Had my appointment today using the new system. Here is how it goes:
Buyback specialist (soon to be replaced by dealership employee) calls the corporate office and starts the appointment.
They video record you saying your name and verify the vehicle info. Then they take a photo of you, drivers license and all the paperwork.
Then you go to the car and you have to drive 5 feet forward or backward while the person is recording it on video. Then they take photos of the car.
Then you go back inside and they read you the offer letter and all that nonsense.
It took us about 30-40 minutes per car. You have to sit through and listen to all the disclosures and say "yes I agree" several times.
Buyback specialist no longer decides if car is in good enough condition - the corporate person does that.
ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT POINT:
Every VW dealership now has the option to opt out of the buyback receiving program. I was told that my current closest dealership said they will definitely NOT participate and other 2 are unsure. My buyback person did not know what would happen if all local dealerships opt out.
The above seems to be in line with the "What to Expect at Your Appointment" video posted
here. A couple of things the video states that people may want to note:
1."Participating Dealerships" - sounds like dealerships can opt out as posted in this thread
2. You can opt out of audio and video recordings
I stopped by my dealership yesterday and spoke to the buyback "Program Ambassador". He told me that appointments are easily available now and when asked about who is doing the buybacks and what happens in couple of months, he did mention that the "Program Ambassador" from the dealership will take you through the whole process and after February or March, they may decide not to do buybacks anymore because they do not want to spend about 45 minutes of their time for each buyback.
I had originally planned on doing the buyback in Aug/Sep 2018 because the car is economical, runs great, tires are in good shape, no more maintenance planned and registration was recently renewed, but I am in a dilemma now. The wife wants to get it done and move on before all dealerships (particularly our nearest one) start opting out.
Is there anyone else considering moving up their buyback date?