I can understand why owners of 2010/2011 180 Cali's find this fault hugely discomforting, but prospective buyers do not need comprehensive details on the precise numbers affected, conditions etc to recognise that this age/type appears to carry greater risk (how much will likely never be determined) and that should you be one of the unlucky ones, the penalty could be in excess of 7K. The interests of buyers and owners/sellers are completely different in relation to this issue. Buyers are inclined to avoid risk (unsure of how big it is) and sellers may be inclined to want this little discussed until there are hard, verifiable details, because it affects residuals.
To me, the only way both groups would benefit is for VW to be forced into a blanket agreement as to how to remedy affected vehicles i.e. "VW promises to pay 70% of the repair on all affected vehicles as long as they are under X age and/or under Y miles". That would reduce the risk to both buyers and sellers.
This is precisely what happened with the Leica M9 (a 6,500 Euro German camera) and sensor cover glass corrosion. The design of the cover glass on the sensor meant that some corroded. Lots of people got upset when the issue first broke because it 'ruined resale values', but eventually Leica was forced to admit that ALL M9 sensors could develop this fault because it was a construction/design defect. They took the view that in order to maintain their reputation they would do the right thing and initially offered a sliding scale of % of the repair cost depending on the age of the camera when the corrosion appeared. Later they agreed to replace all affected sensors with a new cover glass design (at huge cost to them and no cost to the owner) regardless of the age of the camera. Many cameras are soldiering on with the original sensor just (as is mine), but this does not mean that mine will not fail, for reasons that were present the day it rolled off the construction line, at some point in the future. This decision restored confidence in the Leica brand and also meant that used prices are just fine, because Leica will repair any sensors affected by corrosion regardless of age or number of owners.
To swing this in the end users favour, it is essential to make lots of noise and group together, not try to downplay it in the hope it won't affect residuals (the latter being good for VW). I suggest that it in the interests of ALL 2010/11 180 owners to approach VW as a large and worried group, seeking answers (because VW will likely know very well the details owners currently lack). We can be sure that some of those owners will end up being affected even if their Cali is fine now. While 50-70K is the mileage being bandied around, this may well not mean that owners of 80K mileage 180 2010/11 models are home and dry.
My suggestion: mobilise and pressurise. A 50 thousand pound vehicle that fails at 50,000, or even 80,000 miles is 'not fit for purpose' and I suspect this has 'successful class action lawsuit' written all over it. If not, VW will just get away with fighting you all individually, where you are at a huge disadvantage.
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