Dealer said can't take car with aftermarket wheels...

jheen

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Salem, OR
TDI
Jetta 2012 TDI Sedan
Had my appointment scheduled at VW of Salem (Oregon). Drove up and parked out front. Salesman greeted me and told him I was there to turn in my TDI. He walked me in and pointed me to the gentleman doing the turn-in. He said hello and immediately asked me if I had the OEM wheels for my car. The wheels were 17" chrome MSR's. He told me VW doesn't want to buy back cars without OEM wheels on them and that I might need to buy a set of takeoffs from them. I told him I have read a lot about the scandal and nothing I read said aftermarket wheels weren't acceptable. He continued to talk about the takeoffs...and I again mentioned I looked into it and thought he was wrong. He said he'd try to call VW and try to get permission to buy it back, he didn't want to get in trouble. So he left the area for about 5 minutes...mind you this is at 4pm in Oregon on a Friday. I'm not sure who at VW (headquarters I assume) is going to be working at 6 or 7pm their time. He came back and said he got permission and its only oversized wheels they won't accept because wheels like 20's can damage the car. What a crock of BS! 15 minutes later I had my check and was on my way.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? Seems like a little scam that dealer is trying to pull attempting to sell takeoffs to people turning cars in.
 

flargabarg

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
TDI
2011 Touareg Lux TDI
Yep, the dealer is full of it. You might want to call the class action assistance line and report them, or email the attorneys. Interfering with a court settlement isn't well looked upon.
 

Rico567

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 13, 2003
Location
Central IL
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium (Turned in 7/7/18)
Even though the buyback went through OK, if this happened to me I would call the CAS lawyers and report it, as well as make a report to the BBB. All the dealer was doing was trying to sell a set of wheels and lying through their teeth.
 

edge130

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Location
northern NJ
TDI
Wife's 2009 Jetta TDI sedan (2009 - 2017)
When I went to the buyback appointment, I also brought with me a sheet a paper with the name, phone number of the class action layer I had conversations with written in very large print, which I placed in front of me on the table. Just wanted the buyback specialist to know I was prepared to make a call, right then and now if something did not go as expected.it turned out.

Did not need to, as everything went rather smooth and friendly.
 

Rico567

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 13, 2003
Location
Central IL
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium (Turned in 7/7/18)
When I went to the buyback appointment, I also brought with me a sheet a paper with the name, phone number of the class action layer I had conversations with written in very large print, which I placed in front of me on the table. Just wanted the buyback specialist to know I was prepared to make a call, right then and now if something did not go as expected.it turned out.

Did not need to, as everything went rather smooth and friendly.
Oh, the one buyback I've been to was relaxed and friendly enough (not our car, our son's Jetta- went along to provide a ride home). But one of the reps (there was a man and a woman) casually stated that the collision damage on the car (had been t-boned lightly a year before, enough to ruin both passenger side doors, but leave the car perfectly drivable) might result in a bill for the damages from VW later. We refrained from laughing out loud, we then got the signed paperwork, and left. Our son's EFT transfer went through without a hitch, and he had already collected the insurance company payout for the wreck, so he did just fine.
My inclination would be to pay no attention to what these people might say, as long as the buyback proceeds according to the settlement.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Can 20" rims even fit?

I'll be tossing on my 15" steelies with studded snows this afternoon for my 5:30 appointment.

I'm debating putting back on the stock rear sway bar, I spent 30 min trying to get the bushings back in the bracket two weeks ago and gave up. Sway isn't out of this world bad with out it and it handles the bumps out back way better than the 24mm H&R bar that was on it.



I'll let you know if I hear anything.
 

r11

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Location
NJ
TDI
2012 Passat TDI SE 6MT (BB'd), 2015 Passat TDI SE 6MT
Dont talk to salesmen. They have NOTHING to do with buy back

Talk to "BB specialist" - these have nothing to do with the DEALERSHIP. And it is done so on purpose. On average, between VW & Audi, they have gone through the procedure hundreds of times by now and know everything there's to know.

In your case, there seems to be a healthy enterprise going on between the salesman and the BBS. Wonder how many ppl did they coerce into buying a new set of wheels/tires for a car that is destined for crusher :)

There's no req that BB are to be brought back with OEM tires. Lotsa of folx simply dont have them anymore.

There were reports of 4 doughnut tires being accepted, although that might be pushing it just a bit :)
 
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DanB36

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2003
Location
Savannah, GA
TDI
2014 Q5 Prestige TDI, Monsoon Gray
There were reports of 4 doughnut tires being accepted,
There are also reports of four donut spares being rejected. It does seem pretty close to "stripping" the car. But changing to different, road-worthy wheels? Yeah, this one's BS, and I concur with the suggestion to get in touch with class counsel to let them know.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Typical slimeball dealership tactics. At least you can cross them off the list of dealerships to do business with in the future.
 

jims2321

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Location
Sugar Hill, GA
TDI
2013 VW Jetta TDI 6mt, sold back, replacement 2017 Golf GTI Autobahn
Typical slimeball dealership tactics. At least you can cross them off the list of dealerships to do business with in the future.

Amen... Crap like this is why people shutter and gag when dealing with some stealerships.

When I went to get my wife her new Subbie, The first dealership was so full of crap, I call Subaru NA and complained about them. They kept pull information right out of the arseholes and thought I would actually believe them. I got a referral from a co worker about another dealership. Called the GM, says what is your best price on a 2017 Forester Limited with all the bells and whistles. Call me back and quoted about 1K under dealer price. Told him to write it up, I would be there that weekend and pick it up. Spend 20 minutes doing paperwork, and the dealer threw in a $300 Thule bike trailer hitch, and .9% 60 month financing. Wife is happy, so I am happy.
 

jheen

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Salem, OR
TDI
Jetta 2012 TDI Sedan
Just to be clear it was the returns specialist who said I needed OEM wheels, not the salesman. I will get ahold of the legal council, etc to file a complaint. It was total BS and I hope nobody has fallen for it.
 

jheen

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Salem, OR
TDI
Jetta 2012 TDI Sedan
FTC complaint filed and also with Hagens Berman. Not sure either will really follow up on this, but who knows?
 

Yukon4Runner

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2016
Location
Connecticut
TDI
2010 Golf (buyback) 2015 Golf Sportwagen (buyback buy)
You introduced two characters in your story then used a singular third person pronoun to reference one of them. Most of us understood who were referring to, some didn't.


Just to be clear it was the returns specialist who said I needed OEM wheels, not the salesman. I will get ahold of the legal council, etc to file a complaint. It was total BS and I hope nobody has fallen for it.
 

2015vwgolfdiesel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Location
Oklahoma
TDI
2015 VW Golf S DSG Silver
Even though the buyback went through OK, if this happened to me I would call the CAS lawyers and report it, as well as make a report to the BBB. All the dealer was doing was trying to sell a set of wheels and lying through their teeth.
If it were me, I would contact BBB and write "reviews" regarding the particular VW dealer. yeah yeah the VW dealer is not the fault here. But the VW dealer might be able to put a little heat on her/his back side.

And of course the CAS Lawyers. :p
 

2015vwgolfdiesel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Location
Oklahoma
TDI
2015 VW Golf S DSG Silver
You introduced two characters in your story then used a singular third person pronoun to reference one of them. Most of us understood who were referring to, some didn't.
With respect. <===== (Yes I understand this is not a proper sentence)

Do you teach English?
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
No issues with tire rack steel rims and Artic Claw studded snows.

Took 30 min all said and done, sad day.
 

r11

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Location
NJ
TDI
2012 Passat TDI SE 6MT (BB'd), 2015 Passat TDI SE 6MT
Let the '15 and '17 cars you have adopted, brighten your day :)

You going to post under my "'fess up who got emotional" thread ?
 

STRANGETDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2001
Location
East Hampton, CT
TDI
2013 Audi A3 S-Line Premium Plus Quattro - APR Stage II
No issues with tire rack steel rims and Artic Claw studded snows.

Took 30 min all said and done, sad day.

This is my plan, to use my tire rack 15" steelies with snows and keep my OEM 17s for new snows on my new used Golf R. I would need the 17s to clear the R brakes.
 

petes450se

New member
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Location
Scranton Pa
TDI
2015 Jetta TDI SEL
Got rejected today at my buyback appointment because I had on the space saver spare on without the original wheel in the trunk. I called the buyback specialist on the 800 number and they agreed with the rejection. I asked to provide the documents. The bb specialist put me on hold for 5 minutes. When he came back, he said that it was an internal document and could not share. They said to come back tomorrow with a full-size tire the same size as the others and they will process it again. Just sharing my experience.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Got rejected today at my buyback appointment because I had on the space saver spare on without the original wheel in the trunk. I called the buyback specialist on the 800 number and they agreed with the rejection. I asked to provide the documents. The bb specialist put me on hold for 5 minutes. When he came back, he said that it was an internal document and could not share. They said to come back tomorrow with a full-size tire the same size as the others and they will process it again. Just sharing my experience.
Huh, I returned mine today with all 4 Portos factory wheels. I kept the spare. No problems at all. If you don't make the appt. tomorrow, you're out of luck.
 

CleverUserName

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Location
NorCal
TDI
2014 OZ Cruze CTD & 2010 JSW 6MT & 2017 GMC Canyon CCLB ATX 2.8 Duramax
Got rejected today at my buyback appointment because I had on the space saver spare on without the original wheel in the trunk. I called the buyback specialist on the 800 number and they agreed with the rejection. I asked to provide the documents. The bb specialist put me on hold for 5 minutes. When he came back, he said that it was an internal document and could not share. They said to come back tomorrow with a full-size tire the same size as the others and they will process it again. Just sharing my experience.
I bought (4) steel 5x112 wheels with bald tires for $60 on craigslist 2 months before my buyback appointment. Mounted them and turned it in that way so I could keep and re-sell my VW Exis rims that were mounted.

I also sold the full size spare steelie with a "new" 9 year old tire with full disclosure on craigslist for $45

No problems with my appointment or the fact that the spare was missing. They didn't even check AFAIK.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
The past is the past. Get any full size wheel and tire and put it on and turn it in and be done with it. I don't understand why even try this with tens of thousands of dollars at stake.
 
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