What vehicle will you buy with your refund?

Terry270

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Location
BG, KY
TDI
03 golf, 10 A3
I really wish the 335 and 535d weren't such crap. I was looking at those before settling on the A3. Also looking at the A6 TDI but they are still too new to see how reliable they are
 

skramer

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2012
Location
Viera, FL
TDI
2015 GSW SE 6MT
There is no doubt of the value I received and I don't intend to participate in a frivolous lawsuit,. The question is who determines the value of our A3's and how much will they be valued at?
A local Mazda dealer offered me less than $16,000, I see similar cars on cars.com for ~$20,000, and I sold my 2003 Jetta TDI 5-speed Wagon privately for ~75% of its original purchase with >70K miles. It needed ~$3,000 in routine maintenance, such as timing belt, battery and new tires.
If Audi says that they will not recall the cars and instead will offer a buyback, what exactly is the value of one's car? I don't want to reach into my wallet to make up the difference if I have to buy a new car. Anything less than the original purchase price will not pay for a car of similar quality. A POS Chevy Trax fully equipped lists for 27.5K. Some folks spoke of receiving Book Value, but what is that? Dealer trade in , private sale, dealer retail, East-Coast price, Hawaiian price? If Audi decides to go the buyback route, the only equitable solution that will satisfy all and stand up to legal challenges is a refund of the original (full) purchase price.
So What will you buy?;)
I received $19,500 prior to the emissions issues on a 2012 premium plus
 
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M. Tummi

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Location
Roselle, IL
TDI
2015 GSW SE DSG
So you got no value in the 4 years you drove the car?
You need to be more realistic. To succeed in a frivolous lawsuit.
It's less about value in the 4 years you drive a car and more about what you get out of your end of the bargain.

None of what I'm about to say applies if the buyback is optional, However, assuming you bought the car new 4 years ago, and put a decent amount down, you could have it paid off by now. If you are forced to take a buy back, and they give you less than what you paid for it, you either (1) have to take the money you get and purchase someone else's used vehicle or (2) take the money and purchase a new car.

Scenario 1 is meh because the used car you get might be a well maintained car. Then again, it might be a polished turd (even if it is certified pre owned) and you were just forced to trade in your well maintained car for a whole world of problems to come.

Scenario 2 outright sucks. You weren't given the full purchase price of the car you just got done paying off, and so you now need to take on more debt to replace your car. Someone else goofed and now, after just paying off the loan you took out, you are forced to take on another loan? :confused: That's not exactly right either.

Something about both of those scenarios doesn't seem right to me. Yes, your use of the car factors into this equation, but cars are expensive to maintain especially when, as is often the case, people mistreat their cars.

The bottom line is that VW's screw up causing you to choose between gambling on a used car or taking on more debt is not really my idea of fair, regardless of my use of the vehicle.

Of course, as I said, this is only if the buy back is mandatory, which I think is highly unlikely if not completely out of the question. (maybe not in California).
 

dwfdiesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Location
Muskoka Ontario Summer Lecanto FL winter
TDI
2006 Golf & 2012 Golf wagon, 1998 GMC 6.5 with 310,000km
I can see some value to the point that we were put into a position that is not normal and we should be reimbursed for that.
But lets just run a scenario to put a value on the car if nothing happened that would seem reasonable to me to set a value for the car the vw screwup can be assessed later.
If nothing happened any 4 year old car I like and have had very reasonable service from is not worth what I paid for it period. Cars devalue with age and use.
The amount I've been put out because of VW is a totally different thing and could amount to 10 to 50 % of the value of the car.
 

NotSoCleanA3

New member
Joined
Jan 18, 2016
Location
Ontario
TDI
A3
Hi folks ...

2010 owner over here. FWIW, I thought I'd throw out some info about the reasoning behind the buyback rumours.

Canada follows EPA emissions regs if anyone's wondering why a Canuck is following this.

Canadians bought 1,800 A3 TDIs (via a mass-mailing from Audi Canada), Americans about 8,000 (going from memory), so the total number of affected A3 TDIs in Canada and the US is about 10,000. This model of car represents 1/50th of the total number of affected cars in the region; it's a very minor model.

From a Jalopnik reader, http://jalopnik.com/well-like-i-said-there-were-two-variants-of-ea-189-a-1752108997

There are two variants of the Rev. 1 TDI engine, CBEA and CJAA. CBEA used a one piece NOx / particulate filter, CJAA used a two piece system. All A3s used the CBEA variant; Golfs were switched over to CJAA mid-2010.
The scuttlebutt here is that the CBEA filter is likely to be a much more complicated fix due to its one piece design. This provides some background on the persistent rumours that Volkswagen is having problems fixing the oldest engines.

A NYT article has some more relevant information that, while not gospel, seems to rise above the makin' stuff up level of discourse we've been hearing for the last few months -- http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/01/13/business/13reuters-volkswagen-emissions.html

Pulling some pieces from the article for those who don't want to read it ...
Chris Grundler, head of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said regulators will continue to "insist on an expeditious fix that will not only bring these vehicles into compliance but also do so in a way that doesn’t create any adverse impacts for owners. We’re not there yet."

"Mueller [VW CEO] said on Sunday that he believed a new catalytic converter system could be fitted to most affected U.S. vehicles in a solution he believed might satisfy regulators."

My take ...

A simple software fix is not on the table (there are still people around saying, "Why not keep it in test mode all the time?").

VW really, really doesn't want to go with AdBlue. Trying to figure out where to stick a 20 litre (5 gallons or so) tank of AdBlue in a hatchback in such a way that it's easy to service and doesn't interfere with everyday use of the car seems like a steep hill to climb. I'm not even considering the technical challenge of then tying the AdBlue into the car's exhaust system. Given the EPA's stance of avoiding adverse impacts for owners, I think we're pretty safe in saying that AdBlue is off the table -- even if it would likely solve the NOx issue.

I.e., any vehicle that can't be fixed by a new catalytic converter is going to have to be taken off the road.

Given Mueller's statement that most vehicles can be fixed with a new catalytic converter, we can circle back to the CBEA engine which had the one-piece particulate filter and catalytic converter and was used in the minority of affected vehicles.

So ... there's a good chance our cars can't be brought into compliance on emissions. I think it's unlikely, given VW's refusal to admit it had an emissions problem for nearly a year, that the EPA will be feeling generous towards VW and let a minority of vehicles remain out of compliance. That leaves VW with the option of buying back our cars. Depending on how badly the EPA wants the cars off the road, they can likely compel VW to buy them back at well over FMV (i.e., an offer we can't refuse). VW, for its part, would likely use a high FMV buyback as leverage to drive down the cost of the likely fines it will receive.

What would I like to see happen? I'd be fine with Audi Canada making me a very attractive offer on an Etron. I was supposed to buying a green car in the first place. It would also keep me going to the Audi dealership -- and last time I was there, they did not look particularly happy about how Audi Canada was dealing with the issue (our loyalty program launched nearly a month after the US's, contained some sleazy language about changing the terms of the deal without notice, was likely less generous).
 

Diverb

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Location
Harrison Twp, MI
TDI
2015 Golf SE 6mt
My A3 has the adblue SCR system, so I don't think the newer A3's would be purchased back, not that I want to give up my car
 

PeteZ06

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Location
Algonquin, IL
TDI
E320 CDI
Volkswagen (NASDAQOTH:VLKAY) will offer "generous" compensation to the approximately 600,000 U.S. owners of diesel-powered VW Group vehicles with emissions that exceed U.S. legal limits, the administrator of VW's settlement fund said.

What's happening: Kenneth Feinberg, the attorney hired by VW to administer a compensation fund for owners of diesel vehicles that don't comply with U.S. laws, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper in an interview that the fund would provide generous compensation to the vehicles' owners once it was up and running.

Feinberg has become well-known for administering huge settlement funds. Among others, he managed funds that provided compensation to victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and General Motors' defective ignition switches.

In all of those cases, he noted, more than 90% of the victims accepted the funds' offers. That will be his target with Volkswagen, he said.

Feinberg said VW hasn't yet decided whether that compensation will consist of cash, replacement vehicles, or offers to buy back the affected cars. He said VW is very serious about the effort and that he is currently spending 85% of his time working with the German auto giant.

Feinberg said in December that he expected payments from the fund to start with "60 to 90 days." But he walked back that timeline a bit in the interview, saying he won't be able to start until VW and the U.S. authorities agree on a plan to recall and repair (or buy back) the affected vehicles.

"My hands are tied," he said.







So its looking like a good chance for non-adblue cars to be offered some type of generous buyback.

I know our cars have lost a good amount of value since the scandal. I love my car and I purchased it to keep it for a while.. But if they will be offering some kind of stupid money for it so they get most people to accept their offer, then I might have to take advantage of the offer while its available. I think it might become very hard to sell these cars in the future.
 

Terry270

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Location
BG, KY
TDI
03 golf, 10 A3
This is true. They definitely haven't lost me as a customer. If the offer is good and we let them buy back, we'll most likely be picking up an A6 TDI to replace it
 

TDIGAZ

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2008
Location
Eastern Ontario, Canada
TDI
Current: 2003 Jetta GLS Grey 5 spd. Previous: 2003 Jetta GLS Silver 5 spd (lost in a collision)
After all that's said and done, I should be able to afford a Segway and an umbrella, only if I also kick in the $500 cash from VW. Ah, but what will I do with the $500 dealer-only cash?
Too funny, but may I suggest...

:D Sorry, I couldn't resist :D
 

Matatk

Veteran Member
Joined
May 27, 2013
Location
SW Chicago Burbs
TDI
2011 A3 TDI Wagon
I got a letter today stating that the EPA rejected Audi's suggestion on how to fix the issue. Guess we'll wait and see the next step.
 

SoTxBill

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 14, 2000
Location
its not the base, its the additives!!
TDI
13 passatdsg 10 jetdsg, 09 jetdsg, 2006 jetdsg, 2001Jet, 96passat, 86jet, 81 jet, 78pickup all vw diesel.
When Leon (L.L.) Bean first sold his iconic Maine Duck Hunting Boots (the ones with a rubber foot and a leather top) they were advertised as being waterproof. Every single pair leaked and Bean refunded the buyers their original purchase price. It didn't matter whether the boots had been used once, twice, or 1000 times. They didn't perform as advertised.
Our cars were promoted as "Clean Diesel Technology" and meeting emissions without AdBlue. Now we know that was not true. The cars have not performed as advertised. I didn't want AdBlue then, and I don't want it now - it is not what I bargained for.
Either fix my car or give me my money back - it's that simple.
"""""""""""""""""":confused:The ECO Diesel back in '86 was promoted as clean diesel technology and your diesel is much cleaner.""""""""""""""""""""
 

PeteZ06

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Location
Algonquin, IL
TDI
E320 CDI
"""""""""""""""""":confused:The ECO Diesel back in '86 was promoted as clean diesel technology and your diesel is much cleaner.""""""""""""""""""""

They had almost no emission laws back in '86. It was probably promoted clean because it didn't smoke like a chimney, but who knows what sort of gasses it was emitting.
 

PeteZ06

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Location
Algonquin, IL
TDI
E320 CDI
This is true. They definitely haven't lost me as a customer. If the offer is good and we let them buy back, we'll most likely be picking up an A6 TDI to replace it

I might be joining you.. but I do also like the 328D and E250. Whatever it'll be, it'll be AWD. I'll be building a house in the near future and my lot is located downhill a steep side street.. getting out in ice/snow might take some effort.
 

Terry270

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Location
BG, KY
TDI
03 golf, 10 A3
I might be joining you.. but I do also like the 328D and E250. Whatever it'll be, it'll be AWD. I'll be building a house in the near future and my lot is located downhill a steep side street.. getting out in ice/snow might take some effort.
Steep hill in IL? I call bs :p
 

langer

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2011
Location
Bawlmer
TDI
'12 a3 & '07 gasser gti
Maybe I'll pick up a car that doesn't freeze closed every time frozen precipitation descends from the sky. &$!?&@
 

fxk

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2015
Location
Vast wilderness between DC and Baltimore
TDI
2014 Sportwagen TDI
Too funny, but may I suggest...

:D Sorry, I couldn't resist :D
You know, I think you may have something there - a good sense of humor! :D

Steep hill in IL? I call bs :p
That's funny! :D That's like saying curvy roads in Il. :p
I learned to (snow)ski in IL! At least nobody ever got hurt on the slopes.
When in Wichita, I saw a poster, a line from left to right, a stalk of wheat, the sun in an orange sky, and the words "Ski Kansas".
 

Terry270

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Location
BG, KY
TDI
03 golf, 10 A3
So I test drove a 2016 A6 TDI today when we stopped by the dealer and got our goodwill package activated. It is a very nice car with a comfortable ride and great power down low. It was pulling ahead of traffic with very little throttle input. All of the electronics kind of scare me though. I just see huge repair bills and complicated electrical issues. Funny thing they pulled it brand new off the lot and stopped offering it for sale bc of the diesel scandal and were using it as a service loaner car. They priced it to me at 52k out the door with 2800 miles. Window sticker was in the glove box and I think it was 64k. I bet they would drop even more on it had I pressed them
 

Diverb

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Location
Harrison Twp, MI
TDI
2015 Golf SE 6mt
Funny thing they pulled it brand new off the lot and stopped offering it for sale bc of the diesel scandal and were using it as a service loaner car. They priced it to me at 52k out the door with 2800 miles. Window sticker was in the glove box and I think it was 64k. I bet they would drop even more on it had I pressed them
That's how I bought my A3. It had 74 miles on it and they sold it as "used" just to get it off the lot.
 

Terry270

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Location
BG, KY
TDI
03 golf, 10 A3
That's how I bought my A3. It had 74 miles on it and they sold it as "used" just to get it off the lot.
Nice. Oh yeah another thing I believe that in a race the Malone tuned A3 would beat it. But still felt really strong for a stock huge car that gets 38mpg(according to window sticker) and I know that with a tune that thing would be a monster
 

Diverb

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Location
Harrison Twp, MI
TDI
2015 Golf SE 6mt
Funny thing is after reading your post, I was on autotrader searching for A6 TDI's and then went to Malone's website to insure tuning was available. Not that I can afford to sell the A3 for a A6, buts its fun to look. I bet a tuned A6 with Rawtek DPF delete exhaust and a nice mild set of resonators would really wake that car up
 

Terry270

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Location
BG, KY
TDI
03 golf, 10 A3
Funny thing is after reading your post, I was on autotrader searching for A6 TDI's and then went to Malone's website to insure tuning was available. Not that I can afford to sell the A3 for a A6, buts its fun to look. I bet a tuned A6 with Rawtek DPF delete exhaust and a nice mild set of resonators would really wake that car up
Read this and watch the vids. http://www.a5oc.com/forums/build-th...-a5.html#/forumsite/20718/topics/83002?page=1

Over 400hp and 12's in the 1/4 with tune, exhaust and intercoolers!

On a side note, wish we had the A5 S-line available with the TDI here. They are some sexy cars
 
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Diverb

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Location
Harrison Twp, MI
TDI
2015 Golf SE 6mt
Thanks for sharing! That car is amazing, and the quality of the welds on the exhaust looked really nice. There are a lot of nice cars which are diesel powered we can't get here in the United States:(
 
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