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Customers and Dealers Respond to Volkswagen Scandal

Oct 21, 2015

What are the reactions of Volkswagen owners and dealers to being deceived by a company they believed in?

Customers who have bought Volkswagens for the first time recently, and, even more, customers who have been loyal to the company for years, are expressing disappointment and outrage over the recent scandal in which Volkswagen has admitted to rigging its diesel engines to “fool” U.S. emissions tests.

One California owner, Bob Rand, purchased his Volkswagen Passat last year not only for its high gas mileage, but for its clean emissions. He feels totally duped by the auto company he had so much faith in, and is now trying desperately to unload his fully-loaded vehicle for $10,000 under what he paid for it. Even at such an exceptionally deflated price, he has been unable to sell it.

Rand, who plans to join a class-action lawsuit again Volkswagen, is appalled to find that a firm he had respected and recommended to others was “not above lying just flat out.” According to him, “That’s probably about as bad a thing as a company can do is lie to your face when you’re buying a $35,000 car.” Rand is not alone in his anger. Customers all around the country are up in arms about the situation, experiencing financial loss and humiliation when their intention to purchase a car that was both efficient and good for the environment backfired.

Tension among private dealers, wholesalers and car owners across the country is rising quickly. Especially troubling is the fact that the Volkwagen defect was intentionally engineered, premeditated to trick consumers and dealers alike. Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation, the leader of the largest auto retailer chain in the U.S., takes the position that many people had to have been involved in this dangerous trickery. “It’s not a rogue employee,” he states, “It’s a systemic failure [that] took a lot of meetings…a lot of engineers …a lot of software programmers…and went on for multiple years.”

Meanwhile, dealers, as well as car owners, are deeply concerned. Although not all Volkswagens are affected with the emissions control problem, private dealers are worried not only about how to deal with a crowd of dissatisfied customers, but how to cope with the portion of their inventory that has become unsalable.

Cars that are defective at purchase have always been a costly and emotionally draining problem. If you are undergoing the stress of having purchased a lemon, please get in touch with a Lemon Law attorney as soon as possible.

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