VWLemonLawTricks
Member
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2004
Well, I have gone full circle with the discovery process regarding this car. Now let me fill you in on what happened.
I called CARFAX. All I got from them was a pre-recorded message to send an email through their website if I had a question concerning a report.
Next step: I called Becky Staples, my mediation/arbitration representative at VW of America, to inquire as to why my car was sold as a repossession at auction. She was somewhat evasive and inquired as to why I was interested since I was no longer the owner. Ms. Staples then informed me that "LEMON" is a legal term and that she was under the impression that VWoA had bought my car back voluntarily. She then went on to say that since there was no official arbiration ruling, VWoA was not legally bound to declare the vehicle a lemon. Ms. Staples was either lied or was severely mistaken because there was NOTHING voluntary about VWoA buying back my car. They were most definietly bound by Massachusetts Lemon Law to buy back my car after it was declared a LEMON at a state ARBITRATION hearing! After informing her of this, she claimed that she did know why the car was sold as a repossession. She then went on to say that whenever VWoA buys back a vehicle for whatever reason, the selling dealer AND the end consumer who purchases the vehicle are required to sign a disclosure statement informing them that the vehicle was a buyback and why the vehicle was bough back.
Next: I called the Massachusetts Dept. Consumer Affairs who said they only oversee the new car lemon law arbitration process and have no power of enforcement. I was directed to call the MA state attorney general's office. When I called their hotline they then passed me on to their South Shore office. I spoke to a rather blunt and rude woman at their office. She was no help at all. She told me since the car was not sold in Mass. it is not their concern. I told here that the car had been declared a lemon in Mass. After further prodding, She then gave me the name and address to an assistant attorney general in Mass and told me to send him a written letter stating my complaint. She told me that most likely nothing would be done about it, but that's my best bet. She said if they had enough complaints against VWoA, they would do an investigation. All this ONLY after first telling me how much work she has to do and how her funding has not increased in four years. UGG......................
Next: I called the Connecticut Dept. of Consumer Protection, Lemon Law Department. The lady I spoke to at this office was really interested in hearing the details of my story and to find out what the whole deal was. She said that they are part of the fraud unit and work in concert with the Attorney General's office. She said she would run the story by her supervisor as well as the Attorney General's office to see if this was something they were going to persue. She also asked me to call the assistant attorney general who was in charge of consumer affairs and let him my story directly. I called and left him a voicemail message. She took down my info and the info on the car and said she would get back to me. During our conversation though, she told me that they had a LOT of cases involving VWs last year!
Next: I stopped into a Volkswagen dealer in Mass. I went to the service department and told them I was buying the vehicle from a private party. I gave them the VIN and asked them to run a warranty history. They printed it up for me however, everything was stated as a VW warranty code. They then looked into a few other things and said that it was recently sold as a used car. A CERTIFIED pre-owned car to be exact. When looking at the computer screen as they were looking up the info, I noticed that the current owner's name and address was listed. I wrote it down so I could contact him.
Next: I got a call back from the lady I had spoken to at Connecticut Dept. of Consumer affairs. She had spoken with her supervisor and the attorney general's office. They had done some investigating and she gave me the scoop. She said that while VW may have violated the spirit of the law, they did not violate the LETTER of the law. She then told me that Massachusetts no longer requires a lemon vehicle to be branded a lemon on its title. She said that the attorney general did not think that any Connecticut laws were violated, but that they would try and contact the new owner. I provided her with the new owner's name and address. She said that they were not through looking into it, but unfortunately they might not be able to do anything about the entire situation.
FINALLY: Using reverse lookup on whitepages.com, I looked up the new owner's phone number using his home address. I called the new owner. He told me that he had to sign a disclosure statement when he had bought the car. They told him it was a manufacturer's buyback but NOT that it was declared a lemon in massachusetts. He stated that they had told him there was a mild vibration in the steering wheel and that the problem was rectified after installing a new steering box. I told him that they had replaced the rack when I had the car and that did not resolve the problem. That is what pushed me to file for lemon law. Fortunately for him though, he has not had any steering wheel vibration to date. He has had the MAF go south twice within a one week period though! I offered the new owner copies of all the paperwork I have pertaining the vehicle. An offer which he gladly accepted. Out of curiosity, I asked him what they were asking for the car at Gene Langan VW where he bought it: They were asking $16,200. I paid $17,700 for the car!!!!!!!!!
All I can say is that VWoA and its dealers have to get their act together and stop playing around with their customers and pulling B/S. I love my VW. I even convinced my signicant other and my mom to buy VWs. I wish I hadn't. Have they had any problems with their cars? NO The whole point is VWoA and its dealer network. While, I love the products and think they are of high quality on the whole, I think VW as a company stinks. They need to do a better job if they want to earn our business. You want to increase sales: Follow the lead of the Japanese and IMPROVE dealer service, customer service, and support. STAND BEHING WHAT YOU SELL. The fact is, when you buy a product, you also buy the company behind the product. That is the dilema. And in that respect, VW has a LONG way to go! For god's sake, people on this very form go on and on about how the dealers suck and can't service what they sell and how VWoA is of no help when dealing with them. Finding a dealership with a degree of competence and who fixes it right the first time should NOT be like finding the holy grail. VW must stop placing blame for banal defects on its owners.
I called CARFAX. All I got from them was a pre-recorded message to send an email through their website if I had a question concerning a report.
Next step: I called Becky Staples, my mediation/arbitration representative at VW of America, to inquire as to why my car was sold as a repossession at auction. She was somewhat evasive and inquired as to why I was interested since I was no longer the owner. Ms. Staples then informed me that "LEMON" is a legal term and that she was under the impression that VWoA had bought my car back voluntarily. She then went on to say that since there was no official arbiration ruling, VWoA was not legally bound to declare the vehicle a lemon. Ms. Staples was either lied or was severely mistaken because there was NOTHING voluntary about VWoA buying back my car. They were most definietly bound by Massachusetts Lemon Law to buy back my car after it was declared a LEMON at a state ARBITRATION hearing! After informing her of this, she claimed that she did know why the car was sold as a repossession. She then went on to say that whenever VWoA buys back a vehicle for whatever reason, the selling dealer AND the end consumer who purchases the vehicle are required to sign a disclosure statement informing them that the vehicle was a buyback and why the vehicle was bough back.
Next: I called the Massachusetts Dept. Consumer Affairs who said they only oversee the new car lemon law arbitration process and have no power of enforcement. I was directed to call the MA state attorney general's office. When I called their hotline they then passed me on to their South Shore office. I spoke to a rather blunt and rude woman at their office. She was no help at all. She told me since the car was not sold in Mass. it is not their concern. I told here that the car had been declared a lemon in Mass. After further prodding, She then gave me the name and address to an assistant attorney general in Mass and told me to send him a written letter stating my complaint. She told me that most likely nothing would be done about it, but that's my best bet. She said if they had enough complaints against VWoA, they would do an investigation. All this ONLY after first telling me how much work she has to do and how her funding has not increased in four years. UGG......................
Next: I called the Connecticut Dept. of Consumer Protection, Lemon Law Department. The lady I spoke to at this office was really interested in hearing the details of my story and to find out what the whole deal was. She said that they are part of the fraud unit and work in concert with the Attorney General's office. She said she would run the story by her supervisor as well as the Attorney General's office to see if this was something they were going to persue. She also asked me to call the assistant attorney general who was in charge of consumer affairs and let him my story directly. I called and left him a voicemail message. She took down my info and the info on the car and said she would get back to me. During our conversation though, she told me that they had a LOT of cases involving VWs last year!
Next: I stopped into a Volkswagen dealer in Mass. I went to the service department and told them I was buying the vehicle from a private party. I gave them the VIN and asked them to run a warranty history. They printed it up for me however, everything was stated as a VW warranty code. They then looked into a few other things and said that it was recently sold as a used car. A CERTIFIED pre-owned car to be exact. When looking at the computer screen as they were looking up the info, I noticed that the current owner's name and address was listed. I wrote it down so I could contact him.
Next: I got a call back from the lady I had spoken to at Connecticut Dept. of Consumer affairs. She had spoken with her supervisor and the attorney general's office. They had done some investigating and she gave me the scoop. She said that while VW may have violated the spirit of the law, they did not violate the LETTER of the law. She then told me that Massachusetts no longer requires a lemon vehicle to be branded a lemon on its title. She said that the attorney general did not think that any Connecticut laws were violated, but that they would try and contact the new owner. I provided her with the new owner's name and address. She said that they were not through looking into it, but unfortunately they might not be able to do anything about the entire situation.
FINALLY: Using reverse lookup on whitepages.com, I looked up the new owner's phone number using his home address. I called the new owner. He told me that he had to sign a disclosure statement when he had bought the car. They told him it was a manufacturer's buyback but NOT that it was declared a lemon in massachusetts. He stated that they had told him there was a mild vibration in the steering wheel and that the problem was rectified after installing a new steering box. I told him that they had replaced the rack when I had the car and that did not resolve the problem. That is what pushed me to file for lemon law. Fortunately for him though, he has not had any steering wheel vibration to date. He has had the MAF go south twice within a one week period though! I offered the new owner copies of all the paperwork I have pertaining the vehicle. An offer which he gladly accepted. Out of curiosity, I asked him what they were asking for the car at Gene Langan VW where he bought it: They were asking $16,200. I paid $17,700 for the car!!!!!!!!!
All I can say is that VWoA and its dealers have to get their act together and stop playing around with their customers and pulling B/S. I love my VW. I even convinced my signicant other and my mom to buy VWs. I wish I hadn't. Have they had any problems with their cars? NO The whole point is VWoA and its dealer network. While, I love the products and think they are of high quality on the whole, I think VW as a company stinks. They need to do a better job if they want to earn our business. You want to increase sales: Follow the lead of the Japanese and IMPROVE dealer service, customer service, and support. STAND BEHING WHAT YOU SELL. The fact is, when you buy a product, you also buy the company behind the product. That is the dilema. And in that respect, VW has a LONG way to go! For god's sake, people on this very form go on and on about how the dealers suck and can't service what they sell and how VWoA is of no help when dealing with them. Finding a dealership with a degree of competence and who fixes it right the first time should NOT be like finding the holy grail. VW must stop placing blame for banal defects on its owners.
