has sailed - the deadline for doing so has passed. (Unless there is no fix, as mentioned above - but at the moment, this is not known.)

I would consider it highly unlikely that a private lawsuit would net you any more than the deal that VW has offered. Certainly the words "What makes you so special" would come up. Quite likely the judge would refer to the objections that Judge Breyer thoroughly shot down in the course of accepting the agreement. Most likely you would be awarded the same terms that everyone else is getting ... and then you have to pay your lawyer.

If you like the car and want to keep using it for some time, the smart thing to do in my opinion is to file documentation for the "fix". This automatically buys you the time until (if) the fix gets approved plus probably more time, until somewhere in late 2018 when you have to actually decide what to do. You can always still change it to buyback on the same terms as today. You could get +/- another year and a half of almost free driving out of this.

Unless your HPFP blows ...

Yes, that's a good point--and yes, I think to you have to be in the system as requesting a fix for that one to apply.

You do not have any warranty on the HPFP because it expired at 120,000 miles. If it blows you could be out $5,000 or more to get the car running.

Personally, on a car with that much mileage and with known designed-in time bombs (HPFP, DPF) I'd take the money and run ASAP.

I agree, any future potential lawsuits will most likely not get anymore money than what is offered now. Even for me, I'm in about $9,750K with all fees, taxes, shipping, etc...and the buyback is at $12,450K (though I'm adding mileage everyday).

Agree again, the point of my post was that if you want to keep your car, choose the fix, and OPT out if there's is none and keep any potential open to collect pennies from any future legal action.

Yes, the HPFP is something new to me and something to weigh in the decision (just checked prices on the CP3 pump yesterday and it's not too much). As mentioned, I'll most likely do the buyback in JUN (when my CA REG is up) or if I need a cheap commuter in my next duty station in a year, I'll keep until the end of 2018...though it's tempting to keep just to stick it to CARB (and have a relatively rare car) as I have had a bad experience with CARB, DMV, and BAR with importing my Japanese car...don't get me started on that!