Some car owners unhappy with the VW dealSFlb

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

Several angry Volkswagen owners told a federal judge Tuesday that a $10 billion settlement does not adequately compensate them for the automaker’s emissions cheating scandal, part of a vocal minority who objected to the deal as hundreds of thousands of others signed up for payments.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer will determine whether the settlement is fair to consumers and should receive final approval. He said he was “strongly inclined” to approve it but would make a final decision by Oct. 25, giving him time to consider the owners’ objections and whether he should recommend any changes.

“We got played the fool,” Mark Dietrich, an Audi owner from San Francisco, told the judge earlier at a hearing in San Francisco.

Dietrich demanded the full purchase price of his car as well as part of his registration fee.

The settlement calls for the German automaker to spend up to $10 billion to buy back or repair about 475,000 Volkswagens and Audi vehicles with 2-liter diesel engines and pay their owners an additional $5,100 to $10,000 each. Any repair options have yet to be finalized.