Skip to main content

No (Four) Pot of Gold: Some Volkswagen Diesel Owners are Stuck Between Borders

U.S. owners of illegally polluting Volkswagen diesels have already flown to sunny vacation spots or picked up a new vehicle with the help of buyback and compensation checks. North of the border, over 100,000 Canadians who own a 2009-2016 TDI model are waiting for their cut of a $2.1 billion settlement.

However, Volkswagen’s “we’re sorry” gravy train isn’t rolling into everyone’s driveway. Some owners are finding that their vehicles are stuck in a cross-border limbo.

Consider the plight of a Toronto-area woman who picked up a used fifth-generation Jetta in July of 2015. Just two months after getting into her new ride, Jacqueline Charlesworth, like so many others hoped to drop the model in exchange for cash.

Unfortunately, taking part in VW’s self-shakedown proved difficult. Seventeen months after the scandal went public, Charlesworth still owns the car, with no guarantee of a payment. The problem lies in the vehicle’s American VIN, and the fact that it’s now registered in Canada.

“I’m really stuck in between two worlds,” the owner told CBC.

Charlesworth found she wasn’t able to take part in the Canadian settlement, as her car hails from the U.S. No problem, as Volkswagen offered her $13,425  from the American settlement pot. Confident in knowing that her car would soon be gone and her compensation money would soon be in the bank, she bought a replacement vehicle.

That’s when her plans went south.

Two weeks ago, Volkswagen sent a letter explaining that it couldn’t offer her the money, as her car was registered in Canada before the September 2015 cut-off date. That’s a big problem, as Charlesworth planned to use the money to support her family. Since receiving the letter, she has attempted to sell the car online, only to find that no one wants to buy a “scandal car.”

Meanwhile, she hasn’t heard anything more from the company, nor has she heard back from lawyers contacted in an attempt to recoup the cost of her Jetta. Volkswagen Canada hasn’t replied to CBC‘s requests to find out if the automaker plans to bring marooned owners like Charlesworth into the Canuck settlement.

The number of owners trapped in the cross-border loophole is small, but their headache isn’t a minor one. According to David O’Connor, partner at Roy O’Connor LLP, one of many firms working on a class action lawsuit against Volkswagen, 15 to 20 clients have contacted law offices in Canada for this exact problem.

A version of this article first emerged on The Truth About Cars

The post No (Four) Pot of Gold: Some Volkswagen Diesel Owners are Stuck Between Borders appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2kMQ6DH
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Saying Goodbye to the CC V6

For all its size and its global reach, Volkswagen is still, in many ways, a deeply human company. There was, for instance, the Bugatti Veyron an ego project if ever there was one. Then the purchase of Ducati, a move most called folly. And then there was the Phaeton, the Volkswagen that most folks can’t afford. Not only were these moves all strange, I’m sure that they made VW’s accountants furious. None of them made good business sense, but they were all deeply interesting and they all are evidence of the heart that beats at the center of VW. Among these follies is the CC, a car that everyone agrees is rakishly handsome, but that no one really wanted to buy. The car couldn’t last, but the world is brighter for its having been in it. With the approach debut of the Arteon, it seems like a good time to look back on its sadly departing predecessor. The version I drove, because I live in Canada, is a V6 Wolfsburg Edition, which apparently isn’t available in the States. Nor is the V6, not as...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan

Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Mitsubishi , Fuel Efficiency , Japan Mitsubishi says its shady fuel-economy test practices may have been used on all vehicles it sells and has sold in Japan. Continue reading Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 May 2016 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/21X3bHv
Post a Comment
Read more

More 3.0-Liter TDI Settlement Details Expected by January 31

Volkswagen and the TDI Plaintiff’s Steering Committee were in court today for another status conference following the agreement in principal reached earlier this week. Little new information was given at the conference held before Judge Charles Breyer today, but the court ordered the parties to develop a formal settlement agreement, class action notices, and a class notice plan by January 31, 2017. For now, though, owners still don’t know how much to expect in compensation. Elizabeth Cabraser, lead Counsel for the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee reaffirmed in a statement today that the compensation would be “substantial.” The potential cost to Volkswagen is widely reported to exceed $1 billion, though, with an additional $225 million going into an environmental trust to help offset excess emissions. Buy back offers are still only expected for the oldest 20,000 of the roughly 80,000 VW Group vehicles sold in America with the 3.0-liter TDI engine. Those vehicles are mostly SUVs, like ...
Post a Comment
Read more