Buyback or Fix: VW Diesel Owners Weigh in on Settlement
A US federal judge has finally approved a record high settlement for the Volkswagen emissions scandal, with the German automaker to spend $14.7 billion remedying the situation. More than 400,000 affected U.S. owners are being given two options: take a buyback from VW or wait for the EPA to approve a fix. Although early data showed that most people would take the buyback, many owners are still unsure.
Revelations on the “Dieselgate” scandal, as it is commonly known, broke last September when news surfaced that VW had installed “defeat device” software in its TDI models that would intentionally fool emissions testing and alter the results. The software could recognize when the car was being emissions tested by several factors, such as the non driven wheels remaining stationary during the test as well as steering wheel position, and then improve emissions temporarily to fool the test. VW issued a stop sale on the affected models, including models fitted with VW’s EA 189 diesel engines, including 5 million at VW, 2.1 million at Audi, 1.2 million at Škoda and 1.8 million light commercial vehicles. SEAT has also said 700,000 of its diesel models were affected. The affected engines are 2.0-liter four-cylinder models and also the V6 engines.
The first option for owners is the buyback, in which VW will buy back the affected vehicles from owners at fair price, based on the age of the vehicle and how far it has been driven.
Jessica Jones, owner of a 2010 Golf TDI, is jumping at the buyback opportunity. She said she can’t wait for the buyback, “Because I’m going to be the first one in line to buy a new ‘fixed’ TDI.” She is choosing the buyback option because VW is going to pay off her lien, and that she hopes to get a new VW after everything is said and done. She believes the situation is being blown way out of proportion and feels that true TDI and VW enthusiasts share her perspective. She also thinks the EPA is trying to make an example out of VW and TDI.
But not every TDI owner considering the buyback is so enthusiastic about the company after hearing the details of the settlement.
“I do feel betrayed,” said Jetta TDI owner April Andrews. “I think it’s a pretty crappy business practice and it seriously makes me wonder whether or not I would buy another VW product,” she said.
“But it’s tough because I love my VW and drive my vehicle every day… I’m at about 120 thousand kilometers [80 thousand miles] or so. I don’t know if that’s a lot but I intended to drive the car into the ground.”
From her perspective, it seems as if VW is not really sorry for the scandal, except for the fact they got caught. “You’ve got to figure that it was a whole number of people that are employed by them that knew what they were doing.”
Jeff Kantorowski, owner of a 2015 Sportwagen SEL and long-time VW customer, found out about the scandal within two weeks of picking up his new car.
“The new car thrill lasted about a week, and then the news of the scandal broke, and it caused a lot of doubt and questions in my mind,” he said. Kantorowski noted he loves almost everything about the car, but said, “Honestly, they committed fraud. They were promoting something that wasn’t as advertised. I distinctly remember seeing the big banners in the dealership saying, ‘Clean Diesel’… I felt deceived.”
Kantorowski said he is very environmentally aware, and chose the TDI as a viable option because it was advertised as having good performance, fuel economy and low emissions. However, Kantorowski said he believes the EPA is being too harsh on passenger vehicles. “I see so many big, full-sized pickup trucks around with eight-cylinder engines. The thought in my mind is that I’m turning in my little four-cylinder TDI that’s not meeting extremely strict emissions, and I’ll go out and get a Ford F-250 Powerstroke, eight-cylinder diesel that doesn’t have to meet the same emissions standards, of which there are millions on the road, and that’s OK. But my little four-cylinder is against the law… These commercial vehicles are putting out way more nitrous oxide than the little TDIs.”
The second option owners must consider is getting their affected TDI emissions problem fixed, where VW will modify the powertrain and exhaust free of charge, as soon as a repair is approved by the EPA. In the UK, VW has already fixed 160,000 of the 11,189,906 affected cars, according to a VW spokesman. Emissions standards in the UK are less strict for the same period when compared to the US, and UK Volkswagen owners aren’t being offered the buyback option. Many VW owners in the UK are now looking to the courts for financial compensation.
Kantorowski said he is considering the buyback, but wants to see if a viable fix becomes available before his lease expires in 2018.
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