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Court Says Volkswagen Must Repay in Full a Diesel Golf Sold in 2012

In early November, a new piece of legislation came into effect in Germany, allowing class action suits to be filed against companies engaged in wrongdoings. That means a green light for organizations to sue Volkswagen, for instance, for its involvement in the Dieselgate scandal.
2012 Volkswagen Golf 1 photo
Photo: Volkswagen
Ever before that piece of legislation came into force, Germans have taken the carmaker to court, asking judges, among other things, to force Volkswagen to buy back the cars it sold years ago.

In October, a Stuttgart district court ruled that one of Volkswagen’s brands, Porsche, must buy back a Cayenne diesel sold in 2014, for an amount from which a reasonable compensation was to be deducted. This compensation was meant to account for the time during which the vehicle was used.

Earlier in November, a court in Augsburg ruled that Volkswagen too must buy one of its cars back, a 2012 diesel Golf, only that it will have to repay the buyer the full 30,000 EUR paid at the time of the purchase.

The judge found that the carmaker acted immorally by installing the now-famous defeat device to cheat diesel emissions and indirectly increase its sales, according to Autonews.

Volkswagen is not used to losing court battles on this subject. The company claims that of the around 9,000 trials it was involved in on this subject, very few have ended with the courts ruling in favor of the buyer.

As for the decision of the Augsburg, the carmaker says there is “no legal basis for customer complaints,” as buyers have not suffered any loses or damages as a result of cheating.

The source does not say whether Volkswagen can appeal the decision.

For the German carmaker, the problems in Europe regarding Dieselgate are likely just beginning. The EU is a far trickier sea to navigate than the U.S., where after paying billion the Germans were able to settle most claims.

The Europeans have fined Volkswagen too, but that does not shield the carmaker from people taking it to court.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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