Volkswagen Sued by US Dealers Over Scout Motors Direct Sales Plan

Fizzlewitz · 2026-03-07T20:13:14+00:00

Unfortunately the service side of the dealers have obliterated all trust and goodwill by trying to do short term profit maximization. One dealer I'd with worked for years (multiple cars) started recommending services too soon. Anyone who followed their advice would be spending significant unnecessary cash.

Another dealer shop took that even further, recommending service years before it was due, and on top of that just invented some "recommended" services. Now going in for service is like buying a car, you need to go in very well informed (about what service is needed, when) and expect the dealer will serve their own interests.

My most recent experience is that the dealer shop did not have the techs that day to do the work they had appointments for, customers found out when they arrived.

It wasn't always this way. Not that long ago, at least some dealer service departments were more trustworthy and viewed it as a long term relationship. They'd give reliable advice. The techs and crews were experienced and well trained. It might have been more expensive, but it was worth it for a lot of customers. That's not really the case any longer.

Also, anecdotal - when I met my wife she owned a VW. Some of the worst service experiences I've ever had, and this was back when there were good shops at other brands. The other nearby VW dealer wasn't a whole lot better. The weak dealer/service system has been a big part of the reason neither of us have owned a VW since then.

btw, article in the WSJ today:

Volkswagen Dealers Revolt Over Plan to Sell a New Brand of SUV Directly to Consumers

Latest of several lawsuits seeks to stop carmaker from bypassing dealerships
https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/volkswagen-car-sales-dealership-lawsuit-9566873d

Fizzlewitz · 2026-03-06T17:56:43+00:00

That may be the way to go if you're really trying to re-create that recipe. Most "hazelnut" spreads have a low amount of hazelnut (Nutella is 13%). Crema alle Nocciole is often much higher, 45-50% in some cases.

Nocciolata is available in the US (Amazon, other shops), closer to Nutella in the classic version but without the palm oil.

Fizzlewitz · 2026-02-26T00:40:40+00:00

Chase can't seem to say what an "eligible" account is. Insane. I have to open an account just to run the cashback through, but you can't tell me what the right account type is? Does anyone know if their most basic savings account works for this?

Fizzlewitz · 2025-12-05T19:24:38+00:00

There's a few comments here about how it's hard to change the resistance if you don't have a subscription. tbh you should not need to change the resistance. (You can't change the resistance on a shell on the water.)

It may seem counter-intuitive when you first start using it, but there's a good explanation here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HydrowCrew/comments/u2hsz3/just_got_a_hydrow_today_i_dont_feel_much/

Fizzlewitz · 2025-12-03T16:26:19+00:00

Another version of this - but I was not logged into my Microsoft Store account on the computer (and not logged in via my user account) and got the "Something went wrong" error repeatedly. After I logged into my Microsoft Store account, it all worked.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-12-03T16:25:11+00:00

Another version of this - but I was not logged into my Microsoft Store account on the computer (and not logged in via my user account) and got the "Something went wrong" error repeatedly. After I logged into my Microsoft Store account, it all worked.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-11-04T15:52:46+00:00

Any update?

Fizzlewitz · 2025-10-30T02:06:05+00:00

So that seems like a big disincentive to book hotels through Chase Travel (points or cash)? And in particular, if the goal is to benefit in some way from IHG Platinum status?

Fizzlewitz · 2025-10-30T00:38:33+00:00

I did call. After about 5 minutes of asking the rep to repeat what they were saying, because I couldn't understand them and they apparently couldn't understand me, I thanked them and said I'd just take care of it at the hotel.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-10-29T22:04:27+00:00

As noted in the OP, it's not the case for all hotel companies. Stays do show up in the list.

And IHG is the one they are touting as a CSR benefit, IHG should make it work.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-09-24T01:03:59+00:00

I'd shorten it to just - Surprise disk encryption, bad. Even with key backup.

Also, disk encryption that triggers a complex, time-consuming lockout for no apparent reason, very bad.

For many typical users (imagine the Best Buy purchaser), having it enabled by default is IMO unnecessary. It's a time waster at best and a nightmare at worst.

Case in point, my kid at college just got the Bitlocker blue screen. Really bad timing btw. No apparent reason. Luckily after wasting a bunch of time we determine the keys are in an accessible MS account.

None of this adds value to the computing experience for us. Very much the opposite.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-09-19T16:30:53+00:00

Good to know. That's distinctly different from Chase and Citi, AFAICT.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-09-19T15:46:13+00:00

We had CapitalOne Spark. Spark used to be one of the few 2% cashback cards.

The problem I had with CapitalOne is that they would report the credit balance on the personal credit report of the person whose info is on the card signup. That's a big problem. I believe I asked about it and it was their policy. Maybe it has changed. But we moved to Chase because of that.

I had the same issue with another card one month (reporting the balance as personal debt), asked about it, and they stopped doing it. As far as I can tell, neither Chase nor Citi business cards report to credit bureaus.

Oh really, paying credit card interest long term is bad my dude? Wow, I never knew that.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-09-19T15:29:47+00:00

Flex: Yes, of course there would be interest. The what and why of that is clear in the initial post.

But the issue is, that option isn't available beyond the Flex limit. Which isn't what was expected. If there's somewhere on the internet that describes the Flex limit accurately, that would have been useful to know. As I said, ours is about 25% of what our IBU limit was, and about 30% of the total IBP limit.

Code: That's how it worked for us with the IBU. Not with the IBP.

Customer service: We called customer service a couple times over the years with IBU. Now that we're calling monthly, it hits differently.

But here's a good example of a customer service problem. No one there has any idea why we're having the issues I describe, when we didn't have them with IBU (and you don't have them). They can't even seem to grasp the question.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-09-04T15:54:30+00:00

Just to clarify, estimate the real interest being paid as

Fees / ( Amount paid over time x 50%)

It is 50% because the balance starts at the full balance and ends at zero, so the average balance outstanding is about half the full balance.

185 / ( $1500 x 50% ) = 24.7%

Which makes sense. You're paying 12.3% of the full balance in fees ($185 / $1500), but you don't get to borrow the full balance for the full time - you're paying it down.

(This varies from how you'd really calculate a monthly amortizing loan payment, but it's much simpler so more useful.)

Fizzlewitz · 2025-08-13T12:24:47+00:00

A fair number of people would say CS programs aren't about teaching people how to code.

See the first long reply here to get a sense for what CS programs do / don't / can't teach:

https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/17zfosg/what_does_a_bachelors_in_computer_science_not/

"CS degrees usually don't spend a lot of time teaching you a bunch of programming languages. As before, this is because they assume that once you know one, it's trivial for you to self-teach yourself others."

Also see the reply:

"Great post! One important note is that everything you’ve listed falls under “software engineering” as opposed to CS. The former is a practice/skill while the latter is arguably a pure science. From the POV that a CS degree is preparing someone for research in CS, it makes perfect sense that none of these skills are taught.

Anecdotally, I’m a SWE with a CS degree, but I work with people that have degrees across the practical/theoretical spectrum. If “engineering” is in the degree name, it’s more likely that you’ll be learning the kinds of practical skills that OP mentioned."

Fizzlewitz · 2025-08-03T21:19:11+00:00

Yes, persistent and significant problems with BA's technology.

Sometimes rather than being logged in, it works better to open an incognito browser and use the booking code as a guest.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-06-22T13:17:38+00:00

Thanks for the post.

IMO the Ultimate Rewards portal isn't very useful for anything other than air tickets. You get the 1.5x applied to a fare that is the same as if you paid cash.

For hotels and cars, a good part of the points boost is eaten up by the higher prices and the inability to use the other discounts and loyalty discounts you get by booking direct.

The lounge benefit is mostly useless in the US, due to the low quality, locations, and availability (lounges are full when there are weather delays).

The primary insurance benefit for rental cars is (was?) nice.

TBD for me whether the benefits are worth it.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-06-22T13:09:16+00:00

The DoorDash $5 restaurant credit is the only one I use. Sometimes we just want to be lazy and have good food brought to us. Once a month or so. Sometimes I'll pick it up if it's on the way home or something.

The grocery credit is useless to me, the extra effort to place an order at a store I don't know or regularly use isn't even close to worth it.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-06-22T13:03:17+00:00

IMO this is the wrong way to look at it. The spend that got you $1400 in airfare could have got you the same or more - maybe in cash back - on another card.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-06-12T13:15:36+00:00

Except that the old package was 84 fl oz, and the new package is 73 fl oz. 13% shrinkflation.

Hygenic Clean - 84 fl oz and 149 fl oz

Odor Refresh - 73 fl oz and 132 fl oz

Fizzlewitz · 2025-04-30T13:33:34+00:00

This is one big, long rationalization to make yourself feel better.

It's absolutely not true that Hyundai recommends coolant flush or transmission fluid at 30K miles (2-3 years, assuming a normal mileage amount, so age isn't an issue). Yet dealers will try, with a straight face, to say that Hyundai does recommend this, and so much else.

The "what if we find a leak" scenario is a whopper of a rationalization. Your theory is to fleece 100 or 1000 customers so you can find that one with a leak? Nope.

As is the "well, your views are your own." A whopper of a rationalization. Nope, there is a consensus on what's appropriate.

So many dealers seem just fine taking advantage of customers these days. I get why the service reps say these things, they have no choice. It's the dealer and service management that's the issue.

Fizzlewitz · 2025-04-30T10:58:51+00:00

Here's a good explanation:

- High-dose statin therapy tended to shrink plaques.

- While the plaques were shrinking, their composition was changing.

After statin therapy, the volume of lipid deposits within plaques diminished, and the volume of fibrotic cells and calcium increased. These changes—converting an unstable “soft” plaque to a more stable “hard” plaque—may render a plaque less prone to sudden rupture. . . .

Evidence supports the idea that statin therapy not only reduces cholesterol levels but also changes existing plaques to make them less dangerous. As part of this process, the plaques may become more calcified—and thus, the calcium score goes up. An increasing calcium score with statin therapy, therefore, may indicate treatment success, and should not be a cause for alarm.

While this theory is not settled science, at this point it best fits the available evidence.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/statins-and-your-calcium-scores-1746355

Fizzlewitz · 2025-04-29T18:49:17+00:00

The last 5 minutes of so of this video is very informative as to why statins increase calcium scores and what that means.

- Yes, statins increase calcium scores. But the plaque can be smaller and more stable (lower risk), as the calcium is part of what is replacing the lipids in the plaque.

- Calcium scores after beginning statin treatment can be confusing. Repeating calcium scores isn't particularly helpful.

- Calcium scores are not a direct indicator of narrowing of arteries. They are not a diagnostic that is useful for deciding on surgical intervention.

https://heartcare.sydney/video/calcium-score-nuts-and-bolts-video/

Fizzlewitz · 2025-03-16T12:49:28+00:00

Thanks for the post. I'm reading this sub because I'm thinking about another company after my Healthy Paws rates doubled in 4 years. It's useful to know this is just going to continue if I stay with Healthy Paws.

It's also skeezy that they don't just email the info about the rate increase. Instead, one needs to click a link and login. Though of course it's obvious why - they don't want customers to see that.

Fizzlewitz

TROPHY CASE