I have been reading a lot of the posts here, and I try not to think of things in absolutes. There are plenty of shades of gray.
As for those selling their TDI's, I am really happy to see that these cars have retained a good percentage of their original value. You know, Fred's TDI Club is a pretty large online community. But the percentage of diesel owners is very small in comparison to all vehicle owners. A lot of us bought these cars when it wasn't the rage to do so...when the cost of fuel was not $3 a gallon, when there was very little publicity regarding diesels...when people looked at us as though we were crazy. In 2000 when I bought my Jetta, I used to be scolded regularly at the pumps for putting diesel fuel into my car. I am happy that those folks who had the foresight and good taste to buy a TDI are being rewarded.
For those buying a TDI for resale, this is their livelihood. If you buy a car for $12,000 and sell it for $14,000, do you put $2,000 profit in the bank? No, because there are expenses involved in running your own business, many of which people do not realize. Start with health insurance, which costs around $15,000 per year for a decent family plan. If you own your own business, you have to have liability insurance, you have to pay rent, you have utilities, advertising, cleaning and maintenance costs, vehicle procurement costs, employee costs, etc. etc. etc. You have life insurance, disability insurance, and you absolutely must put aside some money for retirement. And if you buy a car for $12,000, you have the carrying costs for that car until the moment it's sold, and have 100% of the risk on that investment if it turns out the car can't be sold at a profit. In short, I don't begrudge someone who does this for a living a reasonable profit.
For those in the market to buy a car, there are several different groups. Some have been driving gas guzzling SUV's and other highly uneconomical vehicles, and are now desperate to stop paying $90 to fill up their tanks to go 390 miles. Those folks are pretty much at the mercy of the market right now. Then there are devoted diesel owners who know all about these cars and don't want to pay more than they think the car is worth.
There are a lot of different perspectives here and I think we all have to respect where others are coming from in the buying and selling process and things might go more smootly. With prices remaining over $3 a gallon, and no 2007 TDI's, supply looks like it won't keep up with demand for a long time, and things have the potential to get really ugly here if people let that happen.
Good luck to everyone!