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Dealer Fraud: VW Dieselgate

On Behalf of | Sep 23, 2015 | Dealer Fraud

At this point, I expect that everyone has heard a little something about what is being called DieselGate. VW is in big trouble. VW is accused of programming many of its models to provide false data during emission testing. Misrepresenting vehicle characteristics and benefits is a common kind of Dealer Fraud.

I am currently speaking to affected consumers and am planning to file individual cases. You may have heard that one or more class actions have been filed. In almost all cases, individual claimants recover more than class action claimants.

About 482,000 TDI diesel cars are implicated, including several 2009-2015 VW models and the Audi A3, and consumers, dealers, and others are feeling the effects now playing out.

Here are the basic facts.

On 09/18/2015, the U.S. EPA issued a Press Release laying out a case for a “notice of violation” (NOV) against Volkswagen AG.

At the same time, California is in process of issuing Volkswagen an In-Use Compliance letter based on an investigation that had been opened in May 2014.

At issue was a “defeat device” relying on computer software VW allegedly hoped would never be detected. It was letting cars sail past emission testing.

The models in question are four-cylinder Jetta, Beetle, Golf, and Audi A3s, the EPA said, covering 2009-2015. Passats model year 2014 and 2015 were also included.

Other VW/Audi diesels have not at this time been implicated, but the regulators are investigating other models as we speak.

“Our goal now is to ensure that the affected cars are brought into compliance, to dig more deeply into the extent and implications of Volkswagen’s efforts to cheat on clean air rules, and to take appropriate further action,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

The EPA, reportedly, may find VW up to $18 billion at $37,500 per car for 482,000 model year 2009-2015 diesels sold in the U.S.

VW has issued statements vowing to fix the problem as soon as possible and apologizing. The only thing VW is really sorry about is getting caught.

VW has stopped sales of affected 2015 vehicles. But VW has not indicated what else it plans to do to make things right, beyond stating it expects to issue a recall.

I have heard that fixes are impossible, or would necessarily affect the vehicle’s power and mileage. Customer’s did not in the beginning, and still would not be getting the vehicle they bargained for and are paying for.

If you or someone you know purchased an affected model, or was a victims of any kind of Dealer Fraud, you/they should contact a qualified attorney right away.

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