Buyback: IF condition doesn't matter, lets make them Art Cars

^ Classy! Apparently art cars really are magnets for accidents and the police. Some disgruntled owner here ought to glue sex toys all over their car. They'd make the paper for sure!

Art or damage

"It would be art, not deliberate damage"

I'd hate to imagine what's hanging on the walls in your house!

Tony45 said:

"It would be art, not deliberate damage"
I'd hate to imagine what's hanging on the walls in your house!

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The usual stuff. My house isn't subject to a buy-back to the seller!

ottomatic said:

http://www.chapelhillrecorder.com/artcar/

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not my taste

My son's suggested a bunch of skate-board stickers.

KERMA said:

And yes that is my plan, to purchase a nice "buyback" car that someone had hastily taken the trade-in value for instead of continuing to drive it. I can't wait. They will all have 4 yr/48k additional warranty from when they are "fixed" on everything that people worry about like the HPFP and DPF.

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I too am giddy at the thought of all the shiny used and fixed TDI's, prime for purchasing!
...Couple hundred thousand of them! Turn them in people! Yes!

I used to be an mk4 hoarder... soon to be an mk6/7 hoarder!

turbobrick240 said:

If your car is an '09, and in terrible condition, there is a good chance it will be destroyed. You can pretty much guarantee it will be destroyed if you choose to vandalize it prior to selling it back. Not too earth friendly if you ask me.

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I'm not choosing to vandalize it, just remove new tires etc.

KERMA said:

'If there's an unfixable car, there's no deal.'
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/08/19/vw-diesel-plaintiff-lawyer-elizabeth-cabraser-q-a/
The decision that people have to make at this point in time is really the front-end threshold position. Do I participate in the buyback now or do I wait for the fix to be approved to see if it's something that's going to work for me? And that's the choice people have, and of course, they can change their minds at any point in the process. The one safeguard that was very important to us to build into this, because we didn't have a fix that had been approved and was in operation, was that if there is not an EPA/CARB-approved fix for a particular car, then the decision the consumer can make is either the buyback or no settlement, no deal. If there's an unfixable car, there's no deal.
If the cars can't be fixed then you won't be able to do the buyback either.

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Your reading and interpretation seem faulty - she specifically said the consumer could choose between buyback or nothing

Scott02 said:

I too am giddy at the thought of all the shiny used and fixed TDI's, prime for purchasing!
...Couple hundred thousand of them! Turn them in people! Yes!
I used to be an mk4 hoarder... soon to be an mk6/7 hoarder!

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I just wish that they had come out with a Passat station wagon that was being recalled.

newbury said:

I'm not choosing to vandalize it, just remove new tires etc.

Your reading and interpretation seem faulty - she specifically said the consumer could choose between buyback or nothing

I just wish that they had come out with a Passat station wagon that was being recalled.

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I have no problem with swapping rims/tires. I don't think throwing on a cheap set of steelies and slicks qualifies as an "art car" though. If people really wanted art cars for the art value, they wouldn't be doing it to cars right before the sellback. A few select people just see it as a childish way to thumb their nose at VW.

According to the literature and website VWAG apparently proposes to pay me $9,200 for my '09 VW JSW TDI.

I'll be happy to sell it directly to anyone who wants to pay me the same amount direct and avoid VW or dealer participation. The buyer could also choose to avoid whatever "fix" may eventually be approved.

Not really in the "art car" genre, but I do have some questions about how much mods and/or damage will impact the turn-in process?

First, we have a set of non-original 17" wheels with decent-ish 3 season tires, which I plan on turning in with the car. Then we also have the original 16" rims with snow tires (1 season old), which I am intending to keep in case they're compatible with our next car, or sell to another VW owner. Will turning in the car without its original wheels affect the rebate value?

In addition, there's a humongous scratch down the trunk that happened this summer when I closed the garage door with the trunk open (doh!). There's also a large crack running verticaly down the windshield, which coincided with the interior mirror falling off. I've tried glueing it back on but it doesn't last more than a few weeks.

I don't plan on fixing any of these things before handing in the car. So, will this impact the value of the rebate? From what I read here, the anser is no, but I haven't seen anything in the official materials about condition at turn-in.

Rattle can camo

I believe the condition, other than being driveable, was made irrelevant to the process to avoid judgement issues of what detracts from value, and by how much. If that were a matter of contention, this process would slow down considerably. So, its just not a consideration. I wouldn't worry about the cracked windshield, non original wheels, or the gouge on the trunk.

Unfortunately, some seem to want to abuse this provision, designed to simplify and streamline the process, and instead use it as license to vandalize their own cars. Takes all kinds, I guess.

Turned mine in over the weekend. He's the video of the last drive on the way to the dealer to drop her off.

Mark SF said:

To anyone thinking of deliberately damaging their cars, either by painting them or by any other means, the question I'd like to ask you is this :

Do you only behave like a decent human being if you stand to profit from it?

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__

DubFamily said:

I suggest you ask that question of VW's engineering and management groups before you ask it here...

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NO, he asked it within this forum and I think his question is very valid. Why are you reluctant, or unable, to answer the question? Hit a little too close to home?

Whew. Finally. It is over. Less than 3 dozen persons asked to speak in opposition to the proposed settlement out of nearly 500,000. Judge allowed each 2 minutes to make their case LOL

When you accept the settlement, it is a resolution of all past grievances. Lee did not trip Grant as they walked out of the court house door.

If you accept the settlement, then vandalize your car before you turn it in, then you should be excluded from the settlement.

dmcdon2851 said:

Whew. Finally. It is over. Less than 3 dozen persons asked to speak in opposition to the proposed settlement out of nearly 500,000. Judge allowed each 2 minutes to make their case LOL

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This alone should show that the settlement is more than fair.

Not really; it just shows that the vast majority of the ~500,000 are nowhere near the court...

dmcdon2851 said:

Whew. Finally. It is over.

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"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - Winston Churchill

Less than 3 dozen persons asked to speak in opposition to the proposed settlement out of nearly 500,000.

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Less than three dozen were allowed to speak. That isn't the same thing.

k1xv said:

When you accept the settlement, it is a resolution of all past grievances. Lee did not trip Grant as they walked out of the court house door.

If you accept the settlement, then vandalize your car before you turn it in, then you should be excluded from the settlement.

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I view such vandalism as pure criminal activity. Being excluded from the settlement is not a serious enough penalty - anyone criminally vandalizing the vehicle and then offering it for trade should be prosecuted.

There will be many, many status conferences and even motions for modifications and clarifications, especially with no approved fix. Indeed, it is only the end of the beginning.

dmcdon2851 said:

I view such vandalism as pure criminal activity. Being excluded from the settlement is not a serious enough penalty - anyone criminally vandalizing the vehicle and then offering it for trade should be prosecuted.

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I am well within my rights to destroy/decorate/disassemble my own vehicle if I want to. As I said in another thread, a loophole is provided in the settlement documents, and owners are well within their rights to take advantage of it if they are so inclined. You cannot prosecute or arrest someone for damaging his/her own property, and the assertion that you would do so makes me glad that you are no longer in a position of authority. You can't arrest someone for doing immoral or unethical things as long as they aren't illegal, and you, as a former police chief, should know that.

Now, if you vandalize the vehicle after turning it into Volkswagen, they can absolutely have you arrested for destroying what is now their property.

dmcdon2851 said:

I view such vandalism as pure criminal activity. Being excluded from the settlement is not a serious enough penalty - anyone criminally vandalizing the vehicle and then offering it for trade should be prosecuted.

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Are you f****g kidding us?
Geez, my 18 year old has use of our JSW until he goes to college next fall. He has already "vandalized" the car by debadging "Jetta" from the rear lid, and painting black the "VW" logos on front and back and the "TDI" badge. Should I turn him into the police?

^ That's a good point. It's also somewhat of an ethical gray area imo. If I choose to take the buyback, I certainly won't do anything to devalue the car just to thumb my nose at VW or because I can. Would my aftermarket rims come off?--absolutely.

sriracha said:

Obviously, the environment is a low priority for those that want to sabotage their cars before selling it back. I'm surprised that you people even bought a TDI in the first place. Was it purely for selfish reasons of paying less for fuel? Seriously, why did you buy a TDI if you want to dump it after only a few years of ownership? Do you buy $5 bottled water at whole foods to be healthy and then burn the plastic in your backyard or something? I'm really perplexed by the sentiment of a lot of people on this forum.

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I bought the TDI for my wife so she would have to pay less for fuel. The environment never entered into my thoughts.

I have some scrapes on the bumper and when we went to the dealership to check out the GolfWagon I asked about the scrapes. They informed me when people start turning in the cars, they will only be checking vin number and mileage. Body damage was not going to be an issue.


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Tmmpsych said:

I have some scrapes on the bumper and when we went to the dealership to check out the GolfWagon I asked about the scrapes. They informed me when people start turning in the cars, they will only be checking vin number and mileage. Body damage was not going to be an issue.

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Some folks will make it easier for them to read the VIN plate, by going the day before to a junkyard and selling and removing their windshield.

Are used windshields worth anything...?

DubFamily said:

Are used windshields worth anything...?

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You can get a new windshield installed at your house for little more than 200 bucks. I am guessing that most of that is labor. I don't think a used windshield has any value especially as you would have to remove it and clean it.

It was a joke...

DubFamily said:

It was a joke...

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Humor not allowed in this thread.