Better not crash your car between June 28th - Sept 16th

speedrye said:

Interesting. I'm curious how claims would be resolved beforehand if there isn't an issue based on the wording of the class action agreement. Maybe there are additional questions about the vehicle if you answered yes to the questions about it being purchased from a junk/salvage yard or about the title being unclean.

More interestingly is her use of the car being driven back in instead of the ability to be driven.

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My sense is that everyone (on both sides of the Settlement) wants to get this issue resolved and behind them.

And, given how quickly this Settlement was put together and (tentatively) agreed upon, there are logistics that don't make sense.

In the end, it's all about getting TDIs off the road, so I'd imagine that the bias of eligibility is going to be--in large measure--in favor of the TDI vehicle owner to get rid of the car as expeditiously and painlessly as possible.

Rich

trrubicon06 said:

Yes, it will definitely be interesting. I'm going to closely monitor this forum and and any news on the settlement. Luckily my closest dealer is located in the city with side streets around it and plenty of space to trailer it and drive it in.

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Don't forget your complimentary roadside service from the Goodwill package.
Worst case scenario if they won't drop you off a block away is to be dropped off at the dealership, drive around the block, then come back in under the car's own power

bizzle said:

Don't forget your complimentary roadside service from the Goodwill package.
Worst case scenario if they won't drop you off a block away is to be dropped off at the dealership, drive around the block, then come back in under the car's own power

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Good thought, but I want it to be a surprise for VW when I pull up with the car. Like "Hey here's the car...now buy it back."

This part in the Preliminary Approval, basically says I'm good.

Mine is sitting in the garage. Never gets driven. Insured. Total waste of money and space. Its worth 19k on turn in to VW or 6k to the insurance company.

YUCK.

Just another victim here

Totalled mine June 2 and I've been stalling till I could get some clarity.
The first dieselgate rep said I could take the insurance payout and still get the restitution.
I understood it as it just had to be Totalled before June 28.
Then I called one more time before dropping off the title and that guy informed me I should have given them the title before June 28... So glad I didn't trust the other guys suggestion.

So now I'm going to see if I can get the car back. I think it drives. I was T-Boned.

4.2.2. Certain former owners who sold or transferred ownership of their Eligible Vehicles after September 18, 2015, but before June 28, 2016 (i.e., Eligible Sellers), will be entitled, if they do not opt out of the Class, to a portion of the Owner Restitution for their Eligible Vehicles. Any owner whose Eligible Vehicle was totaled and who consequently transferred title of his, her, or its vehicle to an insurance company on or after the Opt-Out Deadline, but before the end of the Claim Period, will be entitled to Owner Restitution but not a Buyback payment.

Sounds like you would have gotten Seller's restitution had you transferred the title to the insurance company before 6/28, but now you're in no-man's land. If you can hold the title until September 16th (Opt-Out Deadline) you'll at least get the restitution payment back.

speedrye said:

4.2.2. Certain former owners who sold or transferred ownership of their Eligible Vehicles after September 18, 2015, but before June 28, 2016 (i.e., Eligible Sellers), will be entitled, if they do not opt out of the Class, to a portion of the Owner Restitution for their Eligible Vehicles. Any owner whose Eligible Vehicle was totaled and who consequently transferred title of his, her, or its vehicle to an insurance company on or after the Opt-Out Deadline, but before the end of the Claim Period, will be entitled to Owner Restitution but not a Buyback payment.

Sounds like you would have gotten Seller's restitution had you transferred the title to the insurance company before 6/28, but now you're in no-man's land. If you can hold the title until September 16th (Opt-Out Deadline) you'll at least get the restitution payment back.

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So you're saying if I am able to process the claim after 9/16- I could take insurance payout plus full restitution?

At this point I was going to see if it drives- have it towed and wait till October to turn it in for buyback and full restitution assuming my titles still clean

Steam Engine said:

So you're saying if I am able to process the claim after 9/16- I could take insurance payout plus full restitution?

At this point I was going to see if it drives- have it towed and wait till October to turn it in for buyback and full restitution assuming my titles still clean

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That's the way I read it. I think you'd get more in the insurance payout plus restitution, especially if you can wait a while longer. The used-car values on these cars are skyrocketing due to them all being snatched up for the buyback. Negotiate the heck out of their valuation of the vehicle. They're now hard to find, and the ones that aren't already sold are expensive. If they use those vehicles as a basis for your vehicle's value, you'll probably end up with a few thousand extra bucks over what you'd have made on the buyback. Don't let them sell you on NADA or KBB values or any of that crap since those values aren't up to date on what they're actually selling for currently. Make them actually find you a similar car on the market as a replacement and determine value that way.

Thanks Speedrye
I was pleased that they were willing to up their payout to match the buyback calculation.

Oh wow, good deal for you. Mind if I ask what insurance company did that?

speedrye said:

Oh wow, good deal for you. Mind if I ask what insurance company did that?

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The other drivers insurance is Farm Bureau

Well someone just smashed the tail end of my wife's JSW.

How are people handling the situation with their insurance co's?
If the bank owns it, the check goes to the body shop?
But if we own it, the check goes to us?

So if I pay off the loan right now, I should be in the clear with the loan and the VW settlement? Or does that screw me somehow?

bizzle said:

Well someone just smashed the tail end of my wife's JSW.

How are people handling the situation with their insurance co's?
If the bank owns it, the check goes to the body shop?
But if we own it, the check goes to us?

So if I pay off the loan right now, I should be in the clear with the loan and the VW settlement? Or does that screw me somehow?

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Hope your wife is okay. Hopefully the car is just damaged and not totaled since that seems to be a bigger issue. I think you'd be best to pay the loan off now so that the car doesn't have to be fixed. That allows you to pocket the insurance money if desired and still do a full-value buyback, though some people here seem to be morally opposed to this.

Thank you for the concern. I'm taking her in to the hospital just as a precaution but she feels ok. Our 2 month wasn't in the car thankfully. It shouldn't be totaled, it's just a bumper and hatch so I'd be surprised if they totaled it.

Anyone have any information updates? We are sitting on our Jetta until at least Sept. 16th. Then, it's either file the insurance claim or wait to drive it in. My biggest concerns with the buyback are the condition of the car and also when my spot in line will happen. I'd rather not pay $340 plus insurance every month until it happens.

@trrubicon06: No news on my front.

As for the condition of your vehicle, as long as it's operable (and you hold a clear title), you're eligible to participate.

Not sure if you can, but in my case, I canceled all insurance on my TDI.

My tentative return date to my dealership is slated for 11/1/2016. Let's hope that date sticks. Of course, I'd expect some sort of confirmation before then.

Rich

richbl said:

@trrubicon06: No news on my front.

As for the condition of your vehicle, as long as it's operable (and you hold a clear title), you're eligible to participate.

Not sure if you can, but in my case, I canceled all insurance on my TDI.

My tentative return date to my dealership is slated for 11/1/2016. Let's hope that date sticks. Of course, I'd expect some sort of confirmation before then.

Rich

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That's the same date the claims site gave me, but I'm sure that's just a date to make people feel good. I can't cancel insurance, because I'm still making payments on it. It is required to have full coverage under the loan contract...most do. Also, if I decide to total it after Sept. 16, then I will need the insurance. Wish I could get a definite answer on salvaged title eligibility from VW. Every phone conversation I had with them, could only net exactly what it says about salvage before Sept 2015.

trrubicon06 said:

That's the same date the claims site gave me, but I'm sure that's just a date to make people feel good. I can't cancel insurance, because I'm still making payments on it. It is required to have full coverage under the loan contract...most do. Also, if I decide to total it after Sept. 16, then I will need the insurance. Wish I could get a definite answer on salvaged title eligibility from VW. Every phone conversation I had with them, could only net exactly what it says about salvage before Sept 2015.

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My TDI was totaled after 6/28, which is one of the critical milestone dates.

In my case, while it's still operable, I'd be disqualified if my car held anything but a clean title: no brands, which includes salvage.

BTW, if you want to speak with the VW attorneys directly, I have the phone and email addresses of quite a few, including the lead counsel (see my posts earlier in this forum about the outcome of those conversations).

Had I opted to settle with the insurance company, I could've received a payout and transferred title, or a payout while retaining title. However, in the latter case, that title would be a branded title of salvage.

I'm playing a game of chance in that I would rather stay eligible in the VW Settlement Buyback Program because I stand to lose less (~$6K less) through the buyback than through insurance settlement.

Hardly optimal, though, in that this game of chance will last at least into November, and there's no guarantee that the Settlement won't change for the worse, or the actual buyback won't get pushed back in the calendar.

Certainly not a great way to put an end to my otherwise-great TDI experience.

Rich

Have you signed anything declining the settlement offer? When my wife was in a rollover we had two years to accept or decline the settlement offer. I used nearly a year to negotiate a hefty settlement amount from them (a little over $10,000 for a geo metro, which ended up paying off her Master's degree!).

I'm waiting to see what the claims adjuster says about the JSW that was just smashed from behind. The bumper and hatch are crushed and the left tail doesn't operate (although no visible damage). The credit union says they don't care what I do with the settlement check as long as I pay the loan off and the insurance company says they'll send the check directly to me as long as it isn't a total loss.

Depending on how everything pans out I should be able to delay the insurance settlement until I'm satisfied with the numbers and/or until the deadline from VW has passed. For anyone else in this kind of situation, don't sign any papers accepting or declining a settlement offer until you're safely in the VW settlement window and certain it's what you want to do.

bizzle said:

Have you signed anything declining the settlement offer? When my wife was in a rollover we had two years to accept or decline the settlement offer. I used nearly a year to negotiate a hefty settlement amount from them (a little over $10,000 for a geo metro, which ended up paying off her Master's degree!).

I'm waiting to see what the claims adjuster says about the JSW that was just smashed from behind. The bumper and hatch are crushed and the left tail doesn't operate (although no visible damage). The credit union says they don't care what I do with the settlement check as long as I pay the loan off and the insurance company says they'll send the check directly to me as long as it isn't a total loss.

Depending on how everything pans out I should be able to delay the insurance settlement until I'm satisfied with the numbers and/or until the deadline from VW has passed. For anyone else in this kind of situation, don't sign any papers accepting or declining a settlement offer until you're safely in the VW settlement window and certain it's what you want to do.

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Nothing signed. Email exchanges and phone conversations only.

With the VW Settlement looming, above all else I wanted to keep my TDI, and only asked for a tow from the auto repair shop back home again. And then a tow from home to the VW dealership when it's time to make the return.

That said, good to know that a settlement decision can be stretched out. Is that two-year limit a federal requirement or insurance company policy?

Regardless, it was not mentioned in our settlement conversations to date, perhaps understandably given that it doesn't appear to favor the insurance company.

Good insight.

Thanks

Rich

The two years was the statute of limitations in Oregon. Without checking, Washington's statute of limitations should be the same or similar.

Yes, they will not want you to drag it out. I would ask them directly what the deadline is because you want to be sure that no medical issues crop up later. I've had friends who didn't exhibit symptoms from their accidents until a year or more after they accepted the settlement and then they were left paying for all their medical treatment out of pocket.

If you weren't in the car during the accident then that wouldn't be a concern.

If you have to pay anything for these tows remember that you have three years of complimentary roadside assistance from VW as part of the goodwill package. You can use that to tow your vehicle in to the dealership.

richbl said:

In my case, while it's still operable, I'd be disqualified if my car held anything but a clean title: no brands, which includes salvage.

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This is not correct. Branded titles are excluded only if (1) the title was branded on or before 9/18/15, and (2) the car was sold by a junkyard or salvage yard after 9/18/15.

DanB36 said:

This is not correct. Branded titles are excluded only if (1) the title was branded on or before 9/18/15, and (2) the car was sold by a junkyard or salvage yard after 9/18/15.

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This is what the Settlement hotline kept telling me, but could not answer if it was still eligible if it is branded after Sept 16th.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

If the brand first happened after 9/18/15, the title was not branded on 9/18/15. Therefore, the branded title does not make the car ineligible.

The last person who crashes and totals his car just before the Sept 16 deadline should earn the Henry Gunther Memorial Award

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Gunther

So do we still not have a definitive answer if salvage titles affect the buyback? I've been getting mixed answers from everyone I talk to/everything I read.

My accident was May 28 but I've been stalling the insurance company since then. I just contacted them about the salvage option but now I don't know if that will exclude me. Grrrr.

laur216 said:

So do we still not have a definitive answer if salvage titles affect the buyback? I've been getting mixed answers from everyone I talk to/everything I read.
My accident was May 28 but I've been stalling the insurance company since then. I just contacted them about the salvage option but now I don't know if that will exclude me. Grrrr.

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Similar situation but car may be driveable.
Spoke with one of their lawyers today and she said don't turn over the title to them for the payout at all at this point. I would only get half of the sellers restitution even if it occurs after the opt out date.
She said to stall until after the opt out date and settle with insurance to keep the car and limp in on Nov 1. She said title status won't matter in that situation...

DanB36 said:

This is not correct. Branded titles are excluded only if (1) the title was branded on or before 9/18/15, and (2) the car was sold by a junkyard or salvage yard after 9/18/15.

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I have a rebuilt branded title issued back in 2014 (bought it rebuilt 2 years ago from a dealer)..submitted info/registered with vw.(accepted I guess) got a settlement value of right at $20,000. it is a 2011 jetta ..sunroof..nav.. etc..in mint condition..40,000 miles on it now..so it WAS branded before 9/18/15 and IS included I assume.. although settlement quote is somewhat less than I had hoped for

forrest resto`s said:

I have a rebuilt branded title issued back in 2014 (bought it rebuilt 2 years ago from a dealer)..submitted info/registered with vw..got a settlement value of right at $20,000. it is a 2011 jetta ..sunroof..nav.. etc..in mint condition..40,000 miles on it now..so it WAS branded before 9/18/15 and IS included I assume

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Take another look at Dan's quote. There is an AND between the two conditions (he even bolded it). Both conditions need to be true in order for your car to be excluded. Yours is included because only one condition is true.