I haven't been in here since my car was turned-in, but this thread intrigues me.
Unfortunately, I don't think this issue is going to be resolved quickly. It's interesting that it took VW this long to start flagging branded titles. The issue could have been easily resolved upfront with less ambiguous language. Also, VW should not be changing the rules midstream. Perhaps they are simply wanting a more stringent process for reviewing branded titles.
Here is my take on what is most likely going on. Looking at the language in the settlement, the following owners are excluded:
(c) Owners whose Volkswagen or Audi 2.0-liter TDI vehicle (i) could not be driven under the power of its own 2.0-liter TDI engine on June 28, 2016, or (ii) had a Branded Title of Assembled, Dismantled, Flood, Junk, Rebuilt, Reconstructed, or Salvage on September 18, 2015, and was acquired from a junkyard or salvage yard after September 18, 2015;
Here is the other definition under Operable that applies:
“Operable” means a vehicle that can be driven under its own 2.0-liter TDI engine power. A vehicle is not Operable if it had a Branded Title of Assembled, Dismantled, Flood, Junk, Rebuilt, Reconstructed, or Salvaged on September 18, 2015, and was acquired by any person or entity from a junkyard or salvage yard after September 18, 2015.
Take the first part. Excluded if the title was branded on 9/18/15, meaning the car was rendered totaled prior to the issue being public. You would think if they had written the language to exclude all of these cars, including cars with rebuilt titles, they would have written this as:
"(ii) had a Branded Title of Assembled, Dismantled, Flood, Junk, Rebuilt, Reconstructed, or Salvage on September 18, 2015,
OR (iii) was acquired from a junkyard or salvage yard after September 18, 2015;"
But they didn't because I believe the FTC and EPA wanted any cars with rebuilt titles off the road. But if that was case why not just allow rebuilt titles to be eligible but exclude other total loss vehicles?
What about cars totaled after 9/18/15 after the scandal became public? I think the intent of the settlement, knowing that insurance companies would base payments on current blue book values, was to make owners whose cars were a complete loss due to accident, theft, etc whole by allowing them to recover the restitution payment for this event. This at least allowed folks whose cars were totaled after the settlement approval in June 2016, to go two routes, fix the car and make it operable, thus getting the full buyback amount or work with VW and the insurance company and get the insurance reimbursement plus the full restitution amount. Regardless all of these scenarios exclude the AND part of the language regarding buying from a junkyard.
Now the AND part is interesting as opposed to OR. By adding this line to the settlement language, the courts essentially opened a gaping loophole that allowed any car totaled after 9/18/15 to be purchased at salvage yards, auctions, junkyards etc, to be turned in for full buyback regardless of title branding, assuming it moved under its own 2.0L power. It also opened the loophole for cars totaled and purchased from junkyards prior to 9/18/15 to be eligible for the buyback. IMO, the intent of this language was to prevent people from buying cars sitting in junkyards prior to 9/18/15 from being bought up and repaired for the purpose of exploiting the buyback after the scandal was public. But since the courts wanted people who were exposed to the scandal post 9/18/15 to be able to be made whole if their car was totaled, this exclusion didn't apply.
Realistically VW is now trying to perform deeper dives on branded titled cars to ensure they meet the criteria. I believe anyone with a car that was not both totaled prior to 9/18/15 and purchased from a salvage yard after 9/18/15 and is operable will get the full buyback value. By forcing you through the claims board they will essentially ensure you meet the criteria. My guess is they were not doing a deep dive on branded title cars prior to this due to manpower and being overwhelmed. Besides in the initial rush there probably weren't that many branded titled cars being pushed through. Now that things are slowing down, they can spend more time reviewing each case. For anyone trying to do a buyback on a branded title car you are most likely going to need the vehicle's complete history proving it meets the criteria. If you can't show the date the title was branded and its procurement history after 9/18/15, you may be rejected. I recommend anyone in this situation to get as much documentation on the history of the car as possible to present to the claims board. Here is what you will need:
1. If the car title was branded before 9/18/15, provide proof of ownership transfer since the branding. In other words, even if it was purchased from a salvage dealer, show that transaction occurred before 9/18/15.
2. If the car was branded before 9/18/15 and purchased from a salvage dealer after 9/18/15 (I would imagine VW is going to get more liberal about what exactly is a salvage dealer, including auction houses and insurance companies), even if the car is now repaired you most likely will be excluded. Good luck selling your branded title TDI on the open market.
3. If the car title was branded after 9/18/15, provide evidence of the date the title was branded. In this case VW will most likely do 1 of 2 things. Either (a) they will require the car to have a rebuilt title or some other evidence of road worthiness such as current registration (see all the posts about wrecked cars), or (b) will offer to pay the restitution amount only and not execute a full buyback.
Item (b) is defined in the settlement this way, but again leaves a loophole with the wording about transferring title to the insurance company. The settlement does not explicitly address the situation of agreeing to a lower insurance payment and keeping title of the vehicle for yourself. I do not know if by issuing a salvage title if that consitutes "transfer of title to the insurance company." Legally it may.
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.
Bottom line, I think VW didn't give a lot of consideration to branded title cars and initially erred on the side of leniency with accepting these for buyback. Legally the loophole is wide open for cars that were totaled prior to 9/18/2015 as long as they were acquired from the "salvage/insurance/auction/wherever" prior to 9/18/2015. It's also wide open for cars branded after 9/18/2015 purchased from anywhere. Where some of you may find yourself screwed is if you purchased a branded vehicle from a salvage dealer after 9/18/15 and the prior owner has already received restitution for that vehicle, under item (b) above. Legally, I'm not sure VW has to pay twice for the same vehicle, even though you may have now made it operable. Good luck figuring that one out. Most likely, that is why the claims board is now getting spooled up.