Volkswagen deemed car 'unrepairable' with a def system fault code

[kathie659]

Thanks for the helpful comments everyone! After almost two months of going back and forth with Volkswagen Canada I've accepted a credit towards a new vehicle. I was hoping to stick with a TDI after all of this, but they are offering thousands more in credit than I originally paid five years ago for my passat.

where are they buying back 2013?

 

[herbie2]

I have a 215 vw sportwagen that I bought new in June 2017 after the fix, I’ve been waiting on a def tank since last October. I’ve been driving a loaner for last 3 months. Vw Canada is talking about buying my car back , I’m waiting for an offer, but not sure what to expect? I love my car 140000 klm, still like new

Hey Reggie, Hello from Vermont, how you making out with getting your part in Canada ? Im going on 17 months in a loaner vehicle, like you and others I'd really like my car back, nothing else like it. Stressing out that VWOA is not giving any parts updates as they had done for about 14 months of expired part ship anticipation dates. I heard from a dealer that they've been getting tanks for the sedans but not the Sportwagens.

 

[TurboABA]

Im going on 17 months in a loaner vehicle

 

[MrCypherr]

Its funny because if you look at how much the rental car alone is costing them, it would be cheaper to buy the car back before dumping even more money into repairs cause its going to need brakes, tires and a battery from sitting that long. I think if I did the math right, its around $15,000 for the rental for 17 months. Something like $30 a day for 510 days roughly.

 

[TurboABA]

its around $15,000

That barely covers a dinner outing for one of the Execs making these decisions....

You guys keep enjoying your free rides as you'll never get another deal like this again.

 

[MrCypherr]

After meeting and speaking with I assume is one of the people in charge of making the decision, the process doesnt make quite much sense to me. But I guess how it was explained to me, they look at it as how much is it to buy back vs how much it is to fix it/rental. Which at this point showed me that money isnt an issue regardless of what it is.

 

[TurboABA]

It's a numbers game.
Some things, you can write-off, so "potential savings" may be worth less than potential tax write-offs.....
I also don't know if the dealers have any limits on how much they might get paid for "loaner use".... so if I'm a dealer and corporate pays me $30/d to let these people drive cars off my lot indefinitely before I get to sell it, sounds like a gravy train to me!
Some owners tap out easier than others... they get frustrated, don't want to wait any more, take lower buyouts, or get rolled into a new vehicle...
Very few owners do their homework and fight\argue\whatever to get what they deserve or can out of it..... most don't.

So overall, the big wigs are still winning....

 

[MrCypherr]

A theory I have is that these buyback cars are shipped off somewhere where things are more 'relaxed' and they can get away with clearing things off the cars. I doubt ALL of them are crushed. Some owners get annoyed cause if they are driving a TDI and they are given a gas car and they do alot of driving, Seems like id be annoyed with having to fuel up more often.

 

[TurboABA]

I've had AEM, I've had rentals, I've had loaners..... sure, they suck in comparison to what I like to drive and own, but they are free.
At the end of the day, I'd have no issue driving something I don't like which costs me nothing but fuel (gas is cheaper these days anyway, so other that fill range, you're not really loosing much)..... I also don't have to maintain it, wash it, worry about wear and tear... etc.

I no longer have AEM coverage, but if anything would've had happened while I was covered that resulted in me driving a rental or loaner for 2 years while not putting wear on my stuff, waiting for thousands of dollars of free replacements, I would've been just fine with it. I'd enjoy all the savings from not maintaining anything, servicing anything, replacing anything, wearing anything out, etc.

 

[MrCypherr]

That is true. Didnt look at it like that. I wouldnt complain either especially like you said, cost of fuel has gone down and you arent paying for anything else on the car. Guess I didnt look at the big picture lol

 

[TurboABA]

Like I said... been there, done that. Would do it again.

 

[Mystery Machine]

My DEF supply line was leaking under the hood of my 2015 Golf TDI S. I have an OBDII scanner and I had a permanent 203B code. I had gotten that code about 9 months ago. About a week and a half ago, they replaced the line and the pump that had overheated because of the leak. They did a bunch of recalls too. They had the car for 2 full days. Earlier this week, they called me and wanted me to bring it in for some additional programming they didn't have time to do when they had the car. After about an hour at the dealership, the service manager came out and told me I was looking at a buy back.

 

[MrCypherr]

Did they tell you what they were programming? Was the additional programming going along with recalls? I dont think youre allowed to start a recall, release the car and have the customer come back. Doesnt seem like correct procedure. What did they tell you was the reasoning for the buy back?

 

[Mystery Machine]

They did not tell me what the programming was for. I think they wanted it back to possibly see if they could fix the code. I'm not sure. The reason for the buy back is because the manufacturer that made the tank with sensor, stopped making them after VW stopped selling TDIs in the US. The service manager told me they had another manufacturer try to make the tanks with the sensor, but all the prototypes have split at the seam. I don't know if they're still trying to make them. I'll find out more tomorrow or Tuesday.

Edit: They may have had me bring it in to make sure I hadn't made any modifications to the DEF system. I was told if I made any modifications to the DEF system, VW wouldn't buy it back.

 

[turbobrick240]

Take the loaner vehicle if you're not satisfied with the buyback offer. The dieselgate settlement made no provisions for VW struggling to source parts.

 

[MrCypherr]

Makes sense. I believe we have one vehicle here waiting for a DEF tank thats been on backorder for I think almost a year? Most likely going to need tires and a battery for sure. Brakes I think are going to be shot.

 

[Mystery Machine]

Take the loaner vehicle if you're not satisfied with the buyback offer. The dieselgate settlement made no provisions for VW struggling to source parts.

I'm thinking of taking a loaner. I was just going to buy a new Jetta and hold on to the Golf for a hopeful repair.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Oh you can fix them.....

I hope so. I have a 2015.

 

[MrCypherr]

I hope so. I have a 2015.

It involves losing a couple parts.

 

[oilhammer]

Rapid weight loss program, and a bit of a lobotomy... they'll be fixed forever.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I also live in Massachusetts, so inspections are strict.

 

[MrCypherr]

Hmm, I know there is tunes that work with/around the emissions system so it stays intact but I'm not sure if this includes anything bypassing or 'relaxing' the DEF system.

 

[oilhammer]

My friend's Ecodiesel Ram has an "everything intact" tune that eliminated the SCR. It's just along for the ride. But, they could only do it with the MPG tune, otherwise over time the NOx adsorber would get gunked up. But it essentially has EGR set to 0, DEF dosing set to 0, fueling at less than stock levels most of the time, and it only needs the DPF regen about a quarter of the time it did when new. And it gets 30+ MPGs, that's with a Gem top on the [long] bed, and a ladder rack bolted on top, and a bunch of tools. I think it still runs just as good as ever power wise.