Buyback or Fix?

[cdzero]

I want to hear your opinions. My 2012 VW Jetta TDI has 125,000 miles on it. There are a few minor things that need to be fixed but for the most part it is an excellent, well taken care of, car. I am debating whether to sell it back to VW or take the fix. One one hand, if I decide to sell, I will have to go an get another car to replace it and the truth is that I really like my TDI. On the other hand, if I decide to fix, I am afraid that there are a lot other things that will need "normal maintenance" in the near future and I might end up losing the opportunity to replace for a newer car. What do you suggest?

 

[2010TDI]

It looks like KBB says the private party value for your car is between $6,066 and $8,555 in good condition and with an automatic.

One of the online buyback calculators says that the buyback value for your car is $16,817 and that the modification payment is $5,292.

It seems like getting almost $17k for an six year old car with 125k on the clock is a no brainier to me. My guess is that the $17k is $4 - $6k less than what you paid new, so you can think about it as if you only paid $666 to $1.1k a year to own a car (after getting the buyback).

No shame in taking the fix and keeping the car if you like it. Extended warranty and $5,292 in your pocket is not bad. Fix it and drive it another four years and it will have cost you $1.5k to $1.8k to own a car for 10 years and 200k miles. That's not bad, but still seems almost twice as expensive as the buyback.

If your car was $21k when new, you would have to drive it for 23.5 years for it to cost $666 per year, and if it cost $24k when new you would have to drive it for 17 years to bring the cost down to $1.1k per year. Do you plan on driving your car for another 17.5 to 11 years while still doing ~20.8k miles a year?

There is a lot more to consider with the value proposition... I guess you just need to decide if you think you car is a $17k car or a $5k car, or just ignore the whole thing and keep driving (probably not the best choice ).

 

[akjdouglass]

Hopefully you have initiated the process here: https://claims.vwgoa.com. Time is of the essence at this point.

2010TDI gave you all the information you need to make a decision. You have to decide what is best for your situation.

I considered replacing one of my cars with an older vehicle and pocketing 75% of the buyback cash.

Alas, I took the greedy route:
- buyback on both vehicles
- purchase newer TDI's with less miles as replacements.
- pocket approx. 15% more money than I would have by simply getting the fix.

I don't recommend this approach unless you somehow enjoy the pain of purchasing a vehicle. The additional money I pocketed doesn't even come close to covering my time invested in replacing both vehicles. I don't regret it, but there are many things that would've been much more enjoyable than shopping for 2 cars.

 

[cyclopropene]

How are your tires? Brakes? DSG or manual? If DSG, have you done the 120k service? Timing belt is coming up.

I’m in a similar situation with my 2012 Golf. I just rolled over 120k and if I kept it I would need tires, brakes, DSG service, timing belt and a battery this year or early next. If I sell it back, I will get about $21k, which is more than what I paid for it CPO in early 2014, nearly 100,000 miles ago.

If I keep it, those maintenance items will consume a significant chunk of the restitution payment. With the ~22k miles per year that I drive, in a little over two years I will have a 9-year-old car with 175,000 miles on it, an add-on emissions system and no more extended warranty (48k miles for gen 1).
Or, I can take that $21k buyback and buy another Golf with low miles, which is what I am likely to do.

I love the car, but the economics don’t make sense to keep it. I’d consider keeping it if I did my own maintenance, lived in a state where an emissions delete was overlooked, and could get an upgraded fuel pump. That’s not my situation, however. Your situation may be different, but it sounds similar and I would recommend selling it back.

Happy motoring!

 

[sands80]

Hopefully you have initiated the process here: https://claims.vwgoa.com. Time is of the essence at this point.

I thought the deadline is September 1st to file a claim- then you have till December to get repair done - if one chooses the repair. Is this not enough time?

 

[TDIforDays]

I thought the deadline is September 1st to file a claim- then you have till December to get repair done - if one chooses the repair. Is this not enough time?

Thats correct.

 

[GoFaster]

Given the various issues and headaches and delays that others have encountered, I STRONGLY advise anyone who has not started the process of filing a claim to do it NOW, and do every step of the process as soon as it becomes possible.

4 weeks to drop-dead deadline.

 

[flargabarg]

I thought the deadline is September 1st to file a claim- then you have till December to get repair done - if one chooses the repair. Is this not enough time?

Those are the deadlines, but VW suggested that you start the process by August 1 to successfully complete it on time. And I think it might be September 1 to schedule, which requires getting documents accepted.

 

[Rico567]

I can't advise you what to do with your Jetta, only relate what we're doing. The short version is that we're turning in our Passat for the buyback money next Tuesday, but we did the registration and made the decision about what to do very early.
Although VW has given us extended warranties on certain components (we've had to use the heater core warranty once), doing the buyback on a car that is 5 years old with almost 80K miles on it, and getting only a few thousand less than we paid new makes it a pretty easy decision.
The car (our first diesel) has been a good one, no question. However, the complexity of the systems on the CR diesel doesn't bode well for maintenance, either.
So we're taking VW's money, and are moving back to a gas car, having bought a new 2018 Honda Accord, which seems to be a very nice car.
I can only endorse what other people in this thread have recommended, that you get the registration process going NOW.

 

[2010TDI]

Those are the deadlines, but VW suggested that you start the process by August 1 to successfully complete it on time. And I think it might be September 1 to schedule, which requires getting documents accepted.

https://claims.vwgoa.com/#/login

CLAIM DEADLINE – SEPTEMBER 1, 2018. All claim information and required documents must be submitted.

OFFER LETTER DEADLINE – DECEMBER 1, 2018. Deadline to submit signed and notarized offer letter for review.
If you do not “Submit” documents in time, your claim may be marked ineligible.

All your claim documents have to be submitted by September 1st, which means if you submit them on August 31 and there is an issue with something you may be SOL (there is some wiggle room with their use of quotes around submit and the word "may"). I think you would want to take the safe route and submit everything ASAP (as everyone keeps repeating) so that you can at least have an approved offer before the end of the month. You then have until December 1 to submit your signed offer, which again, there is no point in waiting as you can submit it as soon as you have it and then schedule an appointment for December if that is what you want. You could even go through the whole process and then decide you don't want to sell the car back/do the fix later in the year, but that decision will have been made for you by VWoA if you don't get everything submitted by the deadline.

 

[fr@nknb33n$]

Get rid of it. Take the money and run. Too many stories of problems after fix. Also, when are you EVER going to get that much for that car.

 

[AronS]

I did the fix and don’t regret it, especially with the additional warranty coverage. If I did the buyback, I would have ended up with less cash in my pocket to get something as good or better, not to mention the time and the increased insurance cost to get a newer vehicle. If you have to borrow money, that is an additional expense. The point is the extra money you get from doing the buyback vs. doing the fix and selling it on your own can evaporate quickly, depending on what you have done on your car, what needs to be done, as well as what you replace it with. So, deciding on whether the fix or buyback is more cost effective depends on your situation.

 

[S2000_guy]

Get your claim filed NOW. There is an option to change your choice between buyback and fix after the claim is filed. But the deadline is to have a COMPLETED claim filed before September 1. If you submit the required documents and there is is any problem with their receipt of the documents, you have to correct it before September 1. If they request any extra documentation (because of a prior owner, rebranded title, or anything else) you have to have them approved before September 1.



Bottom line: complete your application immediately. You can make the buyback/fix decision later but you MUST complete your application NOW.

 

[ksing44]

It looks like KBB says the private party value for your car is between $6,066 and $8,555 in good condition and with an automatic.

One of the online buyback calculators says that the buyback value for your car is $16,817 and that the modification payment is $5,292.

It seems like getting almost $17k for an six year old car with 125k on the clock is a no brainier to me. My guess is that the $17k is $4 - $6k less than what you paid new, so you can think about it as if you only paid $666 to $1.1k a year to own a car (after getting the buyback).

No shame in taking the fix and keeping the car if you like it. Extended warranty and $5,292 in your pocket is not bad. Fix it and drive it another four years and it will have cost you $1.5k to $1.8k to own a car for 10 years and 200k miles. That's not bad, but still seems almost twice as expensive as the buyback

^^I think these are reasonable calculations, but they fail to include the cost of a new car and the depreciation of that vehicle over 4-years if someone keeps driving their TDI. For example, I'll probably get a new GTI to replace my TDI. The car will likely cost ~$30K. After 4 years, it will have lost a lot of value, $10K to $15K! Of course that will happen sooner or later, but I delayed that expense for 4-years by taking the fix and the extended warranty. Considering the cost of car ownership over an extended period of time, I think keeping the car can be a cost-effective decision. Also, I still enjoy driving the car.

 

[marmur99]

^^I think these are reasonable calculations, but they fail to include the cost of a new car and the depreciation of that vehicle over 4-years if someone keeps driving their TDI. For example, I'll probably get a new GTI to replace my TDI. The car will likely cost ~$30K. After 4 years, it will have lost a lot of value, $10K to $15K! Of course that will happen sooner or later, but I delayed that expense for 4-years by taking the fix and the extended warranty. Considering the cost of car ownership over an extended period of time, I think keeping the car can be a cost-effective decision. Also, I still enjoy driving the car.

I actually think those calculations are not fully accurate.
Buyback payment ($16817) is a sum of NADA value and restitution payment ($5292).
The restitution portion is already yours. You will get it if you select buyback and if you select the fix. Since, this money is already yours, let's not talk about it.

It means, they are offering you ~$11.5k for getting your car, which is approximately worth $7k. If you plan to keep it for next 4 years, its value will probably go down to ~$4.5k. So, cost of owning the car for the next 4 years is $7k + maintenance.
If you go with the buyback, you need to secure the difference in price between the new car and $11.5k that you get from the buyback. Unless it's 0% loan, it is a cost too (even if you have funds, it will cost you lost interest).
In 4 years, your brand new car's maintenance will be less expensive, but a new car may depreciate even 50%. I suppose that's more than $7k.

Economically, I believe it makes more sense to get the fix and stick to your car as long as you can.

 

[ksing44]

Economically, I believe it makes more sense to get the fix and stick to your car as long as you can.

^^That's the point I was trying to make, but maybe I didn't say it as clearly as I could have. I kept mine, but I like it enough to keep on driving. I think for some people this is a justifiable time to get out of the car if they don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine.