# VW Diesel investigation



## DC-IT (Sep 27, 2009)

magbarn said:


> Geez, Canucks have it rough, not only do they pay much more for their cars, they also get less "freebies"


That is so true, even more so now that our CAD$ is worth more than your US$ The 335D is sold here without any rebates and I paid over CAD$57,000 + 13% Taxes for it.:bawling:



anE934fun said:


> Another way they get screwed is no Lemon Law coverage. If they get a lemon, they have to dump it and eat whatever they lose in the bargain.


We do have CAMVAP Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan to resolve disputes between cunsumers and car manufacturers.


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## anE934fun (May 10, 2008)

DC-IT said:


> We do have CAMVAP Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan to resolve disputes between cunsumers and car manufacturers.


But do you have the authority to *compel* the manufacturer to repurchase the lemon from the consumer after a reasonable number of failed attempts to repair a defect in the product?


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## bayoucity (Jun 11, 2010)

DC-IT said:


> That is so true, even more so now that our CAD$ is worth more than your US$ The 335D is sold here without any rebates and I paid over CAD$57,000 + 13% Taxes for it.:bawling:


Just curious, what if you purchase a vehicle in US & drive in Toronto? Since you live fairly close to the border, the worst case scenario you can always get services in the south, right?

It might be off topic, but I'm just wondering if there is a law preventing Canadian from buying car south of the border. Please educate me on this issue if you are not too busy.


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## DC-IT (Sep 27, 2009)

bayoucity said:


> Just curious, what if you purchase a vehicle in US & drive in Toronto? Since you live fairly close to the border, the worst case scenario you can always get services in the south, right?
> 
> It might be off topic, but I'm just wondering if there is a law preventing Canadian from buying car south of the border. Please educate me on this issue if you are not too busy.


Every year tens of thousands of vehicles are imported from the US into Canada 'cos of the cheaper costs.

Then you have to make some modifications to comply with the Canadian standards + Metric gauges for Km/Hr etc.

The draw back is you have to pay the full value of the vehicles + taxes + any duties as the US dealers can't lease or finance the car.

But overall you can save easily $10K or more for the high end cars.
It may not be worth while importing a lowly 3er since one can lease a 323i for $398/month here.

For example my 335d (Premium + Exec Package + Nav) so it has leather seats but no sports package costs me CAD$57,000.00 + 13% Taxes=CAD$64,410.00.
Included in the $57K is Tire & leather warranty + tinted windows + clear bra.
We don't get any $4,500 eco rebates.
Any idea how much I would save had I bought it from the US?
Obviously there won't be any free 80,000KM or 50,000 Miles free maintenance at any Canadian dealers.

I decided that it was too much of a hassle and bought locally to get the 80,000KM free oil change + maintenance as well as build up a good relationship with the local dealer.

Besides shopping in your own backyard helps the local economy and helps keep more people working?:angel:

The economy here in Toronto is red hot and property prices have gone through the roof 'cos interest rates for mortgages are at all time low and unemployment is under control.
2010 was a boom year here for luxury vehicles and the first year that Mercedes out sold BMW.


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## DC-IT (Sep 27, 2009)

anE934fun said:


> But do you have the authority to *compel* the manufacturer to repurchase the lemon from the consumer after a reasonable number of failed attempts to repair a defect in the product?


The process goes through arbitration.
The Arbitrator will decide if the vehicle is a lemon and not fixable.
In which case the manufacturer has to replace/buy it back.
I believe there have been cases where the car was bought back by the manufacturer.
I'll do some research and post back.


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## anE934fun (May 10, 2008)

DC-IT said:


> The process goes through arbitration.
> The Arbitrator will decide if the vehicle is a lemon and not fixable.
> In which case the manufacturer has to replace/buy it back.
> I believe there have been cases where the car was bought back by the manufacturer.
> I'll do some research and post back.


The problem with arbitration (even south of the Canadian border) is that if the manufacturer can make a credible argument that the condition is not a lemon and the arbitrator believes the manufacturer, the consumer is SOL. In California, there is a presumption that after 4 failed repair attempts (or 30 days total time in the shop for all repairs), the car is a lemon if the first repair failure occurred within the first 18 months/18,000 miles of ownership. The manufacturer has the burden to prove otherwise. Since the manufacturer is covering the consumer's legal expenses the moment the car qualifies for lemon law jurisdiction (the 4 failed repair attempts/30 days total time in the shop), the manufacturer just cuts their losses and the car is repurchased.

Maybe I am hyper-sensitive to the whole lemon law situation because of my experience with water leaks in my ex-E93, but I could just see how an arbitration hearing would go on the water leaks "...convertibles leak water. If you had wanted a car that didn't leak water, you should not have gotten a convertible...." My chances of success in those circumstances would have been 50-50 at best.


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## DC-IT (Sep 27, 2009)

You're absolutely correct that we Canadian consumers are at a disadvantage without a similar lemon law protection.
Not only do we pay more for our cars we have less protection if it turns out to be a lemon!
Maybe I should just move over to Florida and enjoy the sun shine & cheaper cars, gas/diesel & housing.:thumbup:


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## 62Lincoln (Sep 26, 2004)

windammer said:


> Volkswagen told the government that the problem could be related to gasoline contamination from drivers pumping the wrong fuel. The investigation began in August.


This line will be poorly received in the TDI community. The community have been aware of the fuel pump problem for some time, and have identified the Bosch fuel pump as the culprit. There are people in the TDI realm that are well informed on this problem, and VW will get taken to task. This is not to say that there haven't been owners who have mistakenly fueled with gas, but VW's assertion that this is the primary cause of the problem will go over like a fart in church in the TDI community.


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## DnA Diesel (Jul 31, 2010)

62Lincoln said:


> This line will be poorly received in the TDI community. The community have been aware of the fuel pump problem for some time, and have identified the Bosch fuel pump as the culprit. There are people in the TDI realm that are well informed on this problem, and VW will get taken to task. This is not to say that there haven't been owners who have mistakenly fueled with gas, but VW's assertion that this is the primary cause of the problem will go over like a fart in church in the TDI community.


+1

VW will pay for that BS assertion. I was part of a class-action to make VW accountable for flawed MAFs on 199.5-2004 ALH 1.0L TDIs, in my case my 2001 Jetta TDI. VW maintained it was a wear item, and that we had to buy replacements ($450+ in Canada at the time). That was clear BS, the hot-film MAF's were clearly inferior quality parts. VW tried to hold out...the Class-action group reattacked, via the EPA...basically charging that VW now had a responsibility under the 7 year/70,000mi emissions warranty to replace the MAF as an emission-conformity issue as NOx was proven to increase substantially when the engine went into limp-mode due to a failed MAF --  Take that, VW! It was with great pleasure that I went into the very same VW dealer who told me it was a wear item, and picked up a brand new 1.9L TDI MAF courtesy of the 7yr/70k emissions warranty!

The same will happen with VW's latest attack on its customer base...it's only a matter of time.

Frankly, I hope the TDI-loving public punishes VW for this betrayal of loyalty. 

Regards
D.b


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