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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho VW owners eligible for buybacks, emissions fixes, payments, under settlement

Idahoans who own certain models of Volkswagens and Audis from model years 2009 through 2015 are eligible for cash payments of $5,100 apiece and having their cars either purchased from them, or modified to fix emission problems. It’s part of a 43-state settlement announced today by Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, over violations of consumer protection laws; Volkswagen sold diesel vehicles in the U.S. that were equipped with a “defeat device” to circumvent emission standards. And the company tried to conceal the existence of the device from regulators and the public, marketing the vehicles as “green” and in compliance with pollution standards.

“The scope of Volkswagen’s fraudulent actions was unfathomable,” Wasden said in a statement. “Ensuring that companies make truthful statements and claims about their products is important to consumers and essential for the marketplace to work properly.”

The settlement, which includes the federal government along with the 43 states, requires Volkswagen to launch a national restitution and recall program for more than 475,000 people who purchased the vehicles, including 2,506 purchased in Idaho. The company also will pay Idaho $2.6 million in civil penalties; the payments to Idaho consumers are estimated at $12.8 million.

Owners of the cars will get a choice of either a buyback of the vehicle based on pre-scandal value; or modifications to fix the emission systems along with an extended warranty and coverage against future problems with the modifications. Volkswagen also agreed, under the settlement, to pay $2.7 billion into a trust to support environmental programs to reduce emissions in the U.S.; and to invest more than $2 billion over the next 10 years into developing non-polluting cars.

Full details of the settlement are online here. The affected vehicles include VW Jettas, Golfs, Beetles and Passats and Audi A3s.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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