Some military members and government personnel who own or lease recalled Volkswagens and Audis are finding that being stationed overseas makes it more complicated to participate in the recall — especially as they must pay up front to ship their cars back to the U.S.
The manufacturer will reimburse owners stationed overseas for shipping costs, Volkswagen Group of America spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan told Military Times, but for many, those costs could run at least several thousand dollars.
It could be cumbersome for others, too: Service members overseas with their cars stateside, or those about to undertake a permanent change-of-station move, could encounter problems with, or connected to, the recall process. The claim deadline for the 475,000 vehicles listed in the first part of the recall, out of about 558,000 total, is Sept. 1, 2018.
Two different settlement agreements apply to the vehicles' use of alleged "defeat devices" to cheat emissions tests, in violation of the Clean Air Act and California law. The recall process was approved by a federal court in late October for the first settlement, involving 2.0-liter diesel vehicles. Another pending settlement was announced in December for about 83,000 3.0-liter diesel vehicles, but the details of the second recall process haven't yet been approved.
A hearing for the complete settlement and details of the recall process is slated for February.
YOU AND YOUR CAR
Volkswagen officials have been addressing a variety of situations involving service members with the initial recall, Ginivan said. To date, VW estimates about 200 service members are overseas with their vehicles, Ginivan said. It's unknown how many other service members are affected overall, such as those with pending deployments.
Those who own or lease affected Volkswagens and Audis have two options: Volkswagen will buy back the car or, if it's leased, end the lease without a termination fee; or, a dealer can perform a free modification of the car, if available, to fix the problem. Owners and lessees, both current and former, also may qualify for cash payments under the settlement.
Either way, if you want to comply with the recall and get paid under the terms of the settlement, the car must be stateside. The implications of having to pay up front to ship the car back to the U.S. are large, "not just for our family who may be in a better position to do this, but those families of airmen with young children," said a Volkswagen owner stationed in Germany, who is a veteran and a Defense Department civilian. She's received quotes ranging from $1,500 to $9,000 to ship their car to the U.S. She requested her name not be used because she's concerned it might affect the amount of her settlement from Volkswagen.
She and others have questioned why they can't just turn their cars in to a local dealership in Germany, home of Volkswagen headquarters.
"If the customer wants a buyback but does not want to ship the car, Volkswagen is currently assessing these situations and possible options on a case-by-case basis," Ginivan said. The customer should contact their dedicated specialist assigned to them as military personnel when they submit their claim online, to discuss their situation, she said.
For those who elect to ship their vehicle back to the U.S., the owners can sign a limited power of attorney to someone who can conduct that buyback transaction in the U.S.
BATTLING THE BACKLOG
Some customers have complained on social media about a delay in processing their claims. About 75 percent of the owners of those 475,000 cars submitted paperwork within the first two weeks, creating an initial backlog, Ginivan said. Volkswagen is close to catching up on that paperwork she said.
Volkswagen, as part of the settlement with the government, was required to put additional procedures in in place for service members on assignment overseas.
Some of the common situations Volkswagen has been addressing regarding service members:
- There have been "a few cases" where the service member and car are in the U.S., and the service member is facing a pending deployment, Ginivan said. The settlement team was able to accelerate the service member’s buyback appointment, she said. Otherwise, if the service member and car are both in the U.S., the normal process for buybacks and modifications applies.
- If the service member is deployed and the vehicle is in the U.S., one option is for the service member to sign over limited power of attorney to someone who can conduct the buyback transaction on their behalf.
- Service members who have moved from the state where they bought the car to another state are able to take it to an authorized facility near their current location, because there is no requirement to take it to the original dealer.
SHIPPING CONCERNS
This recall situation doesn't qualify for shipping the vehicle at the government's expense. Generally, the government pays for the cost of shipping vehicles for service members and other personnel only when they are being reassigned to or from overseas.
But this recall, like all recalls, could affect service members about to make such a move.
Officials strongly advise service members to contact their local Vehicle Processing Center well in advance of shipping to find out whether the recalled vehicle can be shipped, said Robert Wieland, a spokesman for the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, a division within the U.S. Transportation Command that is responsible for the process of shipping privately owned vehicles to and from overseas for DoD PCS moves.
Wieland advises that if possible, the recall should be taken care of quickly. He also suggests that if a service member has a vehicle under recall, they shouldn't ship it overseas before the recall is addressed.
There's not a definitive "yes" or "no" answer as to whether the shipping contractor, International Auto Logistics, will ship the vehicle. IAL makes the individual determination. Information was not available from IAL officials about their policy, though IAL's website stresses tracking recalls for safety and fire concerns, neither of which apply to the alleged emissions infractions.
Generally speaking, "Vehicle Processing Centers will not ship a vehicle with safety concerns, or existing manufacturer recalls," Wieland said.
These settlements were the results of actions filed by the Justice Department on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency, in an effort to get the high-polluting Volkswagen diesels off the road.
Volkswagen helps schedule the appointment for the buyback or the lease termination. Those who currently lease one of the affected vehicles can opt to terminate their lease without an early termination penalty if the lease is through Volkswagen Credit Inc. or Audi Financial Services.
For information about the claims process for these recalls, visit www.vwcourtsettlement.com/en/. To start the claims process, visit https://claims.vwgoa.com/#/.
For questions about how the transaction will take place, contact Volkswagen at 844-982-5246.
RECALL LIST
To be eligible, a vehicle must be operable, meaning that it can be driven on its own engine power. Additional requirements regarding the vehicle's title also apply. The following 2.0-liter TDI engine vehicles are included in the settlement and may be eligible:
- Beetle and Beetle convertible (2013-2015)
- Golf (2010-2015) and Golf SportWagen (2015)
- Jetta (2009-2015) and Jetta SportWagen (2009-2014)
- Passat (2012-2015)
- Audi A3 (2010-2013, 2015)
The following 3.0-liter diesel vehicles are included in the most recent settlement, with details for the recall process to be determined:
- VW Touareg (2009-2016)
- Audi Q7 (2009-2015)
- Porsche Cayenne (2013-2016)
- Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5 (2014-2016)
Karen Jowers covers military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times. She can be reached at kjowers@militarytimes.com .
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
