The lawsuit asserts that the company sold thousands of such cars in the United States between 2011 and 2016, when it appears to have ended the practice as the diesel scandal cast a public spotlight on its business practices.

As part of its American recall, Volkswagen has offered to buy the 252 cars back at their current book value. Mr. Garcia said the company had offered him $27,000. He declined, he said, because that was well below the price he had paid, and did not cover expenses like sales tax and interest on his loan.

“I’m not going to eat $20,000 that I shouldn’t have paid,” he said.

The lawsuit is another setback to efforts by Volkswagen and its luxury Audi division to put the diesel ordeal behind them. Last year, the two brands sold 577,000 vehicles in the United States, the most since 2012.

Karl Brauer, executive publisher at Cox Automotive, said the lawsuit was an embarrassing revelation but should not have a big impact on sales. “I don’t see it as a huge, long-term image destroyer,” he said.

Volkswagen’s American sales tumbled in 2015 after the company acknowledged that it had installed software that allowed some of its diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests. The company later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other charges brought by the Justice Department. It paid about $23 billion in fines and civil settlements to diesel owners, and was required to buy back 600,000 vehicles from American customers.

Several Volkswagen executives have been charged or have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the United States and Germany. The scandal resulted in the ouster of Volkswagen’s chief executive and two dozen other executives. A former chief executive of Audi was arrested last year and is awaiting trial on criminal charges in Germany.