RE:justincredible
Sorry for the delay. I can take you through the settlement as it effects me.
I’ve owned the Q7 since new. Lessees and owners after a certain date are treated differently. The magic date is September 2015. I believe that’s when CAFE (Califonia’s version of the US EPA) and EPA brought the class action against VAG. Not to get too much into info that’s in the public domain, but VAG and Bosch were accused and admitted to doing a cheat or workaround when the vehicle is hooked up for emissions testing. The govt agencies were representing the owners, lessees and the environment. The irony is that even the “dirty” TDIs are cleaner than most gasoline engines.
The September '15 is the timeframe used to essentially freeze the value of my Q7. Regardless of wear and tear and mileage. The value of the car, based in VIN…was set at that time. Let’s say that’s an even $35K. The suit says that VAG has the opportunity to create a fix. In this case, it’s supposed to be a new an ECU retune. The fix cannot materially change the performance of the vehicle…according to the lawsuit. The problem is that EPA and CAFE, both of which have already been paid, are the sole arbiters of whether the “fix” is acceptable. There’s a date sometime soon when VAG them the fix.
Meanwhile, after proving ownership of the car, I met a VAG representative at the dealership that I’ve selected to do the potential (if approved) fix. Once I had that meeting, I was opting into the class action. I was paid half of what is essentially the cost of the fix. Once the fix is complete, I receive the other half. In addition, once I had that meeting the car was put on a powertrain warranty that covers it until the fix is made. The actual fix is no cost to me. The fee that I receive is basically restitution…I think about $9k. In parallel, Bosch sent a check for $750. Cashing the Bosch check opts me into the suit against them.
Back to the approval of the fix…VAG believes they can and will have a fix for my generation of 3.0L TDI (Gen 2). If they do, I get the fix (collect the second half of the restitution)…or not…and go my merry way. If VAG cannot get a fix approved in a certain timeframe (I forgot the dates), the situation changes to a buy-back or trade-in scenario. The buy-back and trade value is the value set in September 2015, plus the tax spent originally on the car. So…potentially $35K (value) + $9K (restitution) + $?? (Sales tax). It’s a brutal lawsuit against VAG.
Anecdotally, some other generation TDIs (2.0 and 3.0L) have had the buy-back, trade situation. VAG cannot resell them. They are being chopped up. I’ve also heard that the generations with approved fixes have killed performance and mileage. Whether you are required to get the fix depends on the state you live. California requires it.
The 3.0L TDI is a great engine. I imagine it would be tremendous in an A6 or A8. It pushed the Q7 effortlessly. I will probably get the fix and rush it to APR for a tune (paid for by the restitution).
Hopefully, this was helpful…and mostly correct. There is a lot of information out there on the settlement. VAG has very good about communicating and being responsive to the class. I suspect that’s more to do with 3rd party administrators of the process.
Finally, I have no idea how “new” owners would participate. I do know that you’d love the engine in any platform.
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