Thinking about initiating a class-action lawsuit against VW...

[AnyMal]

I want to make clear that my intent is not to get rich. I only want to force VW to do right by its customers

Here is the issue. I own a 2000 VW Golf with 56,000 miles on odometer that was purchased brand new. I've had problems with this car from day one. The biggest one is high oil consumtion; it goes through about 1 quart of oil for every 1000 miles. The dealer was trying to assure me this is "normal". They replaced the oxygen sensor, mass airflow sensor to no avail. Until know, I thought my problem was unique, however doing a quick search on Google revealed dozens postings from people in the same situation. The worst thing is, VW will not aknowledge the problem and insructs its dealers to tell customers there is nothing wrong with their cars. So... I am contemplating initiating a class-action suit against VW and demand they either fix the problem, buy cars back, or replace cars.

Since this is something completely new and unknown to me I wanted to ask you guys for any advice. Has anyone here been in similar situation and how would you go about it.

Thanks.

 

[wyvrn]

I assume you have to get a lawyer first. He/she would probably know more about filing it than anybody else. That will cost you money unless you find someone willing to take a percentage of the payout. If you collect your facts and have a good case, a lawyer would probably chance it. Do you know approx. what % of people have these problems? It's going to have to be substantial if you want a chance at winning the case, I would guess. You will also need other people to testify with you.

 

[CraigRT]

set the car on fire and collect insurance.. never deal with the worthless company they are and tell everyone else to do the same!

VW sucks the BIG ONE!

 

[AdamSnow]

Volkswagon sucks major ass...

I'll tell you a story...

Saturday, February 1st... Driving around with a friend, telling her to tell her friend that wants to buy an Audi TT, to NOT buy one because they're total garbage... I was telling her about the stories, the problems, etc. etc. everything bad about the car's... Now this totally surprized me, and she was pretty shocked as well... not 10 minutes later, there's a traffic problem... in the MIDDLE of an intersection there's a brand new black Audi TT with it's hood up and it's 4 way's on... broke down... SOOOOO funny...

So yeah... Buy a Dodge.

 

[BatmanNate]

Hah hah. I remember only months ago this whole forum was full of VW fanboys, like that NightFlierGTI idiot. Chew on this.

(And good luck with your lawsuit, hopefully VW will be forced into doing the right thing)

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
Hah hah. I remember only months ago this whole forum was full of VW fanboys, like that NightFlierGTI idiot. Chew on this.

(And good luck with your lawsuit, hopefully VW will be forced into doing the right thing)

sure hope so too.. then maybe some respect will be regained.
too many sites like myaudittsucks.com and vwlemon.com.. alot of complaints out there. cars AND dealers. it's really brutal.
i'd for sure never own one in this current state of things.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
Hah hah. I remember only months ago this whole forum was full of VW fanboys, like that NightFlierGTI idiot. Chew on this.

(And good luck with your lawsuit, hopefully VW will be forced into doing the right thing)

Hey now, i'll gladly admit that i used to be a VW fanboy.

That all changed about 2 months ago when my 2002 VW Passat broke down twice (for the same problem), and then while being fixed the second time the dealer got into an accident with my car while one of his tech's took it for a joy ride.

Dont get me wrong, i love driving my passat, but i will never buy another VW.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
Hah hah. I remember only months ago this whole forum was full of VW fanboys, like that NightFlierGTI idiot. Chew on this.

(And good luck with your lawsuit, hopefully VW will be forced into doing the right thing)

Hey now, i'll gladly admit that i used to be a VW fanboy.

That all changed about 2 months ago when my 2002 VW Passat broke down twice (for the same problem), and then while being fixed the second time the dealer got into an accident with my car while one of his tech's took it for a joy ride.

Dont get me wrong, i love driving my passat, but i will never buy another VW.

they got into an accident with your car?
oh my god, that's SO mental... i'd have flipped right out for that!!!!
man, VW dealers = utterly useless!!

 

[bmacd]

don't forget to check National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

-=bmacd=-

 

[AnyMal]

Thank you for all suggestions so far. I am still doing my research browsing car websites and reading about people's problems. It seems that at issue is a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine which burns the oil like crazy. Also, lot of people had oxygen sensors and mass air flow sensors replaced within couple of years. Funny thing is, while VW has 10y/100,000 mile powertrain warranty, it only covers "lubricated" parts, something they forget to mention during the sale.

Again, I do not want a multi-billion dollar lawsuit; I want VW to admit to a problem and find a reasonable solution. Are there any non-profit organizations that may be willing represent folks in situation like that?

 

[McCarthy]

Pretty sad when VW's craftsmanship fell from the time they used slave labor to the time they hired and paid German workers to assemble their cars.

Original VWs, nice designs, bad history. New VW, poor designs, apt to be viewed poorly in history for different reasons.

 

[Jzero]

Just remember that there's only ONE winner in a class action suit. And it's not the plaintiffs.

I have a lawyer friend who has a hierarchy of how he'd like to get rich, and how likely it is to happen. It's like this:

1. Hit the lottery - Least likely to happen, most money.
2. Wife dies, cash in on life insurance. - Could happen. Not as much money as lottery, but still a pretty good take.
3. Class action lawsuit. Most likely to happen before wife dies and lottery numbers hit. Slightly less money than the insurance, but still a good take.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Yield

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
Hah hah. I remember only months ago this whole forum was full of VW fanboys, like that NightFlierGTI idiot. Chew on this.

(And good luck with your lawsuit, hopefully VW will be forced into doing the right thing)

Hey now, i'll gladly admit that i used to be a VW fanboy.

That all changed about 2 months ago when my 2002 VW Passat broke down twice (for the same problem), and then while being fixed the second time the dealer got into an accident with my car while one of his tech's took it for a joy ride.

Dont get me wrong, i love driving my passat, but i will never buy another VW.

they got into an accident with your car?
oh my god, that's SO mental... i'd have flipped right out for that!!!!
man, VW dealers = utterly useless!!

HERE is a thread about it.

 

[Kaervak]

Damn. I really want to get an older (99 ish) A4. Never knew Audi's had so many problems.

 

[The Stigenator]

my friend dan has the same problem.. he has to take it in every 1000 miles for them to keep an eye on it..

i will tell him about this page. this sucks.. cause i want a jetta.. sometime in teh future.. ofcoruse I wil get the V6 version.. screw 4 bangers.

 

[Nemesis77]

I love VW's . And we (Euros) don't seem to have any weird problems with them. Sure there may be occasional problem-car but most of the time they seem reliable, and they (well, all european cars are) are heads and shoulders above the japanese when it comes to fit & finish, looks and drivability.

 

[AnyMal]

Well, it gets scarier. Here are some other common problems owners of 2000-2002 VW's share:

1. Shoddy electrical systems. Not uncommon for people to replace headlights 2-3 times a year. I have gone thru 3 myself so far.

2. Airbag assembly. Warning light comes on and stays on permanently. People get different run-arounds. Someone was even told that they had wrong airbag and harness installed (WTF?!!)

3. Peeling plastic from door handles. (Happened to me too)

4. And of course the grand one - almost no oil left in a pan after appx 3,000 miles. BTW VW recommends an oil change every 5,000 miles. All I can say is "huh?"

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: Nemesis77
I love VW's . And we (Euros) don't seem to have any weird problems with them. Sure there may be occasional problem-car but most of the time they seem reliable, and they (well, all european cars are) are heads and shoulders above the japanese when it comes to fit & finish, looks and drivability.

Yeah I wonder the same thing when I come into these threads - I never heard of such problem here and VW is actually known for reliability. Maybe theý just send the junk that didnt pass QA to the States - just kidding off course they aren`t doing that.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: Nemesis77
I love VW's . And we (Euros) don't seem to have any weird problems with them. Sure there may be occasional problem-car but most of the time they seem reliable, and they (well, all european cars are) are heads and shoulders above the japanese when it comes to fit & finish, looks and drivability.

Here is some suggested reading for you:
one
two

That should suffice for now.

 

[The Stigenator]

Originally posted by: AnyMal
Well, it gets scarier. Here are some other common problems owners of 2000-2002 VW's share:

1. Shoddy electrical systems. Not uncommon for people to replace headlights 2-3 times a year. I have gone thru 3 myself so far.

2. Airbag assembly. Warning light comes on and stays on permanently. People get different run-arounds. Someone was even told that they had wrong airbag and harness installed (WTF?!!)

3. Peeling plastic from door handles. (Happened to me too)

4. And of course the grand one - almost no oil left in a pan after appx 3,000 miles. BTW VW recommends an oil change every 5,000 miles. All I can say is "huh?"

#4 was exactly what happened to my friend..

 

[Nemesis77]

Originally posted by: AnyMal

Originally posted by: Nemesis77
I love VW's . And we (Euros) don't seem to have any weird problems with them. Sure there may be occasional problem-car but most of the time they seem reliable, and they (well, all european cars are) are heads and shoulders above the japanese when it comes to fit & finish, looks and drivability.

Here is some suggested reading for you:
one
two

That should suffice for now.

I assume the first website is about VW's that have problems. There are problems in just about all cars, regardless of the company that makes them. And I do read VWvortex semi-regurarly .

Like I said, we don't really have problems with VW's.

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

I've had problems with this car from day one. The biggest one is high oil consumtion; it goes through about 1 quart of oil for every 1000 miles. The dealer was trying to assure me this is "normal".

At that rate, you would have no oil left at the 5,000 mile oil change time. WTF are they smoking at the dealership?

 

[billandopus]

Originally posted by: B00ne

Originally posted by: Nemesis77
I love VW's . And we (Euros) don't seem to have any weird problems with them. Sure there may be occasional problem-car but most of the time they seem reliable, and they (well, all european cars are) are heads and shoulders above the japanese when it comes to fit & finish, looks and drivability.

Yeah I wonder the same thing when I come into these threads - I never heard of such problem here and VW is actually known for reliability. Maybe theý just send the junk that didnt pass QA to the States - just kidding off course they aren`t doing that.

VW has a great reputation ... in Europe. VW has had somewhat mixed reviews in North America it would seem.

I hope I don't jinx myself after reading this thread. I've got a 99.5 Jetta (new bodystyle) and it's been relatively trouble free except for a couple of minor things.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Class-action lawsuits are nothing but a cash cow for the lawyers involved. They will not be interested in getting VW to apologize and fix the affected cars, because that would not lead to their enrichment - as a practical matter, the lawyers involved in filing class-action suits get megabucks, and generally the plaintiffs receive very little.

 

[Amused]

I have a 99 Passat GLX. It's been flawless.