If I were to buy an eligle car from owner that hasn't gotten fix yet

If I were to buy an eligible car from owner that hasn't gotten fix yet

I may have a line on a good deal on a 2009 Jetta wagon that is eligible for the fix, but the owner hasn't taken it in for the fix yet. If I were to purchase the car from the owner, would I, as the new owner be able to get the fix done as well as get the fix money from VW?
Sorry, if this is a confusing question or has been asked before.
-Nick

If I was you I would have the present owner get the fix then deduct his benefit from the cost of the car. It would save you a lot of unnecessary hassle.

Is there a way to find out how much the cash would be? Owner is only asking $4k for the car (it needs some repairs). I am thinking if I can get more than $4k for the fix, then it would be like getting the car for free (or making money). If the owner knew how much they could get, they may raise the price or fix it before selling it to me.

minimum cash incentive is $5100

but the car has to be pretty much error free for them to put the fix on, and start the 48 month warranty

Not sure if you buy the car now, if you can get the cash. the fix and warranty, yes.

What is wrong with the car?

brownnugen said:

Is there a way to find out how much the cash would be? Owner is only asking $4k for the car (it needs some repairs). I am thinking if I can get more than $4k for the fix, then it would be like getting the car for free (or making money). If the owner knew how much they could get, they may raise the price or fix it before selling it to me.

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What are the repairs you speak of? If you ask for the vin # of the car you can find out what the restitution of the fix is. Do these repairs need to be completed in order to qualify for the fix?

There was a fender bender that messed up the rear bumper and the alternator belt needs replacing. Also the lock for the tailgate needs to be replaced. Owner says that because the alternator belt needs replacing the battery is dead and car is stuck in garage.

I haven’t actually seen the car yet.

I got the VIN to verify it is eligible for the fix. I just wasn’t sure if there is a certain timeline that I’ve missed and if I buy the car now, I can get the fix but no cash. Ideal situation is to buy car, get fix done, get cash back and use the cash for repairs and maintenance.

You have until September to file the paperwork.

GoFaster said:

You have until September to file the paperwork.

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So, it doesn’t matter that I take ownership of the car in April or May of this year? As long as I am the owner and file before September? That would be terrific!

Thank you everyone for the input so far. I need to move on this pretty quickly as I believe the car will go quickly given its price and low mileage (and cash back potential).

Is there any chance that VW will not consider me “eligible “ and allow me to get cash back after I purchase it and get the fix, leaving the original owner totally out of the picture? As is, I think the car is a decent price, but I would likely still be in the doghouse unless I have a slam dunk case that this will work out like I envision. Is there a phone number to call that can verify all of this? Besides putting in the VIN verifying the car is eligible and clicking that I am the owner (which I really am not yet), I hadn’t registered on the VW-designated website to go any further because I didn’t want to do anything that could compromise my potential eligibility that I couldn’t undo. I browsed through the website at the FAQs but couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. A phone number to speak with someone “official” would bring this to closure.

I did look at the car last night and the battery was completely dead; the alternator belt was not there and the car has been sitting in their garage since December and I am assuming that is why battery is dead. I don’t know why the belt failed. I left my trickle charger on it overnight and will go back to the car after work today and try to start the car. The rear passenger side bumper was a victim of a parking lot issue and will need to be replaced. There is also a small crack in the taillight and it put a little crease on the bottom of the tailgate. The fabric headliner piece for the panoramic sunroof is loose and dangling for some reason.

Send info to me. I'll buy it and give you $500 finders fee

You really need to verify the car still runs.


in some cases, a shredded accessory belt has been found to migrate into the timing belt, and really mess things up.

Usually what gets these belts is an alternator pulley (which is clutched to spin freely in one direction and lock to the rotor shaft in the other) or the pulley in the tensioner.

The headliner may be loose from attempts to check/track down a leak.

Found the number for and called the VW emissions people. Interesting they told me that some 2009’s would be able to be fixed and that I would have to call the local dealership to verify that this 2009 Wagon could be fixed (which the dealership said could).

The emissions lady also said that the previous owner may have already gotten the restitution payment and that I may not be eligible if they did. When I spoke with the owner, he said the fix wasn’t done. Looking through the Carfax, it only shows that emissions recall was available and to contact the dealer to get it done; further Carfax entries show other maintenance but not the fix.

Should I be good to go? Anything else I should try and check for before taking another look at the car?

I guess the restitution payment depends on year and mileage? With only 112k miles on the car, what would be a ballpark figure on what can I expect?

Why fix it? If you really have no ethical issues with paying the owner much less than it's worth, go ahead and buy it and turn around and sell it back to VW for 14k or so, then take that money and buy a newer, fixed TDI that hasn't been in an accident.

cyclopropene said:

Why fix it? If you really have no ethical issues with paying the owner much less than it's worth, go ahead and buy it and turn around and sell it back to VW for 14k or so, then take that money and buy a newer, fixed TDI that hasn't been in an accident.

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The owner/seller knows what the car is worth and told me he doesn’t want to put in the work to fix up the car. I even asked him whether the car already received VW’s emission fix and they did not do it but that it qualifies.

cyclopropene said:

Why fix it? If you really have no ethical issues with paying the owner much less than it's worth, go ahead and buy it and turn around and sell it back to VW for 14k or so, then take that money and buy a newer, fixed TDI that hasn't been in an accident.

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I’m with Cyclopropene on this. I doubt that the owner understands what the car *is worth to him based on dieselgate.* If you are pinching yourself at what a great opportunity for significant easy money this is, chances are he doesn’t understand that it is even more so for him. I’d have issues with myself at the prospect of turning a profit this way, off of choosing not to share information. Others here don’t. You are the only owner of your conscience, not any of us. Do what you see fit. The rest is up to karma (or carma).

Mythdoc said:

I’m with Cyclopropene on this. I doubt that the owner understands what the car *is worth to him based on dieselgate.* If you are pinching yourself at what a great opportunity for significant easy money this is, chances are he doesn’t understand that it is even more so for him. I’d have issues with myself at the prospect of turning a profit this way, off of choosing not to share information. Others here don’t. You are the only owner of your conscience, not any of us. Do what you see fit. The rest is up to karma (or carma).

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Or the seller has received insurance money for the damage and a restitution payment? You know what they say, if it sounds too good to be true... Who knows?

brownnugen said:

I guess the restitution payment depends on year and mileage? With only 112k miles on the car, what would be a ballpark figure on what can I expect?

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You can fill out a claim at https://claims.vwgoa.com/#/ if you have the vehicle information and see what the car is potentially worth… and then you can share this information with the seller before making the purchase…

Mythdoc said:

I doubt that the owner understands what the car *is worth to him based on dieselgate.* If you are pinching yourself at what a great opportunity for significant easy money this is, chances are he doesn’t understand that it is even more so for him. I’d have issues with myself at the prospect of turning a profit this way, off of choosing not to share information. Others here don’t. You are the only owner of your conscience, not any of us. Do what you see fit. The rest is up to karma (or carma).

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This. All I can picture right now is some stereotypical old man that thinks her car is not worth much anymore because it has more than 100k on the clock (oh my), he backed into a bollard at the grocery store, and the car has other cosmetic/mechanical issues.

brownnugen said:

The owner/seller knows what the car is worth and told me he doesn’t want to put in the work to fix up the car. I even asked him whether the car already received VW’s emission fix and they did not do it but that it qualifies.

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Do they know what it is worth, do they understand that the car does not “need to be fixed” to be eligible for the buyback? Do they even understand the difference between getting a fix and a buyback?

I don’t see the owner being hassled for bumper damage and a broke taillight when turning it in… assuming it runs on its own power, which might be the real reason they are willing to get rid of it on the cheap (see Ran When Parked).

drsven said:

You know what they say, if it sounds too good to be true... Who knows?

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This.

brownnugen said:

The emissions lady also said that the previous owner may have already gotten the restitution payment and that I may not be eligible if they did. When I spoke with the owner, he said the fix wasn’t done. Looking through the Carfax, it only shows that emissions recall was available and to contact the dealer to get it done; further Carfax entries show other maintenance but not the fix.

Should I be good to go? Anything else I should try and check for before taking another look at the car?

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They put a sticker under the hood when they complete the fix, so you can verify whether or not the sticker exists.

Watch your back there are lots of Folks out there buying these up to make big bucks....

this thread is so funny.
can i just ask something: how did you find this car without anyone else finding it?

is it like a friend of a friend or some local classifieds ad in a newspaper that somehow doesnt get printed online as well? did you drive by a car with a for sale sign in a parking lot? i really want to know!

^yep
I gave up looking last year. For a while there were chances (I found 3 that worked out), but then it got too hard to even bother.

If this is a true flipper with a clean VIN, jump on it

...and OP you already forgot about the first rule of Flip Club...