VW TDI goodwill package: Offers $500 Visa cards & $500 dealer credits to TDI owners

Baddawg58

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VW TDI goodwill package: Offers $500 Visa cards & $500 dealer credits to TDI owners

http://www.autonews.com/article/20151030/RETAIL07/151039985?template=mobile&X-IgnoreUserAgent=1

WASHINGTON -- Volkswagen of America, seeking to contain the damage from its emissions scandal, will offer to buy back some used diesel vehicles from its U.S. dealers at pre-crisis prices, Automotive News has learned.

According to three dealers briefed on the plan, VW will guarantee the value of certified pre-owned and other used VWs with 2.0-liter diesel engines containing the illegal emissions software in dealer inventory, at prices seen before Sept. 18, when the EPA announced VW’s violations. If any of those vehicles stay in dealer inventory for 60 days or longer, VW will offer to buy them back from dealers.

The program will roll out in three phases, according to an Oct. 29 memo to dealers from Volkswagen of America COO Mark McNabb, starting with an inventory of diesel vehicles on dealer lots to help VW determine which ones are eligible for the program. That step is expected to be completed by Nov. 13. VW will detail the next phases of the program over the next two weeks, according to the memo.

The moves seek to establish a pricing floor for used VW diesels whose wholesale prices and auction sales volume have plummeted over the past month. According to Kelley Blue Book, average auction prices of VW diesels were down nearly 16 percent through Oct. 16 compared with levels before the scandal, and auction volumes were down 25 percent.

Offering dealer buybacks also gives retailers certainty that the used diesels on their lots won’t become worthless while they wait for a fix to bring the vehicles into compliance with federal emissions standards. It also will help prevent a glut of used diesels piling up at dealers, who cannot sell the 2.0-liter diesels as certified pre-owned cars but are still accepting customer trade-ins.

Dealers applauded the program, which VW dealer council chairman Alan Brown said was a move encouraged by the council to ease the uncertainty surrounding the value of used VW diesels.

“We felt several weeks ago that we’ve got to control the values, and the only way to do that is for VW to step in and prevent them from going to auction,” said Brown, general manager of Hendrick Volkswagen Frisco in suburban Dallas.

Analysts say some volatility and uncertainty in pricing will continue until it’s known how VW plans to fix the cars, and how those fixes will affect performance and fuel economy.

The buyback program was one of several initiatives announced at VW’s national dealer meeting on Oct. 22 in Orlando, according to dealers who attended.

Among them, VW is crafting a “customer goodwill” program for owners of diesels affected by the scandal, the dealers said. VW executives didn’t disclose what the program would include, but dealers said VW planned to provide details in the first week of November.

A VW spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the meeting was confidential between VW executives and dealers.

Judging by how other manufacturers have responded to similar scandals, it’s likely that the goodwill program will include some form of compensation to owners. For example, Hyundai and Kia gave prepaid gasoline cards to owners in 2012 after the brands overstated the fuel economy ratings on several of their models. In 2013, Ford paid C-Max owners $550 after the company reduced the hybrid car’s fuel economy ratings.

VW told dealers it will provide them another infusion of cash similar to the “discretionary fund” wired to dealers on Oct. 1, though it will be a smaller sum, the dealers at the meeting said.

VW also told dealers that it has secured an immediate production increase of gasoline-powered Jetta, Golf, GTI and Tiguan models to offset the loss of diesel sales, which are still on hold pending EPA certification.

VW said its product pipeline has been unaffected by the emissions scandal, and that major future products including the new midsize crossover, long-wheelbase Tiguan compact crossover and the Subaru-fighting Golf SportWagen Alltrack will launch on-schedule.
 

TDI2000Zim

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VW hat meinen '14 Passat TDiSE getötet.


The future's not ours to see, qué será, será...
 

GyroRon

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Not sure if this is good or bad. I am wondering, if this is what we get, this may be ALL we get, as far as loss of value etc for our cars.

In other words, the question is, should we get anything and if so, how much?

I personally don't know how much if any, the value of my car has dropped over all this. But it likely has, and I doubt its only 1000$.

Also I personally don't plan to have my car altered, by any kind of recall. So would taking any money from VW be some type of contract where by taking the money your bound to have to do the recall once it comes out? ?
 

turbobrick240

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Some people here won't be satisfied until VW pays off their mortgage, puts their kids through college, and covers all of their living expenses for the next 50 years. I wonder how many of those folks will end up refusing the goodwill offer? They don't know if their tdi has devalued by any significant amount, but assume they are owed millions. Good luck with that.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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There's a fair amount of data out there that suggests the value of your car may have dropped $500-$1000, but other data that shows it may have gone up in value. And given how used car values are calculated and the complexity of trade-in values, you'll probably never know.

TDI values are down now in general because (a) winter is coming; and (b) fuel prices are very low. Used TDIs don't sell well in winter. Don't ask me why, I don't know, but I've seen it for years. And when gasoline is $2/gallon why would someone pay a premium a car that has potential issues and questionable long-term value? People are buying pickups instead.

The solution to this is easy: Don't sell yours. I'm keeping mine.
 

CNGVW

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I own 2 2009 Jetta,s so its a start.
I think most will use it to put a good tune back in it after they de-tune them!!
$500 must be used at a VW dealer remember when any one goes back for a recall at the dealer they make a laundry list of not needed repairs.
 

03fan

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Not worth it if they will do recall work on my car. If that's avoidable I'm putting a new set of tires on with the money.
 

Segovax

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Make raisinade from raisins

IF it comes free and clear of lawyerly double speak I'll take what I can get.

However, the $500 VW gift certificate is really worth about $100 because of markup and the fact that you'll need to go to another mechanic to fix something they broke, I'm probably going to see what I can get on a site like cardpool.com.
 

umrpunter

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Just make sure to read every word of anything you sign. All will be fine if you do.
 

belome

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So would taking any money from VW be some type of contract where by taking the money your bound to have to do the recall once it comes out? ?
That is a great question.

Of course, I have a feeling that the CARB states are going to require you to have the recall done or they won't issue you a registration anyway.
 

kjclow

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I'm using the VW service one to get my 80k service done on the JSW. That is assuming they let me use it all at the same time. Not sure where the wife's will be spent. If there are no strings, then the other two go for Christmas. A $1000 raising out of the soot will make for a much better Christmas. Now if I can only convince the wife to stick to that $1000 and not a penny over.
 

kjclow

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Some people here won't be satisfied until VW pays off their mortgage, puts their kids through college, and covers all of their living expenses for the next 50 years. I wonder how many of those folks will end up refusing the goodwill offer? They don't know if their tdi has devalued by any significant amount, but assume they are owed millions. Good luck with that.
Put me in that line! I could really go for someone else paying off the kids college loans but they're more than both my VWs. Darn, guess that won't work. Guess I'll have to continue to work and give up my retirement slot on VW Acres.
 

Dozenspeed

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My car is worth less than 3 grand anyway....guess I must have lost 25% of it's value! :rolleyes:


With only ~$1800 to pay it off, at least I'm not upside down. :p
 
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dmarsingill

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However, the $500 VW gift certificate is really worth about $100 because of markup and the fact that you'll need to go to another mechanic to fix something they broke, I'm probably going to see what I can get on a site like cardpool.com.

Why do you assume things are marked up 400%? If it is worded that you can only use at a dealership, then buy parts.

Donald
 

Jeta Life

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There's a fair amount of data out there that suggests the value of your car may have dropped $500-$1000, but other data that shows it may have gone up in value. And given how used car values are calculated and the complexity of trade-in values, you'll probably never know.

TDI values are down now in general because (a) winter is coming; and (b) fuel prices are very low. Used TDIs don't sell well in winter. Don't ask me why, I don't know, but I've seen it for years. And when gasoline is $2/gallon why would someone pay a premium a car that has potential issues and questionable long-term value? People are buying pickups instead.

The solution to this is easy: Don't sell yours. I'm keeping mine.
Hey IBW, always great to hear from you.

Trading in now when values appear to have depreciated makes no sense to me either. I think an argument could be made that the TDIs may increase in value down the road, not now obviously.

The reason: there may be short supply of TDIs. Selling or trading now is foolish unless you like to lose money.

As far as this $1000 Goodwill Program that won't even cover one college class or one mortgage payment. I'm glad VW came to their senses and this may help a little.

Will take a while for VW to get new customers, but this Goodwill program is targeted towards current owners as stated by Colum Wood in the article.
 

jhinsc

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Yes, I will be wary of any language that would have me give up any future legal rights as a stipulation for accepting it. $1000 is a start for this whole mess, but it's not going to make it completely right. If the ECU remap caused me to use more Adblue, I'd want that covered too. I think if VW would come out with some kind of 'guarantee' of pre-scandal values based on age/miles for those who want to trade in, that would help. They can look at values before 9/18/2015 and prorate it down based on time and mileage, as if nothing happened that affected the vehicle's value. Of course you would have to trade it in at a VW dealer in order for this idea to work, but it's a start. I still like my Passat, love the way it drives, and for the money, I think there's no comparable car on the market. Is it boring to look at? Yes, but it's design will age well. I can stand all the swoopy lines and curves other auto makes are putting on their cars - Nissan/Infiniti is one them - I think sort of a fad that will fade over time.
 

kjclow

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Hey, maybe they will send cards to all VW owners, not just those with TDIs. Then I will get three sets!
 

DubFamily

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I personally don't know how much if any, the value of my car has dropped over all this. But it likely has, and I doubt its only 1000$.
There's a fair amount of data out there that suggests the value of your car may have dropped $500-$1000, but other data that shows it may have gone up in value.
Currently values show about a 15% drop in TDI value compared to pre-scandal values; based on my car at least... I'd been looking before and during at possible trades, so I'd been watching the value of my car. Others with lower mileage may have been hit harder (mine has 131k on it).
 

turbobrick240

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I doubt it will require signing away your soul.
 

Jeta Life

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I doubt it would be binding or contingent on agreeing to a fix.
Didn't think about it that way.
There should be 2 gift cards, one for $500 can be used anywhere, the second will range from $500 to $750 and must be used in connection with service. Would be great if that second one could be used for ANY VW service.
 

undertaker

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queens, ny
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I won't be using it, I'm waiting for an opportunity to get rid of this POS that I hated before the recall and have wanted to trade in for 6 months prior to dieselgate.

Silly me I waited until year end to get a deal on a replacement vehicle, which put me into dieselgate, had I gotten rid of it during the summer I'd be laughing myself to the bank.

I have no interest in anything thing else VW, Audi etc. First and last German vehicle, I'll stick with my GM stuff from now on, those recalls never took my vehicle's value from 13k trade offer in July to 4k offer in September.
 

Mark SF

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Hmmm... 20 bottles of a nice Chateauneuf du Pape? Or maybe 10, and a few good bottles of single malt Islay whiskey.
 

RollingCoal

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I'm really hoping it's more than the $500+$500 being speculated on at this point. I was thinking above all trading up to a golf R but now I cant get jack for the tdi definitely lost more than $1000 in value overnight.
 
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