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[w3526602]

Hi,

There are frequent adverts on TV, asking if I owned a diesel vehicle, and if so, to contact them.

So far, I have ignored these ads.... but I suddenly (an age thing?) remembered my Peugeot estate, and my 2004ish Land Rover Freelander. I'll pay more attention to the relevant dates, the next time the ad is shown on TV.

To my mind, their "Search Criteria" is too broad, but maybe I'm a cynic?

602

Is it worth having a punt?

[Robin]

Only for Diesels which were purchased new between 2009 and 2020.

Just Google diesel claim for more details.

[Alan Drover]

.....and how much of your compensation is taken in fees if your claim is successful. That amount isn't declared.

[fv1620]

I looked at this a while ago & I think you will find that should such a claim progress but not be successful then the manufacturer would seek to recover legal costs from the claimants. Although I think there is some insurance cover against that but if the insurance company can't or won't pay then individual claiments could be persued for legal costs.

[Ian Cunnington]

This is the same as the ambulance chasing "where there's a blame , there's a claim"
Just because one car manufacturer did a cheat mechanism - does not mean any others do - the likely hood of any claim being valid is pretty low

[Big-chris]

My nephew has his name down for Landrover and Mercedes, both cars he bought new, like said above it’s since VW/Audi did the emission cheat, the ambulance chasing legal people are saying there is a possibility other manufacturers have used the same technology to falsify the emissions and so advertised fuel figures which are also in the mystical world which can also reflect in the RFL price bracket the car falls into! The claim is to cover if you were influenced to buy such a car based upon these figures and so you may be able to claim compensation for the misleading statements and for the devaluation if any for the car once the correction have been made and if it affects the resale value?

Only the first registered owner from the point of new sale is applicable I think, I really don’t think much will come of it, too big a  to open and millions to pay out, it will just disappear in time, nephew agrees but was invited to put his name in the hats for both manufacturers with no detrimental affect coming back to him either way so he did… Ambulance chasing at its finest as already said!!

[Wittsend]

I've signed up to one of these.

You have to have purchased the car new and be th current owner.

You have to jump through a lot of hoops. Lots of documents to copy and send in.
You need the original sales invoice showing what you actually paid.
The dealer's details of who sold you the car.
You need to say if the car has been modified or been in an accident.
You need to show the car has been serviced according to the manufacturer's spec.
You need the warranty document.
You need to show the current MoT cert.
You need the V5C (in your name).

My claim is in (mass action). If they win I think I get 30% of what's awarded, but no idea what that might be.
(I thought it worth the effort even if I only get £100.)

As I see it, nothing to lose if it fails, the claim has taken a year to get to the point where the mass action claim has gone to court.

[Big-chris]

I agree with you, if the manufacturers are in the wrong and you, my nephew and many others get a bit of something without costing you nawt then it’s a win…. The only people to make potential big bucks are the legal people, and they wouldn’t be doing it if they didn’t think there was a potential payout somewhere along the way.. not sure if it will be big publicity at the end? Or a very quick quiet response/voucher in the post? but something has to happen to make it all go away? Mercedes are just going through their second safety recall in a year at the moment, both mine have had new steering wheel air bags, both are booked in later this month for new brake boosters? Got £75 John Lewis voucher for the Airbag inconvenience through the post, one for each car the week after the work had been done at the dealership.. wonder what I will get for the brake boosters 

[TJRL]

But to my mind there was no wrong doing here. So a car manufacturer or two (or more?) designed their ECUs to produce the best results under testing, so what? 

The powers that be set the test criteria and the car makers build to that standard. The issue is really about silly test requirements rather than car makers building to optimise their products under testing.

If the tests focused more on real life MPG & emissions and less on being easy to conduct in an indoor facility the problem would never had happened.

As others have stated, just ambulance chasing.

I purchased a 2005 Audi A3 diesel, so not within scope for a claim. But if it had been "in scope" I still would not have claimed. My car beat the Audi claimed MPG by about 4 to 5 MPG over the 15 years I owned it!!     OK, I almost never did a journey of less than 25 mile, mainly motorways and never over 60 MPH, so optimum for a good MPG I guess.

[autorover1]

I agree , it the legislation is so lax that it doesn't cover all eventualities, so what?  I remember when in UK the first mandated fuel consumption figures where required, I think it was  just steady  running at 50mph under a set of prescribed test conditions. It might have been indoors on a rolling road but I am not sure now. The idea was it was just a standard comparison , not a  real time figure. I worked for BL at Longbridge at the time and queried why there was a different needle specified for the SU carbs  . Was told it had a slight bulge where the needle sat at a steady 50mph to lean it off a bit to get the best fuel consumption . In practice there is hardly ever  a flat road with no bends. 

[w3526602]

Hi,

Yeah! There being NO mention of only those who purchased their diesel car new, puzzled me.

Barbara bought her third brand new East European car, and soon noticed a strong fishy smell. Then her car dumped all it's coolant on the M4 (while on the M4 to Cardiff, to interview a promotion board candidate). She was recovered home, where I found a dramatic leak in the top hose radiator stub.

Barbara phoned the main dealer, who arrived half an hour later (we lived about 10 miles from his dealership,) bringing a radiator from a new car in his showroom. On removing the original radiator, he found that the radiator stub had the strength of finest cob-web. Whatever, he fixed Barbara's car, and all was well.

The promotion board candidate appealled against her "FAIL", arguing that she had been upset by the promotion board interview time being changed. Appeal denied!

A couple of weeks later, the main dealer phoned Barbara to say the fault had been found. The engine's electrics had been Earthing through the coolant, and eroding the steel radiator stub. All vehicles likely to be affected were being recalled. He did not mention any other vehicles actually suffering a similar problem. Typical Barbara ... trouble maker!

602

[w3526602]

Hi,

Further to the previous story about Barbara's East European car (which went like a bat out of Hell), I also reported a disconcerting brake problem .... on a long hill, foot gently on brake pedal ... the pedal would gradually drop, but only needing one pump to get back to a firm pedal.

The main dealer could find nothing wrong.

Several months later, the dealer phoned to say that a problem had been. found, and my car was being recalled to have a new master cylinder fitted. I guessed a faulty non-return valve, that was OK if the pedal was pressed quick and hard. (I've met the same problem on S2 Land Rovers with tired CV master cylinders).

602

[2286]

Hi,

There are frequent adverts on TV, asking if I owned a diesel vehicle, and if so, to contact them.

So far, I have ignored these ads.... but I suddenly (an age thing?) remembered my Peugeot estate, and my 2004ish Land Rover Freelander. I'll pay more attention to the relevant dates, the next time the ad is shown on TV.

To my mind, their "Search Criteria" is too broad, but maybe I'm a cynic?

602

Is it worth having a punt?

I enquired and was told it was new cars only, to do with emissions that were manipulated to get into different tax classes and mpg that were lab based?